A Birding Mystery Solved and Word Verification

I'm saddened to say that because of a high number of spam comments recently I've decided to turn on word verification. I was having to delete lots of comments that were clearly spam and this just makes it simpler for me. It will make leaving comments a bit more cumbersome but hopefully not too bad. Sorry about the inconvenience.

My big excitement for the night was that I finally figured out a birding mystery that has been plaguing me for the last two and a half years. Yeah apparently I get a bit obsessive. Anyway. In 2008, Jeff and I went on a Caribbean cruise to celebrate the end of my masters program. It was a very nice trip but I came back with a picture of a bird that really bothered me. It involved an injured bird that I couldn't identify. It was one of the saddest and most interesting day of the cruise for me. And so the bird nagged at me. Until today.

The day we arrived in Belize, Jeff and I had had it. We had been busy and constantly moving for many days now and we were tired and snipping at each other. Not exactly relaxing. Jeff wanted to stay on the boat rather then tender to shore. I reluctantly agreed. I had wanted to see Belize but I was also a bit tired and not sure I wanted to explore by myself. So we parked ourselves on the deck chairs in the sun and relaxed. He worked on a puzzle book and I wrote. Until we noticed movement under some of the deck chairs not far away.

This was our first image of the little guy. He was hiding under the chairs, trying to pull himself up. We didn't want to spook him so we didn't get close. Instead I pulled up a chair a distance away and sketched him. We watched him for about an hour. I made sure no one went too close. Finally when we decided that he wasn't going to be able to escape on his own, we made the agonizing decision to call one of the deck stewards. The crew arrived and gently removed the bird. I remember crying a bit as they took him away since I didn't know what they were going to do with him. I was distracted and sad the rest of the day. But I also realized that the reason I had been so tired and cranky before was that I was missing birds and animals (there aren't many on cruises). I'm incredibly biophiliac. It was wonderful to be so close to a beautiful creature even though I still have no idea what happened to him.

When I came home, I scoured through my bird books and some bird websites, trying to figure out what type of bird it was. I figured it was a juvenile so that made it a bit trickier. The feet were pretty identifiable but I still came up empty. I checked all over with no luck. I even contacted the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology but chickened out before sending them any photos. So it became a mystery. Most of the time I didn't think about it but occasionally I would go back and see what I could find.

This evening I went out birding with my parents. We saw blue-winged teals and an adorable pied-billed grebe. I went to mark them off in my North American Field Guide when I decided to again look for my mystery bird. I was obviously blind. I'm not sure how I missed it before. I flipped the pages and then, as if by magic, the page dropped open. It's an immature Purple Gallinule. It's a perfect example, in the right place. The gallinule is apparently pretty common. I had just been missing the page or something. So my mystery bird is no longer a mystery. Although the fate of that particular individual will never be answered. My hope, naive perhaps, is that it was tendered to shore and given to a local wildlife rehabber. At least that's the story that helps me sleep at night.

Home Again

Did you miss me? After a week of bumming around Southeast Alaska, we got home yesterday morning. We'd taken the red-eye from Anchorage so I didn't have enough brain power left to write this yesterday. For those of you who didn't know, I just got back from a week long cruise of Alaska's Inside Passage. I was traveling with Jeff, my parents, my aunt and uncle, and my sister and her fiance. So for the next week or so I'll be talking Alaska and salmon and bears and boats.

We sailed out of Vancouver which has to be one of the prettiest cities in the world (it made Forbes top ten actually). We met some old family friends in Vancouver and spent the first day with them wandering through the city and eating way too well (a trend that would continue). Vancouver is a young and very vibrant city. I have to admit that I thought about moving there and still do. A city filled with flowers and promise. Wonderful.

Port of Vancouver

The next day we had breakfast with our friends and then Jeff and I headed for the ship. Our luggage was already handled so we walked down to the harbor. We sailed on the Island Princess, which is one of the oldest boats in Princess's fleet but a beautiful ship. By the end of the first day we had walked every deck and had seen the entire length of the ship. We'd also spent some time checking out the city from the balcony in our stateroom and taken tons of pictures.

