Island to Alaska with Pictures (part 2)

[cworld]

I just can't take it anymore. I'm dying. My heart is sliding rapidly down the pages, and I'm here to restart it. So here we go again. World Domination coming to a computer near you. I'm pumped. I'm back. I'm revved. This is going to be at least mediocre.

 

For anyone joining in the middle, welcome. The father of this wonderful (OK, semi-entertaining) little thread was strolling along one beautiful day, minding his own business, when unknown to him, an evil cruel small winged fairy had malicious designs on our hero's beautiful child. The child who this father had raised from birth, struggling through the early years, working through the terrible two's, watching as his astonishing little creation passed into those awky teen years. And our proud father looked on lovingly as his blossoming flower started blooming. Then, all of the sudden, out of the ether, comes this viscious fairy who stabbs our beautiful flower right in the heart, draining the lifebud from it's full lucious limbs. Then the ever brutal fairy, tries to take a bud from our beautiful one and plant it in the mud, hoping the father wouldn't notice. BUT the father did. He was so overcome with guilt and grief that for a while he didn't know what to do. Finally after a day of devastation the griefstricken father had a brainstorm (Might have been a Brain Cloud, we're not sure) and transplanted both the lifeless child and the muddy bud into a new pot where they could grow together into a new and hopefully more beautiful garden that we will all be proud of.

 

Here is a link to the original child

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=180353

 

The transplanted bud is here

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=220552

 

So now we can all celebrate together.

 

Ding, dong, the fairies work is dead.

 

We're back and we're gonna be better than ever, together.

 

So without further ado, or until the fairy comes back...

 

Island to Alaska with Pictures lives!!!!!

[cworld]

Where were we? With all of this other stuff, I’ve forgotten what I was gonna say. That’s not really a problem, cause I’ll just make something up.

 

Let’s see, we had arrived at the dock, we were still hostages on Ms. sultry’s rapidly heating up narrated motorcoach. We were getting grumpy. But, if we ever get off this sauna on wheels, we’re going to get to see… lumbering leviathans that lollygag lugubriously as they go locomoting by. That’s what the description says. Quote,

“The operators of this tour guarantee you will see a lumbering leviathans that lollygag lugubriously as they go locomoting by. If not, receive a $100 cash refund ($50 refund per child) as you disembark the vessel.” (Well, maybe I doctored that a little bit) Either we see a lumbering leviathan that lollygag lugubriously as they go locomoting by, or we get 200 smackers. I’m ready. If we could ever get off this stupid broiling narrated motorcoach. Hey, Ms. sultry, can we go now?

 

Finally, after about a week, Ms. sultry let us off and directed us to the waterjet-powered catamaran that was going to take us to see the lumbering leviathans that lollygag lugubriously as they go locomoting by. I’ve already made my case about waterjet power, but this cat thing is confusing me now. What on earth is a catamaran, and aren’t catamaran’s sailboats? The only time I’ve heard of catamarans is when there is a sail attached. I remember, I think I’m right about this, that Dennis Connor was the Captain of a catamaran in one of the America’s Cup races. There was a lot of controversy, and I think they actually changed the rules over the use of the catamaran. Anyway, we walked over to the BOAT, and boarded.

 

Before we left Ms. sultry made sure we knew that she’d be here when we got back. We were not happy campers.

 

On to the boat… What to say about the boat? This waterjet-powered catamaran was pretty much the same as the boat in Ketchikan, only on a massive dose of steroids. This waterjet-powered could comfortably seat, by my estimate, around 100 on the bottom deck and probably another 50 in the enclosed area in the top deck. It had a snack bar on the bottom deck where they served juices, water, and a few candies. Unfortunately they didn’t have The Elixir of Life or even that unsatisfying substitute that comes from Atlanta. They had some homemade salmon paste stuff, that was OK, but not as good as the stuff at the Fishy Murdering Place. Seating on the bottom level was on sliding bench style seats. Each bench would hold about 6 people. There were benches down both sides of the boat and there was a section in the middle. Every few feet along the aisles, there were poles like you see in trains or busses. It kinda reminded me of a really wide train with really big windows. There were windows all around. The windows started about 3 feet off the ground and ran to the ceiling. You could get a pretty good view of the front and both sides from almost anywhere on the lower deck. There were both male and female bathrooms in the back part of the lower deck.

