Riding out Storms...

In case you didn't know...there is a lot of rain in Ketchikan. It is located right in the middle of the Tongass National Forest which happens to be the largest rainforest in North America...making Ketchikan one of the rainiest cities in North America. In fact they get an average of 160 inches of rain each year.

Tree down on Creek Street

Well on Tuesday morning we had some driving rain...we also had a little wind. And by a little wind, I mean winds around 100 mph. The largest gust was actually clocked at 104 mph. Lets just say this wasn't in the forecast...and not really anything that I was expecting in AK. I mean I managed to live on islands on the east coast for 6 1/2 years and never have winds that high.

Thankfully did managed to sleep through most of the storm. I woke up around 5:30 (which is around the time the power went out) to the house swaying and the trees moving back and forth...then I just went back to sleep.

View from my living room window

Now I can live without power most places...but it's still pretty cold here in Ketchikan, especially with winds and rain! So our house got a little chilly. Thankfully the power company got all the power back on by mid-afternoon, and there wasn't too much damage! There was a tree that went down just up the road.

Today was my first day of work, where I learned that the winds hadn't been that string here in over 15 years...go figure. We had a great orientation and I really enjoyed getting to know some of the captains and other crew members. I am looking forward to all of the new skills that I am going to be able to learn from everyone else!

While at training I saw a couple harbor seals playing around the boats. And I can't count the number of eagles I saw. They are everywhere! This afternoon I sat on my couch with my binoculars and watched 2 different eagles move from the top of one boat mast to the other. I don't think I will ever get over walking down the street and having 4 eagles fly over your head like it is nothing!

Soon cruises will start coming in, and it will be non-stop. And I'm sure there will be many more storms and exciting wildlife to come! So for the next few days I will enjoy the slow training schedule! And after that...I'll just ride out the rest of the storms as they come!

I made it to Alaska...

Ketchikan...I finally made it!!

So after a wonderful two week West Coast road-trip, I finally made it! 

My flight left Seattle at about 7 PM west coast time (10 PM for all of you at home on the east coast). Thankfully dad's flight was a couple hours later so we got to hang out in the airport before my flight, and he got this lovely picture of my plane.

I had a great flight and arrived in Ketchikan at 7:50 PM local time (about midnight for all of you at home...yes it is a 4 hour time difference). Ketchikan is known because it is the rainiest city in North America...but the movement my plane touched down there was a beautiful rainbow! I'm taking that as a sign of the wonderful summer to come! 

View from the trail over the harbor

Creek Street

After a good nights sleep it was time to face the rain head on and check out a few things around town! Most of the places are still closed since tourists don't officially arrive until this weekend, but we still managed to find a few neat places. We took a walk up creek street and found a cute little trail that ran along a creek to a salmon ladder (it helps the fish get up stream), and it led us to an adorable little bookstore. We also went into work and did some paperwork...but basically today was a day for relaxing and exploring. 

I have one more day to relax and explore before work starts Wednesday! I'm looking forward to the wonderful season that we are going to have here! I'm sure it will be full of new friends and wonderful adventures...and I will keep you updated on them all! 

Take Me Out to the Ballgame....

Seattle

When we finally reached Seattle I was exhausted. After two weeks of constant on the go traveling, I was spent and I also wasn't feeling 100%. So after taking a ferry boat across the Puget Sound (it was awesome!), dad and I opted to rest before the game. 

We took the light rail from the airport to the stadium, which was pretty great, it dropped us off right outside. Keeping with tradition, we arrived as soon as the gates open (2 hours before the game)! Safeco field was pretty cool. Even with the roof closed the sides are still open so that it has an open air effect. When we got there the roof was closed, but because it was a beautiful sunny day (that doesn't happen very often in Seattle), they opened the roof up for us so we could enjoy an evening of baseball under blue skies! 

As always I headed down to the field to try my luck with autographs and getting a ball. But I left my wonderful faithful glove (the one my wonderful Softball coaches had to piece together in HS because my hand was so small and has been with me to every game for almost 10 years) back in Va. So when I was standing down next to the field before the game and a liner came flying towards me, I had a slight heart attack. Turns out it bounced way over my head anyways and I had no chance. And this would be my first game in years I would leave without a ball or an autograph! 

