Arrived in Seattle – was great to see Bill and Mary Lou! Went to the Museum of Flight at Boeing Field — quite an impressive museum and Keith was like a kid in a candy store. World War II section, trainer for the space shuttle program, history of commercial aviation, history of the early women pilots during WWII, and so much more!

Ba-Ba Blacksheep

Top Gun— “I feel the need for speed”

The Growler

An angry Hornet

Drove to Oliver, British Columbia on Monday with Bill and Keith to spend several nights at Bill’s sister-in-law’s vacation home on Lake Vaseux. The ride up through the Columbia River Valley was incredible— apple and peach orchards for miles and miles and miles, against the backdrop of desert hills and rocks. Then when you get to the Canadian border the agriculture switches to primarily grape vineyards for the wine industry. Wow- a little bit of heaven! Oliver is the wine capital of Canada – with wineries up and down the valley.

Views from our temporary home on the lake – ahhhhhh…

Trail along the Okinagan River- hi 70s to low 80s temp with dry air from the desert. Absolutely heavenly!

Our afternoon routine has been to vineyard hop for wine tastings. Many of the vineyards have amazingly beautiful wine tasting rooms with incredible views! Reminded us of the lakes district of Northern Italy in the Lake Como region- absolutely stunning. Had lunch at Poplar Grove Winery – wow, wow, wow! Bill stocks up on his yearly supply of wine when he comes to this region – so it feels like a treasure hunt! We have bought a few bottles as well, but not many because the wineries can’t ship back to the USA.

Poplar Grove Winery

 

 

After experiencing incredible natural wonders during our trip, we chose a cultural heritage excursion in Wrangell. Our young Tlingit guide, Kevin (his Tlingit name is Kaatushtoo – meaning “break in the ice or glacier”) gave us a personalized insight into the history and culture of the Tlingit nation. We met with elder Virginia in the Shakes House – hearing about the culture, history, stories and traditions. Informative, entertaining and inspiring… A visit followed to a small but mighty museum which depicted the history of the Tlingit people as well as the Russians and Americans that came to the area for furs, gold and fishing. Unfortunately, the all too familiar story of the mistreatment of indigenous peoples was played out here in Alaska. The Tlingit history goes back almost 10,000 years!

We ended our tour at Petroglyh Beach – a beautiful and mysterious place… Much is still unknown about these petroglyphs.

Kevin, our guide

Petroglyph Beach- Wrangell… such a beautiful spot!

Ketchikan is a small town with lots of history. Creek Street, although quite touristy and busy with 3 large cruise ships docked in the harbor, was quite interesting and once the red light district on stilts along the River where salmon were spawning.

Salmon, salmon everywhere! On their journey to spawn and then die. Only 30% of new hatchlings live to return to the river where they were hatched just a few years earlier.

Early 19th century totem pole in the Totem Pole Museum in Ketchikan. Totem poles were carved for 1 of 4 purposes- to tell a story, to mark an event, as a memorial/burial, and as a shaming pole.

Float planes regularly landed right off our ship while we were docked in Ketchikan. Keith loved watching them land!

Our excursion in Ketchikan was to a nature reserve where we had hoped to see some black bears. Ketchikan has 1600 bears on the island, all free to roam the island. The reserve included wooden walkways above a salmon stream where bears often fish. Saw 3 or 4 bears in their natural habitat- incredible, awe-inspiring and fun!

Was pleased to get this photo with my I-phone. This bear meandered along the stream for 20 minutes or so, then walked under our boardwalk and went into the woods.

The red cedar hug at the nature reserve…

The last day of excursions was spent cruising, anchoring and zodiacing in Misty Fjords National Monuments and wilderness area. Spectacular… began the cruise viewing a glacier and ended by being engulfed with a wild, remote beauty that John Muir called an “unfinished Yosemite.” Spruce, hemlock, cliff rock formations, water falls, bald eagles, and much more…

We even had sun in the Misty Fjords and a wonderful salmon barbecue lunch on deck with new friends Connie and Reiner.

Here are a few photos that Reiner took during the trip… I loved seeing his photos throughout the cruise.

Photo by Reiner Alpert

Photo by Reiner Alpert

Photo by Reiner Alpert

Photo by Reiner Alpert- we had only one outstanding sunset on the trip because of the many days of clouds and intermittent rain. I glimpsed this sunset through the porthole in the dining room as we had a delightful dinner at the Captain’s table!

Sailing into Vancouver on Saturday for disembarkation. Flew to Seattle to stay with brother Bill and Mary Lou for 9 days. We are a bit worried about Dorian, and send prayers and hugs for safety for our friends in harms way. We are heart broken for the Bahamian people…

Will do another several posts this week. Until then… ciao!

 

 

 

Anchored in the small town of Haines. Our excursion did not begin until 1:30 pm so we walked around the town a bit. Haines is authentic Alaska! Although tourism is one of its top industries, it is a very simple place.  Most of the cruise ships go to Skagway nearby, so we had the harbor to ourselves. We had “famous” halibut and chips at the Bamboo Restaurant and Pioneer Bar, and loved the food and small town authenticity – decor reminiscent of the 1950s. 

