Ketchikan Alaska

 

Port Call

The port call in Ketchikan Alaska allowed Tronster and Sunshine to explore another city in the last frontier.  Ketchikan Alaska.  This little fishing village has a lot to offer.  Even if you do not visit the Misty Fjord National Monument or the Totem Bright State Historic Site.  Our landing party went for a walk through the town.  Although our ship was docked about 5 miles from the center, the bus provided by the cruise line was comfortable and entertaining.  The bus drivers tend to provide commentary from the pier to the city.

Historic Creek Street

This little board walk has many restored buildings.  Here you will find several local shops, with nick nacks and souvenirs.  This was the location of some businesses from the gold rush, that were, shall we say, of ill repute.  

Get Something to eat!

There are some great eateries in the town.  We decided on the little place seen in the video.  I had fish tacos, while Sunshine enjoyed a little crab.  

Thanks for stopping by, come back and take a look at my older posts. I promise they are easy reads, with the exception of spelling errors and bad grammar. (Occasionally)  

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Tour Guide

 

When the family comes to visit.

I live outside Washington DC.  Sunshine and I have family all over the United States of America.  Each with their own core family members.  (You know, kids, in laws, cousins). Most people in the US will not get the chance to see the White House, or the Capital in their lifetime.  However, we always have an open invitation for our family to come and visit.  I wanted to share a few tips I like to use to make the trip (and the visit) as enjoyable as possible.

Talk before they arrive

The Washington DC area has many sites to visit.  I find it always a good idea to understand a couple of things before the family arrives.  For instance, you have to have an appointment for certain activities in the area. (a tour of the White House for example).  Other attractions may require an appointment or may be under construction.   Here are some of the questions I ask:

• How much time do we have for touring?
• Is there one thing you must see before you go home?
• Do you have any appointments you must make?
• How long will you be with us?

All of these questions will assist you in making the trip as fun as possible.  

Set expectations

I think is is also important to let your guest know what to expect.  In my case, I tell them there is a lot of walking.  Parking is limited in the city, and therefore, we normally park in one area and walk around.  We can also take advantage of the local metro service.  It all depends on what the family wants to see.  (and if there are any mobility challenges)

Tell them about the weather that time of year.  Along with the weather, I will look into the different attractions and see if any are closed during the visit.  We don't want your family to be disappointed when they get here.  

Let them know about the travel times between attractions. We need to remember they are not from around your area.  They do not understand the traffic, and travel times.  

Plan the visit

If you need to take time off from work, or not.  Take in all the information they provided you, and your local knowledge, and make a rough plan.  My family does not like detailed plans.  I generally come up with an outline.  

• Where I plan to take them and when.  
• Where I an going to park.
• Where we will eat a meal.
• Daily start times and approximate return to home base times. 

Most times we host visitors, it's a day trip to downtown.  Family like to see the White House, the Washington Monument and Lincoln memorial. A good day of walking with the possibility of catching a few extra outdoor memorials along the way. 

Have fun!!

There was a general or commander that once said "All battle plans are great until you have first contact with the enemy."  it means, you can have the best plans, but when you start to execute those plans, life and things happen.  I think this is one of the reasons I like an outline as opposed to a detailed plan for family visits. Be prepared to answer questions for your family.  It makes them think you are really smart (a bonus), and they will get more out of the visit.  

Take photos with and for them.  In my case, I travel to the Washington DC 10 or more times a year.  I have taken enough bad photos to know, don't stand in front of the Washington Monument for a picture.  It looks like a horn.

I appreciate you visiting the site.  Please let me know some of your tips and tricks for being a family tour guide. 

Juneau Alaska

 

Cruise day 3

The Salmon Run

 

Where are you Tronster?

Sunshine and I were able to take a nice vacation to Alaska.  More details later, first I wanted to share the site and amazement I felt when learning about the Salmon.

The Pacific Northwest is known for salmon.  This year I am sure was no different than previous years.  The Salmon Run was almost over while we ere visiting.  Sitka Alaska gavels an opportunity to see a large number of Salmon.  As a fisherman, I found the hustle and bustle of the run to be very exciting.  As someone who eats what he catches, and not a fan of Salmon, I was still impressed. 

Salmon, which are born and spawn in freshwater, live most of their lives in saltwater.  Apparently this is not true for all species of Salmon.  (I did not know there was some freshwater Salmon). The life in the open ocean, lasts between 3 and 5 years for the salmon we observed.  They have been tracked to travel thousands of miles to return to fresh water. It has been studied and determined they also have a homing type sense.  They generally return to the same waters they were born to spawn and lay eggs.  Who knew. 

I also learned that salmon will rapidity age and deteriorate after spawning.  So if the bears, eagles, hawks, or humans don’t get’em, they just die.  While walking around the different towns in Alaska, I personally witnessed several salmon just dying.  I was told we were there towards the beginning, so several were still active, but in a couple of weeks, the smell may be a touch more prevalent. 

