Archive for July, 2012
» posted on Tuesday, July 31st, 2012 by Linda Lou Burton
Behind Me Now
My Northwest Family in Washington.
Back – Andrew, Matthew, Rick, Jake, Alec, Scott. Front – Kayla, Linda, Tami, Sam.
Linda Burton posting from Edmonds, Washington traveling from Juneau, Alaska to Helena, Montana – Twenty percent. That much of the Journey Across America is complete. Twenty percent! That amounts to ten capital cities, ten places on this earth that I have come to know. The hardest part of the trip is behind me now. I have done the flying part, visiting those states that refer to the contiguous 48 as the “mainland”, or the “lower 48.” I have boarded the cats for two-week sessions twice. (Awful for me; awful for them.) I had the joyful company of my two youngest grandkids in two cities, and the added advantage of two points of view. Kayla wrote some excellent posts from Honolulu, took and edited hundreds of photos, and verified anomalies (more people in Waikiki wear black than floral prints!). Sam interviewed everyone he met in Juneau, made friends with the homefolk, and described the far-off sights to me while peering through binoculars. I also had a two-day visit in Olympia from son Rick, grandson Andrew, and Kayla once again; we explored the capitol, the coffee-roasting place, the 
river and the falls; they loved it all. And there was home and family – the gatherings at son Scott and Tami’s house, the food, the sit around and talk, a Kramer-dog to pet (and throw the ball a hundred times). There was friendly business too; the visits with three members of the Board – Jim and James and Bob, all sharing their ideas and showing their support. I’m ever grateful for it all. (I’m including Brett’s photo, right, from my Arizona stop in March, can’t leave a family member out!) Now, want to see the stats? » read more
» posted on Monday, July 30th, 2012 by Linda Lou Burton
Business and the BFF’s
Linda Burton posting from Edmonds, Washington while traveling between Juneau, Alaska and Helena, Montana – Okay, okay, capital cities are great, and two-year journeys across the entire United States are awesome. But sometimes you need to stop and take care of business. It had been six months since I last visited the dentist at home in Alabama; how fortunate that my former dentist from Seattle days could schedule me in today! Taking care of business. And the Scion; another 5,000 miles have added up since that Austin, Texas checkup at Charles Maund Toyota back in March, so a visit to Magic Toyota in Edmonds was on tap too. It’s all about maintenance. But the most important item on the ticket is touching base with friends. It’s been almost three years since I left the Pacific Northwest; but super news, Carmelita and Jennifer both can get together with me in my waning hours before I start driving east again. » read more
» posted on Sunday, July 29th, 2012 by Linda Lou Burton
Uncles and Aunts
Uncle Rick talking with Nephew Sam
Linda Burton posting from Edmonds, Washington while traveling between Juneau, Alaska and Helena, Montana – This post is a bit of a stretch, capital-city wise. But I am in Washington state and it is the only state named after a president (although we know for sure George Washington never slept here!). I was thinking about George’s relatives today, because I spent the afternoon with some of mine. With all the stories I have heard about our first president, I never learned about his relatives. Did he have any kids? Or nieces and nephews? A little research tonight led me to the answer; turns out George has often been referred to as “First Uncle.” George didn’t have any children of his own, but he was step-father to Martha Dandridge Custis’ two children, Jacky and Patsy, only four and two when George and Martha married. George had two half-brothers, three brothers, and a sister; he wound up with a number of nieces and nephews too. And since George outlived all his siblings, it follows that he wound up with responsibilities towards their children. » read more
» posted on Friday, July 27th, 2012 by Linda Lou Burton
Highs and Lows
Linda Burton posting from Juneau, Alaska – “Come over here Sam,” June said. “Stand by your Grandma and me. I want our picture together.” We posed, smiling; Mark came out of the office to snap us with June’s camera and with mine. “Are you sure you can drive this van?” Sam asked as June pulled her seat way, way forward. “You’re not much taller than me.” June and I burst out laughing and assured Sam that height didn’t affect driving ability. Then we proceeded to swap stories about our early driving days and near accidents we’d had. “I’m not going to listen,” said Sam from the back seat, covering his ears. It was 14 miles to the airport from downtown’s Driftwood Lodge along the Gastineau Channel; the tide was in at the moment; we’d seen it at low tide when it was mostly mud. Highs and lows. Hugs at the front door of the airport; the kind you have when you know you will truly miss a person. “Goodbye June in Juneau,” Sam said, and we wheeled our luggage in; easy maneuvers in this small airport. The 
nice ladies in Security chatted with Sam about his visit and gave him a TSA sticker for his shirt; he eyed me grinning “I didn’t have to take off my shoes!” Grandson Sam and I are leaving Juneau now, feeling high and low. High to get back to regular life – Sam to his Dad and Mom and a new neighborhood; me to my kitties and the rest of the Journey. Low because we’ve adopted Juneau in our hearts. So many nice people! » read more
» posted on Thursday, July 26th, 2012 by Linda Lou Burton
Ike and the 49th Star
Sam’s Photo
Linda Burton posting from Juneau, Alaska – In Juneau, it was 9:02 AM. Back east in Washington, DC, it was just past the noon hour as President Dwight D Eisenhower inscribed his name to the document of proclamation that made Alaska the 49th state. Then he signed an Executive order setting a new design of 49 stars for the official flag of the United States. The date was January 3, 1959. The new design had seven staggered rows of stars, with seven stars in each row, and the traditional thirteen stripes. It had been chosen by a four-man selection commission and formally approved by the President but didn’t become official until July 4, 1959. The New York Times reported: President Eisenhower told one of the guests at the ceremony today that it was not the design he had preferred, “but I was overruled by all my advisers.” His choice was nine rows of stars, alternating five and six stars to a row. » read more