Seattle was hosting the Twins, and the game was pretty much a blow-out to the Twins. The nachos were alright

(this is how I judge ballparks, Cincinnati has the best I've had), and it was too cold outside to get my ice-cream in a mini-helmet (my favorite souvenir). ! It was cool to see Tori Hunter back with the Twins, and I always love seeing Robbie Cano out of a Yankees uniform, but the best part was that I got to be at a game with dad (and they gave away free bear hats...see picture)! And for those of you who know me well...you know that is one of my favorite things in the world! 

So the game was a blow out, and we ended up leaving early (something we never ever do!)...but I got to spend my last night in the lower 48 at a baseball game with my daddy! And I can't think of anything that could have been better than that! 

Rain...Sun...Snow...Olympic National Park!

Day 12: Olympic National Park

Well the plan for today was to head back down south and check out Cape Disappointment State Park then head over to Mt. Saint Helens, but as we all know things don't always go as planned. Most of the roads to Mt. Saint Helen's are still closed from snow, so instead we decided to head north. 

We drove HWY 101 all the way up the coast of Washington. It ran in and out of the Olympic National Forest and Park the entire way. As the title says for today, we had a variety of weather. The whole morning drive was 5 minutes in sunshine, then 15 minutes in down pour, just to go on to another 5 minutes in sunshine. So during a brief period of sunshine we stopped for a picnic lunch. The entire Northern Coastline of Washington is part of the Olympic National Park, so we had a lovely beach view for our picnic lunch! 

After lunch we continued 101 through Forks, yes the same Forks from Twilight...we didn't stay long haha. There wasn't much to see besides a few stores that were selling Twilight merchandise. Then we headed on towards Port Angeles, this is where the Visitors center to the park was. 101 bordered Cresent Lake on the North side of the park, which was a beautiful drive. Because Olympic NP contains a temperate rain-forest, everything is so beautiful and green.

Once we reached Port Angeles, the sun came out. And it was a beautiful sight to see the snow-covered peaks of the mountains in the park in the sunlight.  Across the Strait of Juan de Fuca was Vancouver Island and the San Juan Islands! There was also a neat little Marine Center right on the pier. It had a couple of touch tanks with some sea stars, urchins, and sea cucumbers along with a couple more tanks with some cute little octopus.

We finally headed into the main entrance at Olympic National Park. We stopped by the visitors center and saw a few exhibits on animal tracks and sounds of nature. They had a video on the park with some cool footage of the area. Once again it reminded me how thankful I am for Teddy Roosevelt for having such a huge impact on the National Parks system! 

After the visitors center we made our way up the road towards Hurricane Ridge. We stopped at an overlook not to far up the road that had a great view of Port Angeles and the temperature was 48 (this is important). We continued up the mountain and started to notice there were some snow covered trees on a few of the other peaks in the area. Then we started to see a few snow flakes...so we figured we would quickly get to the top before the center closed! Once we reached the top there was a couple inches of snow on the ground and it was snowing pretty good! It looked like a Winter Wonderland and was 29 degrees...just another chapter in the never ending adventure! 

I've said it before but everyone should go out and #findyourpark! It was such a privilege to enjoy 2 of our parks during National Park week! They were both amazing and so different from each other! Well on to Seattle tomorrow... 

Washington...Number 50!!!

Day 11: Oregon and Washington Coast

Today started off with typical Pacific Northwest weather. It was dreary and spitting rain, but we weren't going to let a little rain get in the way of our exploring. So we put on our rain coats and headed out for the day. 

Tidal Pool finds.

We explored a couple of beaches this morning to do some beach-combing and tide-pooling. On one of the first beaches we were on I looked up the beach and thought that there was a ton of trash right at the high-tide line, then I realized there were thousands of little jellyfish. They have washed up all over the coast here in Oregon and Washington. Along with the jelllies, we found a couple of neat things on the beaches today. A sand dollar that was almost completely intact, lots of giant green anemone in the tide pools, goose and acorn barnacles.

All the white spots are jellyfish.

When we reached Cannon Beach I was super excited to see Haystack Rock! One because the tufted Puffins have started to arrive for nesting and 2 because this is the rock featured in the Goonies! I got a picture from a distance, but as we got closer the rain and fog started to pick up and i couldn't make out any birds on the island! We did have lunch at this neat little place called Moe's...we both had chili and grilled cheese! Exactly what I wanted to keep me warm today! 

