Alaska - The rest -

Wednesday, Aug. 30 - Icy Straight, Alaska

This was, quite possibly, one of the coolest ports, because it was so rural and not built up. We tendered in to Icy Straight, and when you get off, the locals greet you and give you a wood chip that they invite you to burn in toe community fire; to become a part of the spirit of Icy Straight. The little town is tiny and cute. The cannery was interesting. However, I really loved the forest walk - the trees were immense, the feeling of calm and peacefulness was so enveloping that you could almost physically notice your heart quieting. So amazingly beautiful.

Today was gray and a bit drizzly, so we went back to the ship a little early.

That evening, we took come casual portraits - one of Grant and I turned out really cute. Dinner was, as usual, delicious. The evening's show was a singer/entertainer named Glenn Smith. He was okay - some of his references Grant and I didn't really get, but it was fun all the way around. They we stayed in the theater for the Love and Marriage game show - which I always love to watch!

Day 6 - Ketchikan
Ketchikan, to me, seemed like it could have been one of my favorite ports. The initial street was lined with the regular cruise port stores, but a street or two back and you were in a cute little town that fused the old fashioned 1898 Gold rush era with modern America. Unfortunately, we didn't get as much time to explore as I would have liked because it was raining pretty hard, and it was windy. Enven with a ponsho on my jeans were soaked after an hour.

SO after a little bit of walking around, we went back on the boat. It was freezing, it was raining... so Grant and I went into the pool and jacuzzi! So fun. This was the first cruise were I ever actually went into the pools, and the salt water really didn't bother me at all. To the contrary, I actually enjoyed the buoyancy it provided!

After our swim we went back to out to our cabin to get ready for dinner which was delicious. Then we saw the production show Piano Man, which I really enjoyed. I love when they play a lot of good music, which they did in this show. (However - no Copa Cobana during the Bari Manilow part!!!)

Tonight was the midnight gala buffet, so of course we went through to take some pictures, and then have a little snack. Chocolate covered strawberries.... yummm...

Friday, Sep 1st.

Our last full day of cruising was through the Inside Passage, which meant much of the afternoon we had land on both sides of the ship. This cruise was very scenic!

After brunch in the WindJammer, we got our Bingo tickets so that we would be ready to play. We walked around the ship, enjoying the views on deck, and then played afternoon bingo, which we lost. We spent part of the afternoon packing - yuck! - and relaxing, and enjoying our balconies. Dinner was wonderful, and the juggler at the farewell show was very talented and very enjoyable. Sigh - I always get sad on the last day!

On Saturday, Sep. 2nd, we got off the ship and Vancouver with no trouble. Our original plan was to check in at the airport and leave our luggage and then rent a car for the day since our flight didn't leave until six. However, due to the way customs works here, you have to take your luggage with you through customs, and once you are through customs you can't leave the airport. Luckily, the rental car we had ordered was all out when we got there, so they gave us a choice of a convertible or a minivan - the minivan of course had plenty of room for all of our stuff.

Armed with Grant's GPS, we explored a bit of downtown Vancouver, with stops at Granville Island Market - and lunch at Bridges, and then a drive around and walk through Stanley Park. Very cool. We had also wanted to check out the University where the 4400 was filmed, but we ran out of time.

Overall, this was a fantastic trip!