Alaskan Cruise, the end! Home again at last!

Day 8, Monday, July 22 – Seward, Anchorage, and HOME!

Brian’s alarm was set for 6:20am, but I think he must have been in the shower already when it went off, because I heard it clear across the room on the desk, and it got to be MY wake-up call, a whole ten minutes earlier than my phone-alarm was set to ring. I had tossed and turned a lot in the night, but I felt ready to get up and going anyway. Our ship had docked sometime in the night in Seward, and they were letting people off at 7a.m. We hurried and got ready (I actually showered the night before, so I wouldn’t have so much to do in the morning), and went and got our last breakfast onboard. I was going to eat light and start eating right, first thing! But well… those little chocolate filled pastries were so delicious I had one more. And one more little omelet and one more little bowl of oatmeal and two broiled tomatoes and some toast. Honestly, it wasn't that much -- I'm not joking about “little.” And it was a nice “last” meal!

It was a long line getting off the boat, and then a huge pile to sort through and find our luggage in the bus terminal! We had booked a bus that stopped at an animal refuge center along the way, and had a guided tour as well. Our flight from Anchorage didn’t leave until 3pm and it was only a 4hr ride, including the excursion, so we had plenty of time to relax and enjoy the journey. It was a GORGEOUS ride!! I’m sooo glad we got to see so much of the spectacular countryside with our drive. Wow! That really, really hit the spot and was one of my favorite parts of the whole trip! Again, we drove along beautiful, tall mountains, lots of green, lush forests and lakes and rivers and waterfalls. I was sleepy, but tried to stay awake for most of it, just because it was so lovely!

Our tour guide was a woman named Sherrie. She was… interesting. A little too “punny” (rhymes with “funny,” but not quite!) for my liking. Hehe. Her best joke was, “what did the old pirate say when he turned 80?” …. “Ayeee Matey!” (get it? Aye matey…I’m eighty? Hahaha!) She did have lots to say about everything, and we were sitting right directly behind her, so she had lots to say to us, too, it seemed. One interesting thing she told us… We drove along next to a really gray-looking inlet for several miles. She said it’s a tidal inlet and is so murky and full of silt that boats don’t really travel up or across it at all, even though it’s several miles long – it’s just dead space. It was really pretty, though. It didn’t look marshy and gunky. Kind of deceiving.

The wildlife park was definitely a great stop along the way! She explained that the animals they take in are there because they were found in bad shape, out in the wilds and needed help. There were several bears, BIG grizzly bears! She told us one was found as a cub, his mama had been killed by poachers and he was stuck up in a tree. He was severely dehydrated and the guy who found him said the cub was so weak, he just climbed the tree, wrapped the cub in his coat, and put him in the truck and drove him to the center. They had an IV in the cub for awhile to rehydrate him and had to feed him goat’s milk from an eye dropper until he could eat regular berries and nuts. Now he’s got his own enclosure and loves climbing trees – which he was doing when we saw him!

Another big brown bear was found after an encounter with a porcupine – he had quills all over his face and paws, including on his tongue! His tongue had swollen so badly he could barely swallow when they found him, and was starving to death and very dehydrated. They had to sedate him and keep him on a feeding tube for awhile to get him enough nourishment, after they had removed all the quills. I can only imagine that was an intense process!

They had a great big tall walkway built over the bear enclosure, so we were able to get some great pictures of them and feel safe but close! Brian even got a video of a really big bear ambling right on the other side of the fence. They seemed very unimpressed with people, but we were VERY impressed with them! There were lots of other animals we were able to walk around and see, also… muskox, bison, moose, wolves, caribou, elk, foxes, porcupines, etc! It was great to see them all at once, even if it was a bit like a big zoo.

Once we reached the airport, we were READY to go home! We still had a couple of hours, and we debated going into Anchorage for a bit. But the lines were huge, both checking luggage and going through security. So we opted to stay put. We had one last leisurely meal at a sit-down expensive restaurant – a salmon burger for Brian, fish tacos for me, and a bowl of chowder to share. And then… we were off! Home again, home again! I typed a lot of this on our sea days, and on the flight home. We landed at 11pm, and Cindy had graciously parked my parents’ car for us so we made our way home on our own, by midnight. Oh how wonderful it felt to climb into our own bed and sleep!! It’s sooo good to go, and always wonderful to come home!!

Next step -- I’m off to pick up my kids and visit with my parents a bit, with plans of coming home tomorrow. Back to life as normal… yay! This has truly been a wonderful trip of a lifetime! So glad we did it!!

Alaskan Cruise -- Day 6 and 7, Happy Birthday to me, at sea!!

Day 6, Saturday, July 20 – my BIRTHDAY! Yay!! – Saturday: At Sea, Marjorie Glacier

What a relaxing day my birthday turned out to be. After all our busy port days, Brian and I were both ready for some R&R. We slept a little later, then looked out from our balcony to see we were floating up a passage with a beautiful tree-lined island on the side of the ship. It wasn’t super cold, but it was refreshingly chilly. I stepped out onto the balcony and peeked around the corner toward the front of the ship. And, guess what I saw?! The beginnings of a glacier! So exciting! 

We hurried and got dressed and watched as a small glacier passed by our side of the ship. Apparently it was called the Reid glacier – maybe named after that guy from Skagway? Well, it wasn’t the main attraction, but it was super cool that we got to watch it right from our little balcony deck!! After it passed, we went to the Garden to get some breakfast and wait as we got closer to the big glacier – Marjorie. We watched it from the top deck of the ship – along with the other 2000 guests onboard, I’m pretty sure!

