Envisioned as a perfect way to commemorate Grandma's 90th birthday, we decided on an Alaskan cruise. Sure it's commercialized, only allows for limited self-discovery and is geared toward the more mature amongst us...yet, I am glad to have had the time together with her!
The life-jacket drill was amusing! Perhaps you've seen it...yet everyone on the boat jamming in elevators trying to figure out where to go and how to put on this bright orange ill-fitting strappy accessory WAS fodder for simple entertainment! In regard to other entertainment...random sightings of humpback whales, killer whales, sea lions, seals, and sea otters, not to mention a variety of sea birds exceeded any roster of frivolous activities onboard. Alas, no puffins!
So it might not be fair to post this photo, as I too had just woken up. However, sleep is well within the expectated response to a 2:00 p.m. post-big-lunch Glaciology 101 lecture by a monotone professor! Or how about an art auction? Couldn't believe the prices. Yikes! Not ashamed to be a value shopper.
At Juneau, Val provided good adventures: Mendenhall Glacier, community gardens, delicious cobbler and frittatta on their sailboat (to which Grandma was amenable to delivery), convention grounds tour, and Auke Bay kayak rental.
Oh but then there was Skagway! A dogsledding camp and sled ride made me briefly consider the benefits of moving to the middle-of-nowhere with 50 dogs and training. Other women have! Mike King, a Yukon Quest musher, gave a good overview of the sport...1,000 miles of good luck to him next year! White Pass Railway was classic, yet exposed the base motivation of humankind. The efforts and sacrifice of miners just to get to the gold....that (for most) wasn't there when they got there...all based on hope (and rumor). I suppose the sacrifices wouldn't have been as great if thieving opportunists hadn't preyed on their gullibility. Have times really changed...amused smile!
Ketchikan...very cute...but doesn't something seem wrong with this? Here's the joke we were told: "What is 12 stories tall and keeps Ketchikan in the shade all summer?" Than answer is the picture to the left.
Glacier Bay! Incidentally, it is also the fastest documented glacial retreat in our time. Loud cracks followed by calving is actually a "must-see"! I know that term is over-used on all sorts of travel advertising, yet I say this seriously....type this seriously...
The finale was Victoria....Butchart Gardens and a city tour. Gardens atop an exhausted rock quarry. Great idea. Anyway, good week....though perhaps a hunting/fishing trip in the interior would deserve the description of "the last frontier"...or maybe that's Antarctica now? Next time!
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