Thanks everyone...can't believe I made it to 50!  Fifty.  Fif-ty.  Fif-tee. Fiiif-ty.  Phiffty!!  Wow...gotta work my tongue around that one!    I will most definitely have a good day, too!  I'm going to pack for my trip, and not the sun and surf one I thought I was gonna take...I've changed my mind and going somewhere new.

Since this is such a monumental birthday, I decided for something new and different.  For the first time in a long time, I'm going somewhere I've never been before, and I can't tell you how excited I am!  I'm going to ALASKA! 

I'm leaving Thursday and will be spending a few days up where the sun doesn't set and doing some serious spotting at Anchorage and Lake Hood.  This trip is going to be unlike any I've ever done before.  I'm staying at a neat little place right across the street from Lake Hood, home of the world's largest seaplane base:

Some info on the lake:

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And here's one of many videos I plan to spend the afternoon watching:

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Here's my hotel...it had the best rates I could find in the area I wanted to be in, and my reservation was taken by a man with a lilting "Northern Exposure" voice named Tau, (pronounced "toe").  This is gonna be cool!

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I'm as excited about spotting on the lake as I am about the airport itself, and I'm just as excited about the crop of pictures I'm going to be bringing back and sharing with you all!!  The hotel says it has working wi-fi, so I'll be keeping in touch throughout.

This will be a big part of my "Farewell to Forties" tour 2011!

Thanks again for the birthday wishes.  It will be a good day, indeed!