HOLLAND AMERICA CRUISE TOUR - NORTH TO ALASKA
Dedication to Alaska Travelogues
Melvin James Carpenter
January 16, 1920 to July 9, 2010
I dedicate my Travelogues through today to my Father-in-Law, Mel. He was my biggest Travelogue fan and really enjoyed reading about what we did each step along the way of each journey we took. He looked forward to our Travelogues and was always so complimentary when he read them. The last day of his life, he was reading our Travelogues and knew we were going to be in Fairbanks. I know deep in my heart that when he passed on July 10th and we were on the train from Fairbanks to Denali - that was no coincidence. We were where we were meant to be. "Fairbanks" was the code name for the ship that both he and my Jim served on. And, he loved trains. I know he's on a great train ride now - and he's the Conductor!
HOLLAND AMERICA CRUISE TOUR - NORTH TO ALASKA
Day Twelve - Denali to Anchorage
We woke early this morning to the pitter patter of water dripping from the roof. It was raining. This was the last day of our trip. After we gathered up everything, Jim and I headed over to the Denali Park Visitors Center to look at the exhibits. I found a nice cozy corner near a massive stone fireplace where I was able to catch up on a couple of my Travelogues and look through some of my pictures. Our group began to gather around 11:30 in the lobby of the Visitors Center, and then we all walked over to the Alaska Railroad Depot where we caught our southbound train at 12:00 noon.
It continued to rain outside, which made going out on the platform behind our rail car to take pictures not a real pleasant experience. As we pulled away from Denali, the car got quiet for awhile as we all realized this was the end of a great adventure with Holland America. By the time we reach Anchorage, we will have traveled over 5,250 miles together through some of the most beautiful and scenic wilderness on earth. We passed Summit Lake at 2,368 feet which is the highest point on the Alaska Railroad. From here, the rivers will flow south towards Anchorage.
The ground up above 2,500 feet is known as Tundra; and below 2,500 ft. it becomes Tiaga (pronounced Tiga). The trees are beginning to get thicker and bushier and the ground cover is also thicker. The railroad parallels the highway with flat marsh lands with countless pools of water dotting the vast landscape.
There is a deep deep gulch that the railroad passes over that is known as Hurricane Gulch because of the hurricane force winds that have been known to pass through there. The trestle bridge is quite impressive as it spans the gulch. From here we traveled south into “bush” country. Those Alaskans who have chosen to live in remote locations in the “bush” only can access it by plane or train. The Alaska Railroad is the only railroad that will actually stop to pick up and drop off passengers along the tracks.
Our ground cover has now changed from the thick brush bushes to Fiddle head ferns that are completely edible and cow parsnip that looks much like Queen Anne’s lace and is very toxic. There are meadows of the ferns and cow parsnip, so thick you cannot see any dirt on the ground. About 3:00 p.m. the rain stopped and the clouds began to break up to give way to the sunshine.
The train moved at a slow pace of about 15-20 mph while passing through certain areas; but most of the time, it moved along at about 30 mph. Several in our group took short cat naps while the rest of us were still constantly looking out the windows of our domed cards not wanting to miss anything.
The reflections of the trees in the mirrored ponds looked like mirrors because they were so calm. As we passed by the Indian River which is crystal clear, we could actually see the red spawning salmon as they swam upstream. The next river we crossed was the Susitna River. “Na” is an Athabascan work meaning running water. Today we actually will cross five rivers: 1) Nenana 2) Chiquitna 3) Chulitna (4) Susitna 5) Talkeetna. The Susitna River is quite wide with many islands in the middle of the running waters. The Susitna River is a glacial fed river and is cloudy and grey from the glacial soot. The river was moving at a good pace. You could see the currents swirling around on the top of the river; but there were no rapids.
The banks of the rivers have rocky shores with numerous very large boulders that have traveled downstream thousands of years ago on icebergs as the glaciers melted. The calm, waters of the ponds dotting the meadows were home to several Trumpeter Swans. They are solid white with dramatic long necks. Their babies are called cygnets.
The “bush” area comes to an end in Talkeetna. We arrived here around 4:45 p.m. Talkeetna has a population of 840 and was the backdrop for the TV show “Northern Exposure”. Our young guide on the train was Jason. He told us the story of the Alaska state flag and its meaning. It was designed by Benny Benson in the 1920’s. The stars are in the shape of the Big Dipper because you can see it so clearly in Alaska. The North Star symbolizes the northern most state of the United States.
