By: Marcia King-Gamble
www.lovemarcia.com
It’s hot and muggy in Florida and the mosquitoes are out in full force. It gets even worse come August where the only respite is air conditioning and a dip in a lukewarm pool. Now I know why so many people live six months of the year here and travel to cooler climates come spring.
Speaking of travel, it seems that lately I’ve been living my
life on airplanes. Last month I vacationed in Alaska (not my first time there.)
In a previous life, I spent many a summer in places like Anchorage, Juneau,
Skagway and Ketchikan. Back in the day, I flew hunky men back and forth to
Fairbanks. Oh, those were the days.
This trip, though, was about rest and relaxation. I met up
with a friend in Seattle and we took the coach to Vancouver for the
wonderful scenic ride. No bears in sight, and not even a glimpse of a moose. Our cruise departed from Canada Place in Vancouver. For me, embarkation was a bittersweet
experience. In my role as Director of Guest
Satisfaction with a cruise line, those employees would have reported to me.
But it was good to be back in the Pacific Northwest
and touring several of my favorite cities.
My first stop, Juneau; one of the bigger Alaska cities is known for
the Mendenhall Glacier. I passed on going there this time around. Not so, on a visit to The Red Dog;
a Juneau staple where the entertainment is hilarious and the Alaskan ales cold.
Skagway, next on our list, is rich in history. The
Gold Rush Cemetery (morbid as it sounds) is a favorite place to visit. In 1898, town hero, Frank Reid fatally shot crime
boss, Soapy Smith in what is now known as The Shootout on Juneau Wharf. The fight was
testosterone driven over who would control Skagway during the Klondike Gold
Rush. The bright spot here is your walk through the cemetery ends at the most serene waterfall.
Onto Glacier Bay where the Glaciers are eroding. It's a spectacular sight but sad in its own way. Aren’t these pictures spectacular?
Last, but not least, we arrived in rainy Ketchikan. This time it wasn’t raining, but it did drizzle that afternoon. Ketchikan is known for its
totem poles. We passed on salmon spawning but did tour Annie Watkins’ (a
black woman from Arkansas) house of ill repute and I learned that in her day,
the silver dollar was used like a diaphragm to prevent pregnancies.
Two weeks later, North Carolina here I come. I
enjoyed a rather hectic Independence weekend. Now
I am back and packing for New York and the Romance Writers of America conference. I am so looking
forward to catch up with friends and hearing what’s new in our industry. If there are changes I’ll let you know.
Speaking of new, my novella, Islands Apart should be
released shortly. It was originally part of a Box Set that didn’t work out. The
setting is Hawaii and the hunky hero is a disgraced football player. Look for
Islands Apart at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and wherever e books are sold. Isn’t
the cover designed by Jay Aheer, pretty?
The adventures are hardly over. There’s a weekend cruise
planned for August and a trip to Charlotte, North Carolina for Labor Day.
Where are you traveling to this summer?
Romantically Yours,
Marcia
http://amzn.to/1Hrosxz
Marcia King-Gamble is a National Bestseller of 28 novels and 5 novellas. Marcia originally hails from a sunny Caribbean island where the sky and ocean are the same mesmerizing shade of blue. She is a world traveler.
Romantically Yours,
Marcia
http://amzn.to/1Hrosxz
Marcia King-Gamble is a National Bestseller of 28 novels and 5 novellas. Marcia originally hails from a sunny Caribbean island where the sky and ocean are the same mesmerizing shade of blue. She is a world traveler.
8 comments:
What a wonderful trip! Especially the part about rain/sprinkles. Fingers crossed some of that comes our way in the Pacific Northwest soon!!!
Muggy and mosquitoes would keep me from moving anywhere near Florida. I read that the scientist have shown that some people have a mosquito attracting DNA. I'm sure I'm one of them.
Looking forward to your August post and catching up on what's going on at RWA.
That silver dollar information? Never heard of it before. I wonder how effective it was?
Thank you Judith. Sending sprinkles your way. My lawn is dying.
Yes that was a cool piece of information about the silver dollar. I was told by our tour guide that a combination of the mercury in the dollar and it's use as a cervical cap made it a popular device. I imagine it was as effective as Rhythm.
Interesting! Continue to enjoy your travels, Marcia. Wish I was joining you at RWA America but I'll be doing RWA Australia next month. You'll have to come out to one of ours!
Sounds like the silver dollar was very versatile.
OMG, mercury inserted into the body! But then in those days they didn't know about the effects of mercury. Or at least I don't think they did. I suppose in the short term, even if you did know, a woman would choose the silver dollar method of birth control rather than have a succession of babies.
I'll miss you Beverly, seeing you in NYC at an RWA conference would be such fun. I'll definitely put Australia on my list. Attending an RWA conference there would be icing on the cake.
Judith, the options weren't that good back then. Mercury was probably better than being disgraced.
Love the Islands Apart cover! What a wonderful vacation you've had this summer, enjoy NYC!!
Thank you Diana. I'm trying a new cover artist and loving her. Can't wait for NYC. It's where I grew up.
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