» posted on Wednesday, July 25th, 2012 by Linda Lou Burton
Ends of the Road
Linda Burton posting from Juneau, Alaska – Road construction is everywhere. Even when you only have 40 miles of paved roads. “This is my summer job,” Marisa told us after apologizing for what might be a long delay. Grandson Sam got out of the car to look around. Marisa admired the Scion; confirmed she was native-born to Juneau; added she was now a student at Colorado State, a business major. I asked if all the road work was due to a slide from bad winter weather. “No, the road was just worn out,” she answered. “The weather here is awfully hard on our paved roads.” A call came in; Marisa shook her head. “I’m afraid your wait is going to be even longer,” she told us. “We just had a turn-around and the pilot car will have to chase him down.” No cars allowed loose in the middle of all that earth-moving equipment! We were appropriately 
well-behaved on our ride behind the pilot car when it finally came to guide us past all the hazard zones; the piles of rocks and dirt; giant earth moving trucks; the perilously perched shovels and digging equipment. Sam jumped from side to side in the car, trying to see it all. There’s nothing a boy enjoys more than the sight of giant trucks. Except, maybe, chunking rocks and making waves. He got to do that too. » read more
» posted on Tuesday, July 24th, 2012 by Linda Lou Burton
Big Gulp
Linda Burton posting from Juneau, Alaska – Captain Larry dropped a slender acoustic device into the water as our boat sat quietly rocking. “We’ll listen for a while,” he nodded, “I want to know if they are coming this way.” Grandson Sam’s eyes got big as “whale talk” filled the boat, the device clearly picking up the underwater sounds. We didn’t know what it meant, but it verified that whales were near. Katie, our on-board naturalist, had already gone up top with her binoculars, watching for the sight of birds, and blow. That’s where the whales would be, we’d learned on the way out from Auke Bay, the “blow” being the burst of air expelled from the whale’s blowholes, or nostrils, as they surfaced, causing a visible spray. Just off in the distance, we’d spotted both, a frenzy of circling birds and geyserlike sprays. That meant whales, whales 
enjoying lunch. “Just like the sight of a parking lot full of cars outside a restaurant,” I thought to myself, smiling, “the sign that it’s a good place to eat.” Then Katie yelled, “It’s Sue! I see Sue!” Captain Larry yanked the device from the water and swung around to start the engine. “I know where they are going now!” he said, and suddenly we were moving again, straight toward the whales. All of us raced to the outside deck as Captain Larry positioned the boat for a perfect view. » read more
» posted on Monday, July 23rd, 2012 by Linda Lou Burton
The Check’s In The Mail
Linda Burton posting from Juneau, Alaska – Grandson Sam and I drive past the Goldbelt Building almost every day; it’s just a few blocks from our hotel, over near the Juneau-Douglas bridge. Most passers-by, like Sam and me, don’t think much about what is going on inside, where clocks are set to New York, London, Tokyo and Alaska time and the work day begins when Wall Street opens. This building houses the Alaska Permanent Fund Corporation, whose investments ultimately result in annual dividend checks for eligible Alaskans. Checks are mailed in 
October, and last year’s dividend was $1,174. The Alaska Permanent Fund is a dedicated fund owned by the State of Alaska, created in 1976 as the Alaska oil pipeline neared completion, when Alaska voters approved a constitutional amendment to establish it. As I’ve heard residents smilingly speak of “my check,” I wondered just who the “eligible” Alaskans are, and how that dividend amount is calculated. » read more
» posted on Sunday, July 22nd, 2012 by Linda Lou Burton
Fish Are Jumping
Linda Burton posting from Juneau, Alaska – Sam disappeared before I got across the parking lot. I found him down the ramp, standing transfixed in front of the Fish Ladder. “We’ll see a lot of fish,” I’d promised as we rode to the Hatchery, describing the fish ladder I’d visited so many times in Seattle at the Ballard Locks. But I was unprepared for what I saw as I drew close to this one. These fish were solid packed, jamming the causeway that was their path to fulfilling their life’s mission – the laying of the eggs. Single mindedly, they fought and thrashed for position; drama, in a box of gray cement. But Sam didn’t have all the facts, just yet. We’re at the Salmon Hatchery just outside Juneau on the Gastineau Channel, and we’ve come to see salmon; the Chum are coming through now, we’d heard. So what exactly happens here? Sam and I proceeded up the ramp to begin the tour. » read more
» posted on Saturday, July 21st, 2012 by Linda Lou Burton
Dog Day Afternoon
Linda Burton posting from Juneau, Alaska – “Excuse me, but what exactly is a musher?” I tentatively asked after our instructor wanted to know if there were any questions. Grandson Sam and I were sitting on wooden benches in the “Pre-lim” tent, getting our instructions on how to behave around the dogs. It was Sled Dog Summer Camp for us; a chance to meet the puppies and the grown-up dogs that spend their summer training to pull a racing sled. “I’m a musher,” smiled our instructor; “a musher is 
the person who drives the dog sled.” A musher, ah. Austin Barr was talking; he’s spending his summer in Sheep Creek Dog Camp, high in the Alaska mountains above Gastineau Channel; living in a tent with a fake wooden front designed to look like an old mining camp; working with other mushers training the 120 high-energy Alaskan huskies we see outside the tent So how did this former Californian wind up here? » read more