We flew to Seattle on Friday, June 13 and spent Saturday exploring Pike Place Market and the Space Needle. We stayed in downtown Seattle and were within walking distance (almost a mile) from Pike Place Market.
I've heard so much about the Pike Place Fish Market and their philosophy (Be There, Play, Make Their Day and Chose Your Attitude) and was really looking forward to visiting it. But hardly anyone was buying fish so we didn't get to see much action.
You can refresh the page to see the slide show if you miss it the first time.
You can refresh the page to see the slide show if you miss it the first time.
The view from the Space Needle was AWESOME! I really wasn't bothered by the height which surprised me. We spent about 2 hours just enjoying the view. While we were up there, three cruise ships pulled out. It really got me even more excited about cruising and I had to send a photo on my iPhone to several people telling them we would be on that ship the next day.
More pictures from the top of the Space Needle!
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Seattle was great but we were ready to CRUISE!
It only took us slightly more than an hour to catch a taxi from our hotel to Terminal 30, check in our luggage, go through the registration process, walk the LONG gangway up to the ship and find our room. Of course, the entire time I was tapping Sandy on the shoulder and saying "We are really going on a cruise - on that ship!" I was so very excited!
It didn't seem to bother him too much. He decided he needed a cap and got a hug as well!
First thing Sandy did was check out the bed.
We had a balcony stateroom which we enjoyed very much!
We spent the next hour exploring the ship and trying to find our way around.
The Holland American Line ship "parked" behind us took off first and then it was our turn!
As we were pulling out Mt. Rainer appeared through the clouds - it was AWESOME!
Breakfast on Monday morning -buffet from the Horizon Court.
We ate breakfast there every morning and enjoyed the view.
More exploration - yes, it was pretty cool out there.
Formal dinner Monday evening - food was delicious!
Tuesday morning we docked in Ketchikan, Alaska about 6:30 a.m.
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We had to be on the dock ready to go on our "Exclusive Alaska Fishing & Wilderness Dining" excursion at 6:40 a.m. - UGH! We met up with our guide, Alonso, (who is a graduate of Texas A&M) and two fishing partners, Marty and his 6 year old son, Everett from Florida. Alonso got us outfitted in rainproof overalls, jacket, boots and heavy socks. I got a beani and boy, was I ever glad that I did - it was cold on that water. We got into a Lund boat and took off the exact same way that our ship had just come in.
Alonso found a spot where he thought there might be some fish and gave us our rods and reels. He put a large ball weight on it since we would be fishing at 350 or so feet of water. He instructed us to let the line out and jig off the bottom. I caught the first fish - a cod! I thought I would never get it reeled in because we were fishing so deep. Alonso held him so I could take a picture.
Marty caught a rockfish and then Sandy caught a cod - bigger than mine. : - (
I caught a rockfish then. Boy, are they ugly fish! Because they live so deep, when you reel them to the top the pressure causes their eyes to bulge out and their stomach to pop out their mouth. Disgusting, huh?
The exciting part of the trip came when Sandy hooked a fairly large halibut. I thought reeling in my small fish was hard - halibuts are fighters and this one gave Sandy a run for his money. As he got the fish close to the top, Alonso warned him not to get the fish's head out of water because it would go balistic. He instructed Sandy to bring the fish up to the side of the boat close to Alonso and he would hook him. Well, he did hook him, yanked him into the boat and then started beating the fish's head to kill him. He was correct about the fish going ballistic when he came out of the water. I was glad that I was standing way up front and that fish was way back in the boat. I didn't get a good picture of Alonso killing him because Everett got in the way. We were all so excited about catching this big fish. We didn't weigh it and when Sandy tells its weight he tends to exaggerate so I'll leave that alone for now! ; - )
Here are some pictures snapped randomly as we fished. I was absolutely freezing to death and didn't want to fish the entire time. It was cloudy and misted or rained on us off and on. I was really ready to get to the wilderness campsite and stand next to the campfire and drink hot chocolate - even if it was June 17!
I'm not sure of what was in the soup they cooked the fish in - I know there were potatoes, tomatoes and some other veggies. I'm still looking for the recipe. Alonso said it was posted on the Internet but I forgot where. We also had sourdough bread. We had some cod, some rockfish and some halibut in each of our bowls but I couldn't tell the difference.It was delicious!
On the way back, Alonso told us some things about Ketchikan and the area. There are no roads to Ketchikan - you have to fly in or come by ship. I don't remember exactly how he came to live there but I do know he likes it. He looked for wildlife and did find an bald eagle perched on a marker buoy. He threw a fish carcass out and we sat and waited for the eagle to come get it. But the eagle wouldn't budge until we left. Alonso also knew where a pair of bald eagles were nesting but you could barely see the head of one of them sticking out if you used binoculars.
