Legoland CA

Who hasn’t played with Lego’s at least once ? Most kids in the USA I would guess either have some or know someone who has some. A few years ago I found out that Lego’s aren’t just for kids. We took some of our family to S. CA and one of the stops was Legoland in Carlsbad. SONY DSC

There was so much to see there, especially the miniature section. They had New Orleans, San Francisco, New York, and many other places all made out of Legos.

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They also had a Star Wars Section when we were there.

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It was a place definitely on my must-see-list. They even had their own water park and aquarium.

Mountian Village Alaska

There are several small villages through-out remote Alaska most people never see nor visit if they make it to Alaska. Mountain Village is one of them. Last count of population was about 813. The village is located on the Yukon river near the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. The village is mostly Yupik Eskimo. The people are very friendly and out going. We lived there for a year. There is one road that connects to St. Marys, another village about 18 miles away. The local rely on fish a lot so most have fish camps where they dry the fish.

The winter sunrises are incredible there.

Fireweed is used for many purposes including jam.

And being on the Yukon winter breakup is also something noteworthy.

There are several Youtube videos showing this place and some of the people there. The only way to get there is to fly a bigger plane from Anchorage to Bethel then a small plane from there. Unless you live in the area then you can get there by boat during the summer or by snow machine (snowmobile) or 4 wheeler during the winter.

Saratoga Springs NY

In our travels, a few years ago, we went to Saratoga Springs in New York and stayed a few days. We had never been there before. Saratoga Springs is wildly known for its mineral springs all over he town.

And for it’s famous horse racing.

Near the horse racing track are some old big mansions that were very photo worthy.

There were many many more interesting and incredible places to view and see there. I don’t know if we will ever make it back there, but we enjoyed our time there and would recommend visiting there if you get a chance.

A Day in Ketchikan

So living in a tourist is nice in some ways, and not so in others. If you take an Alaskan inside passage cruise usually Ketchikan is one of your stops, either your first stop if your going North or your last if your going South. I made a DVD a few years ago, because it was something I really wanted to do. The DVD, “A day in Ketchikan”, displays several of the local sites and places to go. I sold some at a yearly craft fair called the Blueberry Festival. Others I sold in a few of the local shops for up to $15 each. Below are a few of the sections from it, one about bears and the other about eagles. Both contain some pictures that I took here. I just uploaded a digital cop of the DVD for only $4.99. If your interested please click the link below. Thank you.

Memorial Day

Arlington National Cementary…Most Americans know the name, so few have actually been there. My wife and I went there a few years ago, I had no idea how huge it really was. Me trying to be cheap and save a few bucks decided against the tour (and tour bus) and figured we could walk it. If you ever go TAKE THE BUS ! We walked and walked and walked. It’s not a flat place either, it is all very hilly.

Of course if you do go there you also must stay for the changing of the guard and also President JFK’s memorial, both could bring a tear to one’s eyes.

This Memorial day take a visit to one of our nation’s National cemetaries if you can, if not then find a family that has lost someone while serving in the military and thank them.

Float Planes

Living on an island, one of the modes of transportation is by the float plane. They are all roughly about the same size, yes there are some bigger ones and smaller ones, there are Beavers and Otters and others. Some are noisier then others, some take off quicker then others. The weather and their load determines how quickly they take off and how much distance is required for their landings.

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Cruise Ships

Our tourist season in SE Alaska has begun. It usually goes from May until Sep/Oct, this year it will end in Oct. When taking pictures of cruise ships, I try to not only get a picture of the whole ship, I try to get various angles or views.

Most of the time I try to get pictures without people in the way. A way that I found is once they are boarding and getting ready to leave or when they are pulling into port. Cruise ships, to me are really fun to take pictures of. I enjoy seeing and watching them. If you haven’t had a chance for a cruise, maybe this could be your year. As always, I would recommend one to SE Alaska on the inside passage.