Island Princess

I have to start by saying this about Alaska, and even Vancouver; everywhere you looked it was like a postcard. The landscapes were amazing. Everything was picture worthy. And I ended up taking well over 300 pictures.

View from Vancouver Harbor

At 3:45 that afternoon we had our Muster Drill, a safety briefing that all boats are required to do. And at 4:30 we pushed away from dock and set sail. Our group stood on the balconies and talked as the boat sped out of Vancouver Harbor and headed out into the great unknown.

Jeff clowning around after the Muster Drill

My mother had said before that she never wanted to take a cruise. She doesn't swim and isn't a huge fan of boats. But she said that she'd go to Alaska on one, and that is how the trip began. She was okay with an Alaskan cruise because you are almost always in sight of land. And that proved to be the case for the first two days at least. After leaving Vancouver, our next day was a day at sea. I woke up insanely early (stupid time change) and spent most of the morning watching the sunrise and the land go by. I ate too much, read a lot, saw a naturalist talk on whales, and learned one very important fact about speeding boats and Alaska. They are cold. Very cold. Here is your humble narrator dressed up in her typical Alaska costume. Once the boat got going, it was too cold to stand on the balcony without gloves.

It's funny. I hardly took any pictures of the boat this trip, as opposed to our last cruise. The boat was just as beautiful as our previous one but it was well overshadowed by the natural beauty surrounding it. I'll try not to post too many photos but I want you to have an idea of just how incredible Alaska can be.

Lighthouse at Vancouver Harbor

Tomorrow...Ketchikan and the Notorious Creek Street

Alaskan Goal

As if I wasn't in enough of a hurry to be walking again, I now have a great goal to work towards. My parents are taking an Alaskan cruise in July and have invited us kids. My plan is to go if I'm walking well enough. A cruise is exciting enough but I've always wanted to see Alaska. I simply couldn't pass up the chance to go.

I've been working on rehabilitation for a bit now but I'm doubling my efforts. I do flexion exercises every night for about a half an hour. I'm increasing that to an hour now. I'm putting the suggested amount of weight on my foot so that I don't have as much of a transition once the crutches are gone. I want this recovery to go as smoothly as possible. This is just added incentive.

Jeff won't be going with me on the trip which is a source of guilt and sadness for me. It's been years since I last traveled without him and I'm not completely comfortable with the idea. I'm feeling guilty about the fact that I will have this fantastic experience while he'll miss out. And I'm sad that he won't be with me. I'm sad but not enough that I'm going to pass up a chance to see whales, glaciers, bald eagles, and the beauty that is Alaska. A trip is just what I need to be excited about getting better. I'm already doing research about our ship. And a family trip is even more exciting. If only Jeff were going it would be perfect. Well, that and walking.

Losing my Sea Legs

If there was ever an indication that I should have been a sailor it is this. Two days after getting back and I'm still trying to lose my sea legs. My head is still very much "at sea". Sadly not figuratively. Literally. When I sit for any length of time I can feel the ship rock and move beneath me. A pleasant feeling when you are at sea. A little more disconcerting when sitting at my desk at work. My body is clearly geared towards being at sea. The little bits I read on this say it is normally and hopefully should go away within the week. Until then I'll be bobbing along with the tides.

The trip was wonderful. I absolutely loved the boat and being at sea. Here is a picture of the front of the boat. To fully capture the length of the boat took four pictures. When people tell you these boats are huge they mean it. See how much it dwarfs the building to the right.

We started the trip in Fort Lauderdale. Of all the places we went to this was the most beautiful. We stayed in one of the oldest hotels in the city, Riverside Hotel, which is along Las Olas Boulevard. The boulevard is full of wonderful shops and restaurants. It is very much the trendy spot for the city. Here is the hotel and a little of Las Olas.

The first night Jeff and I walked all the way down to the beach (about 2.5 miles) and back along Las Olas. As you get closer to the beach, the street becomes broken up by canals. There are mansions everywhere and the yachts get bigger and bigger. The street ends at A1A, a scenic byway along the beach made famous by none other than Vanilla Ice. (yes I know the lyrics to Ice Ice Baby)

For the first time in my life I got to wade in the Atlantic Ocean. Here is a picture of Jeff down on A1A.

