So I haven’t blogged lately. Out of town again. Went on a cruise through Alaska and loved it. I’ve never done a cruise before. I wondered if I’d get seasick. One night we had rough seas, rocking the ship like a cradle. I didn’t even realize it in my sleep. I woke up to use the restroom and my hubby told me to be careful walking. I figured out real quick that I was being knocked into the wall. Never felt queasy. This is a good thing!
We were on the Regent Seven Seas, a fabulous ship. I kept calling it a boat. Oops. We flew to Vancouver, BC and sailed with seventeen other couples my husband knows from work. What nice folks! Our first day was spent at sea, and the company faked Greg and the guys out by saying there was a “meeting” when in fact, the men spent the morning cooking with the ship’s chefs a la “Iron Chef.” My hubby’s team won! Gotta love the outfits they all wore. I’m feeling those dew-rags.
We docked in Ketchican first. Lovely town. Very green, colorful. Lots of shops. I didn’t know this, but the shipping companies own most of the stores. Very odd. We were told do not buy from the shops that aren’t locals.
We took a float plane ride over the fjords. Our pilot landed on a pristine lake and told us to get out and walk on the floats. Hello?! We did . . . great photo, but I was standing on aluminum barely a foot wide. One slip, and into the frigid water we go.
The next day we traveled through narrow passages with icebergs. I didn’t know this, but only 1/9 of an iceberg is visible on the surface. The rest is under water. Also, there are more bald eagles in Alaska than any other place. I love this photo as it shows the eagles on the iceberg. And icebergs aren’t white. Many are this artic blue. The water is so dense, so compacted and frozen, it turns this color.
Next port was Juneau. We found the candy shop and loaded up on fudge, chocolate bark, peanut brittle, kettlecorn. I forgot to mention, when you cruise, this is what you do. Eat and sleep. And sometimes shop. And maybe walk in a town. Other than that, you drink any cocktail you feel like–all included, eat any time of day, whatever you want. It’s ridiculous how much food is at your beck and call.
This is the Regent in the Juneau port. This photo was taken from another float plane trip.
One of my favorite towns was Skagway because of its historical flavor. We took the “Ladies of the Evening” tour to get the history of working girls in Alaska. We also took a street car tour. This building is unique in the regard that it has more driftwood on the outside than any other known building.
For beauty, and totally untouched splendor, non-touristy–Sitka. Hands down. Would love to go back and vacation there. This town was so quaint. The cruise ships can’t dock there (all passengers are taken ashore on the tenders), thus, the shops are locally owned and operated. I bought a funny painting for my kitchen. Everything in the picture is “Alaskan”. I love it.
The second to last day, our captain piloted the ship to the Hubbard Glacier. Words can’t begin to describe this wonder. We sailed through ice so thick, you couldn’t see the water. At one point, a berg scraped the hull, leaving paint on the berg, and we sent the tender boat out to check for damages. This is us with the glacier in the background.
This was a truly fabulous trip. I loved it. I’d do a cruise again. Only next time–some place warmer! Brrr. . . .