Friday, September 11, 2009

First, a moment of silence in remembrance.

We woke up in Ketchikan, AK, where we had landed at 6am.  The day was damp, gray and foggy.  Ketchikan is in a temperate rain forest which seems somewhat out of place in the far, cold north; they measure their rain in FEET, not inches. There are trees everywhere…but no top soil so very little, if any, grass.  We went on an excursion through the cruise lines…lighthouses, totems, and eagles. We rode a bus to board a boat to go out of a small harbor about 20 minutes from downtown.  The bus drivers were very entertaining.  There was only one lighthouse, several totem poles, and lots of eagles!  We saw nests, juveniles, and adult pairs.  There was an occasional harbor seal and sea lion on the way.  It was a very fun and worthwhile trip.  And the boat driver said there are NO snakes in Alaska so this must be a good place to visit (or live)!

A few comments on the cruise as a whole….the NCL folks are serious germophobes! There are self-dispensing hand sanitizers throughout the ship as well as crew members with squirt bottles outside all eateries.   They keep emphasizing that if you have any symptoms of the flu then you should call the service desk, and they will have you medically evaluated, free of charge.  There have been few if any sneezes floating about! These folks believe in prevention.

Sailing yesterday evening, the seas were “moderate” again – meaning the occasional grab for something to hold on to, and of course a regular motion to the whole vessel.  Again no problem for Sue and me (we take turns writing paragraphs/sentences by the way) but obviously not to the liking of some.  It apparently can get much worse in these parts.  Yesterday, two ships that were supposed to dock where we did early this morning didn’t.  Apparently one (a large one) got turned sideways by the wind in the approach channel and that seems to be something that captains and pilots don’t like.  The operator of the excursion that we took today said that they couldn’t run yesterday because where we were just fine, the day before had 50-mph winds and 8-foot seas.  While we were out the weather was actually nice, nearing actual sunny!  That was a surprise after the heavy fog this morning.  Right now (about 4:30) it is as I described to Sue:  “I think that it is sunny but it’s just hard to tell because of the fog.”  You kind of have to be here, I guess.  At any rate, the weather hasn’t dampened (sic) our trip at all.

It is disturbing to see ditches of dead fish.  Said another way, streams where the salmon were born and where they now return in a frenzy to spawn and die.  A real illustration of what I have heard of for a long time (but they don’t mention the smell).  We did see many eagles today, and they are opportunistic hunters where these streams empty into larger bodies of water.

We have been carefully monitoring our purchased internet minutes.  We find ourselves with a surplus that we will have to burn over the next couple of days.  We have gotten good at doing any writing off-line and minimizing photo sizes to keep required connection time to a minimum.  Plus in the ports we have had AT&T service including data to some degree (albeit E, not 3G).  Just a data point.

A pause.  I have decided to brew a pot of Community.  Bringing that was a good idea.  Their coffee is better than some I have had, but your standards have a tendency to adjust to what’s available under duress.  The room does have all the comforts of home: a small flat screen TV with a few satellite (TNT, CNN, FOX, ESPN) and movie channels; a coffee pot with fixings (enhanced by our own brand); and lots of light though the large glass doors that open to the balcony with 2 chairs and a small table.

In Ketchikan we were at the site of the proposed “Bridge to Nowhere” that Sarah … the Governor Palin took so much heat over.  It looked like a good site to me.  How many of you have been over the Mississippi Bridge near Gramercy?  Like Juneau (the state capital), Ketchikan can only be reached by light air and water.  I don’t think that the bridge would have changed that, but it would eliminate the need for some local ferries.  Anyway I’m sure that the bridge will be built at some point, just when people aren’t looking so close.  I heard one local analysis (by a summer student worker from Tempe, AZ)  that said that the cost could be recovered, in an ideal situation, in as little as three hundred years or so, so why the fuss?

The coffee is brewing so I’m still writing.  The stewards forgot to leave clean coffee cups again!  This one is coming out of their trip tip, dangit!  Other than that, they are taking good care of us.  (Sue had to add that last part, but it’s true.)

