Adagio

Violinist and pianist (husband and wife) that

Foster listens to after dinner. He is unusually at

a grand piano

Juneau and Ketchikan

May 2, 2016

Weather did not improve for Juneau and

Ketchikan and since we had been here twice

before and seen the area (especially from the air)

we stayed aboard ship.

 

 

Glacier Bay

Glacier Bay

Apr 30

Our cruising in Glacier Bay was quite different

from 2010 when we had a beautiful day. It was

interesting however because we not only had

rain but snow.

We had several Forest Rangers aboard who

gave onboard commentary and we had two

excellent guest speakers.

Kodiak, Alaska

Kodiak, Alaska

Apr 28

After leaving Kushiro we traveled six days

across the north Pacific and Bering Straits

through seven time zones to Kodiak, Alaska.

Fortunately after the first night we moved

back the clock during the day. It has messed

us up some but not nearly as much as moving

it back at night for six nights in a row probably

would have.

Kodiak was nice. We visited a wildlife museum,

an Alutiiq museum and a Russian Orthodox Church.

 

This is Holy Week in the Orthodox Church. The

Priest told us the Orthodox calendar is different

from ours but it is also variable and sometimes

overlap.

 

Linda and Friends in Kimonos

Dressing Linda in a Kimono

Kushiro

Apr 22

Our last stop in Japan was Kushiiro. We took a

walk along the boardwalk and stopped at a

Visitors Center which had lots of activities.

I had my name written in Japanese. There was

origami but after my previous experience

on the Kyoto/Kobe bus) I skipped that.

I had a wonderful time being dressed in a

kimono. The pictures definitely showed my

bad side. The ladies doing the dressing and

undressing are going to be worn out by

day’s end.

Our guide in Kobe told us there were kimono

rental shops that ladies used. There are

probably not a lot of people who know how

to put one on, especially the obi(?) which

looks like an extra long table runner. Can

you imagine trying to tie that. And I thought

a sari would be difficult to put on.

I didn’t try to get Foster to try

one but have a couple of pictures of a

man trying one.

I‘m extremely disappointed I failed to buy

a doll in Nagasaki. I thought I would have

many more opportunities but there have

been none in the last few ports. I must

learn to buy at first port just in case I

cannot find again.

 

 

Hakodate, Japan Churches

Hakodate, Japan 1

Hakodate, Japan

Apr 21

Today in Hakodate we took a shuttle to town and

then a tram to a lovely area for a walking tour. At

one of the historical buildings you could rent long

dresses for pictures. Several young girls had done this

and we got pictures of them.

In one area there was a Russian Orthodox

Church, an Episcopal Church and a Catholic

Church-definitely unusual for this part of the

world.

We had nice views of the harbor and surrounding

mountains.

 

Otaru, Japan

Sometimes spelling is off

Steam Clock

Otaru, Japan

Apr 20

We walked into Otaru today. It was nice

but not a lot to see. A bit more walking

than I would have liked. Near the ship we

met a local man who gave us historical

information of the island.

Yokoahma, Japan Day 2 Japanese Garden and Terminal Track