Has it been nearly a month already?
Yikes! I really do suck at these updates, don't I? I finally have some free time today, and thought I'd try and catch up here. Things have been crazy-busy, but in a good way.
We went on our cruise in early September, all the way to the wilds of Alaska. Which is pretty much like the wilds of the PNW, but with glaciers. It was very pretty, the weather was decent, and we all had fun. I wasn't all that hyped about seeing the glaciers, but they were the highlight of the trip. Very cool, very serene, and I felt just a bit decadent sitting on board a luxurious ship whilst sipping Bloody Mary's at high noon. Beats the hell out of being covered with other people's hair and reeking of perm solution. Even so, I began to get a bit bored by the fifth day- there is only so much to do onboard, and I like to be active when on vacation. I think that's another reason I like DL so much- we are always on the go when we are there. Anyway, the times in port weren't really long enough to explore the areas very thoroughly, and they all have the same damn shops and such. Skagway was my favorite, which surprised me. It was a cute, laid back frontier town and the locals were very cool. Ketchikan sucked- the locals were bastards, probably because they were weary of all the cruisers invading their town, but they were beyond rude and few passengers on our ship were impressed. Vitoria, BC is amazingly beautiful, and we plan on taking a trip there very soon so we can explore it at our leisure. Tori made it a point, quest really- to find a Mcdonald's in every port and eat there, as she hated the cruise food. This past year she has eaten at McDonald's in Ohio, Minnesota, California, Alaska and Canada.
Once we got home, the work on the house commenced and for two weeks it was construction hell. It was all worth it, as we now have a new roof (we had cedar shake, and were concerned about the fire hazard), carpeting, tile and a new exterior paint job. Looks fantastic, and we were lucky with regards to all our contractors- not a problem with any of them. So, now we're settling back into a normal routine of work, homeschooling and winterizing. I have a feeling it's going to be a snowy winter- we are overdue.
Prudence sucked me into the vortex that is Kingdom of Loathing, a funny stick-figure RPG where the currency is meat and one may have many weird Adventures, provided one doesn't get too drunk. Damn Prudence! It is hilarious, and we LoT'ers have formed a Clan, the Clan of the Swankers of Loathing. So far we have a Meat Tree, a Gym, and thanks to some generous endowments from some long-time players we now have a sizable war-chest of Meat. Very fun game- I really enjoy it.
Here's a link to our Alaska pics: http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=4183488&a=31894455&f=
We went on our cruise in early September, all the way to the wilds of Alaska. Which is pretty much like the wilds of the PNW, but with glaciers. It was very pretty, the weather was decent, and we all had fun. I wasn't all that hyped about seeing the glaciers, but they were the highlight of the trip. Very cool, very serene, and I felt just a bit decadent sitting on board a luxurious ship whilst sipping Bloody Mary's at high noon. Beats the hell out of being covered with other people's hair and reeking of perm solution. Even so, I began to get a bit bored by the fifth day- there is only so much to do onboard, and I like to be active when on vacation. I think that's another reason I like DL so much- we are always on the go when we are there. Anyway, the times in port weren't really long enough to explore the areas very thoroughly, and they all have the same damn shops and such. Skagway was my favorite, which surprised me. It was a cute, laid back frontier town and the locals were very cool. Ketchikan sucked- the locals were bastards, probably because they were weary of all the cruisers invading their town, but they were beyond rude and few passengers on our ship were impressed. Vitoria, BC is amazingly beautiful, and we plan on taking a trip there very soon so we can explore it at our leisure. Tori made it a point, quest really- to find a Mcdonald's in every port and eat there, as she hated the cruise food. This past year she has eaten at McDonald's in Ohio, Minnesota, California, Alaska and Canada.
Once we got home, the work on the house commenced and for two weeks it was construction hell. It was all worth it, as we now have a new roof (we had cedar shake, and were concerned about the fire hazard), carpeting, tile and a new exterior paint job. Looks fantastic, and we were lucky with regards to all our contractors- not a problem with any of them. So, now we're settling back into a normal routine of work, homeschooling and winterizing. I have a feeling it's going to be a snowy winter- we are overdue.
Prudence sucked me into the vortex that is Kingdom of Loathing, a funny stick-figure RPG where the currency is meat and one may have many weird Adventures, provided one doesn't get too drunk. Damn Prudence! It is hilarious, and we LoT'ers have formed a Clan, the Clan of the Swankers of Loathing. So far we have a Meat Tree, a Gym, and thanks to some generous endowments from some long-time players we now have a sizable war-chest of Meat. Very fun game- I really enjoy it.
Here's a link to our Alaska pics: http://albums.photo.epson.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=4183488&a=31894455&f=