Everyone else seems to blog, so why can't I?: Who knew that Hagrid was Greek???

Everyone else seems to blog, so why can't I?: Who knew that Hagrid was Greek???: "If you read my last- I mean, first blog post, then you're probably waiting to hear how I'm doing in Crete. I'm doing pretty darn well. It'..."

Catch us in Katchikan

This is the 10 seater plane that we took to fly over the Misty Fjords and one of the views from the plane. Note the floats that are in the water ...
Today dawned bright and sunny ... 68 degrees. We were told that this is virtually unheard of in the town which averages 155 inches of rain a year and about 40+ days of sunshine. The entire town was excited about this ... thereby showing you how exciting life in Ketchikan is! However, we really couldn't enjoy the "quaintness" of the town as there were 3 other cruise ships in town bringing in a total of 13,500 tourists! Fortunately, we were picked up in the flight plane's van and whisked out of town to the airport or whatever you call the place where flight planes (aka sea planes) are kept.

After a brief safety lecture ... keep your seat belts on, the fire extinguisher is behind the cargo net etc... we took off from the water. Within about 5 minutes we were entering the Misty Fjords ... over two million acres of forest, rivers, steams, ice fields, mountains, waterfalls and glacial lakes. There are no roads in or out of the Fjords .. the only access is by plane or boat. Altho' the area is home to bears, eagles otters and other wild life they were apparently enjoying the warm weather by frolicking somewhere in the 2 million acres other than our flight path. We flw in and out of the gorges and the plane landed on a lake in the Park. Some people actually got out of the plane and stood on the floats ... Jerry and I stayed firmly ensconced in our seats with our seat belts on. One of the women who had gone out out announced when she came in that a bee had buzzed by her head ... thereby confirming my exercise of good judgment in remaining inside; I would have immediately jumped into the lake and would never have been seen or heard from again; no one was wearing a life preserver or vest!

Back in to the plane for those hardy souls and we took off from the lake and flew back to the landing place ... then back to town. After buying the most delicious caramel corn ever ... freshly made in front of our eyes ... we munched our way back to our boat. I took a tour of the ship's galley which was absolutely fascinating ... it is run with military precision ... or with the precision the military wished it had! Then, a quick glass of Prosseco (yes Hank... I am a convert) and up to get ready for dinner. After dinner Jerry made his obligatory deposit 0f $20 into the lot machine and then we went to a show. the singer was Jacqui Scott who is a British singer/ performer; among her credits is a two year run starring in "Evita". She had a lovely voice and put on a great show.

We now move our clocks ahead one hour so that we are on San Fran time ... the trip is definitely coming to an end. Two days at sea and then we land in San Fran Wednesday AM. So I don't think I will have much to share with you for the next two days unless you want to hear how we are continuing to stuff our faces and loll about self indulgently on the various decks ... last computer photography class is tomorrow ... hopefully I will retain something that I learned ...

SO ... see you soon ...

Until then ....

If it is Saturday it is Glacier Bay

We were told last night that the best place to see the glaciers was from the Palm Court which is a cocktail lounge. This morning a coffee and pastry station was set up for us ... Jerry manfully bolted out of bed early to get us good seats and at 8 AM, when he got there, he just managed to get front rows seats for us on one side of the boat ...I still don't know the proper names for the sides. Anyway, after a breakfast of juice, croissants and coffee we sat watching the magnificent ride into the Bay. If you look carefully at the top picture you will see the brown bear and her cubs that we saw on one of the islands as we sailed by ... I know it looks like a rock bu I swear it is a bear ... Ranger David assured us it was and the people with binoculars agreed. Yes, we absolutely did forget our binoculars ... typical!

Anyway, we relaxed, read and looked out the windows until we approached Margerie Glacier. The second picture is the glacier as we approached and the top picture is the glacier itself. If you see blue streaks they are not bad photography ... although I am not a good photographer there is actually a great deal of blue in the glaciers ... it is the light reflecting in the dense and compacted ice. The dirt that you see is the dirt and debris that the Glacier picks up as it moves through the Bay ... at the rate of 7 feet a year ...

