Ramblings of a Simple Man: May 2011

As you may see from the updated photo slideshow that we are back from vacation. I all seems a blur now. We left after work Thursday May 5th and packed up our stuff and headed North to Indianapolis. We had a early morning flight and with a time zone difference made it even more so. I didn't sleep a wink and had a long day ahead of me. We had a shuttle to run us to the airport and while awaiting the plane tried to stay conscious. Before long we were walking down the tunnel to our plane and the start of our amazing vacation. The first leg of our journey went without a hitch. We landed in Denver and had a lay over until our next leg. A little Russian coffee helped to keep my peepers open. Leaving Denver we were on the wrong side of the plane to see the snow capped peaks passing by out the window but after a while we banked and got to see some of the amazing scenery. We landed in Seattle and after a very short wait we were climbing on a bus for the last leg of our journey into Canada. After about 2 hours we stopped at the Tulalip Casinos and picked up 3 Canadian ladies. Let me tell you if I had a nickel for every time I heard one of the ladies say Yah over the next 4 hours, I could have paid for our vacation and had money to spare. I think from hearing these ladies chatter, complain and giggle annoyingly, I through osmosis developed a Canadian accent. Thank goodness this passed over the next few hours and I returned to relatively normal...Well, normal for me. When we got to the hotel while we were checking in, it must have been the exhausted look on our faces but the very friendly clerk chatted with us and we discussed our travel day from hell and they upgraded our room to a larger room with an awesome view of the harbor. They got two thumbs up from us. After we unloaded all of our luggage and collapsed on the bed. We quickly made our way to the hot tub even though it was raining and after that called room service. The food was amazing and before long we were preparing for bed and ready to take on what Vancouver had in store for us.

Vancouver

The next day we made our way down to Canada Place and stopped by the 2010 Olympic cauldron and the large raid drop and pixelated killer whale. After a few minutes waiting in the rain our trolley pulled up and we were on the tour route. Our first stop was the Vancouver Aquarium. After spending a couple hours there we moved on the the totem poles at Stanley Park and then on to Prospect Point. While at Prospect we developed a bit of an appetite so we had Fish and Chips at Prospect Point Cafe. The view of Lionsgate Bridge was great and on the ceiling where metal tubing that were heated and made the lookout deck very cozy from the chilling drizzle outside. By the time we finished our lunch the drizzle had stopped and the sun popped out. While we waited for the trolley we enjoyed the flowers planted in beds of a black mulch. The mulch was soaking up the suns heat and steam was wafting from the brightly colored beds. We rode the trolley around to get the lay of the land and on into Vancouver and the various stops. Later on we made it back to our hotel and another dip in the hot tub and a meet up with another couple that was on the same cruise as us. This couple was from Manitoba, Canada. After comparing excursions planed and the up coming cruise we had been in the hot tub way too long. We made it back the room and decided to hold to our tradition of ordering Chinese food delivered to the hotel. We called the clerk and asked about a recommendation for Chinese food. They quickly responded by sending up a copy of the Chinese places menu. The food was very good and a lot off it. I did my best to finish it off but couldn't. I was stuffed like a Chinese egg roll. The next day I woke up early and looked online to see our cruise ship was getting ready to sail under Lionsgate Bridge and into Vancouver Harbor. Needles and I both watched as it sailed into view past Stanley Park and disappeared down the harbor. We got up and headed back down to Canada Place to see the ship for the first time with our own eyes and also finish up a few stops on our tour an did an alternate loop that ended up getting delayed by an protest to legalize pot before we had to head back pack up and board the ship at 2pm. We made it down to Gas town and finish up some souvenir shopping. While in the shop waiting out the rain we also had a few hail storms that popped up. We jumped back on the trolley and got back as close as we could to our hotel before making a break for it. We packed up our luggage and since the rain and hail stopped we decided to walk the 3 blocks to where we would board the cruise ship. The weather held out with only and sprinkle to two making our way to Canada Place. After making our way through Security, infectious disease questions, a quick look over our Passports, video cam photo and ID/key cards we were walking up the gangplank to the ship. This all sounds pretty quick but the process took probably an hour or more. Since I have nothing to reference this too, I don't know if this was quick or slow for boarding.