Sometime in the early morning, a couple or three forest service rangers had boarded the ship and were giving a presentation about the glaciers over the loudspeaker as we approached. To be honest, mostly the forest service lady just rambled on about climate change and how we’ve killed the glaciers and borrowed beauty from our grandchildren, who may never know the glories of looking at a glacier from an Alaskan cruise because they’re all receding. Her spiel was kind of depressing and guilt-trippish. Sigh. Brian showed me some maps of how the glaciers have grown, and shrunk, and grown again, and shrunk again, all within the past 300-400 years. They’re not super predictable, turns out. And some of them are shrinking while others are actually growing right now – including the Hubbard, which is the largest glacier we saw. Yep, Hubbard is growing right now. But the park ranger only felt inclined to tell us about the ones that fit the global warming, climate change model of thinking, -- poor, dying Marjorie. (“Cool It” is an interesting “counter” read on that global warming subject.)

We loved looking at Marjorie Glacier (except I kept mixing up and calling it Margaret, haha!). When the sheets of ice break off and fall into the ocean, they call it “calving.” I wish they thought of a better word for it, but well… We saw lots of “calving” at Marjorie! The sound as the ice cracks and falls is so impressive! A loud, crackling, BANG sound, and then we would see powder fly up as it dropped into the water with a splash. Pretty amazing! The ice is soooo spectacular and blue. Our ship got to pull up quite close to it – the closest we got to any of the glaciers on the trip. The ship stayed in place and pivoted around for a full hour, so every part of the ship got a spectacular view! Brian even staked out a spot by a vacated balcony for us, knowing the glacier would be front and center there in 15 minutes or so. Then he patiently waited for the ship to turn, until we got our perfect pictures. It was really fascinating to be there.

Afterward, we sailed up another channel and saw a different glacier. It was smaller and farther from the ship, and we only sailed past it, rather than stopping and watching for awhile. So, that was less eventful, but still exciting to see (even if I have momentarily forgotten the name of that lesser glacier, ahem).

Once the glaciers were gone, well… it was a pretty quiet day, actually! Brian and I went back to our room and we both read for awhile, then turned on the movie channel. Brian took a loooong nap, while I watched three movies at once – something about a dog, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Big Miracle. Brian woke up and watched the ending of Big Miracle with me. It was fitting, being that it’s about Alaska, and whales and snow. Hehe.

Sometime in the afternoon, a crew member knocked on the door with a birthday card and cupcake especially for me, from everyone at Norwegian Jewel. Awww! We shared the cupcake, then got ready for our fancy birthday dinner. We dressed up, Brian in his suit looking so handsome, and I wore a new dress that I bought two days before our trip. Brian gave me a cute, glittery hair barrette as a birthday present, and had me open a very sweet card that all the kids had signed before we left. That was extra special, considering we had no cell phone service and no way to be in touch with them on my day. Man, I was really starting to miss them a lot by then!

We went back to the Tsar’s for dinner again. (Just so you know, there were other restaurants, and we looked at all the different menus from time to time. But the Tsar’s menu changed daily, and we just really liked their fancy dining room with floor-to-ceiling windows looking out the back of the ship, and soft background piano music creating a romantic, mellow atmosphere.) They seated us near the back, by the big windows, which was perfect! I was torn between ordering the turkey medallions and apricot sauce, or the grilled tilapia with lemon sauce on a bed of rice. I will tell you now, I should have ordered the tilapia. The turkey was lacking, for some reason -- only meal I didn't really enjoy. But honestly, I wasn’t really so hungry, so I ate a bit of the turkey and moved on to dessert. My happy birthday cake was a deep, rich chocolate slice with a lovely ganache on top. Yum! I think I also ordered a second dessert, just because it was my birthday, of course. But I can’t remember what it was, hmmm…

Back to our room, where we watched “Emma,” one of my favorites, that I had downloaded from Netflix. It was a quiet birthday, the actual day. But since I’m counting this whole, entire trip as part of my birthday celebration, I’d say it was just about perfect! I went to bed feeling loved and happy and very full of chocolate cake.

Day 7, Sunday, July 21 – At Sea, Hubbard Glacier

We woke up again to see big floating ice chunks out the balcony windows. I peeked out and once again there was a really big glacier in front of our ship, a ways away still. I was really surprised to see so much ice floating past, all of it the beautiful blue color of glacial ice. The Hubbard glacier is one of the biggest, and is actually growing. It is also pretty spectacular to see and hard to capture in pictures – believe me, everyone was trying, incessantly! 

The crowds on the deck were even bigger than with the Marjorie glacier. I joked with Brian that it was like trying to take a picture of the Mona Lisa painting in the Louvre museum!! But of course, we got up there and took our selfies with the glacier, waiting in line for the best spots, following its path as the ship turned – just like everybody else. My mom said on their ship, they allowed a few people up in the crow’s nest to view the glaciers, and that my dad got to go up there! That sounded like a spectacular way to get an amazing view, for sure! They did not do that on our ship. But if they had, you can bet Brian would have been one of the first in line.

The glacier was probably the highlight of the day for us. We spent time walking the deck, reading in our room, napping, eating, more eating, more napping, etc. It was a sea day, and a Sunday, and our last day. I think we were starting to feel ready to come home, especially since we hadn’t had any phone or internet service since Friday in Skagway. I was really starting to miss the kids a lot, for sure! But we made the most of our leisurely last day at sea, just enjoying the sea and the food, and the day of rest. Brian had downloaded several sessions of conference, so we put one on in the evening as we packed our things. We had to have our luggage outside our door by 11pm, and they would take it off the ship and into the bus terminal for us, which was nice except for the panicky feeling of being without our stuff for a few hours. Haha! Again, we slept with the balcony door open, until it got a little too windy at some point and Brian closed it.