Wasilla, the next city on our itinerary, really came to be known as the home of Sarah Palin. South of Wasilla we entered the low lands of the Knik Arm and the Cook Inlet near Anchorage. After eight hours on the Alaska Railroad today, our journey was coming to an end. Anchorage is the largest city in Alaska with a population of 275,000 permanent residents. To the west was a large mountain range known as “The Sleeping Lady”. As you look at the mountains, you can see a woman lying on her back with her head facing south and her legs pointing north. To the east is the Chugach Mountain range with its snow capped mountain peaks. Just before we entered into Anchorage we spotted a moose, but it quickly disappeared into the trees before we could get any pictures.
As we pulled into the Anchorage Rail Depot, our tour guide, Gabe stood up and thanked us all for coming along on this cruise tour. Unfortunately, our group dispersed all too fast once they disembarked the train, and Jim and I were not able to tell many of them good bye. We will leave early tomorrow morning before the final group gathering at breakfast with the Alaska Visitors Bureau.
We did enjoy a final get together with new friends Sam and Melinda from Palm Desert and Denise and Erik from Texas at The Brewhouse. The Brewhouse is a microbrewery directly across the street from The Westmark Hotel where we stayed our last night. At 9:00 p.m. in a Sunday evening, the wait was 45 minutes! It is a very large restaurant and bar that could easily seat over 200 people. Luckily as we were about to leave and go somewhere else when the hostess told us they had a cancellation and within ten minutes we were seated at a table for six. We enjoyed one last toast to a great adventure and new friends.
And, so it ended – fourteen days – cruising from Vancouver up the Inside Passage to Skagway; traveling into the Yukon Territory and learning about the gold rush and then enjoying the “interior” and Denali. It is truly a “great” land. I think perhaps one of my favorite parts was talking to some of the permanent residents when we visited their cities. The Alaskans love sharing their state. They are proud of its heritage and history. One thing that is obvious to me is how much they enjoy living in the wilderness. They are a very friendly people and willing to help you in any way they can.
Thank you to Holland America, Joanie, Kyle and Gabe for being terrific hosts and guides all along the way. To all those in our group that we weren’t able to say good bye to – it was a pleasure getting to know you. And, thank you Alaska. We enjoyed getting to know you and hearing your stories. We’ll be back!
HOLLAND AMERICA CRUISE TOUR - NORTH TO ALASKA
Day Eleven - Denali Nati0nal Park
Tundra Wilderness Tour
Did you know that wildlife seekers are far more certain to see animals than baseball fans are to see home runs? This is true – and our Tundra Wilderness Tour into Denali National Park today was actually a grand slam.
McKinley National Park was established as a game refuge in 1917. In 1980, Congress more than tripled the size of the park and renamed the area Denali National Park and Preserve. The Alaska National Interest Lands Conservation Act (ANILCA) enlarged the park by an additional four million acres of wilderness frontier.
This expansive area is habitat to caribou, moose and grizzly bears, along with wolves, Dall sheep, Ptarmigan, eagles, ravens and countless other species of animals and birds. There are more than 650 species of flowering plants along with mosses, fungi, algae and lichens that cover the slopes inside the park.
In 1972 the National Park Service started a bus system to protect visitors and reduce threats to the wildlife. The buses used for our Tundra Wilderness Tour look much like old school buses painted a light tan color to blend in with the landscape – but on the inside, the interiors are plush and comfortable like the motor coaches we have been traveling on during this tour.
The alpine tundra covers the ground in Denali and provides a vast food supply for the resident wildlife. Our first wildlife sighting for the day was a caribou feeding on the top of a hill to the right side of our bus. When someone on the bus spots an animal, they are to yell out and give an approximate location based on the face of a clock. So, this first sighting of the caribou, someone yelled out “CARIBOU! 10:00!!” Then, everyone tried to get a place at the window to click off their pictures before the animal moved on or went behind the bushes.
The bus has drop-down video screens that display the real-time video the bus driver is filming of the animal spotting. What we did not know, but were not surprised either, is that the DVD is available to us to purchase once our tour was over. Ours will be mailed within 2-3 weeks.
