In the midst of all that is so very wrong today, an evening of joy!

I have been known to voice the sometimes unpopular opinion that although there have been many incredible songs written and recorded by incredible artists in the past 40+ years, nothing equals the breadth, depth, or volume of soul-reaching music than the brilliance that came out of the 1970s. Nothing.

That's my hill. I'll die on it.

There are so many solo artists who made their initial marks during that decade that it's tough to choose a favorite, but I'll narrow it down to two: Elton John and Neil Diamond. I've had the privilege to see both live in concert, Elton John twice and Neil Diamond three times.

But until last Thursday night, I had never seen my favorite band from the 70s perform live. So it was lovely mix of excitement, nostalgia, and full-on joy to sit on camp chairs at the Sandy Amphitheater and rock out for 90 minutes to the iconic music of Chicago. I knew every word to almost every song, one after another. They played only one of my two favorites: "Color My World." Don't know how they missed "Wishing You Were Here."

I forgive them. Because you know, with that many classics, they can't play everything. And yes, I would have loved it if they'd played longer than 90 minutes. But keep in mind that three of them have been with the band since its formation in 1967! Huge respect and kudos to Robert Lamm, age 80 (vocals and keyboards); Lee Loughnane, age 78 (trumpet); and Jimmy Pankow, age 77 (trombone). 

It was a fabulous concert and dream come true for me to see them live. I've also been known to say that I managed to raise at least one child who has good taste in music. Isaiah truly appreciates 70s music and agrees that no other decade compares. His brothers, not so much. Luke and Eli like screaming music. No, really! The bands they like have actual members identified as "screamers." To be fair, Led Zeppelin and Alice Cooper had some pretty aggressive vocals that bordered on screaming, but nothing like what Eli listens to. Seth likes a variety of music but also fails to recognize the obvious superiority of the music from the 70s. 

And Shulamith doesn't like music much at all. So weird. But then she doesn't like fruit either. But she loves me, and she'll go with me to most anything I ask her to, so after a yummy dinner of Indian curry, the three of us went to the concert. Shulamith recognized at least two of the songs, maybe three, and I think she enjoyed some of the others. Isaiah and I sang loud and proud to every last one.

In the turmoil that is today. In the horror that is our country's administration. In the pain so many are experiencing at the hands of an oligarch, who has suggested that "Maybe we like a dictator." In the throes of yet another shooting, where I'm guessing those inside were already doing plenty of praying at their Catholic school. In what often seems like just too much! It was pure delight to have an evening away from all that, an evening to reminisce, an evening to hang with two of my babies and very best friends.

Excitement, nostalgia, and full-on joy! 

From glaciers to Covid: the highs and lows of Alaska crusin'!

It was my third cruise.

In 2008, Shulamith and I took a Western Caribbean cruise to Jamaica, The Grand Cayman Islands, and Cozumel. That was one year before the start of itslegs, so I don't even have a post to prove it. Did it even happen? Then two years ago, we did a Mediterranean cruise to Barcelona, Cannes, Pisa, Florence, and Rome. Both these cruises, though different from each other, were awesome in their own ways. The first was full of relaxation both on warm beaches and on the ship, itself. The second was fast-paced; we basically used the ship as a hotel, a place to sleep. Each morning, we awoke in a new country, having sailed all night, and other than at night, we were rarely on board.

This time was different from both of those. First, we had way more people! Ten! Shulamith, Matt, and their kids; Eli, Amanda, and Jane; Seth and I. Such a fun group!

It was also different because it was kinda cold. We actually had perfect weather for Alaska, but I'm glad we were warned ahead of time to bring warm clothes and dress in layers. For example, this is what sunbathing looks like on an Alaskan cruise:

The ship provided these warm, fresh blankets out on the deck at all times, and we took full advantage. I pretty much wrapped myself in one whenever I was outside. It really was such a fun trip, with mostly "highs" and very few "lows," but allow me to share a few of both:

HIGHS

Service on the ship. From the delightful waitstaff in the dining room, to the dedicated professionals who cleaned our cabins, the bartenders who provided us 20+ Diet Cokes a day, Princess knows how to train its employees. They were thoughtful, kind, and courteous. Our servers in the dining room were over-the-top amazing and brought us way too much food. 

"I can't decide between the lobster bisque and the shrimp cocktail. What do you suggest?" 

"I will bring you both!"