The Norwegian Pearl

We got on board and the rooms weren't ready so we made our way to the buffet. This was when we hear for the first time of many more to come "Washy washy happy happy!" While eating our fill, we heard that the staterooms were ready so we made our way to our room and awaited the delivery of our luggage. While waiting we meet the people that was in charge of cleaning our cabin. They were very nice and told us to contact them if we needed anything. Within an hour or so our luggage was delivered and we put away our things. After that Needles and I decided to hang out on the balcony and watched as the Norwegian Pearl pulled away from the docks and headed back under the Lionsgate Bridge and North into the Inside Passage. After awhile we decided to head to the spa to see what emanates they had to offer. We planned on getting the limited spa pass and when we did the tour Needles asked for it as soon as they mentioned it. Before long our key cards were stickered and we were a go to spa. After the walk through we headed back to the room and got ready to explore the ship and swing into the buffet for supper. That night we slipped into the Spinnaker Lounge and watched a game called Majority Rules played with groups of people. They asked trivia questions and was graded by points by the most common answer amongst the groups. The catch was the last one to submit their answer in writing to the desk had to stay on stage and dance while the DJ played various music clips. Prizes was given to all they participated and grand prize to the winner. It was hilarious. After that we headed back to the room for the evening to figure out how to work the shower in our room. I watched a little TV and soon was ready for bed. The next day was a day at sea with no port stops. The weather was overcast and cool. We did make a lap or two around the ship to stretch our legs and also kept our sea eye open for the occasional whale sighting. We did stop by the spa and unfortunately they were having some water problems and part of the spa was shut down and what was open had luke warm water. We heard later they had fixed the issue and that we made a return visit that afternoon. We also attended a Presentation on the history of Alaska in the Stardust theater.

Ketchikan

Tuesday was our first port day. Ketchikan, Alaska is very touristy. The building are all brightly painted and all the shops seem inviting to step into a browse. When we first stepped off the ship it was sprinkling and we weren't surprised, this being not only the salmon capital but the rain capital also. The iconic rain gauge showed their record rain fall of over 200 inches a year. We conceded to the fact that this was going to be the weather for our entire trip but was pleasantly surprised that after a few minutes the rain stopped the sun popped out and the rest of the day was cool but sunny. After we spent a few minutes looking around one of the shops we waited for our shuttle to our first excursion. Island Wings Misty Fjord float plane tour. We were along with three other people on the tour other than the pilot. I sat in the tail of the plane and Needles was just in front of me. The take off was very smooth and I almost didn't feel the lift off until I noticed the wings pitched to the left as we flew past our cruise ship in the harbor. The scenic sights on the way to the fjord was muted a little with the hazy morning cloud cover. The sights were still breath taking and just to experience a float plane ride was exciting in itself. After about an hour flight time we made our way into the fjord and proceeded to land. Again I was expecting a shutter or jerk as the large pontoons made contact with the water surface of the fjord but this was not the case. A smooth gliding landing found us in the middle of one of the most beautiful sights I have ever seen. The water was glass smooth and surrounding coast line walled with large evergreen trees with stadium seating up the steep walls of the mountains. The snow capped mountains and waterfalls was straight off of a post card everywhere you looked. While we were there four seals came to investigate our visit. Our stay was short as any length would be to such a place and we climbed back into the plane for the trip back. This time I got to set in the co pilots seat. The trip back the haze had much improved and the already scenic views took on an all new grandeur. Mountain lakes, islands and a dormant volcano highlighted almost every bank and turn. We arrived back at Ketchikan and was returned back to our drop off. Since we still had time we made our way to Creek Street famous for the shops elevated on pylons over the water. While walking down the pier area I was wondering if I would see a bald eagle and on cue, one flew over our head and landed on a nearby post. I was able to get several pictures before the flock of tourist moving toward him made him uneasy and he moved down the pier. I was satisfied to get several more photos of the majestic bird and move on to see what adventures awaited us. We walked several blocks to the Salmon Hatchery and Eagle Sanctuary and Totem Heritage Center where they had several totem poles that had been taken down and preserved. Several displays of native Inuit masks and ceremonial dress was on display. The hatchery showed how they harvest eggs from the female salmon and fertilize the eggs to raise baby salmon in a man made setting to release into the nearby streams. Also a couple of injured bald eagle were on display and used to educate people about this amazing bird of prey. We made our way back to the dock. We decide on Fish Pirates Saloon. It had live music and fresh fish. We ordered the salmon and dungeoness crab meal. It was very good and I was amazed at the difference in the taste in "fresh" salmon vs. our salmon back home. The crab meat was sweet and dipped in the butter sauce made it even better. After our meal we finished up with a little souvenir shopping and returned to the ship. After unloading our purchases in the room and changing out of our excursion attire we made our way to a Comedy/Juggling act called Shark Bait. It was very funny. Later that evening found us back in the spa and a stop by the buffet for supper.

