Alaska Adventures: Day 18--July 6

Tue. July 6: Everything today went without a hitch. We arrived at the Vancouver airport with plenty of time to spare, went through US customs there without a hitch, and took off on time at about 11:19 for the flight to Chicago. None of the TV or the movie, “Date Night” appealed to me, so I listened to four or five “Wait, Wait, Don’t Tell Me” shows on My IPod, did the airline magazine crossword puzzle and read to pass the time. The weather was threatening in Chicago so they let several other planes take off ahead of the storm to the south and then we made the quick flight back to Grand Rapids, arriving about 9:00. After a quick bite to eat at McDonald’s, Shelby and Ann delivered us to our waiting truck back in Hastings. So we returned to East Lansing by around 11:30, which was only 8:30 Vancouver time. We putzed around for a while and went to sleep by 1:30. It had been an unforgettable trip that went more smoothly from start to finish than anyone could dare hope. Check back here often to see where The Savage Traveler will be going next. Right now, even she doesn’t know!

Alaska Adventures: Day 17--July 5

Mon. July 5: Our last day in Vancouver! So we spent it in the best way possible—we took the ferry to Vancouver Island. We got up early, got on our way and caught the 8:00 ferry to have a good long day of it. On our way through the narrows of the islands we were thrilled to see a pod of orcas swimming along, breaching and diving. (A naturalist on the afternoon told us she only sees them about a quarter of the time!) That helped to make the 1½ hour trip go more quickly. The GPS took us straight to our first destination—Butchart Gardens. In 1888, near his birthplace, Owen Sound, Ontario, the former dry goods merchant, Robert Pim Butchart, began manufacturing Portland cement. By the turn of the century he had become a highly successful pioneer in this burgeoning North American industry. Attracted to the West Coast of Canada by rich limestone deposits vital for cement production, he built a factory at Tod Inlet, on Vancouver Island. There, in 1904, he and his family established their home. When Mr. Butchart exhausted the limestone in the quarry near their house, his enterprising wife, Jennie, conceived an unprecedented plan for refurbishing the bleak pit. From farmland nearby she requisitioned tons of top soil, had it brought to Tod Inlet by horse and cart, and used it to line the floor of the abandoned quarry. Little by little, under Jennie Butchart's supervision, the abandoned quarry blossomed into the spectacular Sunken Garden. Added onto in subsequent years it is now a spectacular area where we happily wandered for 4 hours. We saw about half of the gardens before taking a break to eat our picnic lunch. Then we walked through the other half. Sometime during the afternoon the clouds began to disperse and it became a stunningly sunny afternoon. I can’t decide if it inspires me to go home and do great things in my gardens, or discourages me from trying anything at all! My favorites were probably the massive beds of towering flocks, the Italian garden beds of many colors that reminded me of a patchwork quilt, and the extensive rose garden. And of course, the sunken garden made from the emptied limestone pit was magical!

From there we drove to Victoria. Marv found a parking place right on the harbor, which we walked around first at the dock level and then above, taking pictures of the European-type street crowds with vendors, living statues, a “circus”, and various and sundry characters. We bought ice cream and made our way back to the car. Then we found the house near Beacon Hill that a group of Robertsons rented about 8 years ago and walked through part of the Beacon Hill Park, overlooking the water at the southern tip of Vancouver Island. We made our way back to catch the 5:00 ferry and spent about half the trip out on the deck, enjoying the sunshine. When Ann and I headed to the aft deck to hear a naturalist give a short talk, we were lucky enough to have a gentleman who pointed out a large group of harbor seals sunning themselves on a small spit of land revealed by the low tide around a lighthouse in the water. Several of them were swimming hear the ferry and a tiny one came quite close, watching us float by while she gently beat her back flippers. The naturalist pointed out that we could see Mount Baker and other snow covered peaks of the Cascades in the state of Washington from the middle of the Georgian Bay. Back on the mainland we found a restaurant for a quick dinner before we returned to pack up and ready ourselves to fly home tomorrow.

Alaska Adventures: Day 16--July 4 HAPPY 4TH OF JULY!!

