Days Six & Seven - July 28 & 29th - Our Alaskan Cruise

For the next couple of days we are at sea as our Alaskan cruise begins to wind down. I really enjoy the stops we make in the various ports but we won't being doing that for a couple of days when our cruise actually winds up at Whittier.
For the next two days we will be enjoying the glaciers.
First we head into Glacier Bay where we are fortunate enough to take in the calving of several glaciers. It is impressive as the Captain has us close enough we can hear the loud cracking sound and then watch the ice cascade down into the sea.
So many people up on deck watching that it is difficult to be in a position to photograph the calving but you get what you can.
In 1794 Captain George Vancouver described Glacier Bay as being "a sheet of ice as far as the eye can distinguish". Now all these hundreds of years later it is still pretty much the same. There are actually seven glaciers in Glacier Bay including the most famous one, Margerie Glacier.
The next day, July 29th is also a day of glacier sight seeing. We sail into College Fjord where there are five large glaciers and dozens of smaller ones. Some of them are a mile and a half or more across. Huge and impressive. Most of the glaciers are named after renowned Eastern USA colleges. Women's colleges are on the north west side and mens colleges are on the South east side.
Very interesting day and some impressive scenery. In addition to the glaciers along some of the shores we pass there is very rugged timber country and we manage to catch the sight of a brown bear. He is some distance away but still it was nice to
catch a glimpse of him as he slowly, and I mean slowly, meandered down the shore line.
After a day of glacier watching it is again time for the supper hour. More of those fantastic meals with fabulous desserts.
In the evening we again attend the Princess Theatre. I have been looking forward to this presentation all week and it does not
disappoint. The Princess Theatre Singers and Dancers put on the musical "The Piano Man" and it is fantastic. They feature musical selections from Neil Sedaka, Barry Manilou and the Piano Man, Elton John. It is excellent and a nice way to end a great day.

It's Desolate At The Top

Climbing over 3000 feet and covering about twenty miles we emerge at the top of the mountain. At one point we actually cross over into Canada. Very rugged at the top but with it's own kind of beauty.

Day Five - July 27/11 - Our Alaska Cruise

Today we arrive in Skagway, Alaska. Have booked an afternoon tour on the White Pass Railway. Every one has said the rail tour is one of those can't miss tours so really looking forward to that. On the railway you climb to an altitude of 3000 feet and we're told the views are breath taking.
In the morning we tour the town of Skagway. Not a very big place but really pretty. One of the many gold rush towns that popped up during the Klondike era. Now it is a real tourist attraction and a must stop for all of the cruise ships.
In the afternoon it is time to board the train for the White Pass rail way tour. This is another one of those tours where I shot so many pictures it is hard to narrow it down to a few to post on a web site. It really was worth the trip as the train winds around some pretty high elevations. We even cross over into Canada as the five pictured flags will attest. Some breath taking scenery and some real high points where you can look straight down as the train proceeds. Really glad we booked this excursion as the scenery is breathtaking.

Day Four - July 26th - Alaskan Cruise

Today we arrive in Juneau, the capital city of Alaska. One of the huge attractions at Juneau is the Mendenhall Glacier. It is twelve miles long and is actually one of thirty eight glaciers that flow from the Juneau Icefield. it is raining in Juneau when we arrive but not enough to spoil anything. We have a whale watching excursion booked for the afternoon so a little bit of rain will not discourage us and hopefully not the whales.
The morning we spend some time just walking around Juneau taking pictures and taking in the sights. Then it is time for the whale watching excursion which turns out to be more exciting and successful that we could have ever hoped for. Louise and I arrived at the boat that was to take us out a bit early and were allowed to go on board. As we were settling into our seats, two male killer whales came into the port and right along side our boat. I was able to get a really good picture of them. The naturalist on board said it was a one in a million shot as beluga or killer whales rarely came close enough to be photographed. Most people who get a picture of them have these long canon like attachments on their camera and get a picture that way. Well i had my little Canon Sure Shot digital camera and was able to get a picture of them very close up.
The crew of the boat were just fantastic. They seemed to know how to find the whales as we also viewed a very large pod of hump back whales and got some good photographs of them as well. Then they took us to an island where there were masses of sea lions just sunning themselves on the rocks. All in all it was a very successful whale watching expedition and well worth the money.
In the evening we had another one of those wonderful meals they serve on board and then closed out our day by attending the
Princess Theatre and taking in another comedian, this time a fellow named Don Friesen who was very good.
Tomorrow we have booked an excursion on the White Pass Railway. People have told us that the railway tour is a "can't miss" when you are visiting Alaska so looking forward to that as well.