Juneau

The next day our excursion was Harv and Marv Whale Watching tour. We were surprised that none of the shops were open when we disembarked. We wandered around port for almost an hour until our ride picked us up to start our excursion. We traveled several miles North of Juneau to Auk Bay where we loaded on to a couple of small boats, ours named OB1 for Out Back One and the other named Merlin. We skipped along the glassy surface into the bay in search of our air spouting quarry. After several minutes Captain Shawn slowed the boat and glassed the horizon of the Bay. He made the announcement "Got one!" We slipped closer to the area and was able to view a single humpback whale sporadicly breaking the surface of the water with breathes and the occasional dorsal hump. A few minutes later we got a call from one of the other ships in the Bay of a mother and her calf. We left and headed in the direction of the report. When we arrived it was amazing to see the intermittent breaths of both mother and calf and I scored some choice pictures of when they would both surface at the same time. While observing the two for several minutes Capt. Shawn got a phone call. Earlier in the trip he made the statement that Orca whales were not usually spotted this early in the season and even during the times they are usually there only 1 in 10 trips happen on Orca. The phone call he just got told him that AF pod a residential pod of about 40 killer whales were in the Bay. My excitement level already high at the sight of a calf humpback went through the roof. I think my excitement may have been seconded by Capt. Shawn as he made mention earlier in the trip that his favorite animal was the Orca and that he follows their migration pattern and does whale watching tours in Hawaii in the off season for Alaska. We made our way toward the area of the pod and it was reported that only about 20 or so of the pod was there. When we got close to the area, we didn't know where to look their was so much going on. Baby orca breaching into the air. Dorsal fins popping up all along the coastline. The moment you framed your shot on one thing something else would happen and pull your interest and the shot in another direction. This was by far some of the trickiest photography of the trip. The humpback whales give you 5 to 10 seconds with every surfacing for some pictures, the orcas are more like 3 seconds to frame and make a shot. After we were there a few minutes a large male dorsal fin broke the waters surface just a few feet from the starboard side of our boat. The fin was 6ft tall estimated by the Captain of our tour. The time flew and we were in danger of being late back to the dock so we had to break off the chase and return back. When we got back to the pier we had just enough time to do some shopping and jump back on the ship.

The Tracy Arm

The second part of the day was to be spent cruising down the Tracy Arm Fjord toward Sawyer Glacier. We entered the Fjord and noticed right away a few icebergs. Little did we know that this was the first of thousands we would encounter on our trip. The fjord narrowed and the walls rose steeply as we made our way deeper into the channel. Lichen aligned some of the walls of the mountains and everywhere the evergreens could get a foot hold held a tree. The waterfalls, some falling hundreds of feet, were countless as we slipped slowly down the fjord. The occasional iceberg would brush the ships hull and give me flashbacks of the Titanic movie. The wake from our ships engines would lap waves upon the icebergs and sometimes cause them to fall apart and collapse into the water. We spent almost four hours on our balcony that day soaking in the scenic surroundings. When we got closer to the Sawyer Glacier they made an announcement that we were passing through the S pass. A particularly bendy part that we had to proceed slow. When we got past it we slowed to a stop and then started the turn about. An another announcement was made that we were several miles from the Glacier and we couldn't proceed any further due to ice and the safety of the ship. As we looked on down the fjord we could see where the icebergs that were spaced apart enough for a large ship to pass through were starting to jumble up as we got farther into the fjord. On down the passage it look like you wouldn't even be able to get a smaller boat past them. Our return trip back out of the fjord was just as scenic as we got to see the other side of the fjord. We did encounter a seal on our trip in and also the lucky people on the starboard side got a glimpse of a bear.

