Everyone,
Here I go again. I had an awesome vacation, with trips to Iowa and Denver, Halloween and early Thanksgiving celebrations, and great times with friends and family. For those of you on ships, I hope to see you soon. I'll be on the Norwegian Sun, which leaves from Miami and goes to Belize, Honduras, Grand Cayman, and Cozumel. As promised, I'll get the info on friends and family cruise rates as soon as I can. I always welcome guests. I don't know when I'll be home again, but it will probably be February or March. As I won't be able to check my email as much, I again request no forwards, but I love hearing from you personally. I just might not be able to reply very quickly. I hope you all have a great year's end, with all that that entails.
Love always, Genoa
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
9/14/02: Leaving Alaska
I have just had the best four weeks ever. It's been the perfect amount of time on the Wind. People who live in places with four distinct seasons who spent the whole summer in Alaska regret that they missed the sunshine. I have loved every minute of it. But then, I live in America's Finest City, and when I go home in two weeks, it will be sunny. And when I go to the Caribbean 6 weeks after that, I'll be in sunshine up to my eyeballs.
We sail back to Vancouver later today, then from there, on Monday, we sail for Hawaii. It will take six days at sea, which will be lots of kid time. We're going to have to get very creative to keep the munchkins entertained for so long on the ship. I hope we get a good group.
My time here has been a constant post card. I'm so happy I was sent here. I've seen harbor seals on ice floes near the beautiful Sawyer Glacier. I saw Stellar sea lions and humpback whales on a whale watching trip. I saw killer whales and dolphins out the window on the ship. I helicoptered to a glacier. I went to a salmon bake. I hiked and saw a black bear. I went bear watching on a bus and saw brown bears fishing for salmon. I went dogsledding and held a 12-day old puppy. I took a tram 1,800 feet above Juneau. I bought lots of souvenirs. I ate Alaska King crab and reindeer jerky. I road tripped to the Yukon. I biked 18 miles up and down big hills. I saw bald eagles everywhere. I went to a salmon fishery. I saw salmon spawning and swimming upstream everywhere.
I wanted to come to Alaska to see wildlife. Boy have I. And I've had the best time. If you haven't been and get the chance, come up here for sure. The natural beauty of Alaska is unparalleled.
To those of you on ships, I hope to see you on the seas soon. To those of you in San Diego, I'll be home from September 27th through November 9th.
The world is a beautiful place, full of wonderful people. I've been very fortunate to see and meet so many. Live, laugh, love.
Love always, Genoa in Ketchikan
We sail back to Vancouver later today, then from there, on Monday, we sail for Hawaii. It will take six days at sea, which will be lots of kid time. We're going to have to get very creative to keep the munchkins entertained for so long on the ship. I hope we get a good group.
My time here has been a constant post card. I'm so happy I was sent here. I've seen harbor seals on ice floes near the beautiful Sawyer Glacier. I saw Stellar sea lions and humpback whales on a whale watching trip. I saw killer whales and dolphins out the window on the ship. I helicoptered to a glacier. I went to a salmon bake. I hiked and saw a black bear. I went bear watching on a bus and saw brown bears fishing for salmon. I went dogsledding and held a 12-day old puppy. I took a tram 1,800 feet above Juneau. I bought lots of souvenirs. I ate Alaska King crab and reindeer jerky. I road tripped to the Yukon. I biked 18 miles up and down big hills. I saw bald eagles everywhere. I went to a salmon fishery. I saw salmon spawning and swimming upstream everywhere.
I wanted to come to Alaska to see wildlife. Boy have I. And I've had the best time. If you haven't been and get the chance, come up here for sure. The natural beauty of Alaska is unparalleled.
To those of you on ships, I hope to see you on the seas soon. To those of you in San Diego, I'll be home from September 27th through November 9th.
The world is a beautiful place, full of wonderful people. I've been very fortunate to see and meet so many. Live, laugh, love.
Love always, Genoa in Ketchikan
9/2/02
I saw a pod of killer whales yesterday and last night the executive chef gave us a Thanksgiving-like feast in the staff mess. Complete with mashed potatoes and gravy, stuffing, candied carrots, ham, turkey, ice cream, and so much more. I was stuffed, but it was such a treat, and such a welcome change from the regular slop. Early I know, but while I'm thinking of it, Happy Rosh Hashana.
Love always, Genoa
Love always, Genoa
8/26/02: Coming Home
Don't ask me why, but I'm coming home next month for a six week vacation. I should arrive home four weeks from today (September 27?), and fly to the Caribbean the second week in November (the 9th, maybe). This means I can hopefully go to the three family weddings in October. I hope they don't overlap! Thank you so much for the great emails. I can't wait to see you all. Aunt Kathy, I can't wait to see Iowa. Send me the info and I'll do my best to come. When are Jason's and Uncle Ron's weddings?