 

The back half of the upper deck was uncovered, and open air. It was the place to be to take pictures, and to enjoy the scenery, if you could stand the temperature. It was pretty easy to transition from one side to the other whenever the action was hot and heavy. The front of the upper deck had a seating area that was glassed in. This was where the captain sat. I didn’t go in there, so I’m not real sure what the view was like. However it provided an area on the top level that was shielded from the elements. Supposedly it was heated. The stairs between the lower deck and the upper deck were pretty steep, but they were fairly easy to climb.

 

The boat was staffed with 2 naturalists, 1 captain, and a couple of other college age kids that worked the snack bar and such. The naturalists were local college girls that had a pretty good knowledge (or at least good enough to fool me) of the local wildlife. The snack bar kids were very friendly and helpful. Some of the stuff in the snack bar was complimentary (free, for you folks in Mississippi) and they charged for some of it. If they would have had some kind of caffeinated drink, I would have been happier.

 

All in all, the waterjet-powered catamaran was a serviceable craft.

 

Rating for the waterjet-powered catamaran - A

 

So, off we went. Hunting for that most elusive of prey, that gargantuan animal that was in the process of changing my life. The question that was hanging most heavily on our minds was would we ever see a lumbering leviathan that lollygags lugubriously as they go locomoting by? Or would we be shutout again? Would we collect the 200 clams or would we see PINK MOSS again? How many eagles would we see today? Would that pesky suitcase ever show up? What’s up on October 1st?

 

All, some, or none of these questions will be answered in our next episode… Stay tuned.

 

PATIENCE

 

Today’s post just has to end with the words of that great John Denver tune –

 

 

Hey it’s good to be back home again

Sometimes this old farm feels like a long-lost friend

Yes ’n’ hey, it’s good to be back home again

[marcruiser]

No problem finding this site. Only problem waiting for new installments. More, please. I know...PATIENCE

[camperhawk]

Thanks Carl! I was starting to go into humor withdrawal! So glad you acted on the fatherly protection role of "your thread". Write it and they will come!

[zachnlucy]

Whoa there. You're just zipping all over the place, aren't ya? Who's the world traveler? Why it's you, yes you, y-o-u. Okay, let's move on, I'm leaving in 8 days. Did you see any LLLLLLLs?

[flashdog_1]

Making progress, I see, on the new continued thread with new name. Take your time, that's all we have!

[cruisingbug]

Just checking in and subscribing...

[cworld]

Time out. Does anyone know what today is? Today is the three-month anniversary of this little adventure. Hooray!!!!! Time for a little celebration.

 

celebration

 

It’s hard to believe we’re not even half way through our voyage. (Really heavy sigh) And if I keep messing around like this we might still be working on this Christmas. (Nooooo!!!) But to be quite honest, I don’t know what I’ll do when we come to the end of this. It’s a blast coming here most days, and pouring out my soul to total strangers. (Does that make me an exhibitionist?) Your comments, kind and even the unkind words make my day. I thank you sincerely for joining me here.

 

One note of caution, my parents are in ill health, and I’ll probably have to make a trip to Florida this week. So if I don’t show up for a couple of days, don’t panic. I just don’t know if I’ll have internet access while I’m traveling. But I’ll be thinking about you and Island to Alaska with Pictures (part 2).

 

Another interruption, while I’m straying off topic. Out of the mailbox today popped our first, our inaugural, our opening, our initial, our very own Princess Captain’s Circle Quarterly. HOW (and I do mean this) VERY COOL. Or as Dick Vitale would say… AWESOME BABY!!!!! But also, how very sad. There is absolutely no way that we could even think (well we could think about it, but we couldn’t afford it) about taking another cruise this year, or probably even next year. And here, right here, in River City, out of our very own mailbox jumps the devil’s work. This magazine is absolutely sinful. It is amazingly disgusting. It’s awfully awful. Just look at it’s contents “Living Large in Alaska”, “European Adventure”, and all of the rest of the stuff. How can possibly they do this to us? Do they not have a heart? Mrs. c and I both had the same reaction when we first looked at the magazine. “YES, Cool” then “NOOOOOO”. How are we going to be able to stand this every quarter for the next, however many years? Every 90 days this devil’s handiwork is going to jump out of our mailbox, enticing us to go where we ought not go, making us want to do what we ought not do. It is going to be such sweet misery on those days. By the way, dear, where is that magazine, I’d like to sin just a little more, and no, we can’t go to Europe next week. Maybe next lifetime…

