June Evening



















  I like sunny days, I really do. It makes you feel good to wake up in the morning and see the sun shining bright. The birds are all singing, the flowers are thriving and everyone is in a generally good mood. That's in the morning. By afternoon when the heat is really revving up and the wind is blowing the tops off the whitecaps I'm praying for a little cloud cover and a shower. Yesterday when I got in from fishing, fixed some supper and took care of some other chores, I decided to take the dog for a walk out to the cannery. It was hotter than blazes and we needed to get a break from the heat. This Celebrity ship was just leaving at 10:30. It was the second ship that day. I think it's pretty excessive to discharge all those tourists on this small town in one day. It's getting increasingly difficult to get around as now, not only do we have buses and touring vans from the cannery, but there is an influx of private vans and touring buses as well as a red trolley toting folks around. It's the same with the boats. There must be a dozen boats vying for the tourists bucks trying to take them out whale watching or fishing, plus we have a couple of huge catamarans that the cannery runs. It's totally transformed the town in ways I can't say I really care for. I don't think the dog does either. When he got down near the cannery he took a dump on the sidewalk. I, of course, can't protest in like manner. In any event, the bottom picture shows the tour ship leaving, which in my opinion is much better than a picture of one arriving. 

Comments

  1. AutumnJune 13, 2013 at 6:32 PM

    Those are gorgeous photos dad! And, I know it's hot, but enjoy it while it's out! I love having sunny days, it's so nice when you can be out working in the yard or just out enjoying it!

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousJune 13, 2013 at 10:52 PM

    Good Rigby:) Liz

    ReplyDelete
  3. JillEJune 14, 2013 at 7:17 AM

    It really is a double-edged sword, isn't it? It's nice to have money coming into the local economy (if the tourists are spending), but the whole feel of the place changes. The influx of tourists also makes normal living/routines hard to do, just getting around in the streets must be a trial!LOL It'll be interesting to sit on the porch and watch the tourists go by. We'll have to pop some corn and get the camera out to take pics of the tourists taking pics of us!LOL

    ReplyDelete
  4. T BJune 14, 2013 at 9:42 AM

    Hey everyone- thanks for the comments. I do like to see the sunshine, and I like a little warmth, but after it gets past sixty five or so, it becomes unpleasant, and almost always the wind comes up on sunny days, making it unpleasant to try and fish. In fact I couldn't fish the other day, it was just too breezy. So many of the tourists are just looking. I don't know what percentage actually spend any money in the local shops or restaurants. One gal said that it's not uncommon for a group to come in and order one soda and want to share it, all the while taking up space that other customers could use. I wouldn't mind tourism so much if the cruise lines weren't so in your face and if the tourists respected the fact that they are guests and the locals are not their employees.

    ReplyDelete
  5. AutumnJune 14, 2013 at 11:33 AM

    Ahaha...I like Aunt Jill's idea! Lets all do that while we are down there! We can all line up on the front porch in chairs and have our cameras strapped around our necks!

    ReplyDelete
  6. tbbottsJune 17, 2013 at 10:03 AM

    I suspect if all of you ladies are here, there won't be any room for me on the porch. I guess I'll be forced to go out fishing.Ta ta!

    ReplyDelete
  7. AnonymousJune 28, 2013 at 3:36 PM

    Third-to-last sentence says it all for me where tourism is concerned. I'm all for online exploration when it comes to my back yard. I used to sit and let them come to me to make small talk, and listened quietly while they got all their questions asked and talking done. They were happy, and I remained in my rocker, watching the boardwalk, musing to myself that I'd sure be happy when the middle of September came and I had the place to myself. I'm not much more outgoing than that these days, either. In fact, I'm fast headed for the October-March mindset and I don't even deal with visitors anymore. I know you're thankful you have a boat...

    ReplyDelete
  8. T B BottsJune 30, 2013 at 3:41 PM

    Hi Rene'
    I know that tourism is an important business to have here in Alaska, what I don't understand is the government seeming to promote it- putting in facilities and doing improvements that wouldn't happen unless there were tourists coming here. For many years we didn't even have paved roads, now there seems to be no end to the money getting poured into this place. I just wish I could make money fishing in the fall and winter when the tourists are gone. Oh well.

    ReplyDelete

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