The glacier is 25 stories high, 10 stories of which are underwater. We spent over two hours sailing along side the glacier ... each side of the ship had equal opportunities to view it. While we did not get to see big chunks breaking off (calving) we did see many small ones. The noise that you hear is incredible ... I will never hear thunder again without thinking of this. Additionally, you hear the sound of the ice within the Glacier as it moves and shifts. Truly one of nature's most awe inspiring sights and sounds. Throughout the day Ranger David gave short bits of information through the ship's PA system and Ranger Andrea was present walking around the deck answering questions. Incredibly it was warm on the deck ... right next to the glacier ... OK, not really right next to the glacier but you get my drift ... (little ice berg pun!). The crew came around with hot chocolate with rum in it ... quite a treat.

After a couple of hours it was time to sail out of the Bay ...while we saw whales and sea otters thy were in a distance and if we had not been told that they were there we would have missed them. However, once they were pointed out it was very exciting whenever we saw one. The pictures show black dots ... but they will serve as memory prompts to us; however, I will not bore you with them.

Back inside a lunch of soup and sandwiches (Crystal Symphony style) was served so that no one had to go to the dining room or to any of the food areas where the view of the Bay was not apparent. Finally, we left the Palm Court and went to another area of the ship where we could stretch out, watch the Bay slip by and of course fall asleep. At 2:15 I sat up and raced downstairs to take my third computer photography course.

After the course back up to the deck and more viewing of the Bay ... as we headed back to somewhere in the Inner Passage on the way to Ketchikan. Up to our room to shower and get ready for dinner... tonight is the French dinner and we had been told by Sofka not to dare miss it ... as though we would!

We are opting to go to bed after diner tonight as the show is the awful Improv group again ... and we want to enjoy our last day on shore in Alaska tomorrow. Jerry is yelling at me that we area going to be late for dinner ... so that's it for today; the next post will be after our excursion in Ketchikan ...

Until then ...

Sagway or bust

Today dawned dry and partly cloudy ... an auspicious beginning! As our excursion was scheduled to start at noon and last for 3.5 hours, we/I bulked up with a ginormous breakfast ... omelet, bagel,cream cheese and smoked salmon and just in case ... a belgian waffle. Thus fortified we exited the boat and met our excursion group.

We were taken to the White Pass and Yukon Route diesel train ... this train had ceased operating in the late 1980's only to be brought back again after about six years when the cruise ships started making this area a regular stop. The town has 850 residents altho' the number increases over the "summer." The train ride was about an hour up from Skagway to Mt. Fraser in British Colombia ... in a trip we were have seen magnificent scenery this one exceeded everything we had seen to date. We ascended from 0 feet above sea level in Skagway to a dizzying 2865 feet at White Pass ... Along the way we saw a cinnamon brown bear who the guide thought was about 2 years old. He (the bear, not the guide) was just sitting on some rocks looking at the train ... we were told that it is quite unusual to see a bear as the noise of the train scares them away. He (or she) was awfully cute ... just the way you see them on TV. Unfortunately it was such a quick glimpse that we didn't have a chance to snap pictures but the memory will certainly stay with us!

Once we reached Fraser we switched to a van for the return trip so that we could see the other side of the mountains. All the words that the novelists and poets use to describe these types of vistas cannot begin to describe the beauty ... lofty peaks, majestic mountains etc. The beauty of this state cannot be overstated ... while it is clearly not a place that I would choose to live, as the saying goes, it is a great place to visit. The views are truly awesome and breathtaking ...and everything (with the exception of the area of town in which of course has sprung up a host of tourist shops) is virtually untouched. Alaska itself is one quarter of the size of the total 48 below (as the contiguous states are called) and the vast majority of the state is unpopulated.

We returned to Skagway and back to the ship. By now it was about 4:30 and not having eaten since breakfast we made a mad dash for the deck where soup, sandwiches etc are served until 6 PM. We devoured soup, sandwich, sweet potato fries and a cocktail, got our books, stretched out and promptly fell asleep until 6:30 when we woke up to shower and get dressed for dinner. Altho' we were still stuffed from our late lunch and could easily have passed on dinner, not surprisingly we manned up and ate every morsel.

We rolled into the theater where we saw a magician and a ventriloquist. They were outstanding and if either one every plays in Boston we will definitely go to see them ... the show was fabulous!

And now, off to bed. Sorry ... I am not uploading any photos as the process is painfully slow and we have to be up early to get a prime location for tomorrow when the ship sails through Glacier Bay.

Until then ....

Rainy Day in Juneau

View from helicopter




Special boots for walking on the glacier ... Note that I had an Extra Small ... so happy that I am extra small in anything I had to take the picture!








First of all ... you will all be happy to know that I found the spell check.. Therefore, hopefully this entry will be perfect!