It was a great day of fishing and we really enjoyed it. We did have about two hours to shop but Sandy was really afraid we'd miss the ship so we only tarried about an hour. We both bought us nice, warm fleece lined coats with hoods even though we had warm jackets with us. As you will see from other pictures, we made GOOD use of the new jackets. These pictures are taken from the back of the boat. At the top you will see the Skywalker's Lounge. Later in the cruise, we found it was a spectacular place too view scenery during the day when the bar was closed!
As we left Ketchikan around 4:00 that afternoon the sun came out and the scenery was even more gorgeous.
There was a naturalist aboard our ship who gave lots of interesting information over the PA system as we were leaving ports. The afternoon we left Ketchikan he said there was a possibility of seeing some whales later on that evening. Sure enough we did see some whales although I didn't get very good pictures.
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The next morning at 5:30 a.m. the ship entered Tracy Arm cruising toward Sawyer Glacier. Right at the entrance to Tracy Arm there are strong tidal currents and often whales are found here eating. Sandy did see one from our balcony but I was still in bed so no pictures. As we cruised up the arm, we were amazed to see blue ice. I was up and dressed so I began to take pictures and took way too many. Here are a few:
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When a river cuts through rock and makes a valley, it is V shape. When a glacier cuts through, it forms a ball shaped valley as shown here.
As we got closer to the glaciers, there was more and more ice in the water.
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Finally we were able to see one of the glaciers. After the boat went beyond the little island, it turned slowly around and we could then see the second glacier from our side of the ship.
There was many, many waterfalls and the scenery was amazing. The water was very calm since we were off the ocean and it was so peaceful. We really enjoyed our balcony but especially this morning because it was so wonderful to sit there and just enjoy God's beautiful handiwork. Later that afternoon we docked in Juneau, the capital of Alaska!
We had picked a whale watching excursion followed by a trip to Mendenhall Glacier. For the whale watching we were on a large catamaran that held about 100 people. It was really cold and we were on the top deck which was enclosed but not heated. We saw quite a few whales and I did get some pretty good pictures. We were on a boat much larger than the one you see in the pictures.
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By the time we got to Mendenhall Glacier (via bus), it was raining and still cold so it wasn't a very enjoyable trip. It was foggy and you really couldn't see the glacier very good.
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We had just a little bit of time to visit the famous Red Dog Saloon. It is supposed to be the original saloon. Under the bear's head on the wall is a gun that is said to have been left there by Wyatt Erp.
On Thursday in Skagway, Alaska we chose to take a ride on the scenic White Pass & Yukon Railroad with a bus tour on into the Yukon Territory. The WP&YR climbs nearly 3000 feet in 20 miles and features steep grades, cliff hanging turns, two tunnels, and numerous bridges and trestles. The scenery was awesome! I actually got out on the platform to take most of these pictures even though I hate heights! Here's a link to some history about the WP&YR -
http://www.wpyr.com/history/index.html
When we arrived in Fraser, British Columbia, the Canadian border patrol came on board and checked all passports. Then we got off and boarded our bus for the Yukon territory. We had an awesome young bus driver who kept us entertained with lots of great information about the area and the railroad. We first drove next to a 40 mile long lake. There was snow at the top of the pass!
All of the sudden there was a desert! The sign says - "Affectionately known as the smallest desert in the world, this area was originally covered by a large glacial lake. As the glaciers retreated causing lower water levels, sandy lake bottom material was left behind. Strong prevailing winds from Lake Bennett have constantly worked this sand, making it difficult for vegetation to become established. Species of plants that have survived include lodgepole pine and kinnikinnick." It was amazing - it was cold and we were standing in a desert!
The driver had told us that he had a surprise for us and not all of the bus tours got to see this surprise. It was a beautiful emerald green lake. These pictures do not do justice to the beautiful colors in this lake. It was awesome!
We stopped for lunch at the Caribou Crossing Trading Post near Carcross. We had barbecue chicken and fixings with homemade donuts for dessert. YUM! This is also the home of the Museum of Yukon Natural History. I can't remember the entire story but a world famous taxidermist either owned this place or just lived here and these are all his creations.
Then it was back on the bus to Alaska and down the scenic highway to Skagway! Again we stopped for photo opportunities.
We crossed over Captain William Moore Bridge which is a cantilever bridge than is anchored only one one end. It crosses a fault line and there are several earthquakes a day in this region yet the bridge remains intact. It was very interesting!