The road into Denali is not paved, but is compacted bedrock. Though the windows on the bus can be opened when animals are spotted, they are generally closed to minimize the dust coming back into the bus while the bus is traveling.
Our tour today began at the McKinley Chalet where we were picked up and traveled to the park entrance. We passed the Stony Overlook and stopped for a photo opp and continued on our way for 62 miles into the park. The scenery is as dramatic and colorful as the Grand Canyon with every color imaginable in the mountains and valleys. As the clouds moved overhead and cast shadows down below, the colors changed. It was simply breathtaking.
There is a very nice Visitors Center near the entrance along with a great book store offering a wide variety of books on the animals and history of the park.
As we traveled into the park, we passed several mountain peaks – Mt. Margaret at 5,509 ft. – Double Mountain at 5,899 ft. – Igloo Mountain at 4,800 ft. – Sable Mountain at 6,002 feet – Divide Mountain at 5,195 ft. and Polychrome Mountain at 5,790 ft. Polychrome Mountain was by far the most magnificent of them all with its multi-colored rock of Rhyolite and basalt. It is a dramatic pointed mounted with every color of brown and red tones imaginable.
After our first caribou sighting, we saw several herds of Dall sheep high on the rugged cliffs of the mountains, strategically located to protect themselves from their predators, the wolves.
While golden eagles soared above us, black ravens were also spotted along with one bird that actually had some small animal clinched tight in its talons – probably flying back to enjoy it for dinner. Though the wolves remained elusive and out of sight today, I did get a picture of a den on the side of a mountain. There are three packs of wolves that inhabit this portion of the park but dozens more packs throughout the entire 6,000 acres.
The animal that most everyone hopes to see when they enter Denali is the phenomenal Grizzly Bear. Though its fur is actually a light golden color, the grizzly is also known as the brown bear. We had three separate sightings of grizzlies today; but, by far, the one where we spotted two bears as they ate their way down the hill next to our bus was a definite grand slam!
With their fur of light golden brown, these two bears were easily spotted amongst the green grasses and tundra on the hill. They were enjoying several plant roots along their way down. As they got closer and closer to the bus, the more spectacular each picture was. We were told to be quiet as them came closer and closer to the bus so as no5t to frighten them or disturb them. But even though “we” were being quiet as told, our cameras were constantly clicking those shutters in hopes of getting one phenomenal picture. After we drove away and the windows again were closed, everyone sat back down in their seats and had a huge smile on his or her face. It was truly splendiferous!
We had two other grizzly sightings¸ but they were farther off in the distance. Some smaller animals were sighted as well including the pika (a small bunny), squirrels and a beaver; a gyrfalcon was perched on the top of a rock outcropping but was far enough away that our pictures could not pull it in close enough; and many birds.
The breathtaking scenery was everywhere you looked; and we couldn’t take our eyes off of it – even though we could have used a little cat nap as this was a 7 hour tour. We didn’t want to miss a thing – and we didn’t. It was a glorious day. While the skies above us were overcast, it did not hurt our experience in Denali National Park.
After our tour, a group of us headed over to the Alaska Salmon Bake for dinner and put our glasses together with much delight for such a fabulous day.
Tomorrow we will head south on the Alaska Railroad and McKinley Express as we end our tour of this “great land” in Anchorage.
HOLLAND AMERICA CRUISE TOUR - NORTH TO ALASKA
Day Ten - Fairbanks to Denali
I start today’s travelogue with a heavy heart. Jim’s Dad has been ill for the past few months, and we got word yesterday that he was not doing well. We tried to get a flight out of Fairbanks before our tour left, but we could not do that; so to ensure we could continue moving south and try to get an earlier flight home, we left early in the morning with our tour group on the train headed for Denali.
When we got into Fairbanks, we were talking about Jim’s Dad, and Jim shared a story with me. Both Jim and his Dad served in the Navy on the USS Edson – but at different times. The code name for the Edson was “Fairbanks”. We think it was ironic that we were in Fairbanks on this particular day. Jim’s Dad also loved trains. We boarded our train in Fairbanks and headed south to Denali. Unfortunately, while we were on the train, we received word that Jim’s Dad has passed away. So, we dedicated our train ride today from Fairbanks to Denali to Jim’s Dad.