Sun. July 4: How strange to spend Independence Day close to but not in the USA! We just missed Canada Day on July 1 by being in Alaska and now we miss July 4^th celebrations by being in Canada. There was no sign of the holiday at any point. On Matt McCoy’s recommendation we went, not to the expensive 200 meter high expansion bridge at Capilano Canyon, but to Lynn Canyon, just a bit farther away, where the park is free. We got there just after it opened at 10:00 and were pleased to find very few people. We stopped on our way in at the Ecology Centre and chatted with the two young women working, who showed us the notebook full of videos they could put in for us to watch. We chose not to see any now, preferring to get started on their hiking trails. First we crossed their 50 meter high expansion bridge and went left, ascending high above Lynn Creek and then circling around and descending nearly 300 steps to “30 foot pool”. There were a few people there and we took lots of pictures before climbing back up and crossing the bridge again. That trail had taken us about an hour and fifteen minutes. We enjoyed the picnic lunch we had brought, noting that the small café there was very expensive and that there were many more people around. Without realizing it in the morning, we had walked in a paved drive which now had a steady parade of cars driving to the extra parking behind the café. Back we trooped over the bridge again and this time we turned left and went up and down to Twin Falls bridge overlooking the two lower falls and “90 foot pool”, which is as far as the salmon swim to spawn. There were even more stairs to climb out of there to return to where we had started and the crowds had grown significantly. Back at the Ecology Centre around 2:00 we were told that the crowds would get even bigger later in the afternoon and that on warm days the area around 30 foot pool would have 200 people enjoying the crystal clear water It was hard to imagine! We watched the end of a video on Orcas and a homemade video by an area carpenter showing the flooding in the canyon in November of 1995 when they had a month of steady rain. It was pretty impressive! By then we were happy to give up our spot to a long string of cars waiting to park. On our way back we stopped at a Dairy Queen to enjoy the Blizzards we felt we had earned for our hiking. After Shelby napped and the rest of us did some computing, we headed back to Matt and Denise’s house for dinner. The sun came in and out as we sat on the back deck enjoying salmon candy, veggies and dip, and olives while Matt grilled fantastic, Texas sized hamburgers in honor of the Fourth of July. With grilled onions and asparagus and a fruit salad we were all stuffed by the end. We sat at the table and chatted until the Coleton, Jackson, and Emma were ready for bed so we headed back to 2400 to learn a new card game before calling it a day.

Alaska Adventures: Day 15--July 3

Sat. July 3: We got up early to eat breakfast and be in place for our 8:10 walk-off disembarkation. We got through customs without a hitch, took a cab to Avis, and were on our way by 10:00. With the help of our GPS we drove straight to the 2400 Court Motel, about 15 minutes from downtown. It bills itself as an authentic drive-in motor lodge from the 50s and I guess it probably was. It will suit our needs alright for the three days but it’s a far cry from what we have experienced the last two weeks with Princess Cruise Lines! Two points in its favor are that it has a small kitchen so we can make our own food and it has free Wi-Fi. After getting settled a bit we drove to Andy McCoy’s brother’s family’s really new house (tonight will be their first night to sleep there). His mom and dad were there to help with the move so we visited with them all for a while and then followed the GPS instructions to Stanley Park. It is the second largest urban park in North America and was right across the harbor from where the ship was docked! Each couple shared a sandwich from the concession stand and we spent nearly 6 hours exploring, hiking, and enjoying all the park offers. We walked through the display of Totem Poles, the Rose Garden, Prospect Point, and two hiking trails that ran through towering old red cedar and hemlock trees, some of which must have been here back in the 1700s and early 1800s when it was a protected spot for First Nation people. What a gem! When we were all walked out we headed back to the 2400 to find a grocery store. They left me to work on the blog and the others went to the nearby Safeway to get food for breakfasts, lunches and tonight’s dinner. After a good chicken stir-fry we all did some computing, played a rousing game of Golf (cards), and went to bed.

