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Annual

My close circle of friends will know what time it is. Text messages gawking at the sheer audacity of one battery manufacturers Martin Shkrelli pricing Ponzi scheme means it is annual time. And calling them a manufacturer is a little much. Hot gluing six Duracell batteries into a plastic enclosure seems like the kind of […]

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Rule books are paper.

Tuesday, November 14th, 2023, three pilots took to the skies in what appeared to be a sightseeing flight of the nearby mountains. Allegedly having completed a similar flight (or flights), it appears as though this one may have started out routine. Good weather, airplane in generally good condition, and a few friends not too terribly […]

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Alaska, Day Eight

For the last week, minus one day (sorry Tuesday), we’ve stood in these fancy elevators and commemorated the day as a group with a picture of our feet near the calendar carpets within. Today, however, marks the last day of our adventure. Pre-dinner dessert inspections at 5:30, dinners at 7:30, games from 9:00 til midnight […]

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Alaska, Day Seven

There’s three things not shown clearly in this picture. The Peppa Pig “Not Today” t-shirt that any seasoned fisherman knows is a sure sign of an angler who means business. A thousand sharp teeth inside this monster that magically found its gills in my hook. And me, wondering if those sharp teeth are going to […]

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Alaska, Day Six

If you Google Mendenhall Glacier you’ll see breathtaking pictures of daredevils hiking underneath the constantly moving sheet of ice. Having been on a steady track of retreating back into the mountains where the beginnings are made, countless articles sway readers into seeing the glacier before it’s gone. Hoping to go near the ice, only one […]

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Alaska, Day Five

Skagway, Alaska is a small quaint town with an interesting history. And as much as my journals have shared facts about my travels, the internet here sucks (honestly, I didn’t even want the internet on this trip except if we could stream episodes of Schitt’s Creek to enjoy before bed, which, sadly, isn’t possible) so […]

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Alaska, Day Four

Doing my best to actually sleep in one day on this adventure, poor excuses for blackout curtains let reflections of the early morning crepuscular rays into our quaint cabin and tell my body that it’s time to wake up. Adhering to a strict obedience to an early morning workout each day on the floating chuck-a-rama, […]

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Alaska, Day Three

Slowly making our way south, I’m learning that this might be one of my favorite cruises because throughout our journey there’s always something to peer into. More than the tranquil blue waters of the Caribbean, the various landforms that litter (many times) both sides of the horizon, my affinity for cooler weather and, more importantly, […]

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Alaska, Day Two

Our first day in Alaska was one that I’ll treasure beyond all others, which makes me chuckle because our cruise hasn’t even started yet, and is the real reason we’re up here in State 49. But technically it’s our second day and after an evening of serving others in the House of the Lord, an […]

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Alaska, Day One

Looking through a spotting scope that costs more than I made my first year as an airline pilot, my buddy Bryan thinks he’s showing me the beauty of Dall sheep and black bears but there’s more to this image than that. An oft-visited break off the Seward Highway, Beluga Point gives travelers a moment to […]