Thanks for checking out my little blog, please come back, and check out some more. 

Tronster

Vacation Cruise

 

NCL Sun and Alaska Cruise

Turning 50

That's right folks, your host has turned the corner on life and is now 50 years of age.  For s special treat, Sunshine decided to take me on a cruise.  What a great surprise.  I may also suggest this for anyone who wants to celebrate a special day, the cruise lines work very hard, and this was no exception.

Our Cruise

Alaska has always been on my bucket list.  Which now I can safely mark off the list.  Sunshine, along with 4 other couples, picked a 10 day cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines.   This is a cruise line we have used before, and we like them.  In all fairness, we have only been on. two cruise lines.  So far, NCL is our favorite.  

There are several itineraries to choose from, ours started in Seattle

1. Seattle Washington
2. At Sea
3. Juneau Alaska
4. Skagway Alaska
5. Hubbard Glacier Alaska (At Sea)
6. Sitka Alaska
7. Icy Straight Point, Alaska
8. Ketchikan Alaska
9. At Sea
10. Victoria British Columbia (Canada)
11. Seattle Washington

The Ship

Pictured above is the NCL Sun.  A smaller, slightly older ship, with all the comforts of a hotel and resort.  Minus some of the fancy water park amenities.  But we are in Alaska, so who wants to ride a water slide?  The Norwegian Sun has 14 dining options, 12 bars, a casino, basketball court, fitness center, spa and much more to entertain.  They have a smaller crew of just over 900, and can accommodate right around 1900 guests.  I don't think the cruise was full for our journey, but I honestly do not know.  

The Cruise

Here is where I will be a little vague, on purpose.  Why?  I want to post more details in the near future about the different stops and activities.  Needless to say there are several different things you can do, to enjoy a shipboard day, a day at port, or a birthday celebration.  

Thank you for stopping by, and come back to see more. 

3 things to do for a Trip

1. Cut the grass.

If you live within a neighborhood with a Home Owners Association, the this may be the most important pre-trip activity. Okay, not exactly true. However, to avoid any hate mail from the local volunteer or the professional management company, you should cut the yard where it will remain in compliance until your return.  This may require you to lower the deck. Or my case, run the mower over the yard twice

2  Hold the Mail!!!

Another pre-trip activity should be to hold the mail. This does a couple of things. It does not give away to a casual observer you are not home. A small bit of extra security. Also, I have found the post office will not deliver all the junk mail I receive when I travel. Bonus! 

The post office has made it so easy  to hold the mail. Go to their website, click on services and have them hold your mail. You will have verify your address is “eligible” , which I suspect covers most people. You can select to have it delivered or make arrangements to pick it up at your local postal office. 

3. Pack Appropriately 

Check the wether and get your stuff ready. Think about your activities. Make sure you a little bit extra. The way airlines are charging now, don’t be afraid to use something more than once. There are some items are 1 time only. 

Well, stay tuned. Look for more advice ,  or comment below on additional steps. 

The joys of Home Ownership

 Owning a Home

When young(er) people tell me they are buying their first home.  I always tell them, you will never be able to say "I have nothing to do this weekend".  You might say "I'm not doing anything this weekend."  Be warned, there is always something to do.

Some Saturdays, I cut the grass. (During spring and summer, more so).  Other's I do odd jobs around the house.  This was an odd job that needed to be done.

Before you start any job at your home, you should ask yourself a few things before you get started.  Kind of a self assesment.

Three Questions:

1.  Can I hurt myself

If I do this myself, could I hurt myself.  This should always be the first question.  Will I be working on a ladder?  How high up?  Is there a chance I could loose a finger, go blind, fall over, start a big fire?  

You may laugh, but you should consider this for all of the home improvement jobs you do.

2. Will it cost a lot more if I screw it up?

We all know the cost of having someone else do the work can be very expensive.  If you are trying to save a buck, you may decide to do it yourself.  Not to mention the satisfaction you get when you complete it yourself.  (You guys know what I am talking about)

But if you make a mistake and have to have someone else finish, what is the cost difference?  Or, can you live with the mistake?

3.  Will this embarrass the spouse?

I also ask myself this question.  Because, it is hard to embarrass me, however, the spouse may not be as forgiving.  I say spouse, because there are a lot of DIY ladies out there, and I say "Go Girl!!"

Now that the self assesment is over, and I have research some of the DIY "experts", lets see "How I did it!"

The Window Sill refresh!

This was a simple little item, that will take the good part of a day to do it right.  So, I made my way to the Home Depot.  

Materials:

• paint
• Paint Pan
• Paint brush
• Paint Roller
• Caulk
• Stir still 
• Painter tool (my old one was warn out)
• Tape (already had some)
• Plastic
• Cleaning stuff

Clear the area, prep the space and paint away.