So, last night, after yet another fabulous gourmet dinner, we went to the Improv Show. Sadly, it was the worst improv group we have EVER seen ... we left at what can only be described as a charitable period of time after the show started ... and we were not alone. Everyone in the elevator and corridor agreed that the group was not the least bit funny. However, as I pointed out, they had the last laugh as they were being paid to do their act and we were paying to see them!


Have I mentioned Remi? Remi is the maitre d' for the dining room. The first night, when we went down to dinner, he could not find us in the computer. Fortunately I had the card which said that we had an 8:30 reservation in open dining ... he and I had had a bit of a go around as I was concerned that if I had not had the card we would not have been seated. Anyway, after that he was very solicitous of us and each night has gotten friendlier. He now personally escorts me into the dining room on his arm ... (everyone looks to see if I am royalty ... I know, I am an Empress to those who know and maybe love me) ... Two nights ago he "hung out" at our table at the end of the night and we talked about dog ownership ... not surprisingly he has a german shepard "Maxi". It is truly amazing how dog ownership creates a common bond ... we must have spent 20 minutes talking about our dogs, his concern that Maxi is 8 years old, etc. Of course, Remi is very handsome ... so he is a bright spot in our/my evening!

Our favorite waitress is Sovka ... very sweet ... she had taken a two and a half year break from the cruise ship but now is back for this contract. 5 months on the ship then 2 months off. It is difficult to describe how hard these men and women work ... and there is a distinct pecking order in their ranking. There was a polite sparring over us when Zoltan served us one night ... Sovka won that battle ... even tho' Zoltan is the more polished of the two in terms of service and command of the English language she is very sweet and I guess I mother her ... I gave her a "scolding" because she only ate a cheeseburger all day yesterday ... of course, that is why she has a gorgeous figure as opposed to me who is stuffing down every morsel that is put in front of me! (Or as Marvin so kindly puts it ... I am hoovering.) Hard to resist this food ... it is equal to any gourmet dinner we have had anywhere. The other night I couldn't decide between grilled lobster and Chateaubriand so they made me a "Surf and Turf" and even prepared the meat as rare as I like it ... something some of the finest restaurants have been unable to do!

OK ... back to today,. We boarded the shuttle to the helicopter air field, saw the safety videos, got weighed in (we passed), put on our special boots, (see picture above), grbbed some rain gear, got onto the helicopter, put on our earphones, took off from the runway, flew over toward rhe glacier (see picture above), approached the glacier ... saw nothing as the glacier was socked in with fog. Returned to the air strip. Altho' we received a 100% credit, it was disappointing nevertheless. We then schlepped around in town ... nothing for me to buy altho' I just heard on the elevator that one woman bought a fabulous fur jacket for $4000. (And what happens if she gets home and there is a split in the skin? ) Anyway, we went into the "famous" Red Dog Saloon for a drink and shared a bowl of chowder ... fabulous chowder I might add. The crowd was one of those "sing along with the bawdy singer" groups ... not our thing ... so we left after our drinks and chowder. The rain had picked up and we thought that maybe we would catch a bus tip to Mendenhall Glacier ... but, of course, we had missed the last bus. While the taxi ride wasn't prohibitively expensive we were concerned that we would spend that money,, get there and be socked in with fog so we passed. Walked back to the boat in the rain, stopped for a bag of potato chips (don't ask ... I had a craving!) ... and got back to the boat thoroughly wet. Collapsed into the cocktail lounge ... not a bad place to collapse ... had Irish coffee and are back in our stateroom. I am of course FINISHING LAUNDRY!

Tonight after dinner the show is "Emerging Artists"; a trio of performers in their early 20's ... a tap dancer (stop laughing everyone), a jazz pianist and a singer. Can't be worse than the improv folk.

Until tomorrow ...

Salutations from Sitka

Greetings: First of all ... let me make one thing clear .. I am not drunk when I write these posts. There is no spell check and I am generally being rushed by beloved who lives in mortal fear that we will miss something if we are two minutes late so I don't get to read these over before I hit the send button ... so I apologze but you will have to take this up with Jerry. (See Marvin ... I mentioned him!) Now that I have finished responding to the grammar and spelling critics I shall resume the hat...