Alaskan Cruise -- Day 5, Skagway and The Yukon Territory

Day 5, Friday, July 19 – Skagway

Well! Skagway did NOT disappoint, and was my favorite stop of all! I bet it was Brian’s too, but I don’t want to speak for him. We had heard from others that the Whitepass Railroad scenic train ride was really beautiful, and we were going to do that. But Brian tried to book it online at the start of our cruise, but it was sold out on their website. Our cruise staff people still had seats available, but they wanted $150 per person. Seemed steep for a two-hour ride! Plus, our weather had been so overcast and misty, we wondered if we’d even be able to see anything on a train ride to a mountain pass. We decided to wait until we arrived to see what deals we could find in port.

The train ride was still available, and for only $130. But that still seemed like a lot, especially considering the weather. We spent a looong time discussing our options, and finally decided to book another minibus tour instead. The one we booked went over the Whitepass summit, and onward into Yukon Territory for a six hour tour! It had stops where we could get out and take pictures along the way, and it included lunch at a musher camp with husky dogs and a museum. All for $110 each. Still kinda spendy for the day, huh? But it was truly one of my favorite days ever! One best part was that the SUN CAME OUT!! Yay!!

We had a couple of hours in Skagway before our tour started, so we took a city bus to the far end of town and walked up the hill to the old Gold Rush Cemetery. That was interesting. There was an information plaque at the front of the cemetery, telling who some of the famous people were… an outlaw nicknamed Jefferson “Soapie” (he was a conman who sold lots of miracle cures and fishoil medicines, which is where he got his nickname) and the lawman who shot him but then also died, named “Reid.” According to a tourguide in the cemetery, neither of them were the most honorable characters. But Reid has a nearby waterfall named after him, which we hiked to, and which was very pretty! Then we walked back into town, because the bus that brought us out there never came back, and we didn’t want to be late for our tour. Lots of steps for the fitbit!

So, for our excursion… we left Skagway, driving up the road that follows along the pathway the train takes, but on the opposite side of the valley. All the way up, it was sooo foggy, we could hardly see the train tracks straight across from us, or anything else! We got to the summit in the fog and didn’t even stop – there was nothing to see. I was starting to feel a bit disappointed, even though there’s not much to be done about the weather. I whispered a little prayer and told Heavenly Father, I know it’s a small thing, but it would be sooo nice if we could get a little bit of sunshine today, so we could see this beautiful country. Less than half an hour later, we passed over the boarder into British Columbia, and the mist and fog cleared up and the sun started shining! It was sunny and clear and gorgeous, all afternoon until we descended that pass back into Skagway. That was a sweet little answer to my prayer!

We saw some of the most majestic mountains and lakes and countryside I’ve even seen. It was just spectacular!! Our tour guide was fantastic! His name was Bill, and he said he is a retired school teacher. He and his wife live in Arizona during the winter, and come to Alaska every summer. He guides tours, and she… I don’t remember. Brian said he thought Bill said his wife works at the quilt shop in Skagway, but I’m not sure. Anyway, Bill told us all kinds of interesting facts about the region, and its history. He told us about the Gold Rush of 1898, and the thousands of men who came seeking their fortune. He told us how gold was discovered by a man named Carmack, and a first-nation man who went by the name of Skookum Jim, and his sister, Kate. Bill said Skookum is a native word that means “strong,” and Skookum Jim was know for his strength. I told Brian, maybe I’ll start calling Spencer, Skookum! Heheh.

Bill was also great for spotting bears and stopping so we could take pictures. At one point, he spotted a bear, and stopped the bus really fast, did a u-turn and went back so we could get a better look. We sat parked on the side of the road for 5-10 minutes, watching a mother bear and THREE little black cubs following along behind! That was a fun highlight!! They were kind of far away, but they were right out in the open, and easy to see. What a treat! We saw another black bear, really quite close to the road, munching on some blueberries. We watched him for a nice long time, too.

At our lunch place, they fed us a bbq chicken lunch and homemade donuts. It was an outback ranch place, kind of like the Bar-J Wranglers in Wyoming. Only, their main attraction was the dogsled teams. They had baby husky puppies in training, and several teams of dogs that they keep in top condition by running them in a line attached to big ATVs. We could have ridden an ATV with the dogs for another $50 each, but we decided to just watch that part. The dogs were super cute! I petted some of the puppies through the fence, even though I think you're supposed to pay extra to interact with them on a tour or something.

Inside, they had an interesting museum and shop, with exhibits about the history of the Mounty police in Western Canada. I looked for Jack’s lifesize cardboard cutout from When Calls the Heart, but they didn’t have it, bummer! So I had to take a selfie with this other cutout guy who wasn’t nearly as tall or handsome as Jack.

They also had a very impressive collection of stuffed, taxidermy animals – buffalo, polar bears, grizzlies, timber wolves and white wolves, mountain sheep, even a wooly mammoth that they reconstructed from a fossilized mammoth found in Europe somewhere. It was a pretty cool exhibit, especially because we could stand right next to the animals and pet their fur, etc. They don’t usually allow that in museums, right? The polar bear is said to be the largest one ever stuffed and mounted. Interesting.

After lunch, we headed back down the way we had come. We stopped at the Yukon Territory border (actually on the way up, I forgot), and took pictures at the sign. There was a lady there selling polished rocks, and handmade jewelry with gemstones. I didn’t get her picture, but now I wish I would have! Our tour guide told us lots about her… she’s the ONLY person who lives out there, in that region of the Yukon Territory, for miles and miles and miles. She has a small cabin and stays year round, living off the land for the most part. She gets her water from a stream, uses a generator and kerosene lamps for light, heats and cooks food on a wood stove, which she also uses to heat her home all winter—with wood she chops herself. She’s a tough looking lady, probably mid50s, early 60s? We kept asking Bill questions about her life. I bought some ketchup chips from her -- my Canadian delicacy and reminder of my dear roommate Kurri.