 

Isn’t it funny how cruising is so addicting. Here we are your semi-typical (OK, maybe not so typical) middle-class working stiffs, who for many years wouldn’t even think about going on a cruise. Every vacation was either to see family or to pay homage to the King of the Rats. Then, one day, out of the blue, we decide to give cruising another try, thinking it would be a one time thing. We even talked before the cruise, about how this was probably going to be a once in a lifetime event. We talked about returning to our old vacation stomping grounds, family and rats, and modes of transportation, planes and automobiles. (Not many trains in Oklahoma) We never intended to get hooked. But, I’m here to tell you that we are hooked. We can’t wait to go again. If someone threw enough money at us today, we’d be on the boat tomorrow. We’re addicted. I don’t think crack cocaine could be this addicting. Withdrawal is hard. Waiting is hard. Not having another cruise booked is hard. What are we going to do? How are we going to feed our addiction? Is there life after cruising? Will this feeling ever go away? Do I want this feeling to go away? How do I feed this hunger? My name is Carl and I’m a cruise addict. (Thanks, Princess. Do you think I could sue?)

 

Hey Carl, you been sniffing glue again?

 

NO, not as far as you know.

 

Back to our story. (About time.)

 

When we left our hapless adventurers, they were pulling away from the shore in a semi-magnificent waterjet-powered catamaran. Happy to be away from Mrs. sultry’s burning narrated motorcoach of boredom. We’re off to see those, as Cindy so elegantly put it, LLLLL’s. But first, like any good Alaska adventure, the first animal we see is a bald eagle. These things are everywhere. No LLLLL’s but more eagles. I only snapped a couple of pictures of this one. I’ve seen enough. Sure enough, our first stop is at an eagles nest. Been there, done that. Let’s move on. Bored. Move it. Seen eagles, want to see whal… (oops, almost slipped), I mean, lumbering leviathans that lollygag lugubriously as they go locomoting by.

 

So we go off in our a semi-magnificent waterjet-powered catamaran to find some more bald eagles, or some lumbering leviathan that lollygag lugubriously as they go locomoting by, or any other interesting life form that this crew can conjure up.

 

You’ll find some pictures of the trip to find the bald eagles and other life forms here.

 

http://homepage.mac.com/cktrent2/PhotoAlbum14.html

 

By the way tee, I snuck something special in for you.

[camperhawk]

Carl, Thomas Hobbes would be proud!;)

[alwalaska]

My husband, the sail boat enthusiast informs me that a catamaran is a two hulled ship, and not necessarily only of the sail boat variety. He (the mechanical engineer) also tried to explain to me how jets work and how a water jet boat uses a similar theory, but this explanation flew straight over my poor head.:rolleyes:

 

Ahhh - home again. I'm glad you have your own thread with your own name again.

[suzyluvs2cruise]

Carl - glad I've found you again!!!

[zachnlucy]

Hey, what's with this secret photo for tee_wrecks? I couldn't figure out which one was secret. Maybe some of the rest of us diehards would like secret photos too.

 

P.S. Your celebration made me laugh.

[cworld]

I checked the link for the pictures from last night's post, and it isn't working for me. So here is another link. There are 6 pictures that go with that post. I'm truly sorry, I don't know what is going on with .mac. Whenever I preview them they show up, but when I post them they don't. They may start working, but if they don't, go here.

 

http://community.webshots.com/photo/419328125/428829770Wbulpq

 

See ya later.

