A Place Called Roam

BALD & BEAUTIFUL IN ALASKA

9/25/2016

The North American 'bald' eagle name was derived from an archaic old world reference to the word "piebald" meaning marked with white.

He was wet, wild and ever watchful, his fierce beauty a testament to the strength and freedom he’d come to symbolize for all Americans since 1787.

Without a doubt wet, wild (with anticipation), and ever watchful was the modus operandi for those of us brazen/crazy enough to take to the water in a small boat during such nasty weather.

2 Comments

FUN FOTO FRIDAY: OUTTAKES FOR THE WEEK 9/12/16

9/16/2016

2 Comments

Earlier this morning Jimmy asked, “No more Fun Foto Fridays?”

Yes, it has been a while, hasn’t it?

Best I deliver some FUN today.

Here’s to Jimmy; to my best friend, my biggest fan, my husband of almost 20 years.

Seats don't get much better than this!

And while I’m at it, here’s to the Chicago Cubs. This fan had a ton of fun at Wrigley Field today watching the 2016 Central Division champs (as of last night!) go ten innings before a crowd of 40,000 fans. The Chicago Cubs beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5 to 4. But I digress.

Dog gone it! This little guy is sooooooooo cute.

Today is all about this precious, precocious puppy.

Say hello to Apollo; and say thanks to extended family members Chris and Sarah for posting so many adorable pictures of their latest four-legged, furry family member.
Let the Fun roll!

2 Comments

ALASKA'S WHITE PASS & YUKON ROUTE: ONE HELL OF AN HISTORIC RIDE

9/6/2016

4 Comments

“Give me enough dynamite, and snooze, and I’ll build you a railroad to hell.”

The Coast Mountains of Tongass National Forest were just the tip of the iceberg when it came to all this beautiful glacial valley had to offer.

Alaska’s White Mountain Pass looked pretty heavenly to me, although according to history it was hell building a railroad to the summit during Alaska’s gold rush years. Most thought it couldn’t be done.

Nothing like an amazing 2-hour ride along miles and miles of rugged mountain terrain and through years and years of history to encourage respect for the renowned “Irish Prince of Alaska.”

4 Comments

ALASKA'S MENDENHALL GLACIER: RAW, RUGGED & RECEDING

8/29/2016

4 Comments

Originally known as Sitaantaago ("the Glacier Behind the Town"), Mendenhall was renamed in 1892 in honor of Thomas Corwin Mendenhall, American physicist & meterologist.

The last 3000 years stretched as far as the eye could see.

The massive ‘River of Ice’ was raw and rugged and breathtakingly beautiful.

4 Comments

HUNGRY FOR HOMINY AT EATON'S BEACH

8/20/2016

4 Comments

Holy hominy! I fell in love with the chef's signature dish.

The best part of travel?

Food certainly ranks somewhere close to the top.

My new favorite food south of the Mason-Dixon line is an old standby with fresh appeal.

You haven’t had grits until you’ve had shrimp and grits.

Think twice before you crinkle your nose and say ‘ew’ at the thought of this southern, low-country breakfast staple being anything more than tasteless hominy with more grit than dirty socks at the end of the day.

Let’s just say, chef Dave Del Rio’s signature dish knocked my socks off, eliminating any doubts I might have had regarding the savory accomplishments of this humble hominy!

4 Comments

SEATTLE & A LESSON ON LESS IS MORE

8/11/2016

2 Comments

The entire Columbia Center experience left me feeling a bit dizzy.

So this is what “the most obscene erection of ego edifice on the Pacific Coast” looks like.

Eat your heart out Trump!

Alas, even the late Victor Steinbrueck, former dean of the University of Washington School of Architecture, couldn’t save Seattle from this “flat-out symbol of greed and egoism.”

Would it be gauche of me to report that from the top of Seattle’s ‘obscene’ Columbia Center the views of Puget Sound, Elliott Bay, and Mount Rainier were to die-for?

Okay, so sophistication isn’t my strong suit; but I do have a knack for composition when it comes to photography.

And I do have some obscenely scenic pictures to share!

2 Comments

FUN FOTO FRIDAY: OUTTAKES FOR THE WEEK 8/01/16

8/5/2016

4 Comments

A few years back (as in a decade, give or take a few more years) while Jimmy was having an endoscopic exam as an outpatient just before Christmas, I passed the time creating origami.

Yes, if you haven’t perused my About page (why not?), in my former life I was a nerdy math teacher (and proud of it) enamored with the aesthetics of geometry, which at the time equated to one quite impressive (if I must say, and I must) Sonobe Ball that I then bequeathed to the nurses (tis the season) who’d taken such good care of my beloved that morning.