Of course the day started out with breakfast .. a mere epast of Eggs benedict and Belgian waffles ... not together ... our favorite waitress wondered why we don't ahve breakfast in ghe amin dinig room. Since e had to leave early for our excursion we made it a point to go to the main dining room to see her. No doubt we ade her day! :)

Off we went into the ship'stender to be broughto ver to th dock. Holland America had gotten in first so they ahd the dock ... but the tender ride (not an adjective) was perfectly comfotabl and in no time we were on sore. We walked voer to our semisubmersible wi is a fancy name for aglass window/sided bot. Down we went and let me make one thing clear ... I will NEVER be a submariner! However, I managed to quell my budding clastrophobia and enjoy the ride ... amzaing view of the sea life. Giant kelp that looked like they were going to swllow up the boat, all manner of fish, snails etc with an interestingdiscussion as tot he aprticular attributes of each of them. then o e of the divers went deep into the water, pcikedup some of these fish and swam around to the windows howing them to us close up. Very cool. Chrissie ... if you arereading this ... hermit crabs are considered nasty. They go up to other crab shells and kick out hte crab that is livng there and take it over forthemselves. Pam, if hrissie is too busy working to red this please share this fascinationg bit of ocean lore with her.

Back up on deck where we were treated to ritz crackers wtih cream heese and kelp pickles. Shockingly, I passed on this tasy treat altho' Jerry tried the kelp pickles and said they were tasty. (See Marvin, another reference to Jerry.) However, I will stick to my pickles from Rheins thank you very much.

Off to walk around Sitka. Stopped in St. Michaels church and saw some magnificent icons ... prowled the shops but couldn't get what I had wanted to buy because they were made in Russia and I thought it would be weird to go to Alaska nd bring hime gifts from Russia. Sorry exepctant gift recipients ... you lose ... at least as far as Sitka is concerned.

Sitka is a charming little city or village; actually, not so little. It is the 3rd largest city in Alaska ... geographically speaking that is as it only has 8500 inhabitants. ... whether ornot htepeoe who live here think it is charming is a different matter as I suspect it is quite poor. However, everyone is very friendly and the harbor is very pretty with the boats bobbing in the water against the backdrop of fog shrouded mountains. A bit like the coast of Maine ...

I wanted to find Murrays Drugstore which supposedly had the best milkshakes in Alaska but Jerry was tired and hisfeet hurt so we ent back to the boat. Some of you have been lucky enough to see the picture I snapped on the BB phone of him sitting on a bench with his sneaker and sock off ... Sitka will never be the same.

Back to our boat and upstair to the Lido Deck for sandwiches, chips and salsa and of course a vodka and tonic. I went down to our stateroom to get our books and came back to find Jerry (Jerry reference number 3 Marv) sleeping ... spent the next couple of hours reading and doing and then I came down to do.......


LAUNDRY! Yes folks, on this luxurious cruise poor little me is still a simple housewife doing laundy. Which reminds me ... I have to get it out of the dryer now ... and we are off to a cocktail party hosted by the representatives of our travel agency ...

Then dinner and we might take in the Improv Comedy Show ... the shows have been quite good, much to my surprise!

Tomorrow Juneau ... and helicopter to the Herbert (stop laughing) Glacier with a brisk walk on the glacier!

Until then ...

Bye ....
Did I do better with my spelling Scott and Marvin?

Relaxation Day

Sailed from Canada to Alaska today. Took another photography course today ... yes Steffi ... I go to school whenever I can! Jerry went to a lecture on how Seward got Alaska from the Russians ...sorry Karena ... Zayde Hanukah will make it up to you! And a belated happy Birthday to you while I am at it!
Then there was the lunch gala buffet ... it is the only buffet on the cruise and it was not to be believed ... the most beautful presentation of the fabulous food .... however, I planned it wrong and had finished a huge breakfast a couple of hours earlier so I couldn't eat more than shrimp and lobster ... I know how bad you must feel for me ... If I can figure out how to get photos onto the blog I will send some of the pics of the buffet ... no macaroni salad and jello here!
We read and snoozed out on deck ... it was quite windy but the crew brought us bankets (I ignored the fact that other people might have used them previously ...) as well as an Irish cofffee for Jerry. Watching the Canadian Rockies as we sailed by was spectacular; have never seen such natural beauty. The forestry appeared so dense that I would imagine that it is impossible to walk/hike there. I took some pictures through the glass as I was too lazy to go upstairs and risk being blown overboard. Then we went inside to read some more; downstairs for a cocktail and back up to shower and get ready for dinner which we are going to now...I am getting the 3 minute warning from Jerry. So tomorrow we are off to Sitka...probably will be more informative after we have done our sightseeing there as wll as our 2 hour ride in a semi submersible. That's all for now folks!