Two engines pulled our train of four Holland America domed cars and three from Princess along with several others for the Alaska Railroad. We passed by the University of Alaska as we left town. The University of Alaska is home to a fabulous museum; and if you get the chance, you should go visit that.
We continued south for our five hour ride on the rails through absolutely gorgeous country; and we were all lucky enough to become official members of the “30% Club”. We are among the 30% who actually have seen Mt. McKinley.
It was a gloriously clear day outside with very few clouds in the sky. It was a bit cooler than it was yesterday. Today we hit a high of about 60 degrees. The tour guide on our rail car gave us a few minutes notice that the “Great One” was going to be coming into view. Many of us went downstairs from our domed car seats and stood out on the platform in between the rail cars so we would perfectly clear views of the mountain. And, we were not disappointed in any way, shape or form. Through the low brush alongside the rail tracks appeared this magnificent mountain – snow capped and standing proud all alone off in the distance. What is so fabulous about McKinley is that it is the highest peak on the continent at 20,320 feet. McKinley reigns supreme in the Alaska Mountain range; and because of its height, it creates its own weather.
We continued on our journey passed through the meadows full of Alaska fireweed, lupin, along with many other dainty, low wild flowers that could be spotted all over the ground. We passed by rivers and troughs of glacial waters that were a dramatic contrast to the low brush and evergreens. Along the way, we were lucky to spot a moose off to the left side of the rail cars.
Once we arrived in Denali at the McKinley Chalet Resort, we were given our room keys. Our luggage was brought to us, so we didn’t even have to collect it and get it to our room. We found our room and then took of to explore the area. Because the McKinley Chalet’s are so spread out over several acres, there are shuttles that will pick you up at either the Moose stop, Bear stop, Caribou stop, etc. and transport you up the hill to the main lodge. This was especially nice for us as we were in the furthest room complex from lodge which is along the highway – our room was only about 50 feet from the trail along river below.
We walked across the highway and walked along the wooden plank sidewalks that are home to a plethora of gift shops and restaurants. While we were walking along, we met up with more people from our group and so we all enjoyed a light lunch and just explored the area. The McKinley Chalets are just north of the Denali Park entrance and the Denali Visitors Center. On one side of the highway is a dramatic mountain and as you turn and face the other way, you face a beautiful, vast wilderness of hills and mountains as far as you can see. Several people from our group either took white water rafting trips down the glacial river or did a helicopter flight up to a glacier.
At 5:30 p.m. our group met for a Cabin Nite dinner at the Chalets for a family style dinner and show put on by the waiters and waitresses, bartender, etc. The show was a musical all about the discovery of Denali and one “Fannie Quigley”. There was participation from the guests as well. It was very well done. The piano player was playing music from the early 1900’s and getting everyone to join in for a sing-a-long at one point. Dinner was served family style and included delicious and tender ribs, baked salmon, baked beans, whole kernel corn, homemade biscuits and was absolutely delicious. Dessert was a mixed berry cobbler with whipped topping. Those who enjoyed the dessert all proudly displayed their newly dyed “blue” teeth – thanks to the berries in the cobbler.
After Cabin Nite, several of us enjoyed going up to the Crow’s Nest, where we all went out onto the deck and enjoyed a cocktail and toasted Jim’s Dad and our train ride from Fairbanks to Denali today.
So, though it was a sad day for us, we know that Mel was with us on our train ride in spirit; and we know that we were in the right place because of the coincidences of the day. We cherish our memories and know that every day is so precious. Good night…
HOLLAND AMERICA CRUISE TOUR - NORTH TO ALASKA
Day Nine - Tok to Fairbanks
This was to be another day of motor coach travel for us as we moved more inland from Tok, Alaska to Fairbanks, Alaska along the Alaska Highway. We traveled along the Wrangell-St. Elias Mountain range, the third youngest mountain range in the state. The “younger” mountains have very jagged and dramatic peaks at the top as opposed to older mountain ranges that have been worn down with time and are smoother and more rounded. The second youngest mountain range is the Alaska Range and the first is Denali.
