A day of excursions :)

We went to an Irish pub for dinner last night. It was quaint (though, this whole town is quaint) and there was obnoxiously loud live music…I loved it. The ambiance was wonderful, and I am looking forward to going back next week. On Friday nights, they have live music and run a special on “fish and chips”. I wasn't brave enough to try the special of the day, so I had [yummy] chipotle turkey sliders instead, but next week. Definitely next week. I am in Alaska after-all. I can’t not try the fish and chips.

We woke up early this morning and decided to walk around town to take pictures…be “touristy”. We ended up walking from one end of the town to the other….and back. There was a thick layer of fog blanketing the snow-capped mountain peaks, but it was still breathtakingly beautiful. I couldn't help but repeatedly think just how lucky we are to be here.

Life seems much slower in these parts. And I’m from the south, so that’s saying a lot. No one is in a hurry…and drivers go out of their way to stop for pedestrians…and the locals are extremely helpful.

The whole city seems like something out of a movie…or a painting…or the front of one of those “Hello from…” or “Wish you were here…” postcards. There’s tiny little wooden houses everywhere…and winding wooden stairways that lead to stunning panoramic views. Many of the roads are steep hills that lead to houses that sit snuggly in the clouds which adorn the snow-capped mountaintops.

As we walked around for four hours this morning, I realized why this place seems like a dream to me. I have seen mountains, and I have seen the ocean…but never have I seen the mountains meet the ocean. A friend who saw one of my pictures asked me whether I was in Middle Earth. The more I look out at the landscape, the more I begin to wonder about the same.

We headed back to the apartment around one to grab a quick lunch and rest up before heading back out. We felt the need to get a lot done today simply because the weather was quite perfect so we couldn’t not take advantage of it. We headed back out around three and decided to head up to Totem Bight, one of the north-most points in the city. Totem Bight features totem poles typical of the natives – some of the finest artistry I have ever seen. It’s located directly on the shoreline (okay, the whole city is on the shoreline) and not only provides a glimpse into Ketchikan’s rich Native history, but also a stunning lookout point.

We made it back from Totem Bight (and the grocery store) by 6:30, and decided it was too nice out to not take advantage of the sunshine. So we went on our third excursion of the day. Our goal is to hike as many trails as we can, so we set out to Creek street, a rather famous area of Ketchikan which sits just a block behind our apartment.  Creek street is famously known as Ketchikan’s former red-light district but now features a whole gamut of tourist shops. There’s a quick “trail” through the Creek-street area called “Married Man’s Trail”. As it turns out, married men would sneak into the red-light district through the back end of Creek street so as not to get caught philandering around. Anyway, the “trail”, if you could call it that, was a short one…but provided gorgeous views of the harbor and beyond…as well as the mountain we’ll be trekking tomorrow: Deer Mountain. Deer Mountain sits a few blocks behind our apartment and has more than a few lookout points. The peak is currently snow-covered, but hopefully we’ll make it up at least a few miles….granted my legs recover from today and can take on the challenge. We walked about 7 miles today…and took over 300 pictures.

I’ve posted a bunch of pictures from today’s trek around town here: http://amateurphotography101.shutterfly.com/pictures/98

PS: Some tourist asked us a question today as if we were locals. We must be doing something right :) 

PPS: I used the Rebel for the first time today only to realize I have NO CLUE what I’m doing. Hopefully I’ll get better quickly ‘cause for now, the lens isn't doing any justice to the view. Though I don't think the lens would do any justice to it even if I did have a clue.

PPPS: MY LIFE IS A POSTCARD!! ...and I keep forgetting we still have 4 weeks left here…or that we only have four weeks left…I’m not going to want to leave.