We have enjoyed several days of extraordinary sunny days here in Sitka with nothing to do but to have fun.  We signed up for a jazz cruise to benefit Island Institute, and who was the captain but Rob Sanderson and the gorgeous deckhand, Kai Wallin from PT!  What a great surprise.
The next day we signed up for their eco-tour of surrounding islands, and they pulled out all the stops by ordering every conceivable animal for us to see.  We attended the tiny UU Fellowship meeting, and I had a walk through the most beautiful spot - the Russian cemetery in an old growth forest - which I shall never forget.  We attended two classical concerts in Centennial Hall, and enjoyed the museums, etc. here.

Mama and baby orcas

Mt. Edgecomb

A cormorant party

part of Lazara Island bird sanctuary

Captain Rob

Sitka and background

Sitka Sunset

Kai says hi

John braves ice water to loosen screw

Did you forget about me out here?

OK, what's for dinner?

I miss you, Jan!

Another sunset

A group of sea otters lulling about in the seaweed

Today our transmission arrived so John is installing it now and I am forbidden to take a photo of that!  We will move on to Chatham Straight and hot springs this afternoon.  Love to you all, Carol

Glacier Bay and on to Sitka

Hi Folks,  We are in beautiful Sitka, waiting for our brand new transmission to arrive from Seattle. Yep, it was damaged along the way, so John took out the old one (at great effort and travail) and will install the new one (piece of cake).  So, it's provisioning, laundry, shopping, a concert overlooking the Sitka waters and mountains, and site-seeing for a few days.  Jimmy left us for a flight back to Phoenix and 107 degrees and Stephanie.  We will miss his wonderful presence and help.  We celebrated last night with a huge helping of just-caught-by-our-fisherman neighbor-king salmon and birthday cake.  That boy is going places!
Here are some photos, no particular order but you'll get an idea of the travels.  We are doing really well, and Buddy continues to be a loyal and happy little guy.  No, he never learned to "go" on the boat.  Love to you all,  Carol

Mist and rain in Glacier Bay

Captain Jimmy

Beautiful reflections in flat water

Big bear munching on the low-tide beach

And his friend

Jimmy caught a crab!

Where's my mom?

Jimmy eats his crab!

Noisy eagles waiting for their dinner

Sea lions on Marble Island in Glacier Bay

They smell 

And they yell at each other

 We'll try to post before we leave, but after
that we won't be in contact until Ketchikan again.

Eagles in Hoonah - they are everywhere!

Onward to Glacier Bay

Jimmy joins us in Juneau

Our little whale watcher on duty

No crabs today

Whale ahead 

I know they are out there!

Glacier Bay ahead

This acrobat entertained for a half-hour

Jimmy's great photo

Resting at Gustavus dock

aR

Petersburg and Tracy Arm

Dawn somewhere beautiful

Sunset in Petersburg

An exclusive coffee Klutch

Please let me on!

You really think I would go on that thing?

Sumdum glacier

The Walkabout at rest

A very big glacier, dead ahead!

Unbelievable colors!

Big Bad John in the woods

From Petersburg

entering misty fiords

18 big ones

Crab quesedillas, picked crab, crabcakes, crab omelets!

An anchorage we hated to leave!

We visited Misty Fiords , SW of Ketchikan, a beautiful, 5-million acre rainforest with stunning anchorages and waterfalls to astound!  In one spot we set out our crab pot and got 18 big ones!  We could only keep a few, ( well, a few more, too) so had several great crab dinners.  Then on to Wrangle through lots of heavy rain. The sun came out and we actually had enough wind to get all three sails up for the afternoon.  Now we are in Petersburg, surrounded by fisherpersons. Life is an amazing adventure.