As we were moving along the highway, someone spotted a moose. Moose are in the deer family. They can get up to 1200 pounds. The hair of the moose is actually hollow which gives it a natural built-in heating and cooling system. The antlers of the bull moose fall off every season.
Construction began in 1942 on the Alaska Highway and when finished was 1,500 miles long. Every person who worked on the highway received a Purple Heart and there is a stretch of the highway that is named the Purple Heart Trail after those men. We were shown a documentary about how the Alaska Highway was built and constructed. It was a PBS film that Jim and I have seen before; nonetheless, it was interesting to see that again while we were actually traveling on it.
The landscape and the scenery is as majestic and beautiful as anything I have described to you before. Today the weather was noticeably warmer as we got closer and closer to Fairbanks and the interior of Alaska.
Our first stop for the day was at Ricca’s Roadhouse which was a charming roadside stop with several buildings and a fascinating story of how Ricca was hired by a gentleman to help him at the roadhouse and she would cook for the guests. While the owner would go out trapping or fishing, Ricca would perform repairs around the property and maintain it. At one point the owner left for three years; and by the time he returned, Ricca had
added on several other buildings and greatly improved the property. She had not received her wages the entire three years he was gone and was not real happy when he returned. She wanted compensation for what she had done to maintain his property and keep it running all that time. So, for $10 the man sold it to her and it was hers from then on. It is refurbished now and maintained as a tourist attraction. The main house has been decorated and furnished as it was back during the Gold Rush. There is a blacksmith’s cabin and several other buildings along with a new building that is home to the restaurant and gift shop (there is not one place in Alaska that does not have a gift shop attached to it in some way, shape or form).
After enjoying a warm cup of coffee and walking around the property, we were off again on our coach. With the Alaska Mountain Range to the left and the Tenana River to our right, we were again traveling down the Alaska Highway. There were many troughs as we looked down in the valley and could see the Tenana River. Troughs are just like little fingers running in the river bed. When the waters runs high with the snow melt, there are fewer troughs. The rolling hills climbed up to the majestic, snow-capped mountain peaks in the distance.
What is interesting is that when you look out over this vast land, it appears that there is a blanket of green grass covering the hillsides. In reality, it is a thick brush about 3-4 feet high with taller trees standing out. There are black spruce and white spruce. The black spruce looks like a pipe-cleaners standing tall with a very dark trunk and no limbs to speak of. The white spruce is fuller and more like the trees that I am used to seeing with more branches towards the base of the tree narrowing to one at the top.
We spotted seven moose along the highway today. The driver told us that is one of the highest number of moose sightings in one day that he was aware of. We passed by Birch Lake, a beautiful mountain lake and we traveled through the town of North Pole, Alaska. You all know who lives there!!
When our coach finally arrived in Fairbanks after our five our trek on the highway, we were taken to Gold Dredge No. 8 for lunch. Gold Dredge No. 8 was a working Dredge from 1928 to 1959 when it became too expensive to operate any longer. We were taken inside to a huge dining room with dozens of long tables all set out in family style dining. We enjoyed some hearty beef stew and delicious homemade biscuits along with a blueberry muffin. After lunch we walked over to the gold dredge and had a tour through that then we boarded the coach and were off to the El Dorado Gold Mine up the Elliott Highway about five minutes or so.
The El Dorado Gold Mine is where we all were able to pan for gold. Before we did that, however, we took a train ride through a tunnel where we were shown where the gold was actually found in the “bedrock” under the permafrost; and we saw how they transported the rocks and dirt out in the rail cars. Once we traveled through the tunnel, we saw a miner’s cabin and then watched a demonstration on how they actually panned for gold at this mine using different grates to ultimately sift out the rocks that would allow the gold (which is heavier than rock) to fall below the cracks and catch in a carpet like material.
After the demonstration, we were all taken inside to pan for gold ourselves. We were each given a bag of “pay dirt” and directed to sit along troughs of water where we found our own gold pan and we panned for gold. Whatever we found in the bottom of our pans once we were done with all the swishing and flushing of the rocks and dirt, was gold! We got to put what we had found into small, black plastic containers that we took inside the “gift shop” where it was weighed and we could purchase a locket or earrings where the employees would transfer our own gold into the jewelry. Jim actually found a nugget worth $8 which we put in a small locket by itself; and the rest we put into another locket.
