it's all about timing

i saw all those cruise ship tourists wandering around last week, having spent thousands of dollars on their flight and floating hotel and extra tours, and i was happy to know my mom and little sister were getting such a great alaskan experience for way less. we took them boating on this beautiful sunny day and spotted 20 whales - a few of them being close enough to scare my mom a little - and a porpoise. we picnicked on homemade mango salsa and chicken pad thai in the middle of the channel, absorbing beautiful scenery. we cavorted around shelter island, exploring tidepools and collecting things for eliza to show her friends back home. they saw herbert and mendenhall glaciers, walked around the shrine of st. therese & perseverance trail, and rode up the mt. roberts tram. we spotted 2 bears - a mama and her cub - 50 yards away while taking a short walk behind my house. my sister got baby ducks to feed from her hands and even her head (p got naughty and sprinkled cornbread in her hair and told her to lie down). we saw waterfalls and mining museums. we ate sushi, king crab, salmon, & halibut galore. we drank bubble tea and ate fudge. my mom shopped at our freezer and took home over 30 lbs. of wild alaskan king salmon and halibut for the cost of a wax container. my sister played with gullies and hermit crabs and sea cucumbers at the touch tank in the aquarium and learned how to cast at family fishing day at twin lakes. they sure picked the right 4 days to be in juneau, and then they took the good weather with them. it's overcast skies and rain for poor j, p's friend, who's visiting from dry heat new mexico.

less than 2 weeks until ja to the maica!