We also stopped at a few different lakes. They were HUMONGOUS, and soooo beautiful. The smallest one was one of the prettiest, called Emerald Lake. It’s surrounded by limestone cliffs, which give the water an iridescent, emerald look. It was lovely! But my favorite was a lake called Tushiite Lake, pronounced “too shy,” which is a native word that means deep and dark. And it definitely was deep and dark and enormous. We drove along side it for miles and miles, while different towering mountains and treelined hills backed up behind it. At one point we got out and took some perfect pictures, with Alaskan fireweed (some beautiful purple flowers) and pine trees in the foreground, lake in the middle, and majestic cloud-covered peaks as the backdrop. Later, we got to stop right at the shoreline of the lake for a few minutes and feel the water. I couldn’t resist taking my shoes off and dipping my toes in. Some teenage boys in a car next to us did a polar bear swim while we cheered them on. That was fun to watch!

We eventually crossed back over the border, back into Alaska, and started back toward the Whitepass summit. And guess what?! The heavy mist rolled in like we’d never left it! All the way back into Skagway it was completely fogged over. I did manage to see a waterfall as we drove by it, right next to the bus window. But it was really cloudy out there! Once we got back to town, we had a couple of hours before we had to be back on the ship. We wandered around the shops and went through a museum about the gold rush, which was interesting. I’m still not sure how sooo many people became so obsessed with striking it rich with gold. The old black-and-white photos showed thousands of men lined up in the snow with all their supplies, to climb the Whitepass summit and go looking for their claim. I don’t understand the mindset that would drive people to that – guess that’s partly because I’ve never lived in the extremities they faced. Go big or go home… or freeze to death, come winter!

Once we were back on the ship, we had another delightful dinner, back at the Tsar’s restaurant. I tried a new kind of fish – can’t think of the name of it right now, but it was tasty. Corzona? Colniza? Brian says it’s Corvina, but I’m not sure. Something with a C. Brian got a bunch of different appetizers to try, all of them very small servings, but very tasty! He got a shrimp/dill/potato cake thing that was really good, and some marinated mushrooms. I just stuck with my regular bruschetta and a side salad. They brought us really good bread with each meal, several different small slices of a few different kinds. We decided not to get the “drinks” pass for $90 apiece—that would have allowed us each to have unlimited soft drinks throughout the cruise. But we figured if we wanted a soda, we’d just pay the individual price. So, that night, I ordered a gingerale. It cost $4.40, for one 12 oz can. We shared it, and that was the only soda we got the whole trip.

We also talked a bit to our waiter that night. Both Brian and I found ourselves very curious about the various staff on the ship. Most all of them were Asian, many from the Philippines, Indonesia, and Malaysia. Our waiter told us more than 40% of the staff were from the Philippines. He said they came to work on 6 or 8 month contracts, then went home for two months. The staff on our ship were assigned to work the Alaska cruise from Vancouver to Seward, and Seward to Vancouver all summer long, until October. Then they stay with the ship and head south to San Francisco area and other warmer ports during the winter. Our waiter that night told us he has a wife and new baby waiting for him at home in the Philippines. His baby was two weeks old when he left, and she will be five months old this month. He’ll see her this fall, when he gets his two-month break.

We talked to a couple of other staff members throughout our cruise. They were all so friendly and cheerful and spoke very good English. They have long, hard days, and I’m sure it must feel monotonous, especially sailing the same ports over and over. The gratuity on our cruise was settled with an extra charge per person, per day – so Brian and I paid $30 per day on top of our cruising fare, that was supposed to go to the various staff who served us in restaurants, cleared tables, refreshed our room, etc. It still felt odd not leaving tips or settling a bill after our meals.

That night, we tried the ship’s entertainment again, and struck out again… We walked out in the middle of the second act, only 6 minutes or so after it started. Oh well, we were tired anyway! We slept with the balcony door open, listening to the waves of the sea. We were both exhausted and slept well! According to my fitbit stats, that was my most active day of the trip – clocking in at 23,400 steps, 10 miles, and over 3000 calories burned! I went to sleep feeling ready for a “rest” day… and a BIRTHday!!!

Alaskan Cruise -- Day 4, Juneau

Day 4, Thursday, July 18 – Juneau

Guess what? Brian had some work to do, for real! You wouldn’t really believe this was truly US cruising if Brian didn’t have just a little bit of work, right? Well, he actually took a couple of calls in Ketchikan, and there was one night where I woke up and he was up working on his computer a little bit. Yep, it’s true. It’s really us, and although Brian’s main projects that were keeping him busy all through May and June are either completed or on hold for now, he still has to keep tabs on some things and turn some documents. So, he planned a work call for noon, in Juneau. 

We couldn’t get off the boat until 11a.m. anyway, so we had just gotten off and were looking in some of the shops near our ships when he snuck off to take his call in a private alleyway. And I looked around the town on my own. I discovered that king crab legs were less expensive in Juneau than they were in Ketchikan – only $27 for one leg here, as opposed to $35 per leg in Ketchikan. (Luckily neither of us was dead set on having crab legs, as the crab shack lines were as outrageous as the price!)

After Brian’s call, another delay… turns out he actually needed to return to the ship and work on a document for a couple of hours while we had good service. I decided to walk around town by myself for a bit. I walked through several shops and ended up buying a big piece of fudge at a candy shop where they were pouring fresh, hot fudge onto huge marble slabs, stirring it as it cooled, and letting it set up right there on the countertop before slicing and serving. The whole store smelled more chocolatey than anything I’ve ever smelled before! It was wafting out into the street, drawing me in with a deep, cocoa voice that said, "come buy fudge, NOW!" I obeyed. Then, I ate the entire piece of caramel pecan milk chocolate fudge as I walked along, saving none for poor Brian!!

