Alcatraz

We were very glad we'd toted our jackets across San Francisco when the
official Alcatraz Tour ferry sailled away from the pier. The chilling wind and the waves form a
formidable barrier as they did for the prisoners from 1861 to 1963 when the prison closed,
shortly after a successful prison break.



The tour guide gave us its history as we climbed up the long driveway
to the top of the hill until we entered the main blockhouse where the
prisoners were processed and housed.





























All the cells looked alike, cramped and barely accomodating a person's biological needs.






























George had an interesting insight when he compared Alcatraz with how the monks live on Mt. Athos in Greece. The monks even call their spare quarters, cells.









The fact that one place is imposed and the other is voluntary makes all the difference, but the attitude of living a life of repentance, forced or not, is the same. Maybe some found their salvation there. The audio tour pointed out that the prisoners, sometimes not very educated ones, read a lot about philosophy I guess to try to figure themselves out. Monks also read and think a lot about the human, and their own, condition.

I wish the Eastern cure were more known about rather than such a focus on punishing the sins of a few. These desperate people can only be helped by someone who has conquered their own demons. This is more rare than is commonly thought.

San Francisco cont.

We took the Ferry back across to San Francisco to the Ferry Building under the Oakland Bay Bridge, sans luggage this time, so that we could ride a historic (ca. 1930's) streetcar,



















as opposed to the more expensive cable car (1873), down Marketstreet. At the southern end we saw where the people of a particular lifestyle hang out. Then on our way back up to Embarcadero by the piers I and the older 5 kids got out by the Levi complex with beautiful grounds to make our
ascent up to Coit Tower on Telegraph Hill. George, Rebecca and the camera hung out at Pier 39 with the Sea Lions while we ascended the 530ish (there are conflicting, and I mean confrontationally conflicting, counts among my eldests, well it's 4 against 1, Jared, who's supposed to be the math genius, but in this case he's just plain wrong) stairs up the steep, tropically be-gardened and wild parrot-ed hill up to the tower, where the view of the city and the Bay is absolutely magnificent. We got videos instead.

Then we walked down the famous Lombard street, met up with George, had hot dogs and garlic pizza on Fisherman's Wharf and finally got in line for our excursion to Alcatraz Island that needs to be, and thankfully was, reserved a month in advance.

Last Day in San Francisco, Friday, Aug. 10, Day 17

While waiting for the morning Ferry to take us back across the Bay, we came across The Relief, a lighthouse boat operated by the Coast Guard, that used to be used until automated buoys took over.




As we were reading the sign a man came out and offered us a free tour. Turns out he used to be a lighthouse boat crewman and now he maintains the boat as a museum. These boats would anchor at the entrance to the bay and emit a radio, as well as a light beacon.









It was a pretty dangerous job as they had to remain tethered during storms and hurricanes. The safest thing to do was to give the anchor some slack and let the wind and waves have their way. The worst job, which is why the rookies had to do it, was to coil the giant anchor chain that had become sludgy from seaweed and mud, in the hold of the boat.









I love the mechanical age as the machines were so honest and forthright and oftentimes elegant. All the hidden workings of electricity, computer chips, and impersonal robots take all the relationship out of our tools. Some would probably disagree. It took 14 people at a time to man this boat in shifts. Someone may want to correct or fill in more details.

San Francisco - Day 16, Thursday, Aug 9

The two days we spent in San Francisco after dis-embarking the ship were the twilight, the denouement, of our trip. In one sense I was tired of all the "catch a ride here by this time" logistics of the previous 2 2/7 weeks, but being away amidst beautifully dramatic landscapes was so nice at the same time. I had just enough energy for one last hurrah.

Back on the ship. After waiting for a couple of hours in a beautiful stairwell, our color was called and we went down to the 4th deck to exit down the gangway. Then it was into the warehouse dock to find our luggage. We hadn't had to tote the 18 pieces for 10 days, but maybe we could muster ourselves a few more times. We'd reserved a less expensive hotel in Jack London Square in Oakland, across the bay from San Francisco which was right by a ferry stop. Luckily the ferry also stopped at pier 41, just a couple of blocks from Princess pier 35. We'd figured it would be too difficult to try to cram all those suitcases on a crowded bus. On the way we stopped at the touristy Pier 39 with their famous sea lions to pass the hour until the Oakland/Alameda Ferry.


































After we got to our hotel, we were ready to just chill for a while, so the kids went swimming while other people took naps. Then we walked to Sui Sui Japanese restaurant and had the best sushi ever! They also had delicious stir fry and ramen dishes for the less adventurous kids. On the way to and from we walked by the


































Oakland Police Department building which was really cool. I can't find a picture but here's their seal. The building looks a lot like it. Jordan loved it and noticed a hiring sign offering $70,000 base. It's neat to see him so motivated.