We stopped by the Alaska Pipeline along the side of the road where we could actually get up close to it and touch it and see an example of what the inside is actually like and how it works; and then we finally arrived in Fairbanks at our hotel, the Westmark Fairbanks.
Now, I know this next part is not going to surprise any of you, but Jim and I signed up for the tour going to where else? The North Pole! We could NOT travel all the way here and not visit our favorite guy!! Our coach to The Santa Claus House picked us up and drove us back down the highway from where we had just come about 11 miles to North Pole, Alaska. And, on Santa Claus Lane is The Santa Claus House. It is a year-round Christmas store – complete with reindeer out back and that jolly man with the white beard and the big round belly! Santa sat in a huge chair in the middle of the store where anyone could go have their picture taken with him – free of charge – and the kiddies would receive a big candy cane. Jim and I did have our picture taken; and yes, we had to buy a Santa there! It is being shipped home.
The real highlight of the day was a surprise dinner that we did not know we were getting on the tour. We were taken over to The Pagoda – which is one of the restaurants Guy Fieri from the Food Network visited on his show “Diners, Drive-ins & Dives”. We were given a choice of Mongolian Beef, Sesame Chicken or Shrimp with vegetables. We chose the beef and the chicken and they were both delicious along with our egg drop soup and egg roll and rice.
We did not get back to the hotel until about 10:30 tonight and we were exhausted. But, it was a fun day. Amazingly, the sun was still high in the sky at 10:30 p.m. – so we once again pulled our black out curtains across the windows and fell asleep.
HOLLAND AMERICA CRUISE TOUR - NORTH TO ALASKA
Day Eight - Dawson City to Tok
The Holland America motor coaches have all been designed to carry only 44 passengers now as opposed to a standard motor coach that carriers 52. This is definitely the difference between flying coach and first class as far as space in your seat and leg room. These coaches have all leather interiors and are extremely comfortable.
This definitely was a nice feature on today’s long ride to the interior of Alaska from Dawson City to Tok. Our day actually started, however, on a catamaran ride on the Yukon Queen II on the Yukon River. We boarded our boat early in the morning before 9:00 a.m. for a three hour ride up the Yukon River. We passed the paddle wheel graveyard where several turn of the century paddle wheel boats were broken up in the swirling currents of the Yujon and went aground; we passed the Athabascan native village of Moose Hide; the mouth of the Forty Mile River; Old Lady Rock and Shipwreck Rock.
As with all of the other scenery we have passed in Alaska so far, this was no less spectacular and majestic than any other. There were small rivers and tributaries around every turn in the river. The banks of the river were dramatic granite cliffs and then meadows of beautiful green. We did see one moose along the river bank near the home of a year round resident on the river; but the noise of the boat engine scared it off and it quickly ran into the woods. Many of us stayed out on the back deck in hopes of catching a glimpse of more wildlife; but that was all we saw.
The crew of the Yukon Queen served us a nice sandwich for lunch along with tea or coffee to drink before we reached our destination on the river of Eagle, Alaska. Eagle is a small town on the river where we were able to get out and walk around for about an hour as our luggage was transferred from the boat to our new motor coach. The Eagle “Mall” was a series of banquet size plastic tables set up under tarps alongside the dirt road; and the local women were selling their jewelry and handmade items to those who wanted something “authentic” Alaskan. In the small white Court House, the school children put on a mock trial; and some of our passengers played roles of the villain and the judge.
We walked down to the Visitors Center and around the town to take it some local flavor and get a feel of what life in Eagle is like. It seems to be a simple life. One elderly resident was sitting on the front porch of his cabin as we were all walking around. We waved to him as we walked by and he waved back while rocking in his chair. He looked much like Santa Claus with a big round belly and a beard of white.
The most intensive driving of our trip started in Eagle as we began an eight hour trek across the Wrangle, St. Elias Mountain Range to Tok, Alaska. We passed mile after mile of burnt forest with breathtaking patches of brilliant magenta fireweed being the first thing to grow back after the devastation. It was a surreal landscape to see. Tree trunks that resembled black pipe cleaners stuck out of the ground every few feet, charred black from the fire. But on the ground was green grass growing and the breathtaking Alaska fireweed. I cannot tell you how many miles of forest we passed that was like this, but it went on for hours.