Alaska Adventures: Day 14--July 2

Fri. July 2: Because we slept with our curtain open, Marv woke with the sun; so he gently awakened me and took some pictures of the pretty sky before we both went back to sleep for awhile. After breakfast we attended a “Navigation at Sea” presentation by 3^rd Officer Carolyn. Ann and I left a little early to watch a ”Culinary Demonstration” by the Maitre d’Hotel and Executive Chef, who are a very entertaining pair! It was followed by a tour of the galley. Lunch began with an Extravaganza Pastry Buffet. Eating is obviously a prime activity on a cruise! We briefly checked out the English Style Pub Lunch but it didn’t appeal to us, so Marv and I had a cheeseburger and a salad. After beginning some packing we attended Sandy’s last lecture entitled “The Wonders of Alaskan Wildlife”, which felt a bit after the fact since we are nearly to Vancouver. The rest of the afternoon was spent on the stern deck enjoying the warm sun from the hot tub and lounge chairs. Everyone is a bit nervous because a flu virus outbreak has the crew taking extra precautions for sanitary purposes. We hope we can make it a few more hours until disembarkation without getting sick. For our final dinner we returned to the Pacific Moon where we all had New York Strip steaks and only half- hearted interest in dessert. The eating frenzy has taken a toll on us all, I think. It must be time to call it a week. We ended our evening on the stern and then bow decks, enjoying a great sunset that reappeared through the hills for an encore. It has been an experience of a lifetime and we still have three days to enjoy Vancouver on our own.

Alaska Adventures: Day 13--July 1

Thu. July 1: It is 5:30pm and we are sitting in our state room overlooking the two streets of Ketchikan that run parallel to the dock, clinging to the cliff that seems to run the perpendicular street up at a 90° angle. The bald eagles are soaring all through this area, drawn by the salmon fisheries and canneries. We are relaxing, resting and reflecting on our wonderful day in Ketchikan. The ship docked about 9:30 this morning and we were among the first to disembark. It was partly cloudy and in the mid-to low-fifties. We had arrived too late to take the 9:45 Blue Line bus across the street which only comes once an hour so we walked about a mile to the Library and Historical Museum, where they were happy to have us begin exploring with a pass that would allow us to return later. It’s a small museum that is full of historical photographs and artifacts showing the development of Ketchikan since its beginnings in the 1860s. We went out to catch the nearly empty Blue Line bus and settled in for the half hour ride out to Totem Bight State Park. When it pulled up by the ship dock it was already full and some people couldn’t get on, which must have been very disappointing for them but made us glad we had caught it at the museum! Totem Bight State Park was set up by the CCC and WPA to 1)preserve ancient totem poles and 2)have skilled carvers teach young Native Alaskans their dying craft. There is a reproduction of a clan lodge house which was built in the old style and a large collection of reproductions of the old totem poles. We learned the significant designs used and found that the important part of the totem pole was the potlatch held to raise it and show off the wealth and importance of its sponsor. When they fell and decayed it was considered part of returning to the forest, so preserving the pole itself was not considered important or needed. In the 1960s when more effort went into protecting some of the ancient poles it was controversial and had to undergo consideration by the native people before it was deemed to be desirable. We spent two hours at the park and then caught the bus back to the museum, where we completed our “tour”. We hadn’t had lunch, just a piece of fruit and a granola bar, and Ann was feeling pretty crummy so she and Shelby were going to walk back to the ship through downtown with a stop at a drug store to find something to help with her cold. Marv and I proceeded down Stedman Street and up Deermont Street to visit the Cultural Center. It is there that they have the original old totem poles which were copied for the State Park and it gave more of the history of their significance and what life was like in the Haida and Tlingit villages from which they were recovered. From there we found our way down along the creek past the native salmon fish hatchery, the fish ladder below the falls, along Married Man’s Path, through Creek Street (the old red light district), and to a Mexican place that claimed to have the best pizza (?) in town! We’ll never know if it’s true because we just ordered an Alaskan Amber, which they brought with their chips and excellent fresh salsa. We had to be back to the ship at 5:45 so we made our way back as a light drizzle began. It had been a great day for us. The bus, State Park, and both museums had only cost $9.00 a piece and we couldn’t help but compare that to what any of the Princess tours would have cost.