[Lizzybell]

Hi-My name is Liz and I am addicted to Island to Alaska with Pictures(part 1 AND 2) I know i have a problem because as I was making my morning coffee a thought popped into my head, one that i had never thought of before today-"Lumbering Leviathans lugubriously as they go locomtoing by" It bothered me sightly, where did that thought come from i ask myself??? well, i have a LITTLE time, maybe i should check cworlds thread, i only checked 7 hrs ago, but maybe we will have more info now... oh yes, i have a problem-but as they say "acceptance is the 1st step" and I think patience is in there somewhere :)

 

I AM JONESING FOR MORE! thanks for letting me share. My name is Liz and I am a Island to Alaska with Pictures addict.

[cworld]

Lizzybell,

Thanks, that's pretty flattering, and a little scary (not you, but how do I keep you addicted? Stay tuned.). Don't be a stranger.

 

Zachnlucy,

Hmmm, are you sure you want me to post photos for the diehards? I can, and I will if that's what everyone wants.

 

Karalun,

Welcome. Glad you found us. Jump in and join us anytime, the more the merrier.

 

alwalaska,

Thanks again. Don't feel bad about things going over you head. When I get in to hydrodynamics, I get athlete's scalp.

 

camperhawk,

Had to look that one up, but thanks, I think.

 

And to everyone,

Like I said the other day, I'm going to have to take a quick trip to Florida. I'm not going to have time go get anything together today, and probably not tomorrow. If I can get internet access, I'll try to post on Wednesday. I know, I know, I'm trying everyone's PATIENCE. My dear wife will tell you that I'm very good at that. I hope you'll hang with me this week, and I promise (nothing really) to make it up when I get back.

 

Have a great day.

Carl

[Hate 2 W8t]

Carl,

 

Have a safe trip to Florida. I only wish it were under better circumstances. Best wishes go out to your parents for better days ahead.

 

We'll miss you while you're gone. Heck, I leave in 6 days and I will miss you when I'm gone! :D

[zachnlucy]

Carl,

 

Have a safe trip to Florida. I only wish it were under better circumstances. Best wishes go out to your parents for better days ahead.

 

We'll miss you while you're gone. Heck, I leave in 6 days and I will miss you when I'm gone! :D

Ain't that the truth? Carl, sorry to hear about your folks. I've said a prayer for them and you.

 

Hey Jax, we're almost there!

[camperhawk]

Carl, Prayers and good thoughts here with you and your parents!

 

And yes the reference was definitely a compliment,don't read too much into it!

 

We'll be looking forward to your return with good news from the home front,as we all go lugubriously,locomoting by,waiting for the leviathan!

[margord]

Have a safe trip to Florida. Please hurry home, we are addicted.

[cworld]

-----Original Message-----

 

From: cworld@cox.net

 

Sent: Monday, August 22, 2005 10:41 AM

 

To: 'Bob Smith'

 

Subject: ItAwP while I’m gone

 

Bob,

 

I’ve got to be out of town this week. Do you mind filling in for me until I get back. I should be back by Sunday.

 

If you don’t mind I’d like you to fill everyone in on or discovery of psssbhht’s diary. I’m sending over the tapes of my translation.

 

Hope it’s not too much an inconvenience. Here’s an introductory paragraph you can use.

 

Hey, everyone. In my absence, I’ve asked my good friend Bob to fill in for a couple of days. Bob received a mysterious package last month from somewhere in Alaska. I’m going to let him tell you about. Bob is an expert in lost civilizations. Bob brought me the package a little while ago, but I better let Bob tell you the rest of the story. I’ll see all y’all next week.

 

I am eternally in your debt.

 

Carl

 

P.S. I need you to start Tuesday.

 

Good morning fellow ItAwP addicts. My name is Bob Smith. I’m terribly excited that Carl invited me to share our recent discoveries with you. I’ve known Carl, it seems like, my whole life. We do everything together. Some people even call him my alter ego. We’re so close that it almost seems like were the same person at times. I’ve got to tell you that Carl is a great guy. He’s one of the finest people I’ve ever known. He’s generous, kind, patient, smart, funny, handsome, witty, gregarious, outgoing, and man, can he tell a story… you get the picture. He’s the best friend I, Bob Smith, have ever had.

