"The Plane, The Plane"

Many people may be unaware that Juneau is the single state capital  that can only be accessed by ship/boat and plane.  You continuously see small Cessna's landing in the water next to the port.  Anyone interested in relocating to this city may be surprised to know that the city, besides being frozen more than half the year, has forests, glaciers, lush greenery and waterfalls.
Today we had the opportunity of exploring the lush greenery as we hiked up a trail at the end of our tram ride.  The trail was called "the Father Brown's Cross (elev. 2030' ) a total of 1.5 miles round trip, but the most beautiful scenery we have ever hiked.  Green majestic mountains and a cross at the end (at the summit)  to top it off.  A true spiritual experience even with visuals to remind us.  We also got to see "Lucy" a n adult male bald eagle held in captivity due to her injuries from a gun shot wound to her left eye that left her blind some years ago (it is a crime in the USA to shoot eagles by the way)
Unfortunately other than the daytime activities, there seems to be nothing significant there (in Juneau), it's like the government  just gave up ( insert Obama  joke ).
We believe (and have the souvenirs to prove it) the entire state lives off of tourism, nevertheless Juneau IS a beautiful state Capital, it's beauty certainly makes up for many of its shortcomings.
Tomorrow we head to our last stop before we cruise for 48 hours and end our cruise in Vancouver.  We are scheduled to stop at Ketchikan, Alaska.  It is known as the salmon Capital of the USA.  Perhaps it's a good idea to have some Lox there.

P.S. We will be at sea on the the "evening" of July 3rd, and all day on the 4th of July.  We will not be able to post until July 5th when we are on US soil.

Summer in Skagway

Today we got up relatively early so that we could get ready for our first disembarkation since we set sail 48 hours earlier.
We arrived in Skagway and as promised the weather was absolutely amazing.  Sunny, crisp and beautiful.  Skagway is a single street town that has mostly souvenir and jewelry shops.  It is a mining town with mega popularity in the summer and absolutely nothing to do in the winter.  According to the locals, most people that live in Skagway in the summer, run for their lives and hibernate in another city or state in the winter.
Upon our return to our ship we had dinner then headed to the "cafe" for an array of desserts and diet unfriendly treats.  After our caloric overdose we decided that working out at the gym was absolutely not a option we could decline.  We were able to work out at the gym with the best view ever.  Since the ship was still anchored, as we worked out we could see down into the marina and the little town of Skagway.  What a nice treat to make a not so pleasant activity something enjoyable.
Tomorrow we arrive in Juneau, hopefully we are as smitten as we were today.

Glacier Bay

06/30/14
On our second day at sea we have been encouraged by our cruise ship personnel to hang out, relax and enjoy the scenery (They forgot to mention eating as one of the primary activities we should take part in).   At the end of the day we can proudly say we have successfully, triumphantly, joyously fulfilled our obligations to do as we were instructed.  We got up earlier than usual so we could have an opportunity to exercise and burn about 250 calories of the millions we were about to consume throughout the day.  It was our intention to go out on the deck and see if we could spot some whales, but if tradition serves us right we can not go this long on a Leyva vacation without some rain.  Today was that day, we woke up to gray skies and lots of rain.  Never mind whale watching it was not meant to be for us today.    Right after breakfast our ship made several stops so that we the passengers could stand in awe of the magnificent glaciers that surrounded us. Fortunately for us the rain ceased for a while and we were able to experience, Glacier Bay.   After the relaxing morning/afternoon we were invited by the cruise ship social coordinator  to participate in a paper airplane flying contest. Out of 50 or more participants nobody won at the very end. This tells us, getting the little plane through the hoop they set as the goal was  beyond challenging.
This day started peaceful and ends in the same way.  Tomorrow we stop in Skagway and we are finally able to disembark and explore a new place. Our destination is called, Skagway it is called the "Sunshine" Capitol of Alaska, for it's low moisture level.  It rains very little compared to other parts of the state.  We shall see...
Goodnight.

(Our posts are written on the day they occur, but are posted on the the first opportunity when we have internet access)

A step into Antartica (or a Kitchen Freezer)

                           
The last 24 hours have helped check off a few "First" on our lists of things we have never experienced.  1.  We had never had un-ending days.  Our eyelids were droopy and our bodies told us we needed to rest,  yet the sun was out and indicated to our brains that it was only 5:00 P.M. At midnight.   Never had we seen people so alert at 1:00 A.M. We arrived in Anchorage, got off our flight, picked up our luggage, attempted to resolve our transportation problem with regards to the transfer from Anchorage to Whittier, then proceeded to rent our car from the rental car company located at the airport.   All while it was light out as if was perhaps 6:30 A.M. On a summer day in L.A.  It was so difficult to sleep when it was light out, even with the dark thick curtains.   2.  After our brief middle of the night "nap" we got up and got ready to drive to the port of Whittier,  what a wonderful visually stimulating experience that was.  The beauty of creation at it's best.  On our way to Whittier (which is a drive of about an hour and a half from Anchorage we had to pay a toll to cross the longest, darkest, and scariest tunnel we have ever been through.  It must of been about 3 miles long and were it not for our headlights we would have been in total darkness! The kind of tunnel you see in scary movies.
3.  Towards the afternoon of our first full day, we were instructed to line the deck of the ship so we could see Hubbard Glacier,  what a cold and different experience that was!  huge magnificent pieces of ice would detach and fall into the ocean.  The temperature outside must of been in the low 30'f.  Too cold for some of us but definitely forever in our memories as something that was worth the freezing weather for.  We will see what tomorrow brings to nourish our traveling memory banks.

A cold expensive cruise

The day has final y arrived.  All our suitcases are packed, our cruise reservations made and our anticipation is all here.  All except one minor detail, we did not schedule our transportation from Anchorage to Whittier, where our cruise is scedhuled to depart from.  The distance is about 60 miles  but the difficulty of getting from one place to another is HUGE   We had never heard of renting a car  for 12 hours and greeting charged the equivalent to a week or more, apparently that is what it takes in Anchorage.  At this point all we can say is:   This cruise better be good!!

No more nights

I have been a little (ok., a lot)  diligent in posting our  vacation plans  this summer.  As a matter of fact we leave in little over a week and this is the first time I even make our destination public.
After careful consideration and some friendship ties we decided to travel to Vancouver B.C. Canada this summer.  Not without taking a week long cruise first, starting in Anchorage,  Alaska.  We will be departing from Anchorage and ending in Vancouver.  We also plan to visit our good friend(s) in Portland.  Then we will meet with the Sabot's in Vancouver and go to Gibsons for a couple of days. Finally after close to two weeks we will be flying back to Los Angeles.
I will post as often as I can during the time we are traveling, although I know it's difficult while on the cruise.... For now let the frantic planning continue.  

From Barcelona to Venice

It wouldn't be a Leyva vacation without our destined theme:  "RAIN".   As we departed the city,  our cab driver said it usually rains less than ten days in Barcelona in a year, sometimes even not at all, but guess what?  Today was one of those torrential rare moments in Barcelona, fortunately we were leaving...goodbye Barcelona, thank you for the flood.   

Thank goodness the weather in Venice promises to be mild and perfect for our plans.  Although we have had a few drizzles here and there today.  We have not been terribly affected because today we just explored the island(s) and hope to do the bulk or our sightseeing tomorrow.  Today we just had our first meal of pizza, pasta and salad and walked around just enough to take a few pictures.  Tomorrow we

plan on visiting the islands of Murano, Burano, St.  Mark square and possibly if we have time, we will squeeze in a gondola ride in the evening.  Until then 

Ciao