As I wrote the above our phone rang. It was Shelby, asking if we had gotten their message about our 6:15 reservation. As I assured him we had I glanced at the computer clock and saw it was 6:20!! Yikes!!!! We dashed down and joined them for another fantastic dinner at the Santa Fe. This time Marv got the beef fajitas and I got the chicken; both are house specialties. For dessert Marv had vanilla ice cream with caramel sauce and I had Earl Gray tea with assorted tiny cookies. But I didn’t have time to finish because we had to run to catch the third show for the ship’s cast, “Do You Wanna Dance?”. It was another high powered show, this time showcasing the dancers especially. To end our evening we went up to the 14^th deck to watch a nice sunset while we had a cup of decaf coffee. We spend all day “at sea” tomorrow so there will be no rush to get up and have breakfast. Finally, we can sleep in!

Alaska Adventures: Day 12--June 30

Wed. June 30: This morning we awoke to steady rain at the dock in Juneau. Our lovely and totally non-typical-for-Alaska weather had come to an end. After an early breakfast up at the Horizon Court we went out to meet our Tour Guide at 7:50am for a hike through the rain forest near Mendenhall Glacier. An old school bus took us to the trail head a few miles from the town. Considering it is the state capital Juneau is a small town, reachable only by plane or boat. Alaskans are constantly voting on moving the capital to the more centrally located Anchorage, but so far it hasn’t happened. We saw many bald eagles along the way, drawn by the salmon that have returned to the bay but not yet started up the rivers to spawn. As the rain continued we suited up in rain ponchos or water proof jackets and pants and began the hike. The knowledgeable guide told us some of the history and much about the characteristics of this glacially carved, lush, rain forest area. The rain came down the entire time and my feet were soon soaked up to my knees. But we were hiking with a family with four kids ranging in age from 4 to 14 who were remarkably good sports about the conditions so one couldn’t dare complain! We hiked four miles and rose 700 feet, over a high ridge overlooking the glacier. It was fascinating to see how the terrain has been affected by the retreating glacier, with major changes as recently as 1965 when the ice was a mile closer than it is now. At one point we saw AJ Falls, which reminded us of our little friend, AJ, back in East Lansing and his Nana and G’pa Jim. One disappointment was that when we reached the Visitor Center put in by the U.S. Forest Service we were sort of rushed from it, its displays, and the path out closer to the Mendenhall Glacier; because they were not included in our tour and we had to get on the bus to return to the ship. Ann tried to find a way to stay, visit the Center and return later to the ship, but it would have been tricky to accomplish and at our expense. We were tired enough and wet enough at that point not to be inclined to work it out. We also chose not to be dropped off in the downtown area to check out the shops and use our freebie coupons in Juneau. Instead we were dropped back at the ship where we parted ways with Ann and Shelby to change into dry clothes and get our lunch. Ann wasn’t feeling too well because she had a head cold. So Marv and I spent most of the rest of the day as a twosome. Afterwards, we went to the Princess Theater to hear Libby Riddles talk about being the first woman to win the Iditarod in 1985 and her life since then. It was interesting and she had a good combination of pictures and video. Back in our cabin I worked on the journal and Marv napped until we went to another presentation by Sandy the Naturalist on the Animals of Coastal Alaska. When we went back to our cabin we decided to do laundry, not realizing how close it was to our dinner reservation at the Pacific Moon. It all worked out okay with Marv running up to get the laundry out of the dryer after appetizers and before soup (I had my fourth chilled soup of the voyage!). He had rock fish with chocolate pie for dessert and I had Beef Wellington with Princess Love Boat (chocolate mousse) and a scoop of mandarin sorbet. We left just in time to catch the new musical show by the Princess cast, where we sat with Ann and Shelb. As they headed straight to their cabin afterwards we wandered the ship a bit, stopping for a while in the Wheelhouse Lounge to listen to the combo and even danced! At the Explorers Lounge there wasn’t anything happening but as we passed a set of doors I happened to see a pod of humpbacks just off the starboard side of the ship. We watched them and others for a while and then decided to see if we could watch some from our cabin. We were delighted to find see many Dall’s porpoises right beside the ship and, further out, a pretty constant parade of whales. Finally they didn’t seem to be appearing anymore, it became too dark to see them very well, and it was 10:15 so we went to bed.