Once he was done with work, we walked up to the capitol building together to check it out. I had walked by it earlier and told Brian it wasn’t all that impressive and it was under construction. But of course, he insisted that we needed to go inside and check it out! We took our own self guided tour around a few different floors, exploring the senate and legislature floor rooms, (and the bathroom, ahem.) Another state capitol checked off our list, and Brian got his picture taken in the Governor’s Hall, right next to Sarah Palin’s picture, to boot! ha! 

The main expedition options from Juneau were to go exploring around the Mendenhall Glacier… helicopter rides, sea kayaks, hiking on the glacier – all for hundreds of dollars apiece. We did none of those. In fact we nearly missed out, altogether, due to Brian’s work and our late arrival at port, but we managed to book a minibus tour to the glacier and nearby Nugget Falls. Both were amazing!! Breathtaking!! In the visitor’s center, we could see the whole panorama of the glacier and falls in the distance, through a big glassed-in wall area. We also got a magnet for our collection, and got to touch some of the glacier ice, which was neat. They estimate it was about 400 years old! We hiked a mile or so up to Nugget Falls, even though we could see it from a distance. Once we got to the falls, I stood next to that waterfall, hearing its roar and feeling its majestic spray on my face, and I couldn’t help but cry, it was so awesome – like, the REAL kind of AWESOME, the kind that inspires AWE! Hard to put into words, but it’s one of those memories I’ll pull out when I need a lift, or some extra measure of peace. I loved that experience!! The glacier was at the back end of a gorgeous blue lake. We got some really fun pictures of it, but I’m telling you, it was even that much better in person!!

We also learned on our minibus tour that McDonalds came to Juneau in 1982. It was such a huge event that the entire stock of burgers and food was sold out the first day in less than three hours! The next week, a seaplane came up from Ketchikan and ordered over $1000 worth of food to take back to the town, clearing them out again! Even though these small towns claim to not like chains, McDonalds has been a proud staple of Juneau ever since. And… they also have a Costco!! We were bummed that we missed the Costco shuttle from town—woulda been fun to check it out. Since milk is $6 per gallon in their regular grocery stores, we’re betting Costco probably deeply discounts and makes a bundle there, as it does in Hawaii and NY. Also, it’s a fact that bears are frequent visitors in all the towns in Alaska. Most of the tour guides said they see a bear in the street about every few days. Sonia, our Ketchikan tour guide, said she got a fine once because a bear got into her trash and strung it all over her driveway and down the street while she was at work! She also said a bear broke into the local Ketchikan grocery store one day a few years ago. It’s on youtube – you can check it out if you’re interested. We did. Haha! It was just a little bear, kind of funny!

Back to the ship, after our tour ended, and another delicious meal at a place called Chin Chin. It was all Asian food, and was really good. I had some delicious spring rolls, and a lemon pepper shrimp dish with rice, and Brian had a big dish of fried rice. We were not very hungry, so we skipped dessert there, and picked up some brownies/cake later from The Garden. We skipped the entertainment again and went to sleep early so we could be ready for our day in Skagway, which we were both looking forward to seeing.

Alaskan Cruise -- Day 3, Ketchikan

Day 3, Wednesday, July 17 – Ketchikan

Our first port-of-call was Ketchikan. We couldn’t exit the boat too early, so we had plenty of time to finish watching “Pink Panther” and get some amazing breakfast before we set out for the day. Since we were in port and had service, we were able to catch up on internet browsing a bit and call and check in with the kids, which was fun. Eventually, we stepped off the ship into a pretty good downpour of rain! Not to worry, as we both carried umbrellas (--in my backpack, of course) and I was triple-prepared, with a cardigan over my long-sleeved shirt, a down vest, a fleece jacket and an outer jacket. Brian had a jacket too, which was all he ever claims to need. (And yes, Mom, he was even actually wearing it!) But just to be extra sure, we headed quickly to a souvenir shop where they were selling Alaskan, fleece-lined rain jackets and woolen hats. I bought a nice, black “Alaska” hat right off, and decided to forego the jacket as I was already feeling quite “puffy” with my many layers! (Pictures of our outings have since confirmed that yes, indeed, I was looking very “puffy” in Ketchikan. It was the jackets, I’m telling you! NOT the enormous breakfast and hot chocolate with ice cream I had just before leaving the ship!)

We wandered around some of the shops for a bit, and went to the visitor’s center, too. All the while, the vendors from the expedition kiosks were trying to get our attention and sign us up for some sight-seeing tour. –A seaplane ride over the majestic Misty Fiords? For only $250 per person, with lunch included?? –A streetcar tour of the city for only $55 each? Brian quickly learned they were very eager to bargain; he talked the seaplane guy down to $200 in a matter of minutes, and the trolley car tour was going for $30 apiece. But we didn’t do either of those options. Instead, we had a small-group guided tour in a minibus for a couple of hours. It was great! Our tour guide was Sonia – a 20-something Alaskan native girl with three kids. She was very personable and friendly, and took us to several spots of interest around town, and then drove us several miles up the coastline to see some scenery, wildlife, and a waterfall. We saw a bear, roaming near a creek where some people were doing ziplines directly above! That was pretty neat. And we also saw a giant, white slug in that same area, clinging to a fence post on the guardrail. Uggg! Our kids would have enjoyed that, I bet!

We also saw a tree where several bald eagles were perched, each on a different branch, some in nests at the top. That was exciting! We also sampled local jams and preserves at a little makeshift café area. I learned that salmonberry jam does NOT have actual salmon in it. The woman may or may not have rolled her eyes slightly at my question, but I’m sure it wasn’t the first time someone wondered!

