Skagway Choo-Choo Fun

Shortly after docking in Skagway, we boarded the White Pass & Yukon Railroad, which took us on a three-hour, roundtrip ride up to the U.S./Canadian border to British Columbia - Yukon Territory. My nephew Drew would've LOVED this trip. Some of the sights included waterfalls, tunnels, bridges and an old cemetery.

Although it was rainy and cold, there was a radiator in each car. And we lucked out as the car we originally boarded was adjacent to an accessible car with only three people aboard. One of the conductors allowed us to car-hop (which you're not supposed to do), so we had the place virtually to ourselves. There were platforms on the front and back of each car you could stand on to take pictures. I found myself listening for the announcements inside the car, then informing those "on deck" about what was coming, then huddling back near the radiator. They provided lots of bottled water and a restroom on each car, so I was all set.

On the way up to the Yukon I was a picture-snapping fool. I relaxed a lot more on the way back, focusing on catching the shots I missed on the way up. I really enjoyed the train!

Juneau jaunts

We planned two shore excursions while docked in Juneau: a trip to Mendenhall Glacier/Glacier Gardens and a Whale Watching and Wildlife Quest. Both were fantastic.


Mendenhall Glacier
We took a bus to the glacier and only had about 30 minutes to walk around, which was a little disappointing to me, because it would've been a fantastic place to take a longer hike. However, the size of the glacier more than compensated - it's HUGE! Initially my digital camera was on the wrong setting (sunset) from the night before, so I had to delete a lot of photos that were too underexposed. But I shot several with the film camera as well, and I'm hoping those turn out better.






Glacier Gardens
This was really cool - we took a short ride to a family-owned and operated botanical garden near the glacier. The husband is a landscape architect who bought and restored the acreage before adding extensively to the flora there. One interesting thing he did was use dead trees as planters: he just turned them upside down so that the roots are exposed at the top and serve as the base for all kinds of plants that then grow out and over the edge.

Our guide, Ian, told really bad (corny) jokes as he drove us on a golf cart up a steep grade, pointing out rainforest plants (SE Alaska gets LOTS of rain, apparently). Despite the fact that the mute button on my imaginary remote control wasn't working on Ian, I enjoyed the ride. So much to see.













Whale Watching
We were guests aboard a large catamaran operated by Allen Marine on the whale watching tour. It was so awesome, and we saw several humpback whales. Also learned about the other types of whales that frequent Auke Bay, the Lynn Canal and a couple of channels on the Inner Passage near Juneau, such as gray whales and orcas (which are really large dolphins, not whales). My digital camera was not responsive enough in the overcast conditions, so I took tons with the film camera, and I'm hoping for the best. The humpbacks are typically soitary, so we found them popping up individually in most cases. We did see a mother and baby. Oh, and one of the whales breached for us - apparently that's a rare sight. Orcas are pod-oriented. Much to my and Jason's dismay, we didn't see an orca on the entire trip. Maybe next time!

College Fjord

Okay, I just have to say that pictures don't really do it justice, but here are a few of my favorites. On a trip like this it's difficult to strike that balance between experiencing sights like a tourist and looking at everything through a camera lens. For me it makes sense sometimes to take away all the mechanics, hit the "off" button, breathe and LOOK. And then there are the times when I get hit with the shutterbug. Enjoy.

Okay, so I'm behind ...

I'll have more posts soon - promise. Spent Saturday in Juneau (Mendenhall Glacier & whale watching), Sunday in Skagway (Yukon train) and Monday in Sitka (sea otter and wildlife quest) - all excellent excursions. Having sooo much fun. Tonight I was part of a group invited to spend 90 minutes on the bridge taking pictures of glaciers in the College Fjord. Highlight of which is - not surprisingly - the HARVARD glacier (it's HUGE). The ship was within a mile of the glacier, which is really close. Pics to follow (still have to download them and sift through). Sands would've had a field day.

Yo-HO!

After grabbing a quick bite and dropping off my day pack, I shoved my digital camera into my too-small purse and headed into town for some shopping and to catch the Lumberjack Show. Shopping was fun. Of course, any outing that begins with a pint of Alaskan Amber ale at a local pub is off to a good start. Armed with coupons I received from a jewelry seminar on the ship, I headed into shops and claimed little trinkets. Most souvenirs are kitschy and overpriced, but I managed to pick up a few small items.

The lumberjack show was a lot of fun. Helps to have handsome, burly men with senses of humor and great personalities entertaining you. They did all of the contests that you see on the ESPN rendition: logpole climb, log rolling, throwing an axe at a bullseye, etc.They taught us that the proper greeting when meeting a lumberjack is to swing your right arm in a good-natured fashion and say, with gusto: “Yo-HO!” Which means something entirely different when in certain unsavory parts of town – it’s all in the pronunciation and punctuation, I suppose.

More lumberjack pics:

Ketchikan by land and sea

We took our first excursion ashore yesterday morning. Our day started early, with a boat ride through the inlets around Ketchikan. Probably the highlight of the boat ride – aside from learning about the area’s rainforest qualities – was that there were several bald eagle spotting. One seemed to pose for us, and he didn’t move even as the boat got really close. Like my friend Jason said, they really ARE as majestic as you've always heard. Even if our national bird is a scavenger.

