Very soon upon our arrival to visit with my Anchorage Friend in her home, she looked at dismay at the tulip on her kitchen table and mentioned that she had wanted to pick a fresh tulip from her flowerbed for us to enjoy. Bringing a tulip indoors was a special treat which she liked to savor. It felt special for her to think of our visit as being Tulip Worthy.
Fast forward an hour (or two ... I really have no idea, because time was irrelevant during our visit) and in came her husband. What did he have in his hand? But two tulips. Fresh out of her flower garden. She was pleased and dismayed all in the same moment. How perfect for him to read her mind ... but two? When the tulips were so numbered out in the garden? No more was said.
The tulips were in bud when they were brought into the house. They were ceremoniously placed in the vase's special spot on the kitchen table for all to appreciate during their brief 'hurrah' indoors.
Our afternoon visit turned into a supper invitation. As we were tidying up the kitchen and winding up the day my Cruising Friend said, "Look at the tulips! They are in full bloom".
We admired those tulips. We heard their history ... of how they were planted by the previous owners. How there were yellows and reds. And of the mixing of the colors which turned them into the most special and unique mix of both colors as their roots and heritage intertwined between the soil and nature did its magic.
The tulips were all but forgotten the next day, as our visit took us out for breakfast and then exploring some of Anchorage's heritage throughout the afternoon. Which led to a supper at a favorite Mexican restaurant and a promise of just 'one more breakfast' before our plane departed the next morning.
The last morning arrived. My Friend came up to me and told me of the tulips ...
She said she looked at those tulips that morning and saw that they had passed their 'expiry date'. She said she quietly sighed and thought (like our visit) "All good things must come to an end ..."
As quickly as that thought came to mind, she was already seeing beyond the obvious. Suddenly, the tulips were symbols for our friendship and the strength and endurance of those mighty tulip bulbs was being compared to the strength and endurance of our friendship that started when we were 10 years old.
Tulip bulbs are planted with hope and promise that they will eventually bloom. Two young girls are brought together by circumstance and there is hope that a friendship will blossom.
Tulip bulbs lie dormant throughout the long winter seasons, yet they are the first flowers to bloom in the spring. Sometimes tulips survive with little to no outside interference. But it never hurts to nurture them a little along the way.
Friendships may lie dormant as life takes us off in various directions. If one is very lucky, those friendships survive throughout years of dormancy (My Cruising Friend and I share that small miracle of a friendship that was quickly revived after a few decades without contact). Other times, a friendship may be nurtured by a sporadic inoculation (cards and letters) to keep us reminded of the friendship we have shared.
When tulip bulbs of different colors are left together over the course of time, there is a subtle mixing of colors. A special blend which is dependent on the conditions, mutations, genetic engineering (with some human intervention) and bulbs which share that soil. It is only when the tulips bloom after years together, yet apart ... that one can see the special breed which has come together when no one was paying attention.
When friends go their separate ways, they bring new friends/people/spouses/children/pets into their lives. They start to mix with others and become unique and special.
My desire to go to Anchorage was fueled by the knowledge that I would like to reconnect with my American friend. The cruise and Canadian friend that I brought along with me, were just a creative way of getting from "A" to "B".
Our friendship had been dormant for 38 years ... nurtured by letters, Christmas cards and emails. When we came together, she brought her husband and special 'Ginger' (a Labrador/poodle mix ''pup''). I brought my Cruising Friend along with me.
We sat down as 'four' unique individuals - two of us with a history of friendship. Two others with their own connections to the 'original two'. The four of us mixed and blended throughout the course of the three days that we shared. By the end of our visit we felt the 'colors' of one friendship bleeding into the other.
My friend and I marvelled at the kinship our friendship shared with her tulips. Two small flowers brought into our visit at the onset. Two small flowers that lasted only as long as our trip to Anchorage allowed us to stay.