The salmon ladder was interesting, although there were no salmon actually jumping up the ladder. But the creek was beautiful and clear and fast-running, with a big falls under a bridge. We got to see how the ladder runs along side the falls, and makes it easier for salmon to swim upstream, like they’re supposed to. 

A local fisherman started talking to me when we visited the fish hatchery. He first talked about how humungous the salmon used to be, and pointed out the five key types of salmon (chum, sockeye, king or Chinook, silver, and pink). Then he started telling me how it’s odd that the salmon are so late this year. He claimed that a biologist 20 years ago predicted that the warming waters would make the salmon’s food source die out, and that consequently the salmon could/would die out, too. This fisherman guy was kind of a doomsday guy, and he’s thinking this might be the end of the salmon trade as we know it. “They should be here by now,” he told me, in an ominous voice. “But they’re not. They’re not running the salmon ladder! They’re not in the creeks or up the river, or out to sea where they ought to be! They’re just gone!!” Slightly disturbing. He even claimed that, come next summer, we may see many a fisherman out of his livelihood, with many fishing boats and rigs up for sale! Yikes! He kept talking and talking and our tour guide kind of left us… Hmm… Sorry about the salmon, Mr. Fisherman guy, but we don’t want to get left here with you at the hatchery with half a million baby salmon. Gotta run catch up with our group!

We went to a totem pole park and our guide told us some of the legends and stories about the various poles we saw. One interesting totem pole factoid: the trees they use to carve them from rot from the inside out. So, they’ve learned to hollow out the middle, and cut off part of the back of the trees so the totem poles last longer. Who knew?

We ended our tour at famous Creek Street, where all the houses and shops are brightly colored buildings, on a big boardwalk above the water. The tides in Ketchikan vary by 20-25 feet daily, so all the buildings are up high above the water. Even the main road near the harbor was actually on a big boardwalk over the water. The Creek Street shops were fun to wander through – lots of gemstones, jewelry, totem poles, and cold-weather clothing options. Historically, that was actually the red light district of Ketchikan, and the town seems to celebrate that part of their past with a famous prostitution museum, which we skipped. Instead, we took a little tram ride up to a hotel built into the hillside, and got a nice view of the city and the sea. Then we wandered down near the harbor and ate lunch at a nice, fast-paced restaurant where we ordered a fish and chips sampler plate – with deep fried cod, halibut and salmon – all three were sooo delicious! And Brian got big bowl of salmon chowder and cornbread.

Our last event in Ketchikan was the famous Lumberjack show. Brian booked it for us a couple of days in advance, which was a good thing, since it was packed! That was a fun show! The lumberjacks made a competition between the Canadian team and the US team, and split the stadium in half. We were on the Canadian side and cheered for them. They took turns racing to do each sport in the competition --- chopping a stump in half while they stood on top of it, using a chain saw to cut a certain number of log circles, climbing/shimmying up a tree as fast as possible, then repelling back down, etc. Our favorite was when they balanced on a rolling log in water, and tried to get the opposing team’s lumberjack to fall in the water first. That was pretty amazing to watch! The crowd was really loud, and we had fun cheering for our team.

We had to be back on our boat by 4pm, which gave us time to come back and relax for a bit before dinner time. We looked at the various menus from the different restaurants onboard, and decided we like the atmosphere and food choices of the Tsar’s, so we went back there for dinner again. I had bruschetta again and a beet/gorgonzola salad, followed by a roasted chicken plate, with mashed potatoes and gravy, broccoli, and a scoop of chocolate ice cream for dessert. Brian got a coconut curry chicken and rice plate that looked really tasty! Then we rolled ourselves back to our room, haha! We decided to try the show’s entertainment, since they were supposedly playing/singing cover songs for groups like Journey, Boston, Sting, etc. Sounded good, and the performers had beautiful voices. But their costumes were pretty skanky again, and somewhat questionable choreography. Neither of us was really enjoying it, so we left after three songs – Born to Be Wild, You Make Me Feel Like a Woman, and one that I didn’t recognize, and didn’t like.

So, back to the room for an episode of Monk, and a ridiculous episode of “Psych” which we probably should have turned off. We went to sleep very tired that night!! But in the night, we had lots of bumping and swaying for a few hours – more than we had at any other time on the whole cruise! I had a hard time sleeping, but Brian was able to sleep right through it!

Alaskan Cruise -- Days 1 and 2

Day 1 – Monday, July 15

How early is too early? I suppose that depends on whether you stayed awake really late packing and then didn’t end up falling asleep until after 2a.m. Yikes!! Yep, 5a.m. was feeling pretty extra early to me, but we needed to leave to the airport with Cindy at 5:30, so we were up and going, bright and early. Let the records show that I did indeed get that cucumber and butternut squash planted in our garden the night before we left (even if it was nearly dark and they might not survive the week). And I watered all the plants, and washed the dishes, too. Good job, me!

One great “extra” for this cruise was that Brian was able to use frequent flyer miles so we could FLY to our departure port, Vancouver, Canada. Phew! We were at first planning to DRIVE there, which would have added an extra couple of days to our trip, to make the 10+ hour drive there, and back again! I was soooo happy and relieved that we got to fly right out of our Boise airport. That was a much more convenient way to get there, for sure!

We grabbed bagel/egg sandwiches for breakfast at the airport, once we got through security. Then we took a flight through Seattle, and quickly on to Vancouver. Once we arrived, we took a train/subway over to the port where the ship was docked and dropped off our luggage. (For the record, our ship’s luggage check system was lame and we were not very happy after waiting in line for 1/2hr to get a luggage tag, when all they did was write our name and room number on a tag –which we certainly could have done on our own. Not the best first impression, huh?) We were very glad to get rid of the luggage so we could do some exploring around the port and around Vancouver city center.

