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Aging surely has its challenges and one is keeping up your physical health as your body slowly deteriorates. Add an injury or major operation and the road to recovery may be too hard to meet – especially for those who spent a lifetime in competitive sports because they can no longer function at the high level they once could. Some seniors have found a low impact activity that allows them to bounce around a court and smash the heck out of a perforated ball with a ping pong paddle. That's p...
It was no time to celebrate in large crowds the past two years, so Independence Day celebrations across the state were canceled. But they're back now. In Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow), the midnight sun makes fireworks impossible, so they're saved for New Year's Eve at a time when the sun does not rise until February. While it may sometimes snow on July 4, that doesn't prevent residents from turning out for an array of games from foot races to a contest tossing a line and hook used in seal hunting...
I hopped on my bike and pedaled to the hot springs toward downtown Tenakee Springs, only to be stopped by the sight of a couple frozen in fear, their faces blanched pale. "Luna (a neighbor's dog) is barking at something up on the hillside," they said. I stopped my bike, looked and listened and pedaled on my way, glancing up at the hillside while singing a show tune. No bear would deter me from those warm waters. The restorative power of a good soak cannot be underestimated and sometimes just...
OK, so I haven't lived in Alaska since 2012, and we decided to return when real estate prices tripled in Gloucester, Massachusetts, and the streets of my mother's beloved working-class fishing hometown became crowded with Lexuses, BMWs, Mercedes and Jaguars. I even saw a Rolls. Plus, people were not behaving in the stores, especially the supermarkets where management had stuck arrows down to indicate the flow so people could keep a safe distance. Time after time, I'd point out to someone they...
Alaska doesn't have a state lottery – but you could win the jackpot in one of our salmon or halibut fishing derbies. These fishing tournaments offer big fish winners cash and other prizes. Just grab a rod, buy a derby entry ticket, and bring home the biggest fish. Just be sure to have a valid Alaska fishing license. It's free if you're over 60. While other states may set the senior age level at 65, we get it five years earlier because we've worn ourselves out faster. Fishing and hunting l...
Come the time when we are able to travel freely, consider skipping Disneyland to visit a real castle on Cape Ann, just an hour north of Boston. Rising on the shore of Gloucester, Massachusetts, the first light of day strikes Hammond Castle illuminating its leaded stained glass windows and lighting up nearby Norman's Woe, the scene of Henry Wadsworth Longfellow's tragic poem "The Wreck of the Hesperus." The son of John Hays Hammond Sr., who became wealthy as a mining engineer in Cecil Rhodes'...
Cabin fever came early this year for sure. With a vaccine coming available within the next couple of months, once we can go outside with some safety it'll be like the gift of an early spring. Meanwhile, consider getting some fresh air and sunlight by watching or participating in upcoming ski, skidoo and snowshoe races. It'll help with the blues and possible depression caused by the enormity of the pandemic's effect on our mental health. The calendar is out for races across Alaska. Visit...
I keep on thinking of that line from the old Laurel and Hardy routine, "Well, that's a fine kettle of fish you've gotten us in." Indeed, thanks to the coronavirus it is a trying time for a travel writer. Still there are things happening in the cruise ship industry that holds out hope for next year to bring tourism dollars back into the state. In 2018, two million out-of-state visitors arrived in Alaska on a cruise ship. Tourism adds close to $2.2 billion a year to the state's economy. Plus, more...
While a Mi'kmaq friend has crossed into Canada to access his reserve in Eskasoni, Nova Scotia, Canada, it has been difficult for a member of the Skagway Traditional Council. The council is a federally recognized Tribal Government for Skagway Tlingit and Haida Indians, Alaska Natives, and American Indians located in the Skagway Traditional Council service area. Tribal Administrator Sara Kinjo-Hischer said that a member had a moose hunting tag to use in Fairbanks, but was turned away at the...
Gone are the big cruise ships from our waters. And although the small cruisers of last month's column have had some COVID cases, but sanitized and are back on the Inside Passage, we still find ourselves prohibited form traveling to Canada or Europe. Safer to stay close to home, but at the same time strike out for parts unknown - the rest of the Last Frontier. State cabins offer retreat from civilization With the pandemic still playing with our lives, many of us want to retreat somewhere...
Here it is at the end of the summer and travel and tourism are still at a standstill, adding to statewide unemployment and stalled revenue for large and small businesses across the state. This affects Alaska mightily. The Resource Development Council of Alaska reported that summer 2018 volume showed an increase of 100,000 visitors from summer 2017. The cruise market grew by seven percent or 79,300 visitors. The air market increased by one percent or 9,600 visitors, while the highway/ferry...
With the state opening up somewhat there is hope for travel. Many lodges and inns are closed this year while nearby accommodations are open – and offering some deals. The Glacier Bay Lodge is closed for 2020, opening again in 2021, but always offers a 10 percent senior (55 and over) discount. The lodge sits in a wooded site and is very cozy. Glacier Bay is remote and hard to get to but well worth it. Glacier Bay National Park spans over 4,000 square miles and is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and...
