Bida ta dushi (Life is Good)

Dale and I returned to Aruba to see our friends and enjoy our favorite island.  Staying in our usual Ocean Front Room #1 at Sunset Beach Studios we settled in for a relaxing week!  Following tradition, dinner the first night was at Smokey Joes for ribs….yummy as usual!  

A trip to Super Foods the next day to stock up for our stay was on our agenda.  We filled our days with exploring, beach time, plus enjoying the pool and hot tub with other guest. I loved my early morning snorkels, when I had the ocean all to myself…just me and the ocean creatures. Our love for local places found us enjoying meals at……………

Zeerovers, The Local Store, Kamini's Kitchen, Urataka Center and Barefoots.  We were lucky enough to spend a afternoon with JP and Eef, the owners of our resort, catching up on what was happening in our lives.  JP and Dale even cruised the Lighthouse in JP’s 1968 Ford Ranchero.  Our week flew by and soon it was time for a Covid test and our flight home.  We had a great week, met some great folks, and enjoyed our stay as usual!

Texas Mermaids in Bonaire

Take four Texas mermaids and drop them in Bonaire for 10 days for some bubble blowing and you are guaranteed a good time!  

Jill, Michelle, Tammie and I booked a 10 day stay with 9 days of 2 tank valet diving with Belmar Apartments and Buddy Dive!  

Our condo #12 was a 3 bedroom unit, with a big balcony overlooking the Caribbean at Belmar Apartments which included a four door truck for our stay.  

Diving started the next day with a crew of Flavia, Jason, Douwe in charge of our boat named, Anybody!  Diving both Bonaire and Klein Bonaire gave us some great dive sites to explore.  Each dive was usually between 40-60 feet and 60 minutes long…although we did stretch that sometimes. The water temp was 82  degrees and viz was mostly good.

During our stay we saw turtles, frog fish, octopus, lobster, scorpion fish, tarpon, and lots of eels….plus loads of itsy bitsy stuff.

Morning coffee was on our big balcony before boarding our boat, lunch was in town and sometimes something we fixed at the condo!  We ate at some old favorites and tried a few new places!  Our course Gio’s gelato was always on the agenda.

Pajama parties at night with wine or cocktails had us rolling on the floor in tears.  Lots of girl stuff talk! Good thing what happens in Bonaire, stays in Bonaire!

I was lucky enough to make my 700th dive on Bonaire and we celebrated on the boat with the cutest cookies Jill made and brought from home! Of course lots of crazy photos were a necessity during the week to document our trip. 

The trip home was tuff….flight delayed, missed connection in Miami, overnighting in a Miami hotel, arriving in Austin finally a day late…but safe and sound!

Alaska on Northern Dream

Arriving in Juneau, I checked into the Baranof Hotel and walked along the waterfront, amazed at how quite it was with no cruise ships in port.

First stop was the Red Dog Saloon for their famous 

“Duck Fart” cocktail!

Then took the tram up to Mt Roberts for a birds eye view of Juneau. Getting hungry I had fried halibut and fries at Deckhand Dave’s with some weird tartar sauce.  Headed back to my hotel to await Patty’s arrival late that night….with no luggage!

K

Jay picked us up about 11:30 am the next morning and we headed to the Auke Bay marina and our Alaska Yacht cruise for the week!  

Our boat, Northern Dream was waiting for us and we were introduced to the crew…..Tim and Jay’s son, Justin.

We left port at Auke Bay and began our adventure!  The seas were pretty rough for a while but Jay, our captain soon found flatter seas!  We settled into our cabins and enjoyed a pasta dinner before turning in.

Up early the zodiac was put in the water at Pavlov Point and we were off before breakfast for some bear watching. 

 

  

Five brown bears were catching salmon in the stream below the waterfall and salmon ladder.  We beached the zodiac and walked within 50 yds of the bears to watch and take photos!  They paid little attention to us and continued catching salmon.  It was amazing to see these massive creatures in the wild.

It was time to head back to our boat for breakfast……….

Scrambled eggs, sausage, hash browns, English muffins, and juice and coffee. Boy did it hit the spot!  