Bamboo Restaurant

 

Our excursion in Haines was an 8 mile “raft float” on the Chilkat River in the Chilkat Bald Eagle Preserve. The River was so incredibly peaceful and beautiful! The sun even peaked out for a bit from among the amazing clouds that dotted the mountains and sky. We saw numerous eagles and red tailed hawks; but, for me, the awe and wonder and peace of the sky, clouds, river and mountains came together as magic! Ahhhh… we also had a great young ( and strong! ) woman captain of our raft, Liz, who gave us a glimpse into what young people see as the attraction of life in Alaska. 

Sailed from Haines to Tracy Arm, arriving around 8:30 am on Monday. Since we are now in the Inside Passage, we did not have to worry about turbulence. We anchored in the Tracy Arm Fjord and were on the first zodiac to approach and view South Sawyer Glacier. There are no words that can really describe this experience! Perhaps… awe-inspiring, overwhelming, fantastical, transformative, magnificent… the immensity, beauty and grandeur are something to behold but not fully understand. 

We began our zodiac ride and approached a large bluer then blue iceberg that our zodiac guide, Simon, indicated was a very special piece of ice. The colors and striations were incredible! Simon said that it was a piece of Basel ice, calved below the water line. Magical!! 

 

As we approached South Sawyer Glacier amongst the many seals inhabiting the bay, the immensity and form came into greater focus. WOW! WOW! WOW!  We learned that overcast days are actually better for viewing the glacier than sunny days – the blues are more pronounced. And we were fortunate to experience a major calving event, with a four foot gentle wave from the calving reaching the zodiac. As we headed back to the ship we observed how far the large blue iceberg had moved in an hour. Simon said that the current was moving it along and then said— “the constant here is change”. I love that! Keith and I said when we returned to the ship that you could not possibly explain the wonder and majesty of this experience!

 Arrived in Anchorage on Monday evening amidst smokey air from newly reinvigorated wildfires in the region. Before leaving home we had suggested to people that we wanted to see Alaska before the glaciers melted, but had certainly not expected to arrive in a state on fire! Traveled 2 1/2 hours Tuesday morning by bus to embark on the ship in Seward. The drive was incredible along Turnagain Bay — almost ephemeral with the smoke partially hiding the mountains and landscape in muted beauty. This drive is considered to be one of the top 5 most scenic drives in the world! 

Smoke covered mountains on our drive to Seward

Sailed out of Seward on Tuesday evening toward Kenai Fjord and Aialik Glacier, part of the Harding Ice Field. The ship anchored off of Aialik Glacier for the day, with zodiac and kayaking expeditions throughout the day to view the glacier up close. What an incredible experience! Passed by glistening flows of small ice sculptures in the water, witnessed multiple calvings of the thundering glacier, and watched the playful otters and harbor seals. The immensity of the glacier is absolutely awe-inspiring! Makes you realize that we are just one small piece of the universe’s wonder! Once back on the ship from the zodiac expedition, we had a delightful time watching a pair of walruses on a small piece of ice float closer and closer to the ship until they slid into the frigid water and disappeared. 

Zodiac to Aiklik Glacier

Set sail early Tuesday evening toward Sitka. We had a day “at sea” in the Gulf of Alaska – due to arrive in Sitka on Thursday morning. And what a wild day it was! The seas were pretty rough – perhaps 8-10 foot waves. My sea bands and Bonine saved me from a miserable day at sea (others on the ship were not so lucky). Ended up as a lazy day of reading, ecology lectures and napping. With no WiFi or connectivity we also enjoyed being unplugged. 

Grateful my sea bands did their thing in the relatively rough seas in the Gulf of Alaska

Keith and I explored Sitka on our own, walking in the beautiful forest and coastal paths at the Sitka National Historic Park very close to downtown. It was a gray, gentle rain day… but we dressed for the weather and explored on foot. It felt good to be on land after being on the ship for 2 days. The activity of the bald eagles was incredible in the park- first there were crows chasing bald eagles in flight- perhaps luring them away from their nests. Then we saw bald eagles feasting on fish by the shore. Awe- inspiring! When we returned to the ship we were delighted by a Native Tlingit dance company. 

Sitka and Tlingit dancers

Saturday we arrived in Juneau and had a photography excursion to whale watch and hike to an outlook over the Mendenhall Glacier. The boat ride was amazing— saw Sasha and Flame, two of the humpback whales that swim around Juneau in the summer to feed. They identify the whales by their tail markings. We also saw a playful colony of sea lions on Little Island, along with an otter (not often seen in these waters), harbor seals and oyster catcher birds.

 

The short hike near Mendenhall Glacier felt like we entered a world eons old. We walked on land that the glacier had inhabited less than 100 years ago. Moss and lichen were abundant as the first new life to cover the glacial rock. Then Alder, Sitka Spruce, and Western Hemlock grow in the new forest. Fascinating, mysterious and beautiful! And we saw sockeye salmon spawning in a small steam! According to our guide, they were just making it up stream the last few days because the weather has been dry and the streams low! Wow!

 

 

 

Hello friends,

Keith and I are off to northern Italy on Monday! We are very excited! We are headed to Genoa for 3 nights on our own and then joining up with a small tour group (Amber Roads) for Milan and the Lakes region. I will try to post every 2-3 days, depending on what is going on. We welcome you to come along! Ciao!