In the video, made with iMovie, you can see the different stages of the project as I worked my way through.

Outline of steps:

1. Clear the area.  I had to remove all the stuff we keep on the sill. In addition, I cleared the area around the sill.  Did not want any paint on my coffee pot.
2. Clean the area.  I used a pre-smoked cleaning sponge.  I have used them in the past and find they are easy for cleaning small areas and do a good job.
3. Prep the area.  I taped off the window edges and the countertop where I will be working.
4. Prepare the paint.  I mixed it up, and poured into the paint pan.
5. I applied two coats of paint.
6. Removed the tape, and restored all the stuff

Simple project, took a couple of hours.  Check out the video:

Breakfast with Tronster

 The Gear:

• Go Pro 10
• Newer head mount for Go Pro
• Frying Pan
• 2 eggs
• Mrs Dash

What you watching:

As I continue to explore and try to improve my skills, I attempt to vlog more activities.  Here you see I am making some breakfast.  Using the Go Pro camera on a head mount.  I tried to keep the noggin from wobbling so no one gets ill watching it.

I edited this in iMovie, and my skills are still lacking.  I continue to explore new features.  

Enjoy the quick clip, and give me some suggestions.  

WTF: Well that's fantastic!!

 

The Situation

I try to maintain this site with some consistency.  Let's facing, writing a full post here, takes a little longer than writing a quick post on FACEBOOK.  I spent a few days researching if it was possible to link the two, fairly easily.  

What Happened?

You see there are a few posts on the page that are blank.  BLANK.  That's like listening to the radio and hearing nothing.  Dead Air!  It turns out, the links or whatever, have been removed.  I am not a computer programing.  So I am not sure what exactly happened.  But I have no fear.  I will continue to post here and just link to the Facebook Fan Page.  At least that still seems to work. 

Special Thank you!!

I want to thank each of you visiting the site, and let you know, I am aware I am breaking the rules of a successful blog.  (Or if you were to search, How to make money blogging).  I do not have a niche, just a diary.  I hope she find it entertaining and resourceful.  

I want to thank you all for stopping by, and say, come back when you can.  Click follow.  

Tronster

Owls in the Yard

Owls in the yard

The past week I have seen a few owls in the yard.  Below there is a link to the video I grabbed the other day.

Flight of the Owl 

Back yard antics

Wild animals in the yard

I was able to capture a couple of funny moment out of the yard the other day.  These squirrels are having a great time.  I was able to get my phone, which I normally do not carry in the yard, and capture a couple of great clips.  It won't take long to watch.  

Thanks for visiting.

 

Testing Facebook Code: Part 2

Facebook Linking

This may seem tedious and boring for the readers.  But if this works, there will be additional steps that I found to be a good part of my workflow. 

 

New Logo

 New Logo for the site.

Episode 6: London River Cruise

Day Trip in London:

Sunshine and I had a day long layover with our recent trip to Europe.  I wanted to share some video from that day.  The cruise was a blast.  The tour guide was entertaining as well as informative.   This was part of the package with the Hop-on Hop-off bus ticket we purchased.  As I mention before, these are great deals for getting around in big cities. 

Link to Facebook Test

 

Episode 5: TRONSTER on the Danube

 Thanks to GoPro for helping. Enjoy the clip.

Vlog Episode 4: fishing adventures

 

Where the Rhine begins

 

The Rhine River

The Rhine river runs throughout Europe through several countries.  During our trip, we were able to stop off at the beginning.  At least that is what our tour guide said.  These are the Rhine Falls.  A great place to visit and spend a couple of Swiss Francs.  The River is about 760 miles long and goes through Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands (and three other countries).  I have read it is the longest river in Germany.  I myself have seen it in several German cities on my travels.  

As our tour bus pulled into the parking area, the quick pace of our tour allowed for a 30 minute visit.  Turns out this is a great amount of time.  We were able to see the falls, walk around a little, grab a quick bite and and take a few pictures.  Have no fear, I will add a few more photos in the coming days.   I am a nature person, but when the crowds are present, the quick stop was just the right amount of time.  

In all my adventures, I have visited a few famous falls.  Niagara Falls , Great Falls and Black Forest to name a couple.  Check out those posts if you have a minute.  

As I work to produce additional updates for the site, keep coming back.  I really appreciate the feedback.  There will be more posts from our recent adventure.  This will include some reviews of the products Sunshine and I used, information from the tour company we used.  The different hotels we stayed in, and the overall value from our investment in our vacation.  

Returning to Casa de Tronster

 

The end of a Holiday

The Europeans call a vacation a holiday. If a holiday is on the calendar so be it, if not, it’s still a holiday. Like all trips, this one is coming to a close. Here at the airport. Waiting in security I am making my way to the gate. The hotel dropped us off super early so we got checked in quick 

The Frankfurt airport is pretty easy to navigate when you get here. So I’m not worried about

Got to go and get on the plane.