7/31/12 WASILLA, AK

Our goal was to make it to Talkeetna yesterday but we made an unexpected stop.  I had read about the visitor’s center in Portage (Near Whittier) that I wanted to check out.  They have a nice big exhibit hall with lots of information about gold mining days, personal accounts of miners and Eskimos, many stuffed wildlife and a ½ hour film about glaciers.  It was worth seeing but put us back almost 2 hours.  There are many glaciers in the area including the tidewater Portage glacier.  They have a short cruise up to the glacier to see it calve but today was very rainy and cold so we didn’t go.  When we were in Whittier a few weeks ago we drove by this place and saw a lot of huge chunks of ice floating in the Portage Lake.  Not today, so maybe the glacier is not calving much right now.  Norm got tired of driving so we are camped overnight in a city campground in Wasilla on Lake Lucille.

 It’s been almost 3 months since we left Texas.  Sure doesn’t seem like it’s been that long.  I sure have enjoyed seeing all the sights we’ve seen.  It’s also been a little more than 3 months since I retired and Norm and I have been together 24/7.  Now I love my man, but gee, a little alone time would be nice right about now.  That man likes to make lots of noise; sometimes I just like peace and quiet.   I’m dreaming of going off and getting a pedicure or something.  Hell, I’d just like to go grocery shopping my myself without someone behind me saying “Oh that’s expensive, do we really need that, why are you buying that, I don’t think we need that, why don’t you buy this brand it washes 2 more loads than the brand you got and is less expensive”.  Grrrrr……