Haystack Rock

Roosevelt Elk 

After lunch I wanted to check out Ecola State Park! It is named by William Clark of the Lewis and Clark expeditions after the Native American word "ecoli" which means whale. This park was also featured in the Goonies as the area where the treasure hunt started! when we arrived at the viewing area, we were almost blown off the hill (I am not kidding...the wind was moving me). While we were there the rain started to really come down so we decided it was time to head north to Astoria. On our way out of the park we ran into a roadblock. There was a herd of Elk blocking the road (excuse the picture I was in the car and it was raining).

Before we reached Astoria we wanted to check out Fort Stevens. This is a fort set up where the Columbia River reaches the Pacific Ocean on the Oregon side. While here I saw my first, second, and third Bald Eagles on the West Coast (and I will now stop counting, because I am sure I will lose count soon). We did a little bird watching, I saw some Pacific Loons, Brant's and Pelagic Cormorants, Caspian Terns, Buffle Head ducks, and a few gulls (I am horrible at my gull ID). 

After the park we headed over the Columbia river towards Washington. The bridge across the river was 3 miles long, it was huge! While we were on the bridge we passed under the sign that said welcome to Washington and once again I missed it. Luckily once we got off the bridge there was one on the side of the road. Since this was state #50 for me, I made him pull over for pictures! This is a milestone I was just a little excited about (as you can see)! Throwing up my 50 :)

Tonight we are staying in some KOA cabins on the banks of the Willapa Bay. This is a huge National Wildlife Refuge that connects to the Pacific Ocean. I thought that ya'll might enjoy a few pictures of what the cabins looked like! 

Completing all 50 states today is something I have been working towards for a while! In 2007 dad and I took a cross country trip. At the end of that trip I had 45 states completed. In September of 2014 we went to New England and I gained Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire for 48. When I found out that I was going to get to spend my summer in Alaska, I knew that I had to get my last 2 states! I would like to thank my wonderful parents for giving me the opportunity to reach this goal at only 25! I'd especially like to thank my dad who I have now been in all 50 states with! I guess now it's time to start over...yay for Alaska as #1! 

    

Redwoods and Oregon

Day 9: Redwoods

Dad and I were up and on the road early since we had a half a day to make up! We wanted to cover the Redwoods State and National Parks plus make it into Oregon! So off we went on our part of the road trip (my mom made it safely back to the east coast today).

Our first stop was Humbolt Redwoods State Park. We got off of HWY 101 to take the 32 mile Avenue of the Giants. And we were not disappointed. The redwoods were huge trees that I can't even begin to describe! They grow in large groves throughout the park. 

The root systems on the trees that had fallen over amazed me! They were huge. At the visitors center they had a cross section of a tree that had fallen down in 2006 with markers to events that had happened at each growth ring on the tree. This tree was estimated to be over 1,500 years old.

Today I also crossed into Oregon! This is state #49 for me on my quest for all 50! I tried to get a picture of the welcome to Oregon sign, but we were in a moving car and I failed. We stayed the night just south of Bandon, OR in a KOA Kabin. Basically it was a full bed, a heater, and a bunk bed. It was a cozy little cabin that we spread our sleeping bags out in for almost 12 hours of sleep...we were exhausted!

Day 10: Oregon Coast

Today started off with breakfast at a cute little cafe in Bandon, OR with wonderful coffee and biscuits and gravy! Then I tried to visit the Washed Ashore workshop and warehouse, but they were only opened from 1-5 so that wasn't an option. For those of you who have never heard of Washed Ashore, they make art out of trash found on the beach! You can check them out by clicking here. I did manage to find a fish made out of plastic, aluminum cans and Styrofoam.

After Bandon we headed up the coast to check out the Sand Dunes of Oregon! They were awesome! They have ATV and safari tours that you can ride up and down the dunes if that is your thing. We chose to just walk out on them (it is legal here...no nesting Sea Turtles)! They went on for miles and miles! 

Afterwards we continued to head north. We stopped to see a light house just south of Neptune Beach State Park. Where we also did some beach-combing (the tide was coming in so it wasn't great...but still a little) where I found a by-the-wind jellyfish! I'm holding the little jelly on top of the rock here. He was just bigger than my finger. 