In Memorium

For all those who fell on 9-11-01, if I may presume on another Memorial Service.

Last Day on the Ship

Rebecca thought the traditional celebratory Chef Parade with responding napkin wave was absolutely hilarious.


















The chefs and the Maitre D' very much deserved it for their delicious and beautiful culinary presentations.

Tea For Two

I wanted to add this photo in addition to the Flickr pictures available in the sidebar. They only let me post 31.

Victoria, British Columbia, our last stop on our Cruise - Tuesday, Cruise Day 9

After a relaxing day at sea, during which the kids finally got to swim in the heated pool, as wind and weather permitted, we sailed into the Harbor of Victoria, British Columbia. George had reserved an extravagant excursion for just the two of us to Butchart Gardens, where we had tea. The tour guide showed us the main attractions of the city as we journeyed to the other side of the island to the Gardens. Mrs. Butchart felt bad that her and her husband's quarry had so disfigured the land, so she made a world-class garden out of it.

Our trip to Victoria said loud and clear, "You're not in the wilderness anymore!" I still have very mixed feelings about that. I have a new Flickr widget at the bottom of the sidebar to the left where I put some of the flowers.

Whale Watching

After leaving the Fjord, we counted about 15 whales. I suppose they were humpback. They were very hard to capture with the shutter delay.

Leaving Tracy Arm Fjord

Dean Paige said that after the glacier carves out the rock mountain, lichen are the first plants to grow, then their decay leaves soil for moss, which leaves deeper soil for bigger plants, and so on, until years and years later, trees can grow. Patience, my heart.

Tracy Arm Fjord - Cruise Day 7, Sunday

Early Sunday morning the ship took a sight-seeing cruise through Tracy Arm Fjord, a deep inlet formed by a glacier that is still receding. We were sad to leave Alaska, but this detour into the interior left a sweet taste in our mouth.

Skagway - Cruise Day 6, Saturday, Aug 4

Skagway experienced two booms. One when gold was discovered in 1896 in the Canadian Yukon which was only accessible by sea and a grueling trek across White (Dead Horse) Pass.




















The second was when the U.S. decided to defend against Japanese invasion during WWII.
Skagway by then had a rail way
























to Canada's interior which proved useful to supply the building of the new Canada - Alaska Highway to fortify against the Japanese take-over of one of the Aleutian Islands. I didn't realize the Japanese actually had occupied, and not just bombed, American soil. The Battle of the Aleutian Islands is known as the Forgotten Battle as the Battle of Guadalcanal, in which the USS Juneau sank, overshadowed it. "There were 3,929 U.S. casualties: 549 were killed, 1,148 were injured,
1,200 had severe cold injuries, 614 succumbed to disease, and 318 died
of miscellaneous causes, largely Japanese booby traps and friendly fire."

Today it's mostly a historic tourist town keeping the past alive. This photo was in a museum in back of a store.

"Of the twenty mushers who rushed the serum from Nenana to Nome, 674
miles away, the man who drove the furthest in perilous conditions was
Alaska's great sled dog racer Leonhard Seppala. And the dog that led
Seppala's team on a loop of two hundred and sixty miles, including a
long stretch over the fracturing ice of Norton Sound was the same dog
with an impressive record of race victories over the previous decade --
a small, feisty Siberian Husky named Togo, the real hero of the serum
run. It wore Togo out and he was unable to race much after that." Please read the rest of this dog's story here.

Prayer

I copied this from Handmaid Leah's blog. The painter is Dmitri Petrov.

Libby Riddles

Dean Paige, the ship's Naturalist, told us to not miss Libby Riddles, the first woman to win the Iditerod sled dog race who was giving a talk 7pm in the Vista Lounge while we were docked in Juneau Friday evening.
























With her beautiful face and long blonde hair, she did not give the impression of a champion sled dog musher who possessed the physical strength, conditioning, command of wolf-like huskies, and endurance necessary to participate in the 1,049 mile wilderness race from Anchorage to Nome, Alaska, much less win it. I am very fascinated by animal trainers for how in tune they are with these wild beasts, yet know how to stay one step, at least, ahead of them so that they maintain loving dominance, not just sympathy, in order to achieve peak performance. I think this sense is very akin to how an Orthodox Spiritual Father is with his spiritual children.
 
Her talk was very interesting, especially when she described, what seems like the clincher moment, when she decided to push past a checkpoint where everyone else decided to sleep during a blizzard. When she could finally go no further, she staked her sled, fed the dogs a snack, let them rest in their dog igloos, and slept for a few hours on the wind shielded side of the sled. When she woke up, she wanted to go back to sleep, but knew that she and the dogs would not only get passed up in the race, but could probably die in the sub zero temperatures. So she pushed on and won the race. She is a model of the asceticism, attentive focus, and skill that are necessary to achieve greatness.

