Glacier Bay and Ketchikan

Glacier Bay
After leaving Skagway we experienced our earliest sunrise (4.09 am) and latest sunset (10.59 pm). That’s what happens when you come north 60 degrees.
Our next destination was Glacier Bay, which just happened to be bathed in sunshine (lucky us!). The ice in this Bay has been retreating for about 250 years. During the last ice age the whole Bay was covered in 3-4 thousand metres of ice!
The bay was still ice bound in some areas and we were unable to see one of the glaciers – but we saw plenty anyway. The scenery has to be experienced first hand – pictures simply cannot do justice to the majesty of the natural wonders that glaciers are. The Margerie Glacier (pictured) is one mile wide at its face and has the most amazing blue colour in parts. There was a constant crackling sound coming from the glacier, and we were lucky enough to witness a large chunk calving from the face and plunging into the Bay. We were also able to get fairly close to the Lamplugh Glacier and marvel at its massive presence. We heard the sounds of seals calling, but were too far away to see anything.
Ketchican
On Saturday we docked in Ketchican, which receives almost 3.5 metres of rain per year. So the weather was misty and wet. Even so we had a great boat ride through the channel and saw lots of American Bald Eagles – the most magnificent birds you can imagine. We could not get close enough to get good photos, but did manage to get very good video of one. We also saw a seal colony close up, which was an unexpected treat.
We have been so impressed with the ship and Norwegian Cruise Lines (as we were after our Hawaiian cruise) that we have put a deposit on our next cruise, which we have to take within 4 years. Try holding us back! The service has been great, and the food in all the restaurants exceptional. As for the entertainment, it has been first class. We have had shows of Broadway song and dance, sketch and improvisation comedy from The Second City troupe, and much more. So we think a Greek Islands cruise might be on in 2013.

Skagway

Wow, wow and double wow!!!!! How much better can this scenery get!! Tried unsuccessfully to attach a couple of photos that give you some idea – but you really have to experience this place for yourself. Skagway has a population of 910 people, but when the cruise ships are in (five today!) the population increases to several thousand. In fact they get about 300,000 visitors per year. We were surprised to learn that Skagway gets an average of three earthquakes per day! But they are all in the 1.1 to 1.8 range so you can’t feel them. Skagway is a village of 1’s – 1 gas station, 1 police officer, 1 post office, 1 school (P-12 with a total of 81 students), 1 grocery store (supplies come in on Tuesdays, so no milk etc after Saturday) and 1 hardware store.
We started the tour with a bus trip up the South Klondike Highway to Fraser, British Columbia. Yes, we crossed into Canada. Then we boarded the White Pass & Yukon Route Railway train back to Skagway. Words cannot describe the beautiful rugged snow-capped mountains, deep valleys and forests, as well as the fast flowing Skagway River. We saw an old trestle bridge formerly used by the trains and looking rickety as hell.
On returning to Skagway we were driven to Liarsville for lunch. Liarsville is a reconstruction of the original mining camp on the same site, and was so named as it was the base for many journalists who refused to make the six month winter trek across the mountains to the Yukon in the 1897 gold rush but preferred to write stories based on the wild stories and rumours brought back by those who tried to make the crossing and failed. We had lunch there – a beautiful salmon bake with the best sweet and sour type sauce you can imagine.
Our last stop was the Red Onion Saloon. This is the original saloon that was Skagway’s most famous brothel. The ‘madam’ who was our tour guide was very informative and witty. She used lots of innuendo like: “Please don’t fall as you get off the bus. I don’t want anyone going down on me just yet”.
After dinner we enjoyed a comedy show in the Stardust Theatre by The Second City comedy group. Second City is Chicago based and has produced hundreds of great comedians since 1959, e.g. Tina Fey, John Belushi, Joan Rivers, John Candy and so many more. All up we had a fantastic day, and proved that paradise doesn’t have to have palm trees.

Love Boat (Norwegian Pearl)

Well, where do we start??? The trip on the Norwegian Pearl has been everything we imagined and more. The boat is so similar to the Pride of America that we sailed on in Hawaii last year, that it has been realatively easy finding our way around on board. The food is plentiful and delicious. It is the aim of the company that everyone has to leave 4kgs heavier than when they boarded!!! We are sure trying!! The first day on board was just cruising - the scenery was breathtaking, and no photos could do it justice. Yesterday we arrived in Juneau and did an excursion to the salmon hatchery and to the Mildenhall Glacier. We have attached a photo for you to see the colours of the glacial ice. Today we have docked in Skagway, and we are looking forward to our shore excursion - first a rail trip to the Klondike gold fields, then around a heap of other places. Juneau has a different jewellery store every 5 metres, and all of them keen to take your money for you. There is a new gem, Tansonite, that is the most spectacular blue stone. If we can find a piece at a reasoonable price, we will certainly buy it, but over $1000 is a bit rich!!! We are both thoroughly enjoying ourselves, but miss you all at home. Trust our "babies" are safe and sound. Not having Mussy on the bed is quite strange, although Phil is glad that he is not woken up at 1.30am to let the blighter out!! Take care, and we send our love to all. Sue and Phil

