About

About this blog...

This material is placed here to help you make sense of the blog.  As a blog, the flow down the page is from the most recent material at the top, to the older material toward the bottom.  The pages are structured the same way, so the first thing you see is the end of the trip. 

To find the start of the trip, click on the Home tab at the top of the page, and then look in the Blog Archive navigation area on the right side of the page.  In the navigation area, click on the small triangle beside the entry "July (4)"; in this case, the (4) indicates that there were four pages posted to the blog in July.  The bottom item in the list that opens when you click the triangle is On our way to Alaska, the initial post in the blog.  To open a blog post, just click on its name in the navigation area.

Further down this page you will find both the "As Planned" and "As Traveled" routes and way-points, so you can see both what we planned and how it really went. As you will see, the "As Traveled" route is close to what we planned before leaving, but of course, when plan meets reality, reality wins.

We hope you enjoy the blog; please email us (dvhirst [at] aol [dot] com) with your questions, comments, and feedback.


Why I'm writing the blog:  Several family members and friends expressed interest about our trip to Alaska.  As a way of practicing what I teach at Eugene OASIS Senior Learning Center, I decided to make a record of the trip using a blog.  That way I can tell everyone about what we are doing as we are doing it, and even post some pictures along the way.  So far, it seems to be working pretty well, but I'd really like some feedback about how it comes across to you.


Pictures:  The images in the blog are active, which means that you can click on them to see a larger version of the image.  Then you can click on that image to expand it further.  So, do it; you'll see a lot more detail that way.


Our trip:  Here is a picture of our original (as planned) itinerary (created using MS Streets & Trips) with a list of our way-points (stopping places).

Our Planned Route
Our Planned Way-points


As Traveled Itinerary:  Here is a picture of our as traveled itinerary (again, created using MS Streets & Trips, and updated during our travels) with a list of our way-points.

Our As-Traveled Route

Our As-Traveled Way-points

Comments:  I've received an email mentioning that the writer didn't know how to leave a comment in the blog.  Well, that's easy to fix; here's how to do it:
  1. At the bottom of each post, there is a comment counter for that post.  As I write this, most of them look like:  0 comments .
  2. The "0 comments" is a link.  When you click on it, you get a window where you can see any comments for the post you are reading, and add one if you like.  To add (post) a comment, you have to be a member of this blog, have one of several popular social network accounts, or a Google account, any one of them works.  If you are already a member, just go on to the next step.  If you don't have such an account or are not yet a member, there is a sign-up link in the right hand column of the open window, just click it and follow the directions to sign up (you will need to give your (real) name and a valid email id. 
  3. In the comment box toward the bottom of the window, key-in your comment.
  4. Select your profile choice from the drop-down list.
  5. Click the "Post Comment" box, and wait a bit for a Captcha box to come up.  (a Captcha box is a box with funny looking letters by it; you need to read the funny letters, key them into the empty box, and click the "Post Comment" button.  That does it.


Hope this helps.  We look forward to hearing from you...

Lin & Don