DAY 2
The first full day we made ourselves comfortable around the ship, ran the track on the top deck and lounged by the side of the pool. This was a full day of cruising. No stopping. Aaaahhh, relaxing! Tonight was the first of two 'formal' nights.
Dressing up is always fun!
Partners in Crime aka Dave and Janet!!
Loooooking SHARP!!
So I showed you the fancy place setting that took us by surprise on the first night. Now we add the fancy 'palette cleanser'! Such she-she-lala!! We are really feeling pretty spoiled!!
We enjoyed eating in the dining room each night. It really was beautiful and we made friends with our waiter,Villegas, and his assistant, Paola, right away.
After dinner, all of us started enjoying a guitarist in the lounge for about an hour before going to bed. Some nights we'd walk around the casino, nothing much was going on. Dick wasn't 'feeling' the tables....One night we listened to Karaoke and sang loudly in the audience! hahaha!
DAY 3
Ketchikan
After a great nights rest, the boat docked in Ketchikan. This is a photo of the downtown. So, you've seen one so you've pretty much seen them all. This is a typical Alaskan port city. Similar shops and such, all having jewelry, knick knacks, local art...
I really cannot take enough photos of this ship! Isn't she beautiful? At each stop we went for a run through the city. You know us well enough, when I say RUN, I mean RUN.....our number one reason for running - to SEE things you never see while in a car! We just stayed on the main drag, ran for about 20 minutes, turned around and ran back.
We just finished our run and went back to the ship to put on a dry sweatshirt. We saw a Safeway grocery store while running and thought we'd return to get some pre-made Margarita mix, wine and some flavored coffee creamer - NONE on the ship!! Can you believe it? Yes, when we answered the questionnaire after the cruise, I made sure to let them know!!! As we were taking pictures of the ship, fellow shipmates were standing near and offered to take our photo! Everyone is so friendly! We are all on a trip of our lifetime and feeling pretty pretty good! It is one big happy family!! This couple was from New York so we talked about our recent trip back east. Really nice people. I think of them when I look at this photo.
We walked around Ketchikan, bought some souvenirs, returned to the ship, cleaned up and met up with our traveling partners - Dave and Janet Hawkins! As we were pulling away from Ketchikan, we stopped and enjoyed the Kodak moments!
DAY 4
Icy Strait Point - tendered
No dock. A boat picked us up from the ship, brought us to the land, then back onto the ship. Looks like rain, but it didn't! YEAH!!
Postcard!!
We chose to go on a leisurely walk through the trees. Was peaceful and very pretty.
At the end of the trail was an informative museum - everything you
wanted to know about the area!
When we got back onto the ship, we lounged around the pool. We were able to watch a whale 'flirt' with us too!! They say there is a lot of wild life in Alaska, but they must know we were coming.....didn't see an abundance, but didn't realistically think we would.
The blob in the middle is the whale. Hey, it is difficult to get their pic!!
Check out the mountains in the background!!
By now we were getting the routine.....late to bed, 9 hours of sleep, exercise, eat, connect with David and Janet, explore, rest, eat, relax, dine with David and Janet for dinner, share, make memories, relax, REPEAT! We really enjoyed the SLOW pace!!
DAY 5
Juneau
The capitol of Alaska. I had a really good workout in the gym so I decided to skip the run. Dick went on a run through Juneau while Dave, Janet and I explored the town.
Go Dick Go!!
We took a really good hike up the hill and got a great feel for the neighborhood. We also stopped in a little museum of an old miner and enjoyed hearing the stories from the docent.
Only in Alaska!! OK, MAYBE Canada!
Better dispose of your 'butts' the proper way!!
We watched a lot of planes land. Pretty cool!
We went back to the ship to get ready for our first - of two - excursions - Bike, Brew, Glacier View!! The cruise lines offer so many trips at each port and charge a BUNDLE!!! Dave and Janet went on a zipline the day before and really enjoyed it.