We went into this amazingly fancy hotel right on the water, and walked through some of their meeting areas and restaurants, then out on a deck area, checking out the gorgeous harbor scenery. They had some awesome water features and fountains in their lobby, which we loved seeing. Then we walked across to another outdoor square where there was another beautiful waterfall sculpture garden thing. It seemed like a relaxing place to hang out, so we made a point to come back there later and buy a soda and hamburger for lunch.

We also walked into the city center for several blocks, and went into another fancy hotel to have a peek. They had some glorious old-school ballrooms, and an empty vestibule on their meeting rooms floor, with a lovely grand piano. I was soooo tempted to sit down and play a bit, but I resisted.

Vancouver looked like a fun city! Lots of really pretty flowers and trees, lots of greenery, even in the middle of the skyscrapers. We would have liked to have a bit more time to look around, but it was time to check in for our cruise. So, we made our way back to the boat area, and stood in a long line in a big room. It looked like we’d be there for a half hour or so, but instead, we’d only been in line for a few minutes and they swished us into a different line that pushed us right to the front really quickly. That was a nice little treat!

Next thing we knew, we were on the boat, walking down a long, narrow hallway to our room with a view! Yahoo!! Since we booked sooo last-minute, we got a really good rate, and decided to splurge on a BALCONY room. BEST. SPLURGE. EVER!!! We have both just LOVED having a balcony! We got a room on the ninth deck—nine stories above the water! It’s been magnificent, looking out at that amazing water, day after day. It’s been a bit chilly, but we’ve even slept with the balcony door ajar most of the nights, just to listen to the gentle gliding as the ship slices through the water. Since we’ve been sailing up the coast of Alaska, we’ve had lots of times where we’ve passed tree-covered islands and even a couple of glaciers we’ve been able to see from our room. (We even passed through a really narrow passageway where there were big mountains really close by, right next to the ship -- but it was during the night, and I didn't get to see it at all. But Brian stood on the balcony and watched it for awhile.)

After we got our room settled, we went to a restaurant called O’Sheehans for an afternoon snack. It was kind of like a pub or sports bar. Brian got a fajita, and I got a chicken Caesar salad, and we both got dessert, of course! – strawberries and cream on a vanilla pound cake for Brian, and a chocolate brownie cheesecake with caramel sauce for me, sooo delicious!

It was almost time to leave port, so we decided to go for a swim as we were departing. Vancouver was plenty warm and sunny, so the water sounded especially nice. There were tons of people on the deck and walkways around the pool area, and they were playing lots of loud music and people were dancing. But not many people were actually in the pool. They probably thought it looked cold. But really, the water was sooo nice and warm. We practically had the pool to ourselves, which was fun!

After our swim, we went back to our room and just enjoyed the waves and the water for a bit. We took a few minutes to call the kids and check in. They were all having a fun time at Grandma’s, and were eager to hear about our time. We did a facetime video for a few minutes and showed them our fancy room and balcony. As you can imagine, Natalie was oohing and ahhing! Haha!

For dinner, we decided to go to a different restaurant, called Tsar’s Palace. We weren’t extremely hungry, but we had some fun appetizers anyway. I got bruschetta, which was amazing! And Brian got a salmon filet that was really delicious (even to me, and I’m a girl who just doesn’t always love salmon, surprise). We both got dessert again – a chocolate lava cake and a salted-caramel chocolate tart. Both sooo tasty!

They had a welcome show in a huge auditorium, so we went to that. They told us about some of the different programs and amenities on the ship, and a gave us sneak previews of some of the entertainment options that would be happening throughout the week. Spoiler alert – the five-minute previews of the two shows we saw were enough to let us know the entertainment was on the raunchy side and not really our style. Bummer.

Back to the room, back to the waves, and a good night’s sleep on our king bed, listening to the water and watching islands pass us in the night. Such a great first day!!

Day 2 – Tuesday, July 16 – Day at Sea

What does one do on a day at sea? Well, pretty much whatever one WANTS to do! Talk about a day of leisure! It’s all become a bit of a blur to me, actually. But we slept in, after our very long day arriving. Then we got up and went for a fun breakfast at a humongous buffet called The Garden. They have every breakfast item you might imagine, all displayed so nicely. I got the makings of an English breakfast – eggs, broiled tomatoes, bacon and sausage, potatoes and toast, along with a side of oatmeal with brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans. Oh so good! Brian got something similar, but with more bacon, and a side of a Belgian waffle with some kind of banana sauce. I’m telling you --- it’s all about the food! Especially the days at sea!

After breakfast, we went for a swim again, and had the pool to ourselves again. Lucky us!! It was super warm and sooo nice, but the outside air was starting to feel a bit colder, as we were traveling north. We were still sailing by Vancouver island – which is HUGE, it turns out – so we had beautiful views of mountains and islands on either side of the ship.

What else did we do that day? We explored most of the different floors of the ship, discovering the library and game room on deck 12 – both of which have big comfy chairs facing the windows; we took a nice nap with our balcony door open; we went in the enormous duty free shop and found some lovely smelling perfumes that we didn’t buy; and Brian booked a fun little “ladies pamper party” for me to go to! That was interesting. The workers from the ship’s spa were giving instructions and samples of the various skin care products available for purchase. So, they had us use their face cleanser and toner, and eye/wrinkle cream and moisturizer. Then they had the medi-spa doctor come talk to us about all the mini surgeries they could do onboard, to eliminate wrinkles and asymmetrical facial features. “What happens on the ship, stays on the ship!” That’s what they told us – so apparently, I could book a mini cosmetic surgery and go home looking fabulous, and no one would EVER know?! Ha!