Skagway

First off when disembarking you notice that paintings of the years of cruise ships logos on the rock wall across from you. Some of them spanning back years and years of the tourist industry that is so vital to the area. They say they Skagway experienced their gold rush a second time with the millions on people that step on their piers off of the cruise ships. We stopped by the front of the ship for a quick photo and then made our way into the depot for our all day excursion that would take us many miles into the interior of the panhandle of Alaska and even back into Canada. Our train trip along the White Pass Yukon Route made our way by the Gold Rush Cemetery an old cemetery for the people who lost their lives during that time from accidents, disease and murder. We also made our way by a train caboose that can be rented by the night to stay the night just 5 miles up the pass. The rest of our trip was very scenic with tunnels, bridges, waterfalls, steep drops into the gorge below and snow highlighted mountains. The occasional sign post would mark a site of the gold rush trail or some other historic point of interest. One spot was a black cross marking the grave site of a couple of workers when a large bolder slide off the mountain and crushed them. Their bodies are still in place under the large rock about the size of railroad car. As we ascended up the mountain the temperature dropped and we noticed the snow getting deeper on the ground and started to fall from the sky. Just three week prior they made a pass with the rotary snow engine to clear the train tracks for the trip. At times the snow piled up past the windows of the train car. When we made it to Fraser B.C. we had to submit passports to continue our journey on bus. We made our way north along the Yukon Highway and into Carcross B.C. where we stopped for lunch. A quick visit with some Alaskan Husky Pups and a trip through a taxidermy museum and before long we needed to head back. The snow falling from the sky made it seem as though the sun was about to go down but we still had most of the day ahead of us. The snow was so heavy at times that it would block out the sun and drop visibility to zero. At Carcross we got to stop by Emerald Lake and also Carcross Desert and large sandy area that resembles a desert. The sand was left there by a glacier that passed by long ago. It was weird to see sand rolling over the hills with the occasional evergreen tree poking up through the yellowy sand. On our return visit the sand was starting to cover over with snow. As we made our way back to Skagway the weather improved and our tour driver dropped us off in town to look around at the shops. We made our way back to the boat after scoring a warm beverage and picking up some whole bean coffee to take back with us home. We backed away from the dock and the direction of the ship turned South to our next port. This made me a little sad as it also made it all too clear that our trip was coming to an end in a few days.

Prince Rupert B.C.

The odd thing right off the bat was that our balcony over looked the town. With us being on the port side for the trip we usually found ourselves looking into the sound or bay at our ports. After they assembled the walkways we disembarked. As we arrived later in the day they assembled us in the theater and then escorted us to the exit as time would be a factor to pull this one off. We made our way to the port and again had to show our passports as we were in Canada. We boarded the Catamaran named Inside Passage for our Grizzly Bear excursion. We skipped along the water and had occasional sightings of bald eagles and other birds that live near the water. We slipped by a rocky point and spotted some harbor seals that slipped back into the water upon our approach. We arrived a Khutzemateen Sanctuary and decreased our speed to start looking for our furry prey. We slipped by a couple of spots they seemed to look at as frequent spots and before long I noticed that peoples interest seemed to be directed to a dark spot on the far off bank. The tour guide leaned in and told me to toward the dark spot by a tree stump on the bank. The engines were cut and we coasted in closer and closer to where the bear shaped spot was. The closer to the bank we got I noticed my excitement level started to ramp up. I started to take a few pictures even when we were still a good ways from the bank as I was afraid the bear would spook and dash back into the trees. To my amazement we edged closer and closer to reveal that this was a Momma bear and a year old cub. We got closer and closer and eventually got to within 40 feet of the bear and her cub. The wary mother kept an eye on us and occasionally glimpsed over her shoulder to look where Junior was. They were eating grass along the shore as the guide told us they do after coming out of hibernation to kind of jump start the digestive tract in preparation for the salmon run just a few weeks from now. It was amazing to get that close to these bears and for them to tolerate our visit into their world. We were able to approach the pair 3 different times. On our way back to Prince Rupert the sun was starting to drop quickly We happened on a large group of bald eagles in various stages of maturity just before we arrive back into port and shuffle back onto the ship. Or last day on the ship would be spent at sea. We enjoyed a show did one of our daily spa trips and packed up our luggage for a quick departure the following morning. For those who can carry their own bags they allow you to debark first so we were able to start our Seattle sightseeing.