Then we stopped at Neptune for a picnic! By this point we were back to rocky coastline with sandy beaches sprinkled in between. We stopped in Newport to see the fishing town, and found some California Sea lions who had taken over more of the piers. Our last stop was in Depoe Bay, the smallest harbor in the world. They have to time the entrance into the harbor with the waves and basically surf! Today was super windy so I don't think any boats were making their way in or out. 

We ended our Earth Day with a beautiful sunset at Road End State Park. I believe it may be the last day we see the sun for a while, it is supposed to rain the next couple of days! We are staying at another KOA Kabin tonight...just outside of Lincoln City, OR. 

   

San Francisco

Day 6: Travel

Day 6 was spent traveling to San Francisco. But I did finally get to eat an In and Out Burger, and it was fantastic! Thanks Bob and Bev for recommending it! 

Day 7: Explore

Since we only had a day in San Francisco we chose to take a bus tour around the city. And what better way to enjoy the city than through a Double Decker Bus. So we jumped on an rode around the city and across the bridge listening to our wonderful tour guide for about 3 hours.        

                  

The great thing about being on the bus, was I got to actually look at everything as opposed to driving! We got to see Lombard street, the first bookstore to sell paperback books in America, the Cobb Comedy Club (where Robin Williams got his start), and much much more! It was a beautiful sunny day in San Fran, except of course the bridge! I about froze to death going across the bridge in the fog on the top deck of the bus! We did manage to get a few pictures of the bridge which was nice! 

After the while tour we decided to hang out at Fisherman's Wharf for a while! We had some wonderful seafood! Mom had fish and chips and I had fish, shrimp, and calamari...both were excellent! WE hung out with some sea lions that had taken over part of pier 39, got some great views of Alcatraz (unfortunately we didn't have time to go on a tour!), and found some cute little shops! 

Day 8: Wait on Dad

Dad was supposed to arrive around 12:30 PM West Coast Time. Dad actually arrived about 11:00 PM West Coast Time. He arrived at the RDU airport at 4:00 AM...2 canceled flights and 2 delays later he finally got to leave around 7:45 PM! On a positive note for me...since his flight was delayed I got some amazing authentic Mexican food in San Bruno! 

After he finally got there we rented are car and headed north. We wanted to be out of San Fran by the next morning so we wouldn't have to fight rush-hour traffic. At about 1 AM we arrived at a hotel in Sonoma for a few hours of sleep...but that is just another chapter in the never ending adventure :)

Yosemite National Park

Day 5:

Yosemite National Park

View from the trail to Mirror Lake

This week is National Park week, and to celebrate we wanted to enjoy one of the oldest National Parks! In 1890 Yosemite National Park was opened, so this year is the 125 anniversary of this beautiful park. It is the 3rd most visited National Park in the Country with almost 4 million visitors a year.

Half Dome

Lower Yosemite Falls 

The park had many sights to be seen. And with very little time we chose to take the shuttle around Yosemite Valley so that we could take everything in. We also chose to do a few short hikes as well so we could take in a few off road sights. The first being the hike up to the Lower Yosemite Falls and the second was the hike to Mirror Lake.

The hike to the falls was pretty short and really crowded. So I climbed over a few boulders and logs and made my way down to the stream so I could enjoy a little less crowded view. Plus a cute little squirrel came by to play! 

Mirror Lake...view from the rock dam

Then we chose to take the trail instead of the road to Mirror Lake. It followed a stream all the way up and led to some pretty amazing views! The upper lake is separated from the lower lake by a rock dam (basically there are a few rocks with some logs that have gotten caught). And this was our way across the lake to the road for the trip back down (plus one of the best pictures I got of the day)! Lets just say it was an adventure...but really whats new! 

Pileated Woodpecker 

El Capitan

Basically Yosemite is very hard to describe through words, so here are some pictures that kind of capture it. But basically, you really just need to come out and see for yourself! Or really, just get out and #findyourpark during National Parks week! I promise you won't regret it!  

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Day 4: 

Monterey Bay Aquarium

Well after many years of waiting, I finally made it! And I can say for sure that it did not disappoint! Not only were all of the exhibits amazing, the staff were some of the friendliest people that I have ever met! All of the employees and volunteers were extremely helpful and knowledgeable! In fact I don't have one bad thing to say about this amazing place! They even gave me a button for my birthday with my name written on it and some wonderful artwork!! 