But underneath the soil, lie the bulbs which will endure the long, cold winter of Alaska. They will bloom once again in the spring. They have not died. They are alive and well deeply embedded in the roots where they began. Getting stronger by the year.
Our friendship has only been strengthened by this ever-so-brief visit. It feels as if we breathed life into a friendship that we both thought was pretty special before. Our friendship will endure the long, cold 'winter' between now and whenever life may give us an opportunity to meet again. The bonds of friendship which brought us together are alive and well and deeply embedded within our beings and our families where they began. It will get stronger by the year.
We mutually agreed. It was not a matter of ''all good things come to an end'' ...
What looks like an end is sometimes a beginning. We both believe something has been reborn within our bond of friendship. This visit was like a tulip that blooms brightly and brilliantly during its brief life span above the soil. But our friendship is the bulb that lies quietly beneath the soil. Growing, blending and evolving throughout its dormancy.
I will never look at a tulip without thinking of our eternal friendship.
Sunday, June 5, 2011
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Updates
I think I'd better take a step away from this blog before it explodes ... after all of my updates, edits and blog posts today!
I have gone back and added photo/video footage to several past blog posts. Here is a quick guide in case there is something you may want to go back and check:
A look at our stateroom; and parting photos as we sailed out of Vancouver - "A.MAZE.ING"
Elevator photos to go with "The Elevator Dance" (trust me, these are no ordinary elevators)
The scariest bug I saw in Alaska: "I Survived Ketchikan" (plus a link to the killer slugs ... newts, perhaps?)
Video of the first whale I spotted "No Scary Bugs Yet"
"Dancing With the Stripes" and Hubbard Glacier photos: "Grande Finales All Around"
That's not including the six (now seven, with this update) posts from today.
I think I'd better walk away from the computer. But hey ... I still have some photos/videos to organize ... hey wait ... I need to stay here ..... ... arghh....
I have gone back and added photo/video footage to several past blog posts. Here is a quick guide in case there is something you may want to go back and check:
A look at our stateroom; and parting photos as we sailed out of Vancouver - "A.MAZE.ING"
Elevator photos to go with "The Elevator Dance" (trust me, these are no ordinary elevators)
The scariest bug I saw in Alaska: "I Survived Ketchikan" (plus a link to the killer slugs ... newts, perhaps?)
Video of the first whale I spotted "No Scary Bugs Yet"
"Dancing With the Stripes" and Hubbard Glacier photos: "Grande Finales All Around"
That's not including the six (now seven, with this update) posts from today.
I think I'd better walk away from the computer. But hey ... I still have some photos/videos to organize ... hey wait ... I need to stay here ..... ... arghh....
Just a Little More on Whales
As I have attempted to recap my holiday in photos today, more words keep spilling to the surface. It is the whale videos that have got me writing once again.
Today, I went back and posted a video of my very first whale sighting in the "No Scary Bugs Yet" blog post. That was the morning we were sailing towards Icy Straight Point.
Prior to that morning, I had thought perhaps that some of the black spots that I had seen in the ocean were the fins of a whale (on learning more, I am now wondering if those may have been seals). But I wasn't certain. But that morning. The morning I shot that video, I was the one (at least within earshot) who spotted the whales off to the side of the ship first.
There is a quiet exhilaration as you find nature right in your own 'back yard'. To be staring off into the water and spot life is a wonderful thing. To see your first whale is pretty darn thrilling. It wasn't quite inventing the wheel ... or finding out that the earth is not flat. But it's the closest thing to a natural discovery that I have come across in a while.
I could stare out at the ocean and be content with the quiet waves. My eyes became keen when shades of darkness came to the surface. But it is that breath of a whale - the exhalation and the spray of water that captivates your soul.
It was a day later when we officially went whale watching in Juneau. They have a money back guarantee that you will see a whale. And they have never paid out a penny. We saw whales. Lots of whales. But you still don't get past the awe factor. I was listening to the video today as I edited my movies and what you hear from those on board, is a silent reverence. And the 'wow' factor when the whale flips its tail fin and goes for that final deep dive.