Tuesday afternoon, while walking the deck with Brian, I discovered my favorite treat… hot chocolate, with a dollop of softserv ice cream on top! It’s soooo delicious, I’ve had it most every day of the trip since then and am still loving it. I make up the regular hot choco powder mix, using about 2/3 as much water as it calls for, and I use the burning hot water from the tea/coffee dispenser. Then I walk over to the ice cream dispenser and put a dollop on top of the chocolate – straight chocolate ice cream is my favorite, but I also liked twist, vanilla, and even tried strawberry once. Deliciousness! It cools down the nearly boiling hot chocolate and makes it immediately drinkable and sooo creamy and rich. Another guest was filling his coffee and he saw me add ice cream, and decided it was a brilliant idea! So he copied me and added a chocolate dollop to his coffee. Guess I’m setting a new trend here! Heheh.

Early in the evening, we went to a dance class to learn some kind of Cuban cha-cha dance. Ha ha! It was kind of a train wreck -- way too many people on the floor, and one guy (who may have had a couple of drinks already?) kept trying to make our instructor lady laugh with funny jokes, comments and dance moves. She kept getting distracted and laughing nervously and had trouble really teaching the right steps, it seemed. We didn't get too far with our Cuban dance skills, unfortunately. But we had a good laugh together. Then we left and went out on the deck where we could do our own slow dance, away from the crowd. That was nicer!

We ended our day-at-sea on Tues with a nice long time in the ship’s library, looking at a travel guide to Alaska cruises... We looked up lots of info on points of interest at the different ports where we were stopping and talked about what kinds of things we’d like to see. Most people start planning those kinds of things months before they arrive, right? Well, our last-minute approach turned out pretty well for us!

Dinner at The Garden buffet restaurant was delicious! I got a whitefish curry that was amazing, along with tomato masala over green beans. I love Indian food, so that was a treat! We each had a big dinner salad (mine had beets, blue cheese, and balsamic vinegar -- which I sooo love all together, yum!), and picked several potato options, fruit, meats, etc. And I chose a chocolate mousse for dessert. Brian got a lemon pound cake with whipped cream and berries. Mmmm, good! We skipped the entertainment option that night—a show called “Velvet,” that we already knew was a bit too skanky for us (the shirtless male angel dude walking around with golden fairy wings on his back during the preview the night before tipped us off that it wasn't really our style)—and instead we went to our room and watched an episode of “Psych” that Brian had downloaded, and started the movie, “Pink Panther” with Steve Martin, that I had downloaded. We were falling asleep, though so we finished “Pink Panther” the next morning… “I would like to buy a ham-bur-ger!!” haha! It was a good day -- our first "day at sea" ever! ha!

Alaskan Cruise -- bucket list dreams do come true!!

I'm finally getting my notes posted from our amazing Alaskan Cruise trip. And I hope I'll be able to grab pics off my phone to add here, as I go. I wrote most of this while we were on the cruise, and finished up the last bit right after I got home. So, I'm excited to get it all up on my blog. It was an amazing trip, one we had dreamed of taking for a long time. Here's the report:

Day Zero – Sunday, July 14

Hard to believe, but my sweet parents talked us into this trip, encouraged us to go, and even offered to watch our kids the entire time. Can you believe?! I’m still in shock, and feeling soooo grateful! Of course, it’s something we’ve been talking about doing for a long time, but once I mentioned that we might actually GO this time, my mom was our cheerleader and convinced us we really ought to just DO IT!! Seriously -- she called me back several times, asking if we had booked it, and encouraged me to talk Brian into it and make it happen. What a nice mom and grandma!!

So, Sunday morning, we helped the kids get packed up, then we went to church. Then in the afternoon, I made up some chicken salad sandwiches and we drove to Jerome to meet my parents. We traded cars with them, so they could keep our van for the week for the kids. My mom had major back surgery just 10 weeks ago, and she’s still in a lot of pain. I was really worried about leaving the kids with her and my dad, because I didn’t want them to be an extra burden. On the phone, again and again, my mom told me, “I think it will be fine to have them here! I’m just here, just doing normal stuff… It will give me something to do!” How incredibly sweet, huh?!

One extra exciting event for Samantha – Blackfoot Stake Girls Camp happened to be this very week, and both Aunt Melissa, and cousin Sara were already going. Melissa called to see if Samantha might want to go along with them?? Of course!! She was super excited about it, especially because she’s been with Sara to several activities with the YW in the Wapello ward and already feels quite comfortable with them. So, she took off Tuesday morning and stayed up at Camp Pasa-La-Coma (the same Girls camp I attended as a girl), until Friday. That was an unexpected treat!

In the meantime, the kids staying with Grandma and Grandpa were having their own fun surprises… including a two-day sleepover/stay with cousin Anna, and lots of playing time with Matt and Austin and Josh. They got to go to the movie, Aladdin, have a hotdog roast, play in the canal and in the irrigation water, and have fun treats made by Grandma. All this, so Brian and I could have this amazing trip!

And some of the reasons it’s been EXTRA amazing is because we’re celebrating some fun milestones… This month, July 2019, is our fifteenth wedding anniversary! Yay!! It’s also Brian’s 45^th birthday, and my 44^th. AND, this cruise to Alaska marks our FIFTIETH State, for both of us!! We’ve both visited all the other 49 states, and just had this last one to get together. ALASKA!!! As you can imagine, we’ve been pretty excited about this! Even though it was a very spontaneous trip as we were putting it together, (we booked it Thursday night, to depart Monday morning), we’ve actually been talking about it for quite some time, and hoping we’d get to take this trip as a 15^th Anniversary trip. And HERE we ARE!!! Sailing the wide open sea on my birthday, just 10 days before our actual anniversary.