Juneau - Cruise Day 5, Friday

I woke up the next morning to the Juneau pier outside of my window.


























Here's the view from the Promenade Deck as we were disembarking the ship .


Getting to St. Nicholas Russian Orthodox Church,





























which was started by Orthodox native Alaskans after the Russians sold
the territory, was a bit of a stretch of the legs through the town and
up the hill from the pier.

After visiting in their book store/gift shop and spending some time in the Church, where we met Father Michael who had recently moved from California, we took a tour of the State Capitol Building.

























All of the pictures of legislators were of white folks. The pictures of the native Tlingits were from the turn of the 20th century and depicted them in tribal, sometimes scary, dress.

We headed back downtown and had delicious
freshly made chocolates for lunch and stopped in a few tourist stores





























which displayed Russian or native gifts.

The Mount Roberts Tram is owned and operated by the Tlingits. Since the sort of steep ticket price includes the museum tour and an
award winning movie about native culture, combined with the views, it
was all worth while.


I'll add some more pictures here at the bottom and in my photo's and put them all in my Juneau Collection.

Saints Zachariah and Elizabeth

Today is my Namesday, so I'd like to post this icon.

Painted at The Convent of St. Elizabeth, the Grand Duchess of Russia.

Embarking in Sitka

 

Luckily once you get to the pier in Sitka, the town is all within walking distance.


This was the first sight we saw on dry land.










































When we crossed ourselves upon entering the Cathedral,







































the lady who receives $3 a tourist, said we could get in for free since we were Orthodox. While we were venerating the icons, a Reader named Philip approached us, asked us if we were Orthodox and then asked if he could give us a tour! He took us behind the cordoned area so that we could venerate the Our Lady of Sitka icon. It was more beautiful than I remembered from when it was at St. Seraphim's Cathedral in Dallas on tour a couple of years ago.












































He also brought out from behind the altar St. Innocent's Blessing Cross! He had hand carved it out of ivory, and we were told it has a piece of the actual cross inside it. We are very blessed to have been able to venerate it.

Just as it was closing, we arrived at the Bishop's House where St. Innocent lived. The Ranger allowed us to tour the ground floor anyway, which is full of artifacts from the historic and lovingly successful Orthodox mission effort to Alaska. I'll post some more pictures in my photo's. I also have a Collection, accessible at the bottom of the sidebar on the right, called Way Out West Vacation, both of which have a slideshow type option again in the right sidebar if you click on a picture. It's chronological if you click on the last photo first.

Cruise Day 4 - Sitka, Alaska

Because of the high winds and waves the evening of departure, that continued into the next day, our progress to Sitka was delayed. We were supposed to be there from 12p - 6p Thursday. The ship didn't drop anchor at the Sitka harbor until around 2pm, and then we all had to draw a number for "tender transport". We drew numbers 540 - 547, but the numbers continued to around 1000. The people who had booked a shore excursion didn't have to draw a number and were transported off the boat first. Thus we didn't set foot on Sitka shores until 4pm! and they said we still had to come back by 6. This was quite the bummer as Sitka, home of St. Innocent of Alaska, was our premier destination.

More about St. Innocent from oca.org:

St. Innocent of Alaska

Evangelizer, Teacher, Visionary
Equal to the Apostles, Enlightener of North America
1797 - 1879

Drawing of St. Innocent by the Very Rev. L.P. Koulos which appeared on the cover of the 1997 OCA Desk Calendar and the OCA Sourcebook.

Throughout 1997 Orthodox Christians in North America will celebrate the
two-hundredth anniversary of the birth of their "apostle" and first
bishop -- St. Innocent (Veniaminov).

Born on August 26, 1797, in a remote village in Siberia, John Popov
(who later assumed the surname of Veniaminov) studies for pastoral
service at the seminary in Irkutsk. After his marriage to Catherine
Sharina (1817) and ordination to the priesthood (1821), Fr. John
volunteered for missionary work in Alaska.

Arriving with his family in Unalaska in the Aleutian island chain
(1824), Fr. John began his remarkable career as a missionary priest and
bishop in the far-reaches of the Russian Empire -- Siberia and Alaska.
Following the death of his wife (1839), he entered monastic life by
taking the name Innocent and was elected the first resident bishop of
Alaska (1840-58).

A person with many skills and interest, Fr. John carefully studied the
traditional cultures of his flock and well as their natural
environment. He also designed and built churches including the Mission
House and St. Michael's Cathedral in Sitka.

An accomplished linguist, Fr. John learned the various native Siberian
and Alaskan languages of his diverse flock. While serving in Unalaska,
he learned Unangan, the Fox Island dialect of the Aleut people. Along
with Aleut leader Ivan Pan'kov, he devised a written grammar and
alphabet, translating the Gospel of St. Matthew and liturgical texts.
His spiritual treatise Indication of the Pathway into the Kingdom of
Heaven was first published in Unangan and was the first Aleut book.

