Picture: Liz and I spent Saturday morning painting the new whale sculpture in front of the bridge to Douglas Island. The bottom right hand corner is the actual sculpture.

During my "working life" I attended and presented a number of workshops and institutes in Juneau. It was always enjoyable. One of the workshops I did was for a group of preschool teachers and that was how I met Liz. Sometimes natural chemistry between two people seems to cause an instant attraction and that was how it was with Liz and me. We saw each other almost every time I came to Juneau, but then we quit communicating for five or six years. This time I called her the day before we arrived. When we got there, she, her husband Greg and son Lief came for dinner aboard "Shuang Yu". We had a grand evening eating and visiting.

I joined Liz and her art group on Saturday at the Coppa Coffee Shop. We decided where to go for sketching and then dashed off. The task was to sketch or paint the new whale sculpture by the Gastineau Channel. The day was sunny and balmy, which is unusual for Juneau. The "normal" weather is rainy and cool. Liz and I had a peaceful time sitting under the warm sun, enjoying the moment and observing, and doing, art. The product did not matter; it was the process that we treasured.

Liz's family members are either artists or musicians. Liz has been a musician all her life and now, in her retirement, she has been doing art as well. She said the art group encouraged her tremendously and gave her constructive suggestions so she felt that she has improved. Also, she has expanded her circle of friends, including both musicians and artists. Speaking of music, we went to the local music fest at the theater on Mt. Roberts that evening. Liz and her family were part of the performance. The tickets to the concert included the tram lift, which is quite reasonable because the tram ticket alone is usually double what we paid. What a deal! The tram ride is always pleasant because one can see the entire city of Juneau, Douglas and their respective harbors. The local musical performance in the tram theater was cozy and intimate. Most of the musicians knew each other so it had a fun, relaxing atmosphere. Liz, Greg and Lief formed a group called, "Taku Gaels" and play Irish music. On this occasion, a father and his fourteen year old boy joined them. They were sensational! The music was lively and cheerful; it makes a person want to get up and dance.

The MC for the evening was a lady called Teri Tibbet. She was also one of the performers. I knew her and worked with her years ago. I invited her to come to Lower Kuskokwim School District to sing with our students. Music and songs are effective strategies for learning a language and/or aid language fluency. I did not expect to run into her at the concert. A song I learned from her was a sailor song and I think about the song a lot when we are sailing. It goes like this: "A sailor went to sea, sea, sea. To see what he could see, see, see. What he could see, see, see; is the bottom of the big blue sea, sea, sea." We used to do movement as we sang the song and kept singing it faster and faster each time. The kindergarten and second graders loved it. We travelled to villages together to bring music to the children. Ted and I treasure the chance to listen to live music - a rare opportunity.

Juneau has such rich art and music culture; not to mention the native culture (Tlingit, Haida and Tsimshian). The state museum has quite a display of the cultural artifacts as well as the natural history of the region. We like visiting Juneau.