September 14, 2005

Tracy's Arm

We woke up fairly early, around 7am. This was the day that we would be going to the Tracy's Arm fjord. This is a narrow passage way between islands of mountains. At the end of the fjord is Sawyers glacier, south and north. Plus quite a few "hanging glaciers". We went out on the deck and watched the water and were rewarded by seeing quite a few Orca's. They never really breached but we could see the heads and the fins.

As we got closer to turning up the passage to the fjord, there was a commentary from the bridge on what we were seeing. It was nothing short of spectacular. The ocean is so deep these huge ships are able to go up there.

Avalanch damage	Large Iceberg
Hanging glacier	Bigger ice berg-note whats under the water.

We had to wait for a sister ship to come out of the fjord so there was much waving and shouting to the passengers of the other ship plus a lot of ships horns.

We had ordered breakfast in the room so were able to just sit on our deck all morning and watch the scenery unfold. It was cold out there. A good stiff breeze blowing and it was 49 degrees. Still wish I'd brought some gloves but it was easy to get warmed up again just by going into the cabin.

A perspective of how big these are	Waterfalls in Tracy's Arm
South Sawyer Glacier	Ice Field in front of South Sawyer

First we noticed that there was an ice chunk here and there but then they started getting bigger and more numerous. Then we were actually seeing ice bergs. The captain slowed the ship down to a crawl. It took a couple of hours to get up near the glacier but the ice field was getting so thick that we couldn't get too close. It was truly spectacular.

Lunch was in order so we sat and chatted then everyone was off to do their own thing. We bought our formal pictures, went to where the dance class was being held. The dance class was the rumba today and it was fun to just learn some steps to the dance. Had a good time.

Went to the internet cafe after 3 days of no access..but the system was so slow, I only managed to send a couple of emails and then logged off.

After that we came to the room and relaxed until dinner. Alaskan king crab for dinner tonight. Very nice. We enjoyed it a lot.

Tomorrow we are in Ketchican for the morning. We have a horse and trolley tour planned.

September 15, 2005

Ketchakan

We docked at Ketchakan at just before 6 am. We had the door open and we docked on our side so I heard the beeping of land vehicles and motors as we pulled in. It was very early so decided to go back to sleep but just as I started to doze off, Jay's cell phone rang, and immediately after that the announcement for going ashore was made. So that kind of did it for the sleep. We got up, had an early breakfast and headed off the ship.

Just before we got off the ship we realized that the digital camera was not working properly and no matter what we did it just wouldn't work. We had trouble yesterday but got it working again. Today no luck, so I have no picture of Ketchakan or Victoria. We are taking some with a disposible so check back for pictures in a few days.

It is a really cute little town of about 8,000 on an island and there are 26 miles of road on the island but the only way you can get off is by boat or plane. It rains about 200 inches a year of rain and today was one of the sunniest days this year. It was warm <compared to Skaguay> and sunny and bright. We had a great tour of the town and then visited some of the shops.

We reboarded the ship at noon and off we went. I was very sad to be leaving Ketchakan as now we are on our way south and will be home in a couple of days.

Alaska is a wonderful place, I've never seen so much wilderness and beauty. I can honestly say that I could live here. These memories will live with us for ever and the pictures will serve as a reminder.

It was hard to see Alaska fade into the back ground as we headed south. Most places that I go, I can honestly say, it was great to visit but I wouldn't want to live there. With Alaska...I can say that I could certainly live up there.

After lunch we mostly went and did our own thing. Marie and Dick went to a movie, Jay and I sat out and watched Alaska fade into the background. Then we went to dance class. We have been taking ballroom dance lessons all week and it's been great fun. The Merangue, the rumba, the chacha, the waltz. A nice little beginner course.

Last night was formal night again and so we got all dressed up and had lobster tail for dinner. It was fun and more picture ops. Early to bed again. On our doors was the disembarkation process for Saturday so we have to be packed and have our luggage outside the room before we leave for Victoria.

September 16, 2005

Day at Sea, Victoria in the evening.

Slept really well last night. We just kind of lounged around with coffee out of the deck doing some last minute whale watching. We did spot an Orca lazily coming up and down right before noon. Still is a big deal for me.

I read most of the morning and Jay worked on lines. We need to get a shower and pack this afternoon so we are ready to go. It's going to be a challenge to get everything into the suitcases since we were so full when we started last week.

We got a head start on the packing and actually managed to get it all in the bags that we had. Then we went down to our final dance class. It was really a bust as we didn't remember many of the steps and were forgetting steps and everything else. But it was fun to try.

We went back upstairs and had a shower and then up to dinner with Marie and Dick.

We docked in Victoria right on time and we left the ship for the ghosts and graveyards tour. It was boring and not interesting at all. The tour guide stretched out the stories for so long that we all practically wanted to run away from him.

Finally after 3 hour of horror, it ended and we escaped back to the ship. Had a late night snack and off to bed.

September 17, 2005

Disembarkation

We docked in Seattle about 6. We were up and ready to leave the ship around 7. Each cabin had a color tag and when you callled your color, you could get off the ship. We were called about 8am and got thru customs and immigration in quick order. The hardest part was finding our luggage in the frey.

We were on the road by 9:30 heading out of Seattle. We made good time until we sat for over an hour on I90 in the mountains of Montana when a logger tipped and spilled his load in the middle of the road. Finally it was clear but we only made it to Butte before we stopped. We were hoping for high speed internet and we do have it but the signal is so low, that I can't log on. Very upsetting. Oh well. We should be home tomorrow.

September 18, 2005

Home again

We got up about 7 and had breakfast and headed out. It was a cold morning but nothing that we hadn't experienced earlier in the week. It got warmer as we headed east.

It was a little hard up and down the mountains to maintain a constant speed. You would accelerate going up and then speed going down. Of course as I was going down a Montana state patrol car clocked me at 85. UGH.....

We endedup getting home about 9 in the evening. The cats went nuts when we got home.

This trip was one of the best we have ever been on. The scenery was magnificent!! I loved it and I would seriously live there. It's mostly wilderness and except around the big cities not many people.

I hope we have the chance to go up there again.

Thank you for taking the time to read this. It was an awesome experience for us and I hope you all get to take a trip like this one day.

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