Later in his life he was appointed Metropolitan of Moscow (1868).
However, Metropolitan Innocent's evangelical zeal never diminished --
establishing in 1868 the Orthodox Missionary Society. He died in Moscow
on March 31, 1879, and was canonized a saint of the Orthodox Church on
October 6, 1977.

Interior boat pics

I guess that gives you an idea of what it was like on the boat. I'll just post some miscellaneous pictures, and if you click on them there may be further description under the caption.

Formal Night -First full day at sea, Tuesday, July 31

Thankfully there were laundromats on the stateroom floors because you can imagine we had a lot by this point.

Tuesday night was one of two formal nights, the rest were "smart casual", so we spent a while getting ready for that. I had ordered a nice dress from a catalog, but had to have it altered, and even then, I wasn't happy with how it fit.
This put a slight damper on the evening.





















It was our first time in the Venetian dining room, 6th deck, where we were assigned a permanent table with permanent servers who get to know your preferences. It's like going to a fancy restaurant every night where they put the napkin in your lap, have things you never thought to eat on the menu, and scrape your place after each course with one of those scaper things. It was very nice, but I like serve-yourself buffets as I'm less tense when not conspicuously watched, hence the reason why I'm a blogger instead of a public speaker. But while eating my heaped buffet platter full of food, I feel like a pig. Whereas at a more carefully paced, multi-course, served meal, with small, attentively prepared dishes served on stacked china, it feels more respectful to the food and elevates the dining experience by making it more about the people around you.

Afterward Ben went with George and me to the Princess Theater, 7th deck, to attend the Piano Man show featuring the music of Liberace, Elton John, and Billy Joel, while the other kids went to the Vista Lounge at the other end of the same deck to see a magician show. The Cruise Director noted that there where a lot of kids on this boat, I guess more than usual, so they had to make the shows rated PG. The performers sometimes good naturedly complained that they had to edit their material, and gave the kids funny sideways glances as they paused and tried to work around certain topics. Some of it was still a little edgy, and Glenn Hirsch hid behind the curtains a few times or got on his knees in desperation because he couldn't go as far in saying what he wanted to. It was pretty funny, and I appreciated their acknowledging age appropriateness.

I wish I'd gotten some pictures of the Atrium during formal night. There were a lot of elegantly dressed people, including the fully dressed out crew with those shoulder braids on their uniforms, and walking among them made me feel sort of special somehow. I loved this Russian quartet who played familiar classical music in the Atrium and even had a command performance in the Vista Lounge another evening. On that night the first chair violinist played some very difficult solo's, including one where he mimicked several bird calls. It was heavenly.

Getting Oriented - Tuesday, Day 2 on the ship

That first evening at the Sail Away party, I finally settled in my mind
that taking this trip was for sure the right thing to do, even with
George's condition, when he called Father Basil on the cell phone
obviously excited about being on our way to Sitka and St. Michael's
Cathedral. His furrowed brow disappeared, his symptoms lessened, and he and the kids were so
into the boat thing, that I finally relaxed about it. Knowing they are
having a good time doing healthy things is what makes me happy.

Sleeping on the ship is really nice as the rocking motion, even with
high waves and sea-sickness, is very relaxing. Having a fully stocked
all you can eat breakfast buffet waiting for you until 11:30 is pretty
nice too, not that we ate quite that late. This was the first day
of the Dormition Fast, but the rules are relaxed if you are traveling,
so we went ahead and ate meat, but George stuck mainly with fish for
his heart.

The first day the activities included a fruit carving demonstration and
a talk by the ship's Naturalist, Dean Something, who gave interesting lectures on flora, fauna, mostly US centered history, and other things Alaskan almost every day. He was the only crew member
who was a US citizen that I can think of right now. The Captain was Italian, our servers
in the Venetian Room were Romanian and Bulgarian, the Cruise Director
was South African, and there were others from Canada, Germany, Mexico,
Australia, the Philippines, etc.

The kids, except Jordan who was too
old, were excited about the different young people's activities even though they
would be split into three different age categories. Jared, Ben and Jeremy with
the teen group called Remix, Rachel with the Shock Waves, and Rebecca with the
Pelicans. Rachel had already surprised me by being willing to separate
from us into her age group. This new tendency was
foreshadowed when she went to Orthodox Camp by herself this year
- but she already knew a lot of those kids.

























Rebecca was barely curious
about what the Pelicans were about, and as usual, didn't want me to
leave her there alone. When I promised to help her color her very own
T-shirt, she was willing to at least go into the room. After the shirt
was finished, she was ready for me to leave! They all loved their
separate activities and attended them every afternoon at least, and
when they weren't there, they were asking when they could go back. My
feelings were not hurt - much. My babies are growing up!