Seattle

We planned on jumping on the double decker pink bus that we were expected to stop at Pier 66 a little after 9am. Unfortunately the bus didn't end up showing until almost 10am so we stood in the rain with 30 of our closest Chinese friends for almost an hour. We finally boarded the pink bus and began our tour with our first stop at the EMP/Sci Fi Museum that was featuring Battlestar Galactica and Nirvana. It was neat to see some of the old and new props from the show. After that we made our way through the Music part of the museum seeing memorabilia from Jimmy Hendrix, Kurt Cobain and other various artists. Our next stop would be the Space Needle. After purchasing our ticket and a quick check of our bags we were on the elevator and heading up into the clouds. Yes I say clouds because it was a very cloudy and rainy day in Seattle. Surprise...I know. The scenic view from the Needle was nice but of course would have been better on a clear day. We did pick up some coffee while there and since we had to pick up our luggage in storage and grab the light link rail South to the SeaTac stop and the shuttle to the Cedar Brook Lodge. The hotel was tucked away and seemed almost like a line of large homes tucked into the Seattle hill side. The building seemed small and one level but when you entered it was a split level that proceeded with a restaurant and bar with exterior patio and yard on the lower level. Our room was in a different building and was kind of confusing since our room was on the 3rd floor but our window looked out just above ground level. One nice touch was free snacks in the form of malted milk ball in dark, milk and mint chocolate, bottled water, chips, yogurt, fruit and Haagen Daz ice cream. Our next day we headed back into downtown Seattle to finish off our vacation and see a few more sights in Seattle. We stopped by the Public Market Place and got to see Pikes Place and the very first Starbucks. We ended up eating at Lowells and setting in a window seat on the third floor watching the traffic in Elliot Bay. We made a couple of trips around the tour route and actually ended up chatting with the tour narrator about or trip since we were the only ones on the bus. We got dropped off to do what was to be our last stop The Underground Seattle tour. This tour was to tell us about the history and perils of Seattle. The tour guides were funny and added just the right amount of crude humor to make it fun and interesting. After the tour was over we hoofed it the couple of blocks to the Chinatown Light Rail stop and was instantly notified by an announcement that the train wasn't making the stop at this terminal due to a disabled train in the tube. We were routed to a bus that took us a couple of stops down the track and let us off so that we could race to the University stop to catch the train inly to hear that the whole thing was a drill and train service has resumed. We made it back to the hotel and ended up just doing some snacks for supper and packed up for our travel day back home. We arrived at SeaTac way too early and after getting through security and boarded the plane we had on of those experiences that is often seen in a movie. About 30 minutes after take off that had a lady pass out and made the over head announcement "Is there a doctor on board?" I noticed a couple of people made their way forward so I relaxed and settled into the flight. Since we had a medical emergency we were late in disembarking our flight so catching our next flight was gonna be tight. We made it with ten minutes to spare and was on our way to Indy. I finally felt like home was almost in sight when we landed in Indianapolis but after waiting for our shuttle for 20 minutes and then having to wait another 10 to 15 minutes on another family to get to the bus I was more than ready to be in my car and on my way home.

Home

We arrived home around 5pm and after a quick visit to my Brother and Sister in Laws I called it a night and went to bed around 8:45pm. I was beat and ended up sleeping until 10 am the next morning. I am glad we are home but can't wait to go back to Alaska in the future. It's was an amazing trip and I feel that our next vacation will have a hard time topping it.

Total mileage traveled rough estimate 6,800 miles. For more pictures a slideshow is in the gutter to the right of the page. Or go to my Picasa Albums to view.

Ramblings of a Simple Man

Sunday, May 29, 2011

Mendenhall Panorama

Vancouver Harbor Panorama.

Vacation Videos

Sunday, May 22, 2011

North to Alaska.

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

Vacation 2011

Monday, May 02, 2011

Three More Days