Hi all! I know it’s been awhile: I was traveling again and I just don’t blog while I’m gone. Now I’m home and recovering from a redeye flight home from Anchorage…we had a fabulous trip in Alaska which I’ll probably tell you about once I finish telling you about Japan. I have had an incredibly amazing year of travel, and I feel so incredibly lucky to be able to do this. I may not continue this pace, but I might, and I will be thrilled either way.

Right now: I finished unpacking, pulled out all the little “this and that” souvenirs that I acquired. Magnets, prints, a t shirt, a pair of earrings. Some trips I buy more souvenirs than others, but the main goal is to keep the luggage light. This trip wasn’t great with that as I ended up with a checked bag that was stuffed to the brims (it’s about a 34 inch bag which is large for a carry on but small for checked, but it really can expand). Part of that is I made the mistake of visiting an excellent bookstore on Granville Island in Vancouver (Noorongi Books) and they had books I’d never seen or heard of before and I had to buy some…

Anyway, we just finished a trip with about one week in Vancouver, then a cruise from Vancouver to Whittier (near Anchorage), then we rented a car and went to Seward for two nights, then finished up with two nights in Anchorage. The scenery was ridiculously gorgeous. The highlight was kayaking near Northwestern Glacier outside of Seward.

Paddling behind an iceberg in front of a glacier. Does it get any better?

So I’ll share more soon: I have a lot to write about and SO MANY PICTURES. It was amazing: so much wildlife! Mountains! Lakes! Flowers! Glaciers! Gorgeous hikes!

Okay, you can tell I loved it.