Now to see what kind of pics we got on our excursion this morning and post a few.  I would have done it earlier but the potato-watercress soup (chilled), spicy lamb kabobs, and pineapple cake (with caramel and butterscotch) for lunch sort of put a point on the morning’s exertions and I had to take a nap …

Thursday, September 10

Entered Glacier Bay this morning to fog and rain.  It was too early (6am) to be too upset.  By the time we traveled to Tar Inlet to see Margerie Glacier, it was still drizzling but less foggy.  There are 4 National Park rangers onboard from the Glacier Bay National Park who have been educating us about the formation and ecology of glaciers throughout the morning.  We heard and saw the glacier calve (what they call it when a hunk of ice falls off!) a couple of times.  When the water dried on my camera lens, it left a white residue – salt perhaps?  Then we traveled to Lamplugh Glacier in the John Hopkins Inlet.  It was not quite as big as the previous one.  This is a really beautiful piece of the USA, and I would encourage all who can to visit.  Of course, I am easily impressed by nature.

Wednesday, September 9

Early rising today; landed in Skagway before 7am local time.  Need to meet excursion at 8 for our White Pass and Yukon train ride.  Posted lots of pics last night from our whale watching tour; the sea lions and eagles were lagniappe.  Community coffee on the balcony is the norm now.  More later tonight when we return from our day ashore.

{time passes}

It’s 5 pm-ish now.   We did the train thing and it was a good thing.  We have yet to see what kind of pics we got, as all on the train were through a window.  Access to “outside” the train car was possible but not really … desirable, so we took what we could get.  We will remember what we saw (spectacular in many cases) and we can always get some pics of the highlight points.  I’m sure that we have those that we wanted for personal “documentation.”  Anyway, after the three hour train ride we walked around and ate lunch in Skagway.  After about three more hours we came back to the boat … and crashed.  I think that early rising, time changes, and walking more than we are used to caught up with us.  A siesta and we are once again cognizant.  I suspect that it will be a later night for us this evening than typical but that remains to be seen.

Now to review today’s pics.  Expecting to post something to Smugmug soon!

The Juneau excursion, the main event of which was whale watching with Harv and Marv (well, Marv in our case) was great fun!  Check out the photos posted on hagius.smugmug.com!

Trip Log – September 8, 2009 – Juneau

It’s about 7:15 am.  Woke up to calm seas (amazing the difference between calm and “moderate”) and forest-covered mountains (small mountains maybe, but certainly mountains to us) across the water.  A nice view as we sip our Community on the balcony to start the day.  We are now in the Alaskan time zone so it’s about 10:15 in Baton Rouge.

Today is Juneau.  We arrive there about 1:15 pm and should be able to dock about 2:00 (have to wait for a parking space).  Then we are off with Harv and Marv for a local small-boat whale-watching tour (thanks to our cruise consultant, daughter Christine), and then tooling around Juneau until 9-ish this evening.  We both hope to see more whales.  I hope to see Sarah Palin, too!

Yea, right Ken.  The air is brisk, about 49 degrees, smells fresh! Overcast; hopefully that will blow away with the breeze. There are a few small boats between us and land. We are entering Frederick Sound.  Still excited about the whales we saw yesterday.  If I was a salmon, I would come back here too for my final days J.

9:30 am:  Back from breakfast and in the meantime we have come into the area where we are seeing “first snow” and glaciers on the mountains.  We are about to review the buttons and switches on Sue’s big camera as it takes great pics – as long as everything is set right; and we have never spent the time to really get to know all of the “features.”  We will have the Canon along, too, as it is point and click for people like us.

Monday, September 7, 2009 After Noon

It’s about 2:20 pm now, just back from lunch.  Yes, it will be very difficult not to consume food in glorious excess on board.  It’s actually hard to avoid it.  Anyway, siesta time.

The seas have gone from “moderate” to “slight.”  What a difference.  The sun has not come out for any great length of time and it’s gray with low clouds.  We are in the Principe Channel now headed north and will be turning west as we near Ketchikan.  We will be stopping there (Ketchikan) on the return leg, but our first stop is Juneau.