 

When Carl decided to take the Florida trip, he asked me if I could sit in for a day or two, since we, being me, Mr. Bob Smith, and Carl, have been working together on this very hush, hush, Alaska Project. I told him I, Bob Smith, would be glad to, and so here we are. Before I jump in let me give you a little of my background. As I said before, my name is Bob Smith and I’m an associate professorial candidate at Oklahoma University of Fables of Ancient Cultures and Tribes. It’s a really small school. But its faculty is second to none. I was honored when they asked me, Bob Smith, to join their faculty on an interim basis. I’m hoping one of these days that I, Bob Smith, will be asked to permanently join the faculty here at Ole FACT U.

 

So why do I, Bob Smith, get to jump in in the middle of Carl’s rather large rant? Well, because a little over a month ago I, Bob Smith, received a package in the mail that led to an amazing discovery. As soon as I opened this package I knew that this had to go immediately to Carl for his help and expert opinion. Why Carl you ask? Because he is the worlds foremost expert on recently discovered imaginary languages. I, Bob Smith, know he hasn’t said anything about this incredible talent. He likes to keep it a secret. He says it’s for security sake. But that’s so like Carl. He’s so humble. You’d never know that Carl is one of the smartest men on the whole planet. But I, Bob Smith, I know these kind of things.

 

So what was in the package you ask? (If I were Carl, right here I’d end this and make you wait until tomorrow to find out, but I, Bob Smith, don’t have Carl’s unworldly patience.) At least that’s what I, Bob Smith, would ask at this point. Well, when I opened the package I encountered what I, Bob Smith, thought was a bunch of strips of paper torn from a parts manual for hot water heater and a newspaper and a couple of magazines. I just thought it was filler in the box, but when I showed them to Carl, he got very excited. He worked for whole minutes piecing the strips together. When he as done there it was. I, Bob Smith, couldn’t believe it. There he had, in those wonderfully ink stained fingers of his, a document was something other than what it seemed. It was almost unbelievable, and I, Bob Smith, was right there to witness it.

 

We had found the DIARY OF pssshbbt.

 

pssshbbt was the greatest warrior of the long lost Sak-a-chauw Indian tribe. I have to tell you that we here at O’ FACT U had never heard of the Sak-a-chauw Indians, but Carl, with that unbelieveable knowledge of history he has, knew of the Sac-a-chauw and other night when he spend 2 whole hours regaling us with the facts and history of the Sak-a-chauw Nation. What a guy. And what a glorious history it was.

 

Let’s see if I, Bob Smith, can remember some of what Carl said about the Sak-a-chauw’s.

 

"The Sac-a-chauw’s were a very shy and unassuming people. Not much is known about the Sac-a-chauw Nation’s history. The best we can come up with is that the Sac-a-chauw Nation developed in the early 9100’s bf in the area we now know as North Carolina. They lived there in peace until the great Diaspora of 202 bf. The history gets a little spotty until the Sak-a-chauw’s were spotted again on a small island outside of Juneau Alaska in 99 bf. This diary is the only concrete evidence of the Sak-a-chauw’s existence in the whole world. There have been rumors floating around for years about the Sak-a-chauw’s, but until today, and Bob Smith’s finding this package, there has been no proof."

 

Can’t you just hear Carl saying that with that soothing melodic voice of his?

 

Carl then told us about how the Sac-a-chauw’s became extinct. Here’s what I, Bob Smith, remember Carl saying about the Sac-a-chauw’s extinction. "Growing tobacco and making furniture were the foundational cultural identities that the Sac-a-chauw Nation’s culture was founded on. The Sac-a-chauw’s were farmers and craftsmen. For all of their recorded history, the Sac-a-chauw grew tobacco, and made chairs. All of Sac-a-chauw lore is filled with ballads of tobacco spitting contests and love letters that describe in great detail how to make a recliner recline. In the great Diaspora of 202 bf, the Sac-a-chauw were dramatically taken from their homes and forced to travel by cruise ship through almost all of the way around the world until they reached Juneau, Alaska. Why Juneau? Nobody really knows. The government records of the move were either stolen, or destroyed in a colossal government cover-up. Nobody in the government will even acknowledge that the Sac-a-chauw Nation ever existed.

