A Little Fresh Air

Wow! One fabulous day. Thought I'd see if I could walk out to the Boy Scout Camp - but the trail was too icy without cleats and I neglected to bring them with me. On the way back I stopped at the overlook by the Shrine and saw a couple of humpbacks and a large number of sea lions in the vicinity. So I parked at the Shrine and scrambled down the rocks to watch the action.

Sitting on the rocks it was hard to believe that it was the middle of February. The sun was warm and there was not a breath of wind. The only sounds were the snorting of the pinnipeds, occasional blowing of the cetaceans, and background cawing, cackling, and squawking by a flock of crow commentators. Sat there for almost an hour...

Eagle Beach and the Chilkat Mountains from the Shrine of St. Theresa

Our pinniped pals - sea lions on patrol

A tail of a whale

Just after I scrambled off the beach I spotted a pod of a half-dozen or so killer whales in the direction of Eagle Beach. Excellent!

I took a bunch of pics; but unfortunately the subjects did not approach closely enough for anything really dramatic. But still a wonderful afternoon. The only downside being a bruised knee resulting from a stumble on the rocks on the way back to the car.

In other news, I finished reading a biography of Woodrow Wilson. An interesting man in an interesting time. Although I have read a fair amount of World War I military history, I was not particularly familiar with Wilson otherwise.

His domestic agenda in his first term was progressive and impressive including the establishment of the federal reserve system and the Federal Trade Commission. Not that his domestic record was without blemish - his record on race relations was, at best, indifferent and he was a late comer to the national women suffrage movement.

Sadly, by the end of his first term the domestic agenda was forgotten as the Great War inexorably came to dominate Wilson's presidency. And like another U.S. President, Lyndon Johnson, his domestic accomplishments were eclipsed by failures on the international stage - in Wilson's case the failure of the United States to join the League of Nations. His stroke in October1919 in the midst of the ratification battle left him a cripple both literally and politically - there is almost universal agreement among historians that he was unfit to hold office the last 18 months of his second term.

Finally, one quote that amused me and illustrates the point that the time of Wilson was not yet the era of the Imperial Presidency as we now know it. Woodrow Wilson was devastated by the death of his first wife in August 1914. Within a year, however, he was dating the woman who became his second wife. In 1915 the President of the United States would on many evenings walk from the White House to pay his respects to his girlfriend.

"...he began going to her house almost every evening and often stayed until midnight. The Secret Services agents noticed a new bounciness about the president when he walked back to the White House. As he waited for traffic to pass, he would dance a few steps and whistle or sing a vaudeville tune. One tune that an agent remembered him singing as his feet tapped out the rhythm was 'Oh you beautiful doll! You great big beautiful doll! Let me put my arms around you, I can hardly live without you'."

I am now inspired to read more about the Progressive Era...

Well, gonna call Joan Kasson and see if she's up for a walk... It's another beautiful day!