Seattle

Rob (my brother) very kindly drove us down to Seattle yesterday. It was great to catch up with him as we have not seen each other for five years. It took us 38 minutes to get through the border, as many Canadians were heading south for their Victoria Day long weekend to enjoy the benefits of the weak American dollar. But that was a lot quicker than Rob thought it would be. The countryside on the way to Seattle was beautiful, with lots of forest, farmland and views of snow capped mountains to the east and south west.

We are staying at the Crowne Plaza, which is lovely. They upgraded us to the Club floor - 33 - and we have a magnificent view of the city. The weather was fine and sunny for the trip down, but today it was overcast with a little rain. Still it was a good day for a city tour. Seattle has many parks and lovely gardens which are in full spring bloom. The city buzzes with restaurants, and there is a Starbucks on almost every corner ( a real positive for some :-).

The waterfront is great. The Pike Street Markets are pretty big, and include fish markets rather like Sydney's. We had lunch at Ivars, a seafood restaurant that has a great reputation for good reason. Phil had the best grilled salmon ever (with onion jus) and Sue had beautiful tiger prawns. When it came time to find our way back to the hotel we managed to get lost. After discovering that taxis are not as plentiful as we would like we took the free bus ... then had to get another free bus when the first one took us even further out of our way! Duh! But at least we saw a lot more of Seattle :-)

We join our cruise tomorrow. We will not be alone on the water as 4 other cruise ships left Seattle for Alaska today.

Vancouver

Well, here we are in Vancouver after a very long day yesterday. The trip to LA was quite comfortable in the A380 Airbus - more leg room than most, and plenty to eat and drink if you needed it. That being said, we didn't get too much sleep. LA Airport is a whole other world - 4 different terminals and very little in the way of signage. We finally located the Alaskan Air terminal, and unfortunately we couldn't access the Qantas Club as it was in another building. We settled for a Burger King and fresh fruit. Halfway through I discovered a small sign saying Qantas Club members could use the Alaskan Air lounge, so we downed lunch and went in. It was so peaceful after the hectic pace of the airport. Security was a whole other issue - took us about 45 minutes in line just to get to the checkpoint, then a "hands on" search of me because of my metal hip - and that was after almost comppletely disrobing for Phil. No belt, shoes, wallet etc. Many of the points used the Xray machine to scan, however not the lane we had been sent to. The trip to Vancouver was quite pleasant and we were able to see heaps of snow covered mountains along the way. Rob and Marg (Phil's brother) were waiting for us at Vancouver Airport, and bought us in to our hotel. After 36 hours we just lobbed into the hotel restaurant for dinner (and they had given us a $10 voucher). Unfortunately (or not Stu) they had the Stanley Cup ice hockey final on live in the restaurant, so we waited until Vancouver had a massive win before we left and fell into bed. We had gone 36 hours on 2 hours sleep, so we crashed. I woke about 7.30 and dozed until I woke Phil up at 9.30am. We got organised, and went in search of the local Denny's restaurant. We knew it used to be opposite Sutton Place, so strolled down there (2 blocks) only to be told it had gone. So........2 blocks back to the hotel to find the closest one. It was now in the opposite direction 2 blocks, and down the street. We walked right past it as the street sign was so high we missed it. So.... we finally found someone to ask , and we had to backtrack a block to find it. The food was most welcome as it was now getting close to 11am. They have a Seniors Menu now, with smaller serves (although they are still not small, trust me!!) and free coffee refills. If Dad's eyebrows were any higher after 2 coffees I would be surprised!! We then went on the hop on hop off bus for 11/2 hours and did a tour of Vancouver. As we are still weary we just stayed on the bus, but we know where we will go when we next come to Vancouver. They have a vibrant harbour, so we will go down there next time and stroll around the foreshore. I think it will be early to bed tonight, as Rob is picking us up at 9.30am tomorrow to go down to Seattle where we get on the boat on the 22nd. Hope all are well back home. Take care, and we miss you already. Love Sue and Phil

8 May: Getting ready

The big day is only 10 days away! Final preparations are in hand - documentation still to be collected and packing to be done. Getting very excited!