The whales that stand out the most for me though, are the whales that 'flipped us the tail' in Skagway.
Skagway was a 'day lost' for me, but as we headed back to our ship after our excursion there were two whales off in the far distance. They were practically vertically downstream of our catamaran. You could just hear the exhalation of their breath and see the spray of water before they took their shallow dives. They did just enough breaths to grab my attention. Then they came up for their final breath of air before they took their deep dive.
That final deep dive was as if it was done in slow motion. It must have been the angle that we were viewing them from, but all I remember was that prolonged view of that tail fin before they disappeared. It was a moment frozen in time. No picture. No video. Just a memory.
A memory of that glorious tail fin, in suspended animation. A clear vision at the end of a cloudy day of memories.
I just had to write about it so I will forever be reminded. Sometimes, it is the pictures of the heart that last the longest. And this ... was just one of those moments.
Today, I went back and posted a video of my very first whale sighting in the "No Scary Bugs Yet" blog post. That was the morning we were sailing towards Icy Straight Point.
Prior to that morning, I had thought perhaps that some of the black spots that I had seen in the ocean were the fins of a whale (on learning more, I am now wondering if those may have been seals). But I wasn't certain. But that morning. The morning I shot that video, I was the one (at least within earshot) who spotted the whales off to the side of the ship first.
There is a quiet exhilaration as you find nature right in your own 'back yard'. To be staring off into the water and spot life is a wonderful thing. To see your first whale is pretty darn thrilling. It wasn't quite inventing the wheel ... or finding out that the earth is not flat. But it's the closest thing to a natural discovery that I have come across in a while.
I could stare out at the ocean and be content with the quiet waves. My eyes became keen when shades of darkness came to the surface. But it is that breath of a whale - the exhalation and the spray of water that captivates your soul.
It was a day later when we officially went whale watching in Juneau. They have a money back guarantee that you will see a whale. And they have never paid out a penny. We saw whales. Lots of whales. But you still don't get past the awe factor. I was listening to the video today as I edited my movies and what you hear from those on board, is a silent reverence. And the 'wow' factor when the whale flips its tail fin and goes for that final deep dive.
The whales that stand out the most for me though, are the whales that 'flipped us the tail' in Skagway.
Skagway was a 'day lost' for me, but as we headed back to our ship after our excursion there were two whales off in the far distance. They were practically vertically downstream of our catamaran. You could just hear the exhalation of their breath and see the spray of water before they took their shallow dives. They did just enough breaths to grab my attention. Then they came up for their final breath of air before they took their deep dive.
That final deep dive was as if it was done in slow motion. It must have been the angle that we were viewing them from, but all I remember was that prolonged view of that tail fin before they disappeared. It was a moment frozen in time. No picture. No video. Just a memory.
A memory of that glorious tail fin, in suspended animation. A clear vision at the end of a cloudy day of memories.
I just had to write about it so I will forever be reminded. Sometimes, it is the pictures of the heart that last the longest. And this ... was just one of those moments.
My Great Alaskan Cruise Adventure
It's been a perfect day.
I have been playing with my pictures and videos all day. I have been having an out of body experience as I have been reliving my holiday. All from the comfort of home.
What follows is a photo montage that takes you from Saskatoon to Vancouver to Anchorage and back. There are a few days that are missing from my archives. The day my patch fell off in Skagway ... our days in Anchorage (I was too busy visiting to be taking pictures of the scenery) ... and our last night in Vancouver is wrapped up in this short blog post (and the only photo that I took during that leg of our trip).
What one may notice about the photos that I took when we went on our excursions, is my fascination with our ship. Once we hit dry land and I could see the vastness of our little 'world' at sea, my camera started snapping pictures. The theme "Wow!! Look at our ship!" runs strong throughout my vacation photos. From the dock, from a distance (when it was tendered in Icy Straight Point and we had to take a boat to the shore) and from the top of Mount Roberts when we took the tramcar ride to the top.
