CUPCAKES!

Since I travel so much, people ask me all the time...."What is your favorite cupcake?"

Wait...nobody has ever asked me that. People ask me things like "What's your favorite city"? And well, that's all. Which, by the way? Is a TERRIBLE question, making me pick? NOT FAIR! So, branch out people, think of new questions to ask when feigning interest!!!!

ANYWAY, IF anybody did ask me what my favorite cupcake was? I'd have to answer Georgetown Cupcakes....Vanilla Birthday Cake, with Vanilla Butter Cream Frosting. I'm no cupcake expert, I've not tried them all, but I've had a fair share.

It's true, I'm not the biggest fan of cream cheese frosting, so I'm very partial to my butter cream, but I've had the illustrious "Sprinkles" cupcake? And the only word I have to say is D-R-Y!! And granted, I only tried 2 kinds, but MOIST wasn't involved!

Georgetown cupcakes, are seriously just MOIST! I don't care if you hate that word, it's what they are! So add fabulous frosting, and all of a sudden waiting in ANY line for them, is alright by me!

As a side note? "Cakes by Melissa" in NYC are AWESOME! Yet, totally in a different category! They are fabulously bite size, which is awesome, I mean seriously, most cupcakes are too huge to enjoy! SO! Cakes by Melissa is a great runner up, but #1 in it's own category of goodness!

BUBBLE NET FEEDING!

Alaska...was the most amazing thing...and I can't possibly do it justice in a blog...so just go GO VISIT! There were so many fabulous things, I couldn't ever pick a favorite, but being able to witness whales, "bubble net feeding"....you just couldn't imagine such a thing! We took this sightseeing cruise put on by the Kenai Fjords National Park...and we were expecting to see marine wildlife....well....we did. And we saw a whale! Off our boat...and here is that picture. It's pretty cool right? Oooh. A whale! So we saw many like this. Which, is really awesome. We also saw puffins, sea stars, gulls, sea lion, an otter (see prior blog), and loads of other animals. THEN....then came the bubble net feeding whales. A site to behold, and the pictures will never do it justice, but I will post them anyway!!

According to wiki....this sort of feeding is their inventive technique! A group of whales swims in a shrinking circle blowing bubbles below a school of prey. The shrinking ring of bubbles encircles the school and confines it in an ever-smaller cylinder. This ring can begin close to a 100ft in diameter and involve the cooperation of a dozen animals. Some whales blow the bubbles, some dive deeper to drive fish toward the surface, and others herd prey into the net by vocalizing. The whales then suddenly swim upward through the 'net', mouths agape, swallowing thousands of fish in one gulp. Plated grooves in the whale's mouth allow the creature to easily drain all the water that was initially taken in. It's truly awesome...have I said that already! I feel uber blessed to have been able to see such a thing, however, seeing a singular whale off the boat was officially common place! Go to Alaska. You may not see what I saw, but it doesn't matter, it's all pretty spectacular!!!!

See? He's waving at you!

You otter know by now....

Seriously....I'm very uber smitten with these animals...and I wonder if they like to cuddle. I'm a real person....and I took a real trip to Alaska....and my camera is nothing special...and I'm not really all that great with my not so special camera...so THIS. THESE pictures...happened....in real life. This little guy was just lurking by himself....near the Aialik Glacier...which was AMAZING in and of itself...but worthy of another blog!

Here he is....alone, happy in his freezing cold water, loving his gorgeous surroundings. Does he look far away? Let's get closer then shall we?

Ah...he's so adorable. Here's the "didjaknow" part...Otters can eat up to 25% of their body weight each day-for you and I? That's like eating about 100 hamburgers! To eat, clean, and lounge....is to be...an otter.





So seriously cute! I'm pretty sure he was calling out to me! And to watch them fluff their fur, all part of their keeping warm process. Adorable!

So....as am I at this hour....so was he! I leave you with this yawn...from both him and I!