Our boat tour concluded at the dock of a cannery that’s been closed for some time. I believe it’s called the Libby Cannery. We watched a video to learn about the history and operations of the cannery, then went on a tour of how people worked and the machines they used to can salmon. Very hard work, and mostly left to migrant Chinese. In fact, they built a machine to automate one of the processes and they named it – very politically incorrectly – the “Iron Chink.”

After touring the cannery we took a bus over to Saxman Village, which is filled with totem carvings. These totems are a big tourist draw to the area, and I found them fascinating. Not enough so to pick up a small carved souvenir, but still …

watch your step

One thing I’ve learned about cruise ships is that it’s seemingly impossible to pass a threshold that is level with the floor. Being somewhat of a klutz naturally and a feet dragger at that, I end up tripping a lot. As I braced myself against a railing on one such occasion, I noticed that – on the raised part – it said “watch your step.” Now, if I were already looking DOWN, I wouldn’t have to “watch my step.” I’d know it was there. The most useful thing to do would be to post such a warning at EYE LEVEL, but then you’d end up defacing the entire ship. What to do?

setting sail

We departed from Canada Place in Vancouver, B.C. yesterday evening. Setting sail was much more exciting than I imagined, mostly because we had some great views of the city and other boats as we shoved off. Maybe it’s because you’re not really cruising yet if you’re still in port.

Here are a few pics of my traveling buddies: Joyce (Jim’s mom) and Jason (L) and Jim (R). Oh, and that’s me, too! Plus a couple others for all to enjoy!

now, with that last behind me ...

Have I mentioned how excited I am to be getting on a cruise ship today? We're traveling on the Carnival Spirit, one of their "fun ship" cruises. I think they have a mascot that roams the boat and terrorizes the children and everything! After we go through safety drills (mandatory) we shove off around 5pm for Ketchikan. Then this trip will really get into gear.

Last night we ate at a place called Original Joe's. I had an awesome local beer on "special" (only $4.50 for a "real pint," which my server informed me was 20 oz. not the standard 16 oz.) and Alaskan halibut with sweet potato fries (otherwise known as fish and chips). I got three deep-fried, golden fillets each as large as my head and about three pounds of fries. So I deconstructed one fillet and had the TEN fries I let myself have on occasion and left lots of food. Jim told me to get used to it, as there will be lots of extra food on the ship, too. I'll never understand gargantuan portion sizes, but it is nice to see that happen outside the U.S.!

for my own good

This morning, Bank of America alerted me - by email - that there has been irregular use on my debit card and that I have to call them before I continue using the card. Well, I just so happened to check my email account this morning, as I am in a bakery with free wifi. But my cellphone is charging back at the hotel. So I am doing a "live chat" with a customer service rep and will hopefully clear this up. While it is comforting in one sense that my account activity is being so closely monitored (me being here for less than 12 hours at this point), their notification method could use some work. People (not me) do travel without laptops and to remote places (much farther afield than Vancouver, B.C.) where they can't check email. Oh, and Raymond tells me that he can't resolve the issue through live chat, I do have to call. Which I'll do when I reunite with my cellphone. Big brother is watching out for me for my own good. Here endeth my first (and hopefully last) grumbling post.

San Francisco Legends

I'm in the SFO airport, catching my breath after hopping an
"air train" (which doesn't make a whole lot of sense, when you think about it - trains not being particularly aerodynamic) to get to Terminal 3 for my Alaskan Airlines flight to Vancouver. I don't do so well with transfers and such as I travel (stress-ola), but I arrived with blood pressure elevated only to learn that my flight is delayed. By ten minutes, at current estimate.

So I'm hanging out in the Legends of San Francisco Bar and Grill, sipping a fine vintage from one of MY favorite San Francisco legends: the Ravenswood winery in the Sonoma valley. A red zin, "with forward flavors" as the table tent card notes. I've paired this with a turkey and swiss panini on focaccia bread. Of course, I am eating this open-faced. With the sundried tomato pesto base, it tastes like a club sandwich pizza. Which goes well with wine. Cheers!

tap, tap, tap ...

Is this thing on?

I'm in a posh Samsung internet haven tucked in Terminal A here in DFW. I made it through the check-in process and security without a scratch. Hopefully, my connection in SFO and the flight to Vancouver will go as smoothly. I'm on my way!

In Vancouver to greet me will be Jason (pictured at left), one of my bestest buds, his partner Jim and Jim's mom, Joyce. Jason worked with me at Thousand Trails before he abandoned me a year before I flew THAT coop to join Jim in San Diego. They invited me to join them on this voyage to celebrate Joyce's retirement. We put down deposits a year ago; I've been anticipating the trip ever since. Seeing Alaska has been a dream of mine since I did a fourth grade project about the state. So ... the three Js and I plan to have an awesome time. Keep on checkin' the blog for all the latest happenings as I travel, and thanks for stopping by!