My fascination for our ship was followed by the quiet wonder of whale (and wilderness) watching. It was like playing 'Where's Waldo' and the ocean was our canvas. You could stare out at the vastness and not know what you may see next.
Hubbard Glacier was the final hurrah of our vacation. I got a little snap happy there as we all appreciated the (rare) bright, blue sky that we were blessed with. It made for the most beautiful reflections in the water. I could stare at those pictures all day.
Once again, I have accompanied the photo montage with music from the "Alaska String Band". The songs are "Wheel Hoss" and "Ashokan Farewell" from their CD "Farther On". Please feel free to visit their website at: http://www.alaskastringband.net/
Enjoy ...
I have been playing with my pictures and videos all day. I have been having an out of body experience as I have been reliving my holiday. All from the comfort of home.
What follows is a photo montage that takes you from Saskatoon to Vancouver to Anchorage and back. There are a few days that are missing from my archives. The day my patch fell off in Skagway ... our days in Anchorage (I was too busy visiting to be taking pictures of the scenery) ... and our last night in Vancouver is wrapped up in this short blog post (and the only photo that I took during that leg of our trip).
What one may notice about the photos that I took when we went on our excursions, is my fascination with our ship. Once we hit dry land and I could see the vastness of our little 'world' at sea, my camera started snapping pictures. The theme "Wow!! Look at our ship!" runs strong throughout my vacation photos. From the dock, from a distance (when it was tendered in Icy Straight Point and we had to take a boat to the shore) and from the top of Mount Roberts when we took the tramcar ride to the top.
My fascination for our ship was followed by the quiet wonder of whale (and wilderness) watching. It was like playing 'Where's Waldo' and the ocean was our canvas. You could stare out at the vastness and not know what you may see next.
Hubbard Glacier was the final hurrah of our vacation. I got a little snap happy there as we all appreciated the (rare) bright, blue sky that we were blessed with. It made for the most beautiful reflections in the water. I could stare at those pictures all day.
Once again, I have accompanied the photo montage with music from the "Alaska String Band". The songs are "Wheel Hoss" and "Ashokan Farewell" from their CD "Farther On". Please feel free to visit their website at: http://www.alaskastringband.net/
Enjoy ...
A Prelude to My Alaska Adventure Video Montages
As I was snapping pictures and recording video footage of my Great Alaskan Adventure, I knew that I would be compiling my collection of memories in a video format. All the while, I knew that I must keep my ears tuned for the perfect musical accompaniment. And I found what I was looking for ...
While we were in Juneau, we had the pleasure of seeing the "Alaska String Band" perform atop Mount Roberts.
Paul and Melissa Zahasky and their three children - Laura, Quinn and Abigail make musical magic together. They play guitar, mandolin, fiddle, bass, duck as well as the vocals for the music you are about to hear on the videos that follow.
I was granted permission to use their music (I promised to properly acknowledge their band) and I would also like to pass along their website so that you can find out more information for yourself: www.alaskastringband.net
Watching and listening to the "Alaska String Band" was a delightful way to wind up our most perfect day in Juneau, Alaska.
While we were in Juneau, we had the pleasure of seeing the "Alaska String Band" perform atop Mount Roberts.
Paul and Melissa Zahasky and their three children - Laura, Quinn and Abigail make musical magic together. They play guitar, mandolin, fiddle, bass, duck as well as the vocals for the music you are about to hear on the videos that follow.
I was granted permission to use their music (I promised to properly acknowledge their band) and I would also like to pass along their website so that you can find out more information for yourself: www.alaskastringband.net
Watching and listening to the "Alaska String Band" was a delightful way to wind up our most perfect day in Juneau, Alaska.
Whale Watching in Juneau, Alaska
My favorite Alaskan excursion was in the city of Juneau, Alaska.