Day Three - July 25th/11 - Alaskan Cruise

Today we wake up in Ketchikan, Alaska. Ketchikan is billed most importantly as the salmon capital of the world. The city is about seven miles long but only about a half mile wide. It is a very pretty little place. We didn't book any off ship excursions today so we are just walking about the town taking in the shopping and the other various attractions. We walk a trail that takes us to a salmon factory so we tour that and listen to the presentations that are given there. Then we go to a gallery that is featuring totem poles some of them originals from the 1800's and also take in a wildlife sanctuary. They have a couple of bald eagles in there but they are pretty laid back and don't pay much attention to us. Ketchikan's population now is about 13,000 and today they are pretty dependent on the tourism industry. Ketchikan is known as "The First City" as it is the first stop that cruise ships make on their way north. Today in Ketchikan there are a couple of cruise ships in dock. There can be as many as
five. With each of these large ships carrying from two to three thousand passengers, can you imagine ten thousand customers
suddenly in your shop. The cash registers must be ringing,
After our time in Ketchikan it is time to board the ship and continue on. Next stop is Juneau where we have booked a whale watching expedition.
When we get back to the ship we take in a Ballroom dancing class. Kind of tough learning the moves and the steps and the half hour class goes by pretty quickly. Then it is tine for supper and more of those great meals before relaxing for the evening.

Day Two - July 24th/11 - Alaska Cruise

Today we are spending the entire day at sea as we sail towards our first stop which will be Ketchican. It is also our 35th anniversary today and on board it is a formal day whereby everyone dresses up for the meal times.
We awake to balloons decorating our door courtesy of Princess Cruise Lines. We spend most of the day just relaxing, touring the ship and taking in the scenery as we travel along.
In the evening we choose the Santa Fe Restaurant for our formal meal. There we are surprised when the staff of the Santa Fe restaurant, four guys and a lady waiters, serenade us with a rousing rendition of Happy Anniversary. And they are very good.
They sing in acapella even breaking into parts and end with a rousing finish. They are very, very good. We tell them after they
should be performing at the Princess Theatre along with the professional singers and dancers. They were that good.
We are then given a little chocolate anniversary cake to share and then the waiter insists that we must try the special Banana (something or other) Flambe. There goes the diet for that day at least.
After supper we go to the Princess Theatre to take in the music and dance production of "Do You Want To Dance'. The singers and dancers put on a tremendous performance. Very professional and very good.
Some interesting facts about the Diamond Princess, the ship we are cruising on. The Santa Fe Restaurant is one of ten eating places on board the ship. Other restaurants include The Savoy Dining Room. The Vivaldi Dining Room, The Pacific Moon, Sabatini's. and the International Dining Room. In addition there is The Horizon Court where a buffet style mean is served twenty
four hours a day. And then there is the Trident Grill, The Pizzeria, Sterling Steakhouse and an ice cream bar. It doesn't take you long to figure out that this is not a good place to be if you are on Weight Watchers. And then there are also seven bars and
lounges on board. In may of the lounges really nice music is being performed by various musicians including a string quartet that we listened to several times and really enjoyed.
In between all the events on board it is nice to go out on the deck and just watch the changing scenery and also watch the
waters for signs of animal or sea life. From on board I did spot a brown bear but he was some distance away.

Leaving Vancouver