Wrangell, Alaska

July 27, 2015

Our tour today was another Bear adventure hopefully today we get the chance to see some.

We disembarked the ship at the pier and met up with a covered, heated boat and took a twenty-five-mile ride to Anan, traveling via Eastern Passage.

Upon arrival at the Anan, we were greeted at the trailhead by U.S. Forest Service personnel, who gave us a brief orientation of what we were going to do and see. Beginning this month pink salmon arrives at Anan Creek to spawn which attracts brown and black bears, bald eagles and harbor seals.

The walk to the observatory was 20 minutes long and about a 1/2 mile in length, we had one guy in the front with a shotgun and one guy in the back with a rifle. When we got to the observatory, we had 90 minutes of bear watching.  We even saw a bear catch a salmon and eat it in the creek.  The current was so strong in the creek, it didn’t even faze the bears which was wild to see how powerful they are.

Follow us on our journey our next destination is Juneau, Alaska.

Ketchikan, Alaska

July 26, 2015

Today we flew on a floatplane first time I’ve ever been on one which was cool.  The flight was twenty-five minutes of breathtaking views of homesteads, mountains with dense forest, pristine lakes and a great view of inside passage shaped by massive glaciers.

When we landed, we were met by this Alaskan Naturalist who lives in the forest.  After a short drive to the trail w got out of the jeep and began our half mile hike to a viewing platform that overlooks a stream brimming with salmon.  Although they don’t guarantee we see Bears, this is a good place to try and see them since they know that’s where they can get salmon.  We ended up only seeing a small black bear sitting in our path, but once he saw us, he ran into the forest.  

Follow us on our journey our next destination is Wrangell, Alaska.

Maria & John – with our friends Isaac and Michael

Maria

Astoria, Oregon

July 22, 2015

Today we continued our drive to Astoria, Oregon driving up the Pacific coast. It’s impressive to see such a different landscape. Growing up in Downstate New York it’s not mountainous although it’s beautiful it’s very different. We saw signs that said Tsunami evacuation route which is scary to see. Another great thing was the fact that I am greek and growing up in NY I hung out in Astoria, Queens so to see another Astoria was fun. We even got a chance to visit West Coast Game Park Safari which is in Bandon, Oregon and we fed the goats and even got a chance to pet lion cub.

We stopped along the way to check out the view at the viewpoints. John and I even spoke about possibly renting a house one summer for a month to experience the beauty of the west coast.

Follow us on our journey our next stop is Seattle, Washington.

Crescent City, California

July 20, 2015

Today we drove to Crater Lake National Park. This lake is the bluest colored lake and the deepest lake in the world. You have to see this lake in person to appreciate the color of it. John and I hiked to the edge of the lake, and we were surprised that the lake is crystal clear.

After spending some time exploring Crater Lake, we then drove to Redwood National Park. Once again another jaw-dropping sighting by Mother Nature. The sheer beauty and size of these trees are breathtaking. John and I have ever seen anything like them before.

Follow us on our journey the next destination is Astoria, Oregon

John

John

Maria
John
Maria
Maria

Klamath Falls, Oregon

July 19, 2015

Today we drove from Boise, Idaho to Klamath Falls, Oregon. We drove up the Pacific Coast Highway. One cool thing is the landscape on the west coast it is very different than the east coast.

The highlight was the petting farm we visited. I love farm animals, and today I got to feed and pet goats. If I can re-do my life, I would have a farm full of donkeys, goats, horses, pigs, cows, dogs and cats. That is my ultimate love animals!

Follow us on our journey the next destination is Crescent City, California.

Tamarindo, Costa Rica 2011

May 17th – 20th, 2011

Today we flew with another couple to Costa Rica for our friends 60th birthday. We met Ben and Nancy at JFK airport at 6am to catch our flight. After a 5 hour flight we arrived at the airport and rented a car. We stayed at the JW Marriott Guanacaste in Tamarindo.

We really didn’t do much on this trip it was more of a relaxing by the pool vacation. There was only one day that we decided to drive to the rain forest after a four hour drive we finally got to the rain forest and it was closed due to too much rain. You can’t make this stuff up!

The next day John went horseback riding he said it was the best riding he has ever done. The horses were in great shape, and he was able to run and run not just walking ride.

John
Maria & John
Pretty Church

 

Arenal Volcano
A local taking a nap
John horseback riding