Life is a Journey

Hope I didn’t scare you too much with my last post. That wasn’t really my internet bill. I have no idea what was going on but thought it was so funny when that flashed up at the end of my 15min internet sessions :-).

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Another early morning for us. After breakfast at Windjammers we went ashore in the tender boat to meet our whale watching guide Flyod from F.I.S.H.E.S. A short drive later and we arrived at the lovely harbour. Unfortunately my memory card mucked up so I have no photos to share from this morning – only what Kevin took – but we’re hoping to get the photos off the card when we get home. So you’ll just have to believe me when I tell you it was very beautiful. The whole area was stunning (as most of Alaska has been) but we also had sunshine :-).

Almost as soon as left the harbour we started seeing humpback whales. Flyod only stops in there is more than one!!! We stopped by a 3 youngen’s who were playing in the kelp for a while. And then headed out to where there were whales wherever you looked. It was AMAZING!!!! The soundsof the blows is so loud plus Floyd has a microphone in drops in the water so we could listen to them talking to each other. I will definitely have share some video later on.

Love that you can see all the barnacles on the tail

There were actually 3 tail flukes but Kevin only caught two on camera.

They are SOOO huge. At one point we had about 6 of them come right towards us…..and dive under the boat. A moment we’ll never forget.

In addition to the whales there were lots of sea lions playing around and checking us out.

So cute.

This was one fantastic tour. Absolutely unbelievable. I’d heard it was good but did not expect it to be this amazing. So glad we were on the small boat. Oh,if you’re wondering about the whale soup title – that’s what it’s called when the ocean is full of whales :-). And that’s definitely what it was today.

By 11am we were back on board and I sat out on the deck to work on blog posts (and discover that my memory card had died 🙁 ). Luckily I had all Kevin’s wonderful photos (and hopefully we recover the ones I took).

It was such a beautiful day that when we got lunch from the Solarium (originally went to Windjammers but there wasn’t anything exciting vegetarian & the place was packed) we took it back to our balcony to enjoy. I had another of the delicious vegetarian quesidillas and bowl of salad.

I spent much of the afternoon lying out on the deck and reading – until, you won’t believe it, I actually got much to hot and had to move back inside. Later it cooled off and I went back out as we left Icy Strait Point.

At 5pm we headed down to the Centrum to meet up with Brenda (my online/facebook friend) and her husband Cary. We had a lovely time chatting over drinks. Until a band started up and it got too loud.

So we headed up to the Colony Club where we chatted until tonights special event – a Mystery Murder Dinner Theatre. We were having such a fun time chatting that we managed to change our dinner table numbers so we could sit together.

Our night started with champagne (we gave ours to Brenda & Cary) and an appetizer.

The characters were introduced and the storyline established.

It was very funny and well done – with most (if not all) of the actors coming from the dancers/singers onboard. We recognised quite a few from the show the other night. After the murder we were taken next door to Giovanni’s. Such a gorgeous restaurant – loved the full height windows and ambience.

We were seated opposite Brenda & Cory so got to enjoy the lovely view outside while dined.

But it did make it a little bit awkward to see the actors, and what was going on, behind us. After they took our orders the body was wheeled out. Poor man was shot in the groin.

Dinner was 4 courses – antipasta (which I don’t really care for), cesear salad and then a vegetarian main – which was delicious.

In between each course a bit more of the storyline was played out and we had the opportunity to question each suspect.

In the end we submitted our murderer guess and enjoyed the best Tiramisu I’ve ever had.

And it was presented so beautifully it deserves two photos. The chocolate was particularly divine.

Then the murderer was announced. I didn’t guess it right. I don’t think too many people did. But it sure was a fun night. Made even better because we got to spend it with Brenda & Cary. Such a fun and interesting couple. I hope we get to see them again before with disembark – in just 2 days :-(.

They invited us to join them to watch their favourite entertainer but it was past 10am and we getting rather tired after our early start so we said goodnight, had a quick look through the shops and headed back to our room for a bit of reading before lights out. We have no actual plans for tomorrow in Ketchican so we’re just going to go at our own pace in the morning.

Up around 6am. Showered and dressed and headed to breakfast at 6.30am. We decided to go to the dining room today.

We then got of the ship and went to meet today’s tour with Chilkoot Tours.

Our had a brief tour around the rather small, but very cute, town then headed to a view point where we could see the 4 ships that are in Skagway today. Rhapsody and Radiance are the two kissing ships.

We made a number of stops

and we were thrilled to see 2 black bears by the side of the road. Luckily, being in a small bus/van, meant we turn around and go back to see them more closely.

So cute. Even though one was brown in colour they were both black bears – probably 2-3 yr old siblings.

We went over the border in Canada and finally we made it to the Yukon. Many years ago Kevin & I watched a reality show about the trip the stampeders took on their way up to the Klondike and I’ve wanted to visit here every since.

We also visited the very beautiful Emerald Lake.

Before heading to Carcross to catch the train back down to Skagway, on the track laid during the gold rush of 1898-1900.

Before boarding we visited the general store, the 2 story part of it was actually towed along the ice from Bennett where it had been a hotel before the train line was complete.

The first half of the trip was more gorgeous scenery – I have tried really hard to not bombard you with too many photos (we took a lot).