Many viruses, like the herpes virus, have the same icosahedral shaped shell. You don't say!

While I neglected to snap a picture of my creation for posterity sake/Facebook fame (ten years ago I was using a flip phone), the image above (you guessed it, an Internet special) is a close facsimile, although my version was created using 90 squares cut from wrapping paper sporting a holiday theme.

Doggone it! Isn't that the cutest thing you've ever seen by way of towels?

Needless to say, when this puppy showed up in my cabin during our recent cruise to Alaska, my little mathematical heart swelled with appreciation.

Every night when our steward turned down our bed, he left fresh towels folded into a new creation. The appreciation escalated geometrically. It was always tough showering the next day; Jimmy insisted.

The fella gets an A+ in my book.

And you get some Fun Fotos featuring the latest twist on this ancient art.

4 Comments

DREAMERS, SCHEMERS & A VISIT TO A GOLD RUSH CEMETERY

8/4/2016

0 Comments

It used to be my dance card was filled with weddings, baby showers and graduations; wonderful dance partners full of life and love and hope for the future. And then a few decades ago, funerals tapped me on the shoulder, wanting a spin around the dance floor.

Feet, don’t fail me now!

I need a younger group of friends! Not much I can do about family members putting on the years as quickly as the pounds. Guilty as charged.

Needless to say, I’ve done my fair share of wandering cemeteries over the past few years.

In fact, my latest foray into Woodlawn Cemetery was just yesterday. May Jimmy’s cousin, Alice, rest in peace. She was laid to rest surrounded by family, both the living and the dead; plenty of love and history to go around.

No, this is not Woodlawn Cemetery! This one belongs to Alaska's Gold Rush period!

Indeed, there’s plenty of history to be had in any cemetery; rich or rogue, young and old, famous and infamous, all offer a spiritual link to the past.

Few had a past with as much 'spirit' as Jefferson Randolph Smith (no relation).

0 Comments

SKAGWAY, ALASKA: GATEWAY TO THE KLONDIKE

7/29/2016

Okay, let’s just put it out there.

There was very little that was charming or quaint about Skagway, Alaska.

Violet was a most unusual and beguiling hood ornament for her Skagway Streetcar.

Well, there was Violet. I’ll get back to her in a minute.

Vast rugged wilderness and natural beauty is what Alaska is all about, although for a brief period, just before the turn of the 20th century, Alaska was all about GOLD!

Tens of thousands of dreamers and schemers passed through the virtually uninhabited Glacial Valley the native Tlingit called Skgagwei; all contributed to the raw and raucous two-year period from 1898 to 1900 at the core of much of Skagway’s history; at least the bulk of history Violet shared during our one hour tour of Alaska’s first incorporated city.

WHO KNEW? KARAOKE, STORM CHASING & SIZING UP THE PLANET

7/22/2016

What do Stevie Wonder, Michelle Obama, Adele, Nicki Minaj, Selena Gomez, and Kanye West all have in common?

If you’re a fan of James Corden’s, Late Late Show, this teaser is a no-brainer.

<<Previous

BALD & BEAUTIFUL IN ALASKA

FUN FOTO FRIDAY: OUTTAKES FOR THE WEEK 9/12/16

ALASKA'S WHITE PASS & YUKON ROUTE: ONE HELL OF AN HISTORIC RIDE

ALASKA'S MENDENHALL GLACIER: RAW, RUGGED & RECEDING

HUNGRY FOR HOMINY AT EATON'S BEACH

SEATTLE & A LESSON ON LESS IS MORE

FUN FOTO FRIDAY: OUTTAKES FOR THE WEEK 8/01/16

DREAMERS, SCHEMERS & A VISIT TO A GOLD RUSH CEMETERY

SKAGWAY, ALASKA: GATEWAY TO THE KLONDIKE

WHO KNEW? KARAOKE, STORM CHASING & SIZING UP THE PLANET

About

Categories

Blog Roll

For Automatic Blog Updates
in same time click the RSS Feed button below and sign up for email notices or click the Like button below for automatic updates to your Facebook page.

About

Categories

Blog Roll

For Automatic Blog Updates in same time click the RSS Feed button below and sign up for email notices or click the Like button below for automatic updates to your Facebook page.

For Automatic Blog Updates
in same time click the RSS Feed button below and sign up for email notices or click the Like button below for automatic updates to your Facebook page.