Love always and see you soon, Genoa
Love always and see you soon, Genoa
8/23/02: Seeing It All!
I don't even know where to begin, so much has happened in my first week on the Wind. I arrived on Monday to Vancouver. We sailed through the Inside Passage on Tuesday, then to Sawyer Glacier on Wednesday. Yesterday we went to Skagway during the day and Haines at night. We hit Juneau today and tomorrow we'll go to Ketchikan. I've had such a full week, it's as if I were a passenger. Youth Counselors don't really do cruise staff duties here, so when we're not in program (at sea), we're off duty.
This morning I went on a whale watching tour. Unlike the ones I did through Sea World, the whales here were close and there were lots of them. We saw humpbacks left, right, and center. It was awesome. We also saw Stellar sea lions and bald eagles. Then, when I got back to my room, I was just in time to catch two of the girls I work with on their way to a salmon bake. So I went along, and had a wonderful lunch. Mmmm, good. I ate reindeer sausage and roasted marshmallows on a real stick! Not a hanger, but a wood stick, like from a tree! Plus there were huge, steep, green, heavily tree-ed mountainsides rising up, with skinny waterfalls trailing down them.
Yesterday, five of us rented a car and drove to the YUKON!!! We saw the world's smallest desert, which is in Carcross. Weird to see sand in such a cold, otherwise green place. I forget how it formed, sorry. We went to the Yukon capital, White Horse, and I finally saw a Tim Hortons (It's a doughnut/coffee/sandwich/soup shop for all you non-Canadians). Right near the ship, we saw salmon spawning in a shallow creek. You could reach out and touch them, they were so close. And apparently, lots of morons do, which disrupts their reproduction. So if you are ever really close to spawning salmon, show a little respect for Mother Nature, please.
The day before, as we sailed to Sawyer Glacier, we took the kids outside to watch it. Parts of it were deep blue, because the pressure of the compacted ice squeezes all the oxygen out of it. There were seals on ice floes as we passed by. They looked like Harbor seals, and someone who seemed to know confirmed it for me. As we stood on deck 11 and looked down at them, my lead, a really cool girl named Donna, got the kids to bark at the seals. For those of you who didn't grow up working at SeaWorld, let me inform you that seals, being more solitary creatures, rarely bark. You're thinking of sea lions, who are very social, and therefore, also very vocal. But I guess I can let it pass. It's a little like one of the Canadians I work with telling one of the kids nachos were small tacos! I didn't know what a quarry was until Jenn told me. It's all about where you grow up, I guess.
Tomorrow, I'm planning on going mountain biking with some of the girls. I LOVE ALASKA! It's so beautiful, in such a rugged way.
That's all the email time I can afford right now. I'll email again soon.
~~~Love always, Genoa~~~
This morning I went on a whale watching tour. Unlike the ones I did through Sea World, the whales here were close and there were lots of them. We saw humpbacks left, right, and center. It was awesome. We also saw Stellar sea lions and bald eagles. Then, when I got back to my room, I was just in time to catch two of the girls I work with on their way to a salmon bake. So I went along, and had a wonderful lunch. Mmmm, good. I ate reindeer sausage and roasted marshmallows on a real stick! Not a hanger, but a wood stick, like from a tree! Plus there were huge, steep, green, heavily tree-ed mountainsides rising up, with skinny waterfalls trailing down them.
Yesterday, five of us rented a car and drove to the YUKON!!! We saw the world's smallest desert, which is in Carcross. Weird to see sand in such a cold, otherwise green place. I forget how it formed, sorry. We went to the Yukon capital, White Horse, and I finally saw a Tim Hortons (It's a doughnut/coffee/sandwich/soup shop for all you non-Canadians). Right near the ship, we saw salmon spawning in a shallow creek. You could reach out and touch them, they were so close. And apparently, lots of morons do, which disrupts their reproduction. So if you are ever really close to spawning salmon, show a little respect for Mother Nature, please.
The day before, as we sailed to Sawyer Glacier, we took the kids outside to watch it. Parts of it were deep blue, because the pressure of the compacted ice squeezes all the oxygen out of it. There were seals on ice floes as we passed by. They looked like Harbor seals, and someone who seemed to know confirmed it for me. As we stood on deck 11 and looked down at them, my lead, a really cool girl named Donna, got the kids to bark at the seals. For those of you who didn't grow up working at SeaWorld, let me inform you that seals, being more solitary creatures, rarely bark. You're thinking of sea lions, who are very social, and therefore, also very vocal. But I guess I can let it pass. It's a little like one of the Canadians I work with telling one of the kids nachos were small tacos! I didn't know what a quarry was until Jenn told me. It's all about where you grow up, I guess.