When we first arrived we went out onto the viewing deck and the volunteer pointed out 2 Humpback Whales in the harbor immediately! They also pointed out different species of birds, harbor seals, sea lions, and a few sea otters! If you didn't have binoculars they had some very nice ones that they were happy to let you borrow! 

Sea Nettles

After exploring a little we went on a behind the scenes Jellyfish tour. We had a wonderful guide who was a volunteer named Joe. He was fantastic! I have been on quite a few behind the scenes tours at a lot of aquariums and he is one of the best I have ever had! Not only was he informative, but he went above and beyond when after the tour he called down one of the biologists because he thought I might want to talk to her since I was a marine science major. 

 7 Gill Shark 

So after our tour I met with one of the Interpreters/Biologists named Rachel to talk about some of the Jellyfish research that was ongoing at the aquarium. After we talked jellies for a little while she took me to look at some of their baby shark and corals behind the scenes. All of this because she heard that I was interested in marine biology! 

Pacific Green Sea Turtle 

In my opinion, the Monterey Bay Aquarium has some of the friendliest staff and volunteers that I have ever come across. They made my visit way more personal! I am still blown away by how above and beyond that they were willing to go for their guests! It will definitely be a place that I will encourage people to visit, and that I will be returning to!  

Day 2 and 3...Drive from San Diego to Monterey!

Day 1: San Diego to Grover Beach

First Stop: Santa Monica.
We had a picnic lunch on the beach in Santa Monica right next to the pier. I stuck my toes in the Pacific Ocean for the first time in about 17 years. It was pretty chilly, which is exactly what I remembered it as! Good to know that some things never change! After our picnic we walked around on the pier and checked out some of the rides and little shops. Then we took some time to walk around the down town area. I loved that there is basically a park on the beach. There were swings, monkey bars, slack lines, and more (for both kids and adults).

Second Stop:
Traffic on a freeway that was 16 lanes wide.
This stop happened around the exit for Hollywood and Malibu. And it was horrible, but I managed to drive through all the traffic like a pro. I love Southern California, but the traffic is something I'm not sure I could get used to.

Last Stop:
Pismo Beach State Park
We stopped just outside Grover Beach to watch the sun sink into the Pacific Ocean! It was our first Pacific Ocean Sunset! But thankfully for me, it won't be my last!

Day 2: Pacific Coast Highway (PCH)

The PCH was one of the most beautiful roads I have ever ridden on, it also terrified me. The water color is out of this world, the wild life is incredible, and you never know what to expect around the next corner (as in you may very well find the lane fell off into the ocean)! I recommend that everyone should do it once in their life (just make sure you are with a good driver)!

Wild Life:
Around Hearst Castle we stopped because the sign said Elephant Seal Viewing. The females had taken over the beach! It is molting season right now, so they are all out of the water for a few weeks to shed their coats! While we were here we also saw our first whale sighting! A mom and calf Grey whale pair migrating north!











Our other great wildlife encounter came at Point Lobos State Reserve. We were told by a docent that we must check out Bird Island, so we headed there for our picnic! I hiked the trail out to Bird Island (a large Brandt's Cormorant Rookery) only to find a beach with mom and baby Harbor Seals and Sea Otters swimming in the cove on the way.



On the 17 mile drive in Carmel we stopped at Bird Rock to see all of the sea lions and seals that were overtaking the rock. We also found some more cormorants and sea otters along with Black Turnstones and Black Oyster Catchers! It was an incredible wildlife day!


Sights:

On the PCH basically the entire drive was an amazing sight! But we did stop and see a few things along the way. The waterfall at Julia Pfiefer Burns State Park was Beautiful! And the view across on the other side of the park was just amazing (and yes the water really is that BLUE)!

Bixby Bridge was another one of the beautiful stops that we made along the PCH. This is the view looking back at the bridge after we had already driven over it!

We stopped in Carmel and enjoyed a beautiful beach! Then we took the scenic 17 mile drive. We saw Pebble Beach and a couple of other golf courses, along with some pretty fantastic views of Monterey!

Overall the 2 days were an experience like no other! While both very different, both still worth doing! I still can't get over how beautiful that blue water is! Plus the sightings of whales always makes me happy! And really, who can pass up an amusement park on a pier!