We mostly bummed around Fort Lauderdale and ate at some fantastic restaurants. We ate outside everywhere we could. One lunch we had included a one footed pigeon who stole french fries right off Jeff's plate. We ate breakfast at a little place call Le Bonne Crepe which had wonderful scrambled eggs with whatever you wanted mixed in. This was my first experience with dogs joining their masters for outdoor dining. I guess that is pretty typical down there. You eat outside and the dog sits at your feet. Something that wouldn't fly up here.

The next day we wandered the other way up Las Olas and ended up at the Science Museum. We got there around opening time so Jeff and I were able to play with the hands-on gadgets, something we don't normally get to do. Here I am trying to create big bubbles.

The animal section of the science museum made me sad though. There was a terrified looking possum with no where to hide. The hardest part was a strange looking fish in a tank with two lobsters. It looked like they had been cutting little chunks out of his face. The volunteer told us he had some sort of fungal infection and had been quarentined. He seemed to plead with us to let him out. It was really hard. The rock exhibit they had was breathtaking though. Malachites, calcites, and quartzes that were colorful and good specimens. Jeff and I were the only ones looking at them. As the afternoon went on, the museum filled and we had to leave. The noise was deafening. I felt bad for both the animals and workers.

The next day we boarded the boat. I can't even begin to describe how huge this boat is. 11 floors of ship and about 2 football fields in length and you still would probably underestimate the size. And it was beautiful. Marble and tile and mirrors and glass. I had heard it described as a floating resort and that matched well. The staterooms were small but well fitted. There was more than enough storage for the two gigantic suitcases we had. The main dining room was opulant and the centrum (grand atrium) was for lack of a better word grand. The solarium (adults only pool) was quiet and still and spa-like. I spent a good chunk of time reading there.

I'll spend some time in my next post talking about Key West and Cozumel. I'm at work but I wanted to get back to blogging. This last week was strange. I didn't have access to the internet or even any real news. It was a complete disconnect. I read two books on vacation and wrote more than I have in the last year. I'll post more on each later. I have reviews to do and more.

{Edit: other pictures will be loaded this evening, after I get home.}

I have not fallen off the face of the earth

Although lately it feels like it. I have been bad about blogging, not even logging in all weekend. In fact, I didn't even check my email this weekend. Instead I worked. A good chunk of the weekend. These last three weeks at work have been very busy. I have more projects than I know what to do with. Normally I don't have to work on the weekend but this was an exception. I'll work next weekend as well. Why? Because I'm sailing off into the sunset. In two weeks. So I have to pay my dues now. 

When I finished my Masters, Jeff asked me what I wanted as a gift. I said that I wanted a cruise. I've always wanted to take a cruise. As I've mentioned before I'm pretty sure I was a pirate or a sailor in my previous life. I love the ocean and I particularly love boats. The thought of being miles from shore on a boat makes me incredibly excited. Now add a 24 hour buffet and two of the most beautiful ports I could imagine and you can sense my excitement. 

This trip has been a year and a half in the making. We have had it booked since December. I read more about cruise ships in that time then I did for my final papers in school. I wanted to make the right choice. We're sailing on Royal Caribbean and I think we did pretty well. I'm stopping in Key West, to see Hemingway's home. In Cozumel for snorkeling and shopping. And Belize for the jungles and Mayan ruins. 

But mostly I'm just excited to be out at sea. Ever since I was young I wanted to learn to sail. I have a dream of owning a boat and sailing the Caribbean on a live aboard. And for the first time I get a chance to go to bed completely surrounded by water and wake up the same way. We no longer believed that the world is flat but I would love to think I'm sailing to the ends of the earth. Or at least the ends of the Caribbean. 

By the way, this will be our home in two weeks. Royal Caribbean's Enchantment of the Seas. Can anyone say floating resort? (again a "borrowed picture". I'll have some of my own when I come back.)