At sea -- The good times and bad times

Tuesday, May 25, 2010

The bad:  Rough seas on the inside passage since last evening maybe about 8:00.  I was feeling pretty green, and didn't even get to go the Dessert Buffet to nibble the night away.  Things calmed down about 9:00 this morning, but it was about noon by the time I felt good enough to get moving.

The good:  Enjoyed a great day from then on.  First on the schedule: the Captain's Luncheon, enjoying tarts, fruit, bruschetta, some delicious concoction in a phyllo cup, and pretty, tropical drinks.  Very nice, Captain.  Thank you for the invite.

 

The good 2: Don and I participated in the On Deck for the Cure walk.  It was to be a 5K walk around the ship's upper deck, but because I was pretty tired, we didn't make the whole distance.  We paid our fee, got the T-Shirt and posed for a corny picture. 

The good 3: Today was the day our Tour Group met at the pool for a final goodbye.  We certainly enjoyed our first bus tour experience, and after talking with some other groups on the ship who weren't as lucky, we know now that the group you're with makes all the difference!   We didn't have any complainers, no petty whining, nothing but a great group of people ready to enjoy the next adventure.  It was great! 

So long, Alaska.  Hope to visit you again some day.

Ketchikan - the last hurrah

Monday, May 24, 2010
Ketchikan is our final stop of this trip.  We have had such a great time on this cruise, I hate to see it end.
We visited Saxman Native Village which included a guided tour of their carving center, where natives are creating totems in the fashion of their ancestors.  Senior craftsmen are teaching the apprentices to keep the customs alive. 

Our guide gave us an explanation of the symbols generally incorporated into the totem, and how the design takes place.  Each image is placed in a specific order and has a significant meaning.  It was quite fascinating, and our guide was really informative.

The Village has the largest collection of standing totem poles.  Enjoy the show of a few posted here:

 

She also took us into the Beaver Clan House to see the Tlingit tribal members perform traditional songs and dances and tell tales wearing traditional ceremonial regalia.

We then took a self-guided tour about Ketchikan.  It's got unique architecture, beautiful flower gardens, and a tunnel right through town. 

 

Our final stop was Creek Street, once the red light district, but now a cute area of quaint cafes and gift shops.   The shops all sport colorful paint, and a wooden boardwalk above Ketchikan creek.  We didn't stop to eat anything, since we're getting well satisfied on the cruise ship, but it was a cute area that I can image is crazy busy during peak tourist season.

It's ironic that Ketchikan is known as Alaska's First City due to its location at the southern tip of the Inside Passage – it is the first city you reach as you cruise north. For us, it's Alaska's Final City, since our next stop will be Vancouver, BC.

We experienced the first rain of our trip today, and it was just a light sprinkle.  We were very fortunate, since spring rains are of course common in Alaska, just as they are in the lower 48.  Thank you, Travel Gods.

A quiet day on Glacier Bay

Sunday, May 23, 2010
Was hoping for a fantastic day at Glacier Bay. In order to limit the traffic in Glacier Bay, only a couple cruise lines are now allowed entry into the park.  HAL is one of them, so we were happy to find this stop on the itinerary that included the land tour we wanted.
Although there wasn't a lot of calving action, we did catch a couple of small ones. National Park Service naturalists boarded the ship to share their knowledge about the park and its wildlife during our day-long cruise in the bay.

 

It was so amazing to see the beautiful blue colored glaciers. They looked like giant prisms at times.

 

And here's one of the little calving action we saw.  Even the little ones create a lot of noise, but not the big boom we were hoping for.

 

And the best part -- they served hot chocolate and pea soup while we were hanging around.  Very nice, HAL!  Thank you.

Tomorrow is the last port on our Alaskan journey....Ketchikan. 

Skagway - our way

There were a couple of cruise ships parked in Skagway, which increased the amount of tourist traffic we've seen during our entire trip.  Some groups were on the exact reverse trip that we were, and we all converged on Skagway at the same time.

We wandered about the little town on our own for a while, taking in some of the cute gift shops, homes and history.  As was typical throughout this trip, Don was wearing his Brewers cap, and a Forest Ranger stopped us to ask if we were in fact from Wisconsin.  We said we were.  Turns out she is Katherine Molter from Mukwonago, and her and Don had both been in 4-H (he as a leader, her as a youth) and they knew some of the same people.  What a small world!! 

Our planned excursion at this port was a Saddle and Paddle, which was canceled.  On to plan B which was the Skagway Street Car Tour, with our energetic, enthusiastic, costumed guide, Peggy.

 

Peggy drove the 1927 sight-seeing bus.  First around the historic city of Skagway, then to a scenic overlook, and finally to the Gold Rush Cemetery, where a comical re-enactment of a gun duel between Soapy Smith and Frank Reid in 1898.  Soapy Smith was a notorious crook, having been a con-man in Colorado before heading to Alaska during the Gold Rush.  Peggy tells us that Soapy and his gang of crooks tried to swindle a gold miner from his gold, and when it turned ugly, Soapy tried to escape at the wharf.  Reid was one of the guards and they got into a gun fight, which resulted in death for both of them.  I think the grave sites tell you which person was the more upstanding citizen, don't you?

 

Skagway is a cute little town, but even with only a couple cruise ships in port, there was waiting at the famous Red Onion Saloon.  I believe the port accommodates 8 cruise ships, and I can't imagine having to trudge through this tiny town with that many people.    

We did a small amount of shopping here, since we haven't done much all the while we've been on this trip.  Just didn't want the suitcases to get any heavier, and we really aren't much into the souvenirs that seem like a good idea at the time, and then wonder what to do with them once you get home.  

One more photo op in Skagway before boarding the ms. Volendam this afternoon.  

I would think a rotary snowplow of this size could use some serious snow!