It didn't help that I wasn't ever actually hungry at our 7:30 p.m. dinner appointments. After grazing on pizza and ice cream (available all day) and the buffet which seemed to be open almost all the time too, it was hard not to just eat all the time! Gratefully, the ship had a nice gym, so Shulamith and I were able to work out each morning before everyone else woke up, and we even grabbed a fun Zumba class one day. It wasn't as intense as Matt doing 350 pushups in the rain out on the deck of the ship, but it was something.

Shore Excursions. We went to three cities: Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway. I believe Ketchikan was my favorite. It's hard to explain why; it is a city with a small-town feel, surrounded by lush green, rich with Native American history, and home to the largest collection of totem poles in the world. 

The weather was perfect that day, overcast with light, drizzly rain, my absolute favorite! I donned my rain poncho and walked the streets. It was there that I encountered my only actual wildlife scene of the trip. A sea otter caught a fish and ate it right in front of me! Poor fish!

Our second excursion was in Juneau, where we rented a 10-seater van, and Matt drove us around to the various sites. 

The highlight was Mendenhall Glacier. Wow! It's a very good thing we went there when we did, because it is currently closed due to outburst flooding from Suicide Basin.

With three of my five babies: Shulamith, Eli, and Seth

The third and final shore day was in Skagway. Here, most of us went zip-lining. Jane isn't old enough, so she and her parents met up with us later for lunch. I don't have any pics of zip-lining, unfortunately, but the experience was anything but unfortunate. So much fun flying through the trees! I think this might have been Seth's favorite part of the trip? And Shulamith somehow managed to choose the perfect day. It was sunny, so we could see the mountain peaks all around us, and the guides kept telling us that they so rarely get days (and views!) like we had.

Food. As mentioned before, the food on the ship was decent and plentiful. Nothing gourmet, but good. My favorite ship meal was our first night when fresh salmon was on the menu. Mmmmm. The final evening, I had steak and lobster, also delicious. But the best food was off the boat. I can't remember precisely in which city we ate which food, but my favorite shore food were burgers and onion rings at a diner (3rd place), Indian fry bread (2nd place), and this delicious fresh crab (1st place):

Matt, Seth, and I are the only ones of the 10 of us who eat seafood. What's wrong with these people?

LOWS

I feel like I should preface this section with "Lows? I've had a few. But then again, too few to mention." It was a complicated trip, requiring so many steps (passports, flights, shuttles, hotels, van rental, excursions, meals, packing lists, etc.). Shulamith, almost singlehandedly, handled all of it. She truly missed her calling in life; she should have been a professional travel agent. I can really only think of two actual lows:

First, having to work on the trip. I dream of a day that I can take an actual vacation without having to work. But that will be many years in the future, if ever. Tied to the academic year, I can only travel in May, August or December. And December is just a little busy with my favorite holiday, so that leaves May and August. This year, I went to Israel in May and Alaska last week, and on both trips, I was closing out one semester and prepping for a new one. Ugh! One downside of having to work while on a cruise is that Internet is expensive: $30/day. I bought it just once, but sadly took my computer with me on each excursion so I could connect and work while off the ship. I don't particularly recommend this, but if it's this or don't travel, I'll choose this!

Second, Covid. Yes, you heard that right. Friday afternoon, our last day on the ship, we all gathered in one of the lounges to play Bingo. Amanda was trying to win back the $25 Eli lost in the casino playing the claw game. Do they have a 12-step program for claw game addicts? Anyway, we all had our Bingo cards and the caller was about to begin, when I noticed Eli get up and walk out. He hadn't been feeling well that morning, so I assumed he was still sick. When Bingo was over and Amanda and I went to their cabin to check on him, we found him in bed, shivering under a blanket. He said his arms and legs were numb, and that was enough for us to insist we walk down to the ship's medical center.

The care there was fabulous, and after checking his vitals which revealed a fever of 102 degrees, they ran a Covid test which was positive. He had to isolate back in his cabin the rest of the evening and ride separately to the airport from all the rest of us the next morning. However this "low" could have been so much lower, had he become ill earlier in the week. He might have missed so much! Once home, Matt also tested positive, and Amanda, Shulamith, and I were all a little sick, so it's possible we had mild cases as well.

We flew out of Anchorage on a red-eye that left at 12:31 a.m. Sunday, and we were back in SLC at 7:00 a.m., tired and jet-lagged, but happy. 

It was a good trip. Here are a few random pics:

Back left to right: Amanda, Eli, Seth, me, Shulamith, Matt.

Front left to right: Jane, Theodore, Kennedy, Swen

Seth and I in Edmonton, Alberta, our layover stop on the way to the cruise in Vancouver, B.C.

Kennedy in the sunset!

Shulamith and I