That evening as we sailed from Skagway back into the main part of the ocean, the sun came out and the scenery was incredible!
At the back of the ship was the Skywalkers Lounge. It was the highest accessible point on the ship and during the day it was a great place to sit and have a super view without freezing. We took these pictures from there.
Friday and Saturday the ship headed south to Victoria, British Columbi which was the last stop. We did not book an excursion but just wandered around looking at things.
Hope you enjoyed viewing some of our cruise pictures. I took over 500 pictures but I didn't post all of them! ; - )
We finally made it to our stateroom-B645!
First thing Sandy did was check out the bed.
I'd been told that there was not much of a closet or storage space
but that was not the case for us.
but that was not the case for us.
We had a balcony stateroom which we enjoyed very much!
We spent the next hour exploring the ship and trying to find our way around.
The Holland American Line ship "parked" behind us took off first and then it was our turn!
As we were pulling out Mt. Rainer appeared through the clouds - it was AWESOME!
Breakfast on Monday morning -buffet from the Horizon Court.
We ate breakfast there every morning and enjoyed the view.
More exploration - yes, it was pretty cool out there.
Formal dinner Monday evening - food was delicious!
Tuesday morning we docked in Ketchikan, Alaska about 6:30 a.m.
You can refresh the page to see the slide show if you miss it the first time.
We had to be on the dock ready to go on our "Exclusive Alaska Fishing & Wilderness Dining" excursion at 6:40 a.m. - UGH! We met up with our guide, Alonso, (who is a graduate of Texas A&M) and two fishing partners, Marty and his 6 year old son, Everett from Florida. Alonso got us outfitted in rainproof overalls, jacket, boots and heavy socks. I got a beani and boy, was I ever glad that I did - it was cold on that water. We got into a Lund boat and took off the exact same way that our ship had just come in.
Alonso found a spot where he thought there might be some fish and gave us our rods and reels. He put a large ball weight on it since we would be fishing at 350 or so feet of water. He instructed us to let the line out and jig off the bottom. I caught the first fish - a cod! I thought I would never get it reeled in because we were fishing so deep. Alonso held him so I could take a picture.
Marty caught a rockfish and then Sandy caught a cod - bigger than mine. : - (
I caught a rockfish then. Boy, are they ugly fish! Because they live so deep, when you reel them to the top the pressure causes their eyes to bulge out and their stomach to pop out their mouth. Disgusting, huh?
You can refresh the page to see the slide show if you miss it the first time.
The best part of the day was going to the campsite and eating a shore lunch of the fish we had just caught. There were several excursions out fishing and they came in to the campsite at different times. We were the last ones in. The guides cleaned the fish on the shore and brought them up to the cook in the kitchen. The campsite consisted of two campfires with benches to sit on, a kitchen area and even a private restroom with its own door! I stood by the fire and drank hot chocolate until I thawed out some and then wandered around a little to take pictures.You can refresh the page to see the slide show if you miss it the first time.
I'm not sure of what was in the soup they cooked the fish in - I know there were potatoes, tomatoes and some other veggies. I'm still looking for the recipe. Alonso said it was posted on the Internet but I forgot where. We also had sourdough bread. We had some cod, some rockfish and some halibut in each of our bowls but I couldn't tell the difference.It was delicious!
You can refresh the page to see the slide show if you miss it the first time.
There was a naturalist aboard our ship who gave lots of interesting information over the PA system as we were leaving ports. The afternoon we left Ketchikan he said there was a possibility of seeing some whales later on that evening. Sure enough we did see some whales although I didn't get very good pictures.
You can refresh the page to see the slide show if you miss it the first time.
You can refresh the page to see the slide show if you miss it the first time.
You can refresh the page to see the slide show if you miss it the first time.
You can refresh the page to see the slide show if you miss it the first time.
You can refresh the page to see the slide show if you miss it the first time.
On Thursday in Skagway, Alaska we chose to take a ride on the scenic White Pass & Yukon Railroad with a bus tour on into the Yukon Territory. The WP&YR climbs nearly 3000 feet in 20 miles and features steep grades, cliff hanging turns, two tunnels, and numerous bridges and trestles. The scenery was awesome! I actually got out on the platform to take most of these pictures even though I hate heights! Here's a link to some history about the WP&YR -
http://www.wpyr.com/history/index.html
Sandy found a pickup like the one he learned to drive on -
and I found us a retirement home!
1 comment:
Sure, sure...rub it in! Looks wonderful!
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