However, the rocking of the train, caused me to have a little nap :-). Don’t worry Kevin had one too.

After about an hour and a half we stopped at Bennett – which was the end of the  Chilkoot Trail. And where the stampeders built their boots to complete their journey to the gold fields.

Here we were served lunch. Unfortunately it was a meat stew which meant I had coleslaw and bread. Luckily the delicious apple pie made up for it.

Bennett is in such a beautiful spot.

These days it’s so peaceful it’s hard to imagine it was once a bustling town of over 35,000. The crazy thing is EVERYTHING had to be carried in, including 3 steam boats in parts and pianos (for the pubs). Crazy. We were also told of the supplies (one years worth) each person had to have before leaving Bennett – which could involve over 50 trips to Skagway and back, taking up to three months.

After lunch we joined one of the train guides for a walk around the old town and actually stood on the end of the Chilkoot trail.

At 2pm it was back on board for the remainder of our journey.

No naps this time as the scenery was just too stunning.

Snow beside the train.

The railway bridge I’m thankful we didn’t have to cross today.

Finally we made it back to Skagway and cleared customs again. All they do is check your passport – no stamps or anything. Our bus driver picked us up and we got dropped off at the end of main street and did a bit of shopping on the way back to the ship. We really loved todays tour and learnt so much about the gold rush and the building of the railway. Plus saw more stunning scenery.

We walked back to the dock and arrived just in time to get the little golf cart ride to the ship – which was good as the bottom on my feet were starting to rub and get sore. Windjammers didn’t open till 6pm so I had time to phone Brenda and organise a time for us to meet up tomorrow.

Dinner was most certainly a carb feast. Only thing I always miss on the cruises in my protein. Sometimes in the dining room I can get tofu or beans. Luckily I had an egg for breakfast. The stuffed pasta shells were really yummy.

I must have been craving some protein because instead of desert I wanted cheese and crackers. I actually got some and took it back to the room to eat later.

The evening was spent updating the blog, enjoying my cheese & crackers, painting my nails and reading some of my book.

Tomorrow : Hoping seeing LOTS of whales at Icy Strait Point

We woke around 7am, showered, dressed and headed up to Windjammers for breakfast. We then sat in one of the bars as we came into Juneau. As you can see there was lots of low clouds so we were feeling doubtful that our dog sled ride on the glacier would be on (we already know it’s the most cancelled excursion).

We were able to depart just after 9am we learned that yes, indeed, the weather was not suitable and the excursion was cancelled. We were able to rebook on a 3.30pm flight (if the weather has improved). We were disappointed but luckily knew to expect this. We went for a walk around the town and visited a few shops. We didn’t really like how many cruise ship shops (ie. jewellery shops) there were. But there were quite a few nice shops around and we bought a few things.

We saw this cute puppy but he wouldn’t look at us.

The back of our ship where are cabin is located.

Even though the cloud was still low we decided to go up the Mount Roberts Tramway (as we could ride it again later if the weather improved). Half way went through the clouds and could see nothing below.

First stop was a coffee for Kevin and I yummy cupcake for both of us.

We then checked out the store and watched a great short film on the native people of Juneau. Then it was back down the tramway. We were lucky that once we came out the clouds we had a nice view of the ship.

Back on board I sat outside and read for a bit before we decided to go have some lunch at Windjammers. Today I had some soup, salad and a roll (love the rolls onboard).

Just before 3.30pm we got off the ship again in the hopes that our dog sled tour was going to run. Unfortunately it didn’t :-(.

So we went back onboard, got changed into our swimmers and went and had a spa in the Solarium (indoor pool area). That was nice and relaxing. We then had some afternoon tea of quesidillas (so yummy) and went to the thermal suites where we read for a bit on the hot stone beds. We had been going to use the sauna but it wasn’t very hot so we didn’t bother.

We went back our cabin and Kevin had a nap while I read (I’ve already gotten right into the latest Suzanne Brockman). We were thinking about getting ready for dinner when someone knocked on our door. Thinking it might be our laundry I opened the door (in my pjs since I hadn’t bothered getting dressed after our spa). I was so surprised to find Brenda – whom I’d befriended first on the cruise critic forum for our cruise and then through facebook. And she had a birthday present for me. How sweet was that? I was a bit flustered being in my jammies but promised I’ll call her later and organise a time to get-to-gether. Look what she bought me? These wonderful scrapbooking goodies.

So thoughtful. You just meet the best people on the internet. And I can’t wait to spend time with her and her husband.

We did in fact get dressed and head out for dinner.

We decided to go to the dining room again. But unfortunately there weren’t a lot of options for me tonight so I just had a bowl of Minestrone Soup and some Tiramusa (which I only ate half of). 35mins later we were out of there. We really do miss having company for dinner and a slower paced meal.

We went and sat in the same seats we’d sat this morning to kill some time before going to tonights show.

Kevin and I both ordered a  Mudslide and it didn’t have a lot of alcohol so I really enjoyed it.

The show was really good. Great singing & dancing, spectacular costumes, and great set. There much of a storyline but it didn’t really matter.

Then it was back to our room to type up this post and do a bit more reading. Another early start – 6am – and a long day ahead in Skagway.