Tomorrow, I'm planning on going mountain biking with some of the girls. I LOVE ALASKA! It's so beautiful, in such a rugged way.
That's all the email time I can afford right now. I'll email again soon.
~~~Love always, Genoa~~~
8/19/02: The Wind
Well,
I arrived on the Norwegian Wind in Vancouver today. I'm still settling in, but I wanted to let you all know I'm safe and sound. My lead sounds nice on the phone. I'm in a passenger cabin with one other youth counselor. I don't know much else yet, but I can't wait to see Alaska!
Love always, Genoa
I arrived on the Norwegian Wind in Vancouver today. I'm still settling in, but I wanted to let you all know I'm safe and sound. My lead sounds nice on the phone. I'm in a passenger cabin with one other youth counselor. I don't know much else yet, but I can't wait to see Alaska!
Love always, Genoa
8/2/02: On the Open Sea
Just a brief update of my meanderings. I'm now on my second ship, the Norwegian Star, in Hawaii. My two roommates leave Sunday, and presumably will be replaced by one. The room is huge when it's not at full occupancy (six!). Working with ten girls is a new experience for me. We hang out in each other's rooms and play with hair and give massages, while talking about guys. I'm not kidding.
For those who wanted to send care packages, always appreciated, I always forget to bring the address to the computers. I'll email it soon. I'm leaving for Alaska in two weeks, but if you're that determined...
This itinerary has a lot less free time than the Majesty, but it's fun. We put on a talent show with the kids, and it's a big hit with the parents. Last night, we spun cotton candy in Planet Kids. I'm working with Lyana this week, with the 6-9 year olds. She kept feeding me cotton candy so my energy level would be up there with the kids'. We had a blast.
Last Saturday, my friends and I rented a convertible Mustang (silver) and drove around Kauai to the Waimea canyon. It's like the Grand Canyon, and it was beautiful.
We also visit Fanning Island, which is not developed much at all. The people have wide feet because they don't wear shoes. You can often see children sitting under tables eating candy that our passengers have brought them. When you walk past them, they give you the biggest, sweetest smiles. Some of the passengers return to the ship sad at the conditions in which these people live, but they're fools. These people aren't starving and they're in no way unfortunate for living without tv or malls. Their island is only a few degrees from the equator, and it's breathtakingly beautiful. The water is a million shades of blue, which punch out so much more with my new polarized sunglasses.
In two weeks time, I fly to Vancouver to join the Wind. I've looked at the itinerary, which you, too, can see on ncl.com, and it looks awesome.
I hope you're all very well. I'm in an especially great mood today. I think emailing you all brings me up even higher. I love thinking about all of you at the same time.
Message for today:
Live, laugh, love, everyday.
Love always, Genoa
For those who wanted to send care packages, always appreciated, I always forget to bring the address to the computers. I'll email it soon. I'm leaving for Alaska in two weeks, but if you're that determined...
This itinerary has a lot less free time than the Majesty, but it's fun. We put on a talent show with the kids, and it's a big hit with the parents. Last night, we spun cotton candy in Planet Kids. I'm working with Lyana this week, with the 6-9 year olds. She kept feeding me cotton candy so my energy level would be up there with the kids'. We had a blast.
Last Saturday, my friends and I rented a convertible Mustang (silver) and drove around Kauai to the Waimea canyon. It's like the Grand Canyon, and it was beautiful.
We also visit Fanning Island, which is not developed much at all. The people have wide feet because they don't wear shoes. You can often see children sitting under tables eating candy that our passengers have brought them. When you walk past them, they give you the biggest, sweetest smiles. Some of the passengers return to the ship sad at the conditions in which these people live, but they're fools. These people aren't starving and they're in no way unfortunate for living without tv or malls. Their island is only a few degrees from the equator, and it's breathtakingly beautiful. The water is a million shades of blue, which punch out so much more with my new polarized sunglasses.
In two weeks time, I fly to Vancouver to join the Wind. I've looked at the itinerary, which you, too, can see on ncl.com, and it looks awesome.
I hope you're all very well. I'm in an especially great mood today. I think emailing you all brings me up even higher. I love thinking about all of you at the same time.
Message for today:
Live, laugh, love, everyday.
Love always, Genoa
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