2023: A Year in Review

   2023: A year in review

    It has been another wild and wonderful year. The highlights were too many to count but I'll do my best here. I watched my three wonderful kids hit tons of little person milestones, from Catalina and Fisher learning to ride bikes, to Catalina starting kindergarten, to Fisher finally being able to stand in the deep end of the kids pool, to Dela becoming a walking, talking little kid. The family spent three months in Maui, during which Heidi and I officially tied the knot, getting married on a secret little beach surrounded by friends and family. I had a busy year with work as well, running expeditions onboard the Safari Explorer with UnCruise in Hawaii and Alaska throughout the year. I also had the chance to go down to the Galapagos as a guests ambassador during May for a weeklong trip. And I added another wonderful Africa safari to my list in October. 

   My Hawaii trips with UnCruise this year have just been a blast. The itinerary is the best it has ever been, with the addition of an e-bike option in Lana'i, as well as a new night manta ray snorkel on the Big Island. The volcano hike on Hualalai Volcano on the Big Island still continues to amaze me with all of the honeycreeper sightings as well as the surprise lava tube traverse. The big change this winter comes after the devastating fires that wiped out Lahaina town in early August. We used to stop there and take the guests on a historical walking tour, but now I'm adding an addition water activity that has proven quite amazing so far. We snorkeled around the huge Shipwreck on Lana'i, and did a long kayak along the west coast of Lana'i for starters. I'm excited to get back aboard in a few days and see if the whales have shown up. 

 

 Even though the UnCruise Hawaii trips were great this year, my Hawaii memories are dominated by our wedding week. We had 20 of our friends and family out to Maui in early March for a week of fun activities, capped off with an absolutely gorgeous beach wedding in Makena. Heidi looked beautiful, the kids all had their matching outfits, and the wind and rain magically disappeared for the morning of the ceremony. Fisher was pantless for most of it after immediately sitting in a tidepool, shortly after arrival. Ben officiated the ceremony which was a very nice touch. With all the help of the grandparents we were able to get in a group nudibranch dive at Sugar Beach, as well as a few surf sessions with the boys. Nate, Ben, and Brian surprised me with a brand new surf board, custom made with my name on it. I couldn't have been happier. 

  After years of joking that people should request me to be their expedition leader in Galapagos with UnCruise, it finally happened this year in May. I was asked to be a Guest Ambassador onboard La Pinta, for a weeklong expedition cruise between the Galapagos Islands. We had a very nice group of guests, many who I sailed with before. It was fun seeing all the famous land animals, but I was really blown away by the snorkeling. And that was with pretty wavy, murky conditions for a lot of the snorkels. I am hoping next time I go back it'll be calm and clear underwater. And I have to go back since I lost most of my high quality photos due to my hard drive going haywire. I should have the chance in November of 2024 if everything goes according to plan. 

 Right after returning from Galapagos, we had a couple of family trips planned. The first was down to Savannah for some grandparent time and some gator catching. It was a big success. Catalina even reeled in a fish all by herself with a vote of confidence from her Babu. It is so nice to give the kids a chance to really feel like Savannah is a part of their childhood, like it was for me. 

  After Savannah, the entire family, plus Heidi's mom Susie, flew to Alaska to do a week aboard the Wilderness Legacy. We were invited to be a part of the Dillon private charter. 65 passengers... now that is a big family. I will always remember going on an all-day yak n whack with Catalina at age 5, and kayaking with Fisher while looking at a bear, and then having Heidi and Fisher in my kayak as we paddled around ice in front of Margerie glacier. 

Deedee and Fisher in the tall grass of Alaska

  

UnCruise in Alaska was bittersweet. Due to mechanical and hull issues my entire first rotation was canceled, then Wilson's rotation was canceled as well. I started the season in July for a five week rotation. It turned out to be the only 5 weeks that we ran Alaska trips all summer. The third to the last day one of our engines broke and the ship was shut down again until the final southbound trip to Seattle. However, those five week were absolutely incredible. I was able to get guests into our small boats and out with bubble netting humpback whales multiple times. I worked with Christian Lloyd for the first time in years, and the first time ever on the SFX, and it was just as amazing as I had imagined. He showed me many new adventures, and was always up for checking out new places. We touched Lamplugh glacier almost every week, we paddled for miles up so many different salmon-filled rivers, and he even showed me a few hiding places of the elusive horned puffins. I pushed my boundaries doing bushwhacks in places that were brand new to me, including one of my new favorites at Dundas Bay. It was also my last season working in Southeast Alaska, as I am scheduled to take the Safari Explorer into Prince William Sound next summer, and the Aleutians the summer after that. 

  

Then in October, all my Africa planning came together to form a magical two week safari through Kenya and Rwanda. I called this group the 'Crab Shack' group, since Tracy, from the famous Juneau eatery Tracy's Crab Shack was the ringleader. From the very first day of elephant and giraffe close encounters, to the meals, to the animal sightings, and finally the gorillas...it just could not have gone any better. I added a trip through Nairobi National Park where we had close encounters with white rhino. Then we saw black rhino at West Tsavo. Amboseli gave us multiple cheetah encounters and baby lions and hyenas. We had Jackson as our guide in the Masai Mara, and Kichwa Tembo luxury tented camp blew everyone away as always. I still think the group talks about Talisman restaurant and how good that was. The Bishop's House in Rwanda was another big success, and trekking with gorillas was the grand finale I was hoping for. As always, the moment I got on the plane to fly back to the states, I was already ready to come back to Africa. I'm scheduled for two more safaris in 2024, including a huge six country safari in August. 

  All of these work trips were spaced out with weeks of family time in between. I was able to spend over six months out of the year with the family. With Catalina turning 5, Fisher turning 4, and Dela turning 1, it was such a valuable time to be with them as much as I could. We spent a lot of time practicing bikes and scooters, swimming at the Swimming Hole, and skiing when there was snow. Learning letters and numbers has developed into learning words and math. Personalities are blooming and I feel like this age is just maximized for snuggling. The kids want me to carry them everywhere, and could play with me all day. I know that I am going to look back on these years very fondly as the kids grow up and get more and more independent. 

TAC (Toyon Adventure Club) back at it with the next generation

  2023!. What a year. And hopefully 2024 will be more of the same.