FIRST WHALE SIGHTING!  We were sitting at dinner trying to decide what not to have for dessert, and Sue noticed some funny white plumes in the distance.  After a few more minutes and some neighboring discussion, we hightailed back to the room for binoculars and telescopic camera.  We were able to watch the whale community for about half an hour off our balcony.  Possibly humpbacks, but not sure about that.  We were west of Prince Rupert.  And tomorrow we are scheduled for our whale watching excursion…ain’t life grand!

Monday, September 7, 2009

It’s about 7:30 am.  The sun is up.  You can tell because the gray has gotten lighter.  We are about 1/3 of the way from Seattle to Juneau.  It is very cloudy, about 60 degrees.  Wind is across the ship with seas between 4 and 7 feet meaning that there is a lot of noticeable movement of the ship.  This isn’t giving Sue and me any problems, but it takes some getting used to, and I can see where some probably are having … issues.  Sort’a rocked you to sleep…

We made a nice pot of Community coffee in our room to start the day off.  Bringing that was a good idea.

After a restful night we are looking forward to exploring the ship today. We have on the land side of the ship as we travel north and will be on the water side on the return.  We will see what the land offers up using our binocs later today.  We should be passing Ketchikan in a bit.

Coming up on 11:30 now.  We had a nice breakfast at the Summer Palace, pretty conventional (eggs, bacon, toast) although more exotic fare was available.  The coffee on board could be worse.  Back to the room for a bit, and then down for a pretty brisk 1-mile walk around the deck, and a little boat exploring after.

The theater is impressive.  We ran across the casino and felt no temptation to join in the games at this point.  It was remarkable in a sense though.  The boat is very, very clean and smoking is outdoors, but as soon as you step into the casino it’s like being teleported to the floating bars called riverboat casinos in Baton Rouge.  The same colors, then same sounds, and *the exact same smell*.  Ugh.

A little more touring and then out to an open deck café (the sun is out a bit now) for some beverages and a light snack of fruit and a little smoked salmon and capers.  Back in the room now for some room time and computer time.  Sitting on our balcony is a pretty pleasant thing to do.  No aminaminals yet for Sue, but that will come.

Sunday, day 1 onboard.

            Check in was relatively painless; handed us champagne as we boarded; room ready at 2pm as promised.  Room on deck 11 aft (which means toward the back of the ship for us novices), last room with a balcony. Balcony equipped with 2 chairs and small table.  Nice desk area with small fridge; power strip provided since there are only 2 plugs. Small flat screen TV with some onboard stations.  Room has queen sized bed with adjoining seating area with the desk and a pull out sofa which can be separated from the rest of the room by a thick curtain if desired.  Bed has side tables and room has interesting little crooks and crannies for placement of our stuff.  The compartmentalized bathroom is much larger than expected; tub with shower, lavatory area, and the potty.  We are due for our emergency drill in a few.  The room seems like it will meet our needs more than adequately…we will make it our own once our luggage arrives!

Since Sue wrote the above all luggage has arrived and we are in for the duration.  The room is actually larger than we thought it would be, and we have plenty of storage space.  Being the cabin most aft, we have a slightly bigger balcony than most and a clear view behind us.  Now we are about to start cruising in earnest … as soon as I get our “posting” protocol worked out by posting this.

Sue will be checking her AOL email at suehagius@aol.com!  Look for pics on smugmug.

We had our first real meal of the trip a little while ago (we aren’t counting the BK burgers in the Dallas Airport).  It was at a sushi plance a block over from our hotel in downtown Seattle:  Genki Sushi.  They had the revolving belt that you could select items from as they passed, but we sat at a table and ordered.  We shared:

• Tempura Udon Soup
• Fried Eggplant Nigiri Sushi
• Tuna Nigiri Sushi
• Rainbow Roll
• Tempura Roll
• Miso-Glazed Seared Salmon

and  *real* green tea (iced) with a wedge of lime.

The price?  $16.20, for *both* of us.  Seattle Sushi looks like a winner.

i stumbled across this as i was searching for kid-friendly answers to why social studies is important. this video not only causes one to smile, but reinforces the idea that people, at the core, are all the same – regardless of where we come from.

please watch and enjoy – http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/ap080722.html