Alaska Cruise- Day 7 & 8

This was mainly a sea day as it was 675 miles from Ketchikan to Victoria which was our next destination. We had a rough night with the waves and wind but today the sky was clear and it was sunny.
We went to various activities such as trivia contest and watched cooking demonstrations and even went into the ship's galley to see where they prepare the food. To give an idea of what it takes there is an average of 110 tons of food on board for a seven day trip. There is about 3 tons of fruits and over three tons of meat served each day. The poor people in Skagway get a grocery delivery once a week. Our driver told us once no bananas came so he drove to Whitehorse in the Yukon, which is a three hour drive one way, to get bananas. We had them whenever we wanted them on the ship.  They also wash about 91,000 dishes and glasses a day. That is a pretty amazing feat.

 In the afternoon we set outside and most everyone watched the movie or looked at the ocean and the islands that we were traveling between.



The photo on the right is the main lobby where there always seemed to be something going on. We had our last dinner on the ship and had a group picture with our waiter Ador and Mara. Ador had just got back from the Philippines visiting his family and now would be working on the ship for 8 months until he could go back home and see his wife and children again. He has been doing this for ten years.

After dinner we came to Victoria however this picture is the closest we got to it. There was a problem with the ships thrusters which help it in docking and with the wind at the dock the captain was not going to risk having a mishap so we stayed anchored off the city for awhile. You could also see from the deck the Olympic Mountain Range of Washington.

That evening we listened to a band and then played name that tune. The it was time to go back to our cabin that had slept Maddie, Nancy, Cindy and Greg and pack up everything.

The next morning we were in Seattle. We had traveled 2,293 miles on our trip on the ship in the seven days and were now back where we started. We had breakfast and then went to a lounge and waited for our number to be called. Once it was called we made our final walk down promenade deck 7. It was a sad time to think our trip was over.

We got our luggage and then went outside to wait while I went to get the van that was parked two miles away in an LDS ward house parking lot. I got back and everyone but Nancy got in the van and I drove them to downtown Seattle to Pikes Market. They got out and saw the sights and I went back and got Nancy and all the luggage then we drove around Seattle. Everyone else took the train from downtown to the airport without the luggage and I drove the van full of luggage. It worked much smoother this time and we had plenty of time to catch our flight and return home. It was a fun family vacation for the ten of us.

Alaska Cruise- Day 6

This morning we woke up to being at the dock of Ketchikan. It was raining and the cloud cover was low. We had traveled 277 miles from the Tracy Arm Fjord. We were only in Ketchiken till noon so the kids went and did sea kayaking in the rain. They said they had a great time and saw lots of things like eagles, whales, jellyfish and sea stars.

Cindy, Nancy and myself took Connor and Payton to see the "Lumberjack Show." Even though it was outdoors the stands had a cover over them plus some heaters which made it comfortable.

There were two teams that competed in different events with all the tools of the lumberjacks. There was ax throwing then cutting with a two man saw. The two man saw challenged a chain saw and the two man saw won. There was climbing a tree, cutting with an axe. It was amazing how fast they were. 

 They then had races on logs and of course the
  loggers running on the logs.

 One routine was cutting a figure out of a log but it ended up being a very simple rabbit. When people complained about how simple it was he gave it a "hare cut" and the top fell off. It ended up being a chair and they gave it to Payton. Of course we had to take it on the boat to show Nic and Shannon but then there was no way we could carry it on the plane so all we have is the picture of her rabbit chair.

















We then went over to a small shopping mall to get out of the rain for a while.

We then walked over to Creek Street which is a series of old buildings with a stream running down the center. Originally it was a red light district.

 We walked around town and saw several totem poles.

 On the way back we walked by the small boat pier and then it was time to get on board to leave.

  

 The rest of the sailing that day was on rather rough and stormy waters. That evening was our second formal dinner. 

Alaska Cruise -Day 5

Today was a cruise day with no stops planned. It however was not a typical day at sea because we traveled half a day up and back the Tracy Arm Fjord to Sawyer Glacier.


We were suppose to enter the fjord at 7 in the morning but I got up earlier to see the sights. Several other people had the same idea. As we approached the buoys that mark the entrance into the fjord I saw three spouts by each other and then three tails in unison come out of the water as the whales dove under. It was a great sight but I did not have my camera ready because it happened so quick.









We started up the fjord and the scenes again were amazing with waterfalls coming off the step cliffs. There was the low clouds of the sea fog around the mountains which cerated a magical feel to the place. They said that 1,000 feet of water fill this fjord. Once you enter the fjord there are also ice chunks floating past you. Some with wild life on them.

I secured a spot with nine chairs on deck seven and we sat down to watch the show as we traveled up the fjord. The water was so still as we traveled up the fjord with only the ripple that we made disturbing the water. I also made a donut run so that we had some snacks to eat. We then just set back and watched the show.

The fjord has bends where new things come into view as we made one bend there was another cruise ship coming away from the glacier. As we passed it both boats had planned a competition of yelling. It certainly broke the silence of the place as we passed each other.

Coming around the bend we had our first glimpse of the glacier. Pictures do  not do justice to the size of these things.

 It also got colder and colder as we got closer to the glacier. We stayed bundled up to make the view comfortable.

 Finally the Sawyer glacier came into view and it was well worth the journey. The blues in the ice are amazing.

There was also events taking place on the floating ice. The seals were giving birth and some of the ice had some red stains from the birthing process. 













On another piece of ice a young bald eagle was looking for things to scavenge 

 The ship turned around (which was amazing how it does that) and we watched the sites of the other side as we left the fjord.