At times we paralleled the Tenana River and the American River. The road was rough as it was not paved at all and full of large potholes in many spots. We had to have a pilot truck ahead of us about ¼ mile with a sign on the front telling oncoming motorists that the pilot truck was being followed by two motor coaches. We bounced and were jostled about for about 8 hours.
We did have a couple of stops along our long journey into Alaska. One of the funniest was “Chicken”. Yes, there is a town called “Chicken” in Alaska. It was actually a large gold mining area and the remnants of the old gold dredge are still there on site. Along with the dredge however, we three buildings for tourists – a gift shop, a bar and a bakery. We were told that the chili and the homemade chicken noodle soup were the best – so we opted for a cup of chili before we got back on the road for another three hours. As we left town, the tour guide made sure we all used the restroom facilities – better known in Chicken as the “Chicken Poop”. They have a university here called Kluck U; and their airport is known as the Chicken Strip.
It was a very long day to say the least. The skies were blue with a few spotted clouds and the temperature was beginning to rise the further north we traveled. We eventually found the end of the Taylor Highway and began driving on pavement when we reached the Alkan Highway.
We finally arrived in Tok after 8:00 last night and everyone headed over to the hotel restaurant because we heard they had some delicious Mexican food and margaritas. And after that day of travel, we all really could quench our thirst on a delicious Margarita. After dinner we headed back to our room and organized our luggage a little, took a shower and hit the hay. It had been a long day. And, tomorrow we still have more motor coach travel from Tok to Fairbanks – although it will not be as much! Yeah!
Till then…
HOLLAND AMERICA CRUISE TOUR - NORTH TO ALASKA
Day Seven - Dawson City
With unpaved streets and wood sidewalks, Dawson City is definitely going to make you feel like you are back in the Gold Rush in 1898. Many of the original buildings from that time are still standing and part of the Unesco Heritage Site. They each have a green steel plaque on the front telling about the building which makes them easy to identify.
Dawson City “proper” is actually about 12 miles from Bonanza Creek and the original Discovery Claim when George Carmack found gold.
We have had perfect weather except for one downpour here in Dawson City when we arrived here. This morning we enjoyed a leisurely morning and enjoyed being able to sleep in a bit. There was a small coffee pot in our room which was nice and convenient to help start our day.
When we left the hotel, we walked down the dirt road about 5 blocks down to the Klondike Trail along the waters’ edge of the Yukon River and the Klondike River. The two rivers meet here and merge to become the Yukon. The waters of the Yukon are brown and cloudy (almost muddy looking) with glacial silt. The Klondike River is fresh water that started from the top of the Olgilvie Mountain Range. When the two waters meet, there is a definite distinction when looking at the river once it has merged; and it is not until about a half a mile downstream when they waters have finally merged that they actually become one.
Along the river, there is a beautiful wooden sidewalk with wildflowers and the beautiful Alaska fireweed on both side of the sidewalk. Further down the sidewalk and down about six steps made of railroad ties that are grey with weather, we found a bronze memorial statue dedicated to the miners. There were also three huge quartz boulders over three feet in diameter with bronze plaques dedicated to George Dawson, Mr. Olgivie and Mr. McQueston who were the surveyors during the turn of the century.
At 12:30, we met our group of fellow river floaters for our journey down the Klondike River. We put our red safety vests on and then did the “sit and spin” to get into our yellow and grey raft. The Klondike River meanders and winds through pile after pile of “tailings” (huge piles of rocks that have gone through the gold dredge and been sifted from one end and out the other in hopes of finding gold). There are tailing piles for miles and miles and miles. What is interesting is that because this is now a Unesco Heritage Site, no one can touch the tailings to look for more gold, even though they are sure it is there. The gold dredges would throw out anything larger than the size of a quarter – so the chances of some pretty good sized nuggets still being buried in those piles is very good.
There were 9 passengers on our raft and Mike L. as our guide. He was from Quebec and is a hospitality and tourism major. He had a very lean build with light brown hair as long as his neck but covered neatly under his wide brimmed hat. He looked as if he had not shaved for a day or so and had the beginnings of a scruffy beard and mustache. He was a very good looking young man with a beautiful smile. He spoke with a heavy ?French accent.
