Dreams make promises they can’t keep
They can swindle you in your sleep
It seems when we’re young in dreams we trust
Maybe growing up is just kissing certain dreams goodbye
~ Same Time, Next Year
Or maybe not, maybe growing up isn’t leaving your dreams behind, maybe it’s accepting that dreams take work, and that grasping a dream, catching it and fulfilling it, sometimes takes different forms than you normally would think. Sometimes dreams in places that you would never think to look…
I had the dream you see, I had it, and then I gave it up, then I lost it, and then…shockingly, I got it back.
There have been times in the past when Alaska has not been kind to me, I’m never sure what’s waiting for me at the base of Hubbard Glacier. But the thing is, so much as changed since that pattern started…things changed, and then change again.
This time, the fresh, untainted mountain air of Alaska has given me something back, it’s given me back myself – I refuse to allow anyone to take it from me again.
Shorter me: things are going well.
We’re at the end of the season in Alaska, the skies are clouded over and the sunshine is coming in liquid form when it comes at all, but it’s worth it. Yesterday I took the tram car up to the top of Mt Roberts in Juneau, where I looked at displays of wolf-tracks and nature photography, and greeted Lady Baltimore – the injured bald eagle who resides in the sanctuary at the top of the mountain. They don’t know how old she is, but they know she was at least five when they found her, so they figure she’s *probably* around 12 or so…I’m just glad she’s still there. Some hunter shot her through the beak when she was small, so she can’t fly, at least she’s being safely taken care of.
There is a tremendous peace at the top of the mountain, I could spend hours up there, except that I’m sometimes afraid that I would just not want to come back.
But that was yesterday, this afternoon we pulled in to Yukatat Bay and the immense majesty that is Hubbard Glacier. It’s cloudy out, so the Glacier is a breathtaking shade of blue that I’ve never seen anywhere else. Unlike previous years when I’ve been trapped behind a desk on scenic cruising days, now when we’re at the glacier my office is actually outside on the bow, helping guests take pictures; answering questions…it’s one heck of a way to spend an afternoon.
The week after next we’ll put Alaska to our stern and head towards the sand and sun of Hawaii, leaving the Great State to the wolves and the rain…
And despite the fact that I have nothing against hula skirts and paper umbrellas…I will miss the days of rain and hot chocolate…