Whale watching (and waiting) was the highlight of our Alaskan Adventures. I put this video montage together today and I was transported back in time.
A time where the world stands still, as you watch the vastness of the ocean. The exhilaration when you spot life in the water.
The tell tale fin. The exhalation of air from a whale. A seal's head poking in and out of the water. The curve of a whale's back. And the grand finale of them all ... the final 'flip' of the whale's tail as it goes for a deep dive. And then you wait.
What follows is a video montage of my favorite excursion of all.
The music which is playing in the background is "Simple Prayer" by the Alaska String Band. I had the pleasure of not only seeing them in person, but getting their personal authorization to play their music along with the Alaskan photo/video montages which I am compiling.
Whale watching (and waiting) was the highlight of our Alaskan Adventures. I put this video montage together today and I was transported back in time.
A time where the world stands still, as you watch the vastness of the ocean. The exhilaration when you spot life in the water.
The tell tale fin. The exhalation of air from a whale. A seal's head poking in and out of the water. The curve of a whale's back. And the grand finale of them all ... the final 'flip' of the whale's tail as it goes for a deep dive. And then you wait.
What follows is a video montage of my favorite excursion of all.
The music which is playing in the background is "Simple Prayer" by the Alaska String Band. I had the pleasure of not only seeing them in person, but getting their personal authorization to play their music along with the Alaskan photo/video montages which I am compiling.
At Home ... With No Where to Go
Ahhh ... to simply be home!
My cat went off simultaneously with my alarm this morning. At 5:45 a.m., the cat was meowing and the alarm was sounding. I immediately turned off the alarm and our cat disappeared.
I was alone. I awoke to the knowledge that it was Saturday and I have absolutely no where I have to go or no place I need to be today.
I can revel in the wonder I call home.
Today is the day that I will sit still with the pictures I collected while I was on holidays. I will go back and insert photos &/or videos into my 'travelling post card' blog posts where ever they fit.
I plan to create a slide show of the scenery pictures (I am not big fan of scenery pictures, yet I found myself joining the crowds of picture takers on the ship and I have a bit of a collection of those photos).
I must go through and decide which pictures I want to print. I will have a small collection of 'friend' pictures. The friendship theme of my holiday is truly what I remember most now that I am home.
My Anchorage Friend planted the idea for a blog post in my mind the morning that we parted ways. I haven't wanted to rush that post. The conversation we shared was so precious that I don't want to rush the words and lose the essence. That conversation often rewinds and replays my mind. I must write it down before I lose the small nuances that turned a sentence into a chapter as we summed up our visit, our friendship and the small wonders of the symbolism we found as we let one small thought carry us away.
Today is to be a quiet day of reflection. I can't wait to get started.
My cat went off simultaneously with my alarm this morning. At 5:45 a.m., the cat was meowing and the alarm was sounding. I immediately turned off the alarm and our cat disappeared.
I was alone. I awoke to the knowledge that it was Saturday and I have absolutely no where I have to go or no place I need to be today.
I can revel in the wonder I call home.
Today is the day that I will sit still with the pictures I collected while I was on holidays. I will go back and insert photos &/or videos into my 'travelling post card' blog posts where ever they fit.
I plan to create a slide show of the scenery pictures (I am not big fan of scenery pictures, yet I found myself joining the crowds of picture takers on the ship and I have a bit of a collection of those photos).
I must go through and decide which pictures I want to print. I will have a small collection of 'friend' pictures. The friendship theme of my holiday is truly what I remember most now that I am home.
My Anchorage Friend planted the idea for a blog post in my mind the morning that we parted ways. I haven't wanted to rush that post. The conversation we shared was so precious that I don't want to rush the words and lose the essence. That conversation often rewinds and replays my mind. I must write it down before I lose the small nuances that turned a sentence into a chapter as we summed up our visit, our friendship and the small wonders of the symbolism we found as we let one small thought carry us away.
Today is to be a quiet day of reflection. I can't wait to get started.
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