When I contacted Scott McMurren, who has published the Alaska Travelgram each week since 1999, for his take on tourism at this strange moment in time, he wrote, "Not sure how much insight I can share, aside from 'subject to change without notice.' "Well, the pandemic affects every aspect of our lives, including how, where and when we travel. It's kneecapped our efforts to plan. So those of us in the business need to consider how to keep each other safe... as well as our guests. That's job one....
Well now, here we are. The Canadian Border is still closed and there's the difficulty of traveling to other locations where officials continue to uphold social distancing and stay-at-home advisories. But Alaska has opened up and maybe it's time to hit the road or maybe, if you have underlying health concerns, to sit in a nice comfy chair and watch a good travel movie or read though travel guides to prepare you to go when the world becomes more welcoming. Movies with scenery and emotional punch...
Well this is a conundrum for a travel writer - travel restrictions. I have said this before and I will say it again: you live in one of the most beautiful places in the world, one that millions of people travel to, so get out on the road and see your state. And spring is one of the best times to journey across Alaska. It's a quiet time before the hordes come (or not this year) and the weather is usually pretty good with not-too-low temperatures and sun. There's life flooding back into the...
Let's face it, the coronavirus has changed travel plans all over the planet. Where does a nervous Alaskan go to have fun and adventures? Your own back yard. Millions of tourists flock to The Last Frontier every year but residents have the envious cat seat to all the state has to offer – you just have to hit the road. A birder's delight Across the world and the Lower 48, birds fly north to breed and hatch their young. While not in the numbers of even 40 years ago that Elders in Utqiagvik told me...
It may seem macabre, but visiting graveyards is a time-honored activity. Other than our relatives, cemeteries can reveal the lives of famous people and the many who left the world they departed a better place. Living in New England now, I am struck by the old-time fire and brimstone on the gravestones in nearby cemeteries that go way back to 1644. And the quality of the carvings in the tight crystals of local granite have weathered the centuries well. While steam engine followers have earned...
I once heard a story about an American couple, who traveled on a long-awaited vacation trip to India - they landed in Kolkata (once called Calcutta), took a taxi to the Hilton and never came out again until it was time for a taxi back to the airport. How do you manage disappointment, or in this case fear of crowds, on arrival at the place of your dreams, only to find it so overwhelming you want to leave? It's a combination of flexibility, turning on a dime and travel insurance. Recently, my...
If you're a "Game of Thrones" fan, Iceland calls to you. While you can do a self-guided tour of film locations, those all-too-familiar-to-Alaskans Gray Line buses will also take you there. Season two shifted to Iceland, and you will tour Gullfoss waterfall and the Bloody Gate at Pingvellir National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage site, where the Althing, the ages-old Icelandic parliament was seated. Iceland Air (www.icelandair.com) offers a reasonable round-ticket for two that takes you from Ancho...
Those with dementia find their world diminished, but they don't know that. It is their caretakers and loved ones who see the change and long for the time when they were present. It is a hard experience, but sadly one that oftentimes comes with aging. There's a song in the air The Alzheimer's Resource of Alaska is trying out an approach that has been successful elsewhere - a chorus comprised of dementia patients and their caregivers they are calling "Voices of the Last Frontier." And in a way,...
We live in troubling times and that's an understatement. The world reels with refugees: In the Middle East and North Africa there are 2.74 million; Africa has 4.41 million; in Europe, 4.39 million; and Asia and the Pacific, 3.83 million, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees office. So where can an American travel safely? Prepare for your trip Before you go, take a look at the Overseas Security Advisory Council's website https://www.osac.gov/Content/Browse/Report. The OSAC is a joint venture between the Department of...
Alaskans travel for pleasure and often for the necessity of seeing far-flung family, and so jet lag is our constant companion. But a recent study from the Sleep Cycle Institute in Gothenburg, Sweden, looked at more than 1.5 million nights’ worth of sleep data from people who traveled east, meaning forward in time, to the west, or backward in time, and without traversing any time zones (the control group) to take a look at how travel interferes with our sleep. Traveling east turns out to have the worst effect on sleep, according to the study, b...
Coming in the year of the 100th anniversary of World War I, the "War to End All Wars," it is only fitting to consider a trip to this often overlooked European country. For those of us of a certain age who learned to recite poetry at school, cemented in our memory is the haunting "In Flanders Field," by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae, who wrote it after the Second Battle of Ypres and which was the inspiration for the remembrance red poppies sold to this day on Veterans Day. Bel...
In mid-July Alaska Airlines announced completion of the first phase of the Sea-Tac’s North Satellite Modernization Project. As part of the $658.3 million project, the Port and Alaska Airlines unveiled eight new gates, expanded locally-based dining and retail options and the brand-new, flagship Alaska Airlines Lounge. “The old North Satellite worked for 45 years and worked well, but it’s become a living time capsule. We are now headed into the future with a stunning facility that improves the passenger experience with more space, light and s...
We've all seen people who remind us of animals, like turtles or owls, but I once saw an elderly lady in a bank and she looked just like a snow monkey. I couldn't stop staring and decided that some day I'd go to Japan to see them. Snow monkeys live in Jigokudani, which means "Hell's Valley" in Japanese, in Yamanouchi, Nagano Prefecture along the Yokoyu River, downstream from Shiga Kogen. Shiga Kogen is a ski resort and hiking spot, located in the Jōshin'etsu-kōgen National Park in the highlands o...