 

In late 201 bf, PBBBBHT, the mightiest leader ever of the Sac-a-chauw’s, who by the way was pssshbbt’s father, met with the first time with the white man. For years the Sac-a-chauw had kept their existence a secret from the white man. But the white man was slowly closing in on the Sac-a-chauw. PBBBBHT, saw what was happening, and started trying to work with the white man on how to handle his people. In the spring of 202 br a plan was laid out and later that year PBBBBHT led his people on a great adventure. They had been promised by the white man a new country full of wood and land. The white man said that this new country was flowing with water to grow crops, with land full of tall trees, with abundant wildlife to help sustain life. The white man said that all the Sac-a-chauw’s needed was a willing spirit and soon there new land would be just like the old. So in August of 202 bf the Sac-a-chauw left North Carolina and started their 2 month journey to Juneau.

 

When the Sac-a-chauw arrived in Juneau they were settled on an Island about 5 miles south of Juneau. PBBBBHT was the first to explore the island. He came back to the ship and thanked the white man profusely. ‘It’s all we hoped for. Just like the man said, there are trees, and wildlife, it will be perfect.’ So the Sac-a-chauws disembarked the ship and began their short life’s in Alaska."

 

I, Bob Smith, could keep this up for hours, but then I, Bob Smith, wouldn’t have anything for tomorrow. So until then, as Carl would say, PATIENCE. Boy, I’ve waited a long time to do that.

 

P.S. Please don’t tell Carl that I, Bob Smith, didn’t get this posted until Wednesday. He’ll absolutely kill me. He wanted me to start posting yesterday, but I got so busy listening to Carl’s translation of the diary, I forgot. I, Bob Smith, am sorry.

 

It’s coming

 

Are you ready?

 

It’s gonna be big

 

Life as we know it will never be the same

 

[meemeec]

Omigod! The mirror HAS two faces!!!!!

[zachnlucy]

Bring back Carl!

Bring back Carl!

Bring back Carl!

Bring back Carl!

 

(come on everybody)

Bring back Carl!

Nothing personal, Bob Smith, but you are a bit dry, and your excitement about some ole extinct tribe is not actually contagious.

[Mrs. cworld]

Bring back Carl!

Bring back Carl!

Bring back Carl!

Bring back Carl!

 

(come on everybody)

Bring back Carl!

 

Pleasssssssse, my DH, I hope you haven't developed a split personality on your long drive to Florida. It is hard enough living with you--I don't need 2 of you around the house.

[camperhawk]

Love it! Now we know what could possibly have been in that secret government building!;)

[cworld]

Glad you’re back. Today, I, Bob Smith, will share with you the diary of pssshbbt. As I, Bob Smith told you yesterday, for me, the finding of pssshbbt’s diary is truly a monumental experience. The history of pssshbbt’s people the Sac-a-chauw Indians has long been rumored, but for the first time ever, we have tangible evidence of their existence.

 

Today, I, Bob Smith, will share with you both pssshbbt’s diary and Carl’s brilliant translation of pssshbbt’s diary.

 

The diary of pssshbbt son of PBBBBHT of the Sac-a-chauw people.

 

O: 495,

T: May 10, 105 bf

 

O: Insert part 11104 for LLLLL …

T: It was another beautiful day for whale hunting

 

O: Then Shanda said “you *#&@@”

T: Around noon, we gathered at the new twin hulled super canoe, I was selected as one of the first of the Sac-a-chauw to try out the new twin hulled super canoe.

 

O: page 4

T: We sat out after The Supreme blessed us, and turned south toward the great hunting grounds.

 

O: They came from the drip pan must be level with just $9.95 per month

T: PbPbPb , our leader, spotted our good luck charm, the great winged creature with white head.

 

O: Money back guarantee.

T: We came to the rocks where the brown smooth skinned, long whiskered, black nosed animals played raucously.

 

O:

 

Oh forget it. I thought it might be a good idea, but it’s not working out. I was really just trying to waste a little time until I got home and could add some more pictures. Oh, well. That’s what I get for coming up with ideas while listening to Glen Beck.

 

I’m going to be on the road for the next couple of days, and won’t have access to the internet. I should be home by Sunday. So I’ll try to get something up Sunday night or Monday.

 

Again, thank you for your PATIENCE.

 

It’s coming

Are you ready?

It’s gonna be big

Life as we know it will never be the same