We slowly floated down river in the Class 1 rapids (not rapids – more like ripples). We were greeted by several young eagles as they stood on the driftwood at the edge of the river and watched us pass. They will be continue to have all brown feathers for four years until they reach maturity and will shed those feathers and they will then graduate proudly with their white heads.
We passed by Bonanza Creek where the gold was discovered some 10 miles up river from where it meets the Klondike.
This float trip took us out to the mouth of the Klondike River where it meets the Yukon. We passed by several old relic gold dredge buckets that were just laying on the shore of the river rusting away. They will stay there as no one can remove them now. We also passed a river house that is owned by a Canadian gentleman who rents it out for the summer. The shack is so small, you cannot imagine anyone living in there for the summer. It appears to only be about 6 ft. by 6 ft. It has a very small deck on the back of it.
The Yukon River completely freezes over in the winter; and the local residents here just drive on it to get from point A to point B in the snowmobiles.
Tonight for dinner we had the best dinner of our trip. We ate at the Drunken Goat. As odd as it sounds, it is a fabulous Greek restaurant on Main Street in Dawson City. We enjoyed dinner with two other couples from the group. We each enjoyed the combination plate that included grilled shrimp, lamb chops, chicken and ribs along with rice pilaf, spanikopita and tatioli (which was a five cheese filo dough pastry), along with pita bread. It was the most delicious dinner we’ve had on the trip so far. It would be hard to beat this. Good food and good company. A fabulous way to end another day of our adventure.
Tomorrow we are off to Tok and further into the interior. Till then…
HOLLAND AMERICA CRUISE TOUR - NORTH TO ALASKA
Day Six - Whitehorse to Dawson City
Another early morning for us from White Horse. We had to board our motor coach at 8:00 a.m. so before we did that we walked down two blocks to a Tom Horton’s to grab some breakfast and then went across the street to Starbucks for that first cup of coffee of the day to get us going. White Horse has a population of 23,000 people and is the capital of the Yukon Territory. White Horse was a big port in “the day”.
When gold was discovered in Dawson City by George Carmack news quickly flew about Gold! Gold! Gold! And the rush was on.
We departed from the hotel on the plush motor coach furnished by Holland America and passed the large white paddle wheeler, The Klondike. This was one of the only ways to get from Skagway to Whitehorse back in the Gold Rush Days. The Klondike was built in 1898 and is now a museum. We traveled along the Alaska Highway for about 20 miles to the intersection of the Klondike Highway. The Yukon River is 2,200 miles long and flows south to north and empties into the Bering Sea. The Raven is the territorial bird of the Yukon. In White Horse, they experience 6-7 hours of daylight in the winter months and 21 hours of daylight on the longest day of the year, June 21.
Skagway was the gateway to the Klondike. The trek from Skagway began with your first destination of Whitehorse and then ultimately to Dawson City. By the time the prospectors and hopeful gold miners finally had traveled all of the trails, they would have traveled over 600 miles in all.
100,000 came through Skagway – men and women alike. Their either climbed up the Chilkoot Trail or the White Pass Trail. They say that no matter which one you decided to take, you always wished you had taken the other trail. The “Chilkoot” means the “meanest trail”. Schools do not have snow days but they have “bear” days. When the grizzlies decide to come visit, the parents keep the kids home.
We crossed the Tahini River which was very reminiscent of driving through the mountains in northern California with a two lane road with gravel and dirt shoulders and about 209 feet off the road begins the forest. We learned that when there happens to be a forest fire up here, they let it burn They do not fight it unless it is threatening homes.
This has been the first time that we have seen the famous Alaska fireweed. It is about two feet tall with delicate magenta colored flowers at the top. It is fully edible and the first flower to grow back after a fire. Then the birch, aspen and cottonwoods return and then the pine trees.
We stopped at the Braeburn Lodge for the largest cinnamon rolls made in the Yukon Territory. These humongous rolls are at least 2-3” tall and are at least 8 or more inches in diameter. The Braeburn Lodge is a small log cabin wit a large front deck with hanging baskets full of purple and pink petunias and small pansies.
Animals that you will find in the Yukon include elk, moose, raven, black bear and grizzly bears. Polar Bears are only about 100 miles north of Dawson City and are the most violent.
Holland America is not