Halibut fishing was next on the agenda!  Two nice Black cod was all we caught,  no halibut! Next adventure was to toss our own crab pots!  Hoping to catch a bunch to eat! We each got to throw our own crab pot into the deep, hoping for a big catch! With weather threatening we docked at Tenakee Springs for two nights.

A leisurely walk into Tenakee Springs from the dock to enjoy the uniqueness of living in Alaska with Jay, our captain!  The quaint Alaskan town had a Post Office, a General Store,  a VFD, and a museum.  Following our walk we indulged in margaritas!

Up early this morning we pulled our crab pots from the depths to discover our bounty of Dungeonous crabs!  Crab will definitely be on the menu today!  

Back to the dock for a hearty Alaskan breakfast by Cook Tim! Plus Captain Jay went into town for some homemade cinnamon rolls!   

Breakfast was Alaskan size with the huge fresh baked cinnamon rolls.  Sally, another guest and I went on a hike to try and walk off our breakfast armed with our cameras and bear spray.  Later Jay, our captain took us into town to the museum and general store in the dingy in a light rain! A crab boil on the dock provided all you could eat crab!

Stuffed, a movie and a quiet evening we turned in for the night!

After another hearty breakfast we headed toward Baranof Springs motoring down the Chatham Straight. It was a long day of cruising, the seas weren’t bad but just miles and miles of Alaska out the port window!  It seemed Baranof Springs was a popular spot when we idled in.  We traded some of our crab for a spot at the dock. 

 I gathered up my towel and headed for a soak in the Public Bath House, a real treat!  Water from Baranof Hot Springs mixed with some mountain cold water provides the perfect soak with a million dollar view.  Walking back to the ship I noticed that Tim was preparing NY strips to be grilled for dinner.  After dinner we boarded the zodiac and we went up Saltchuck to a beautiful pristine spot only reached at high tide!  Another soak and then we joined a group on the dock to listen to some folk music!  

 Lines baited, halibut was the plan as we stopped at Point Godner.  We caught a few nice size halibut when I hooked a big gal!  The line was buzzing as it came off the reel, and the battle was on!  I would gain a little only to have the fish take off twice as much line.  It was give and take for quite some time, but I was determined to win!  After about an hour I began to gain some headway……but my arm was growing tired!  Finally after almost a hour and a half Justin slipped a rope around the creatures tail for the boat winch to pull it up to be measured out of the water.  

It measured 68 inches and was approximately 165  pounds….just below the 72 inch limit for a non resident to keep!  So after a few photos it was back into the deep she went!

What a battle! The rest of the day was a cruise to the Tracy Arm Glacier area, with whales all along our path cruising along! We pulled into No Name Bay for dinner….halibut of course fried in a beer batter!   Dinner was amazing and we stuffed ourselves, fishing makes you very hungry!

We pulled into the Tracy Arm Fjord area pretty early the next morning, on a beautiful sunlit day!  Perfect glacier viewing weather! We viewed both Sawyer and South Sawyer glaciers up close.  Jay presented me with a commemorative mug as a keepsake for my trip on the front deck of the boat! Lunch was a big pot of seafood chowder prepared by Tim, which hit the spot!  

Dinner that night after a long day of boating was Prime Rib with all the trimmings.  Finishing my packing for departure to Juneau hotel about lunch on Saturday was on my agenda.  Walking around Juneau which was still very quite,I made at stop at the public library to use the WiFi before having dinner at the Hangar Restaurant.  It was a short night at the Aspen Suites Hotel before my 5:30 am flight back to Texas!

Alaska never disappoints in its grandeur and breathtaking beauty!  The up close photo opportunity with the bears at Pavlov Point was a highlight, and of course landing my Texas size halibut (68 inches and 165 pounds) will be etched in my memory forever. 

Thanks Alaska for all the great memories!

Juneau- Red Dog Saloon & Duck farts

Auke Bay-Northern Dream Yacht Dock

Pavlov Point-Brown bears and Whales

Tenakee Springs-Cinnamon rolls

Baranof Springs-Bath House

Gardner Point-Halibut fishing

No Name Bay-Fried halibut

Tracy Arm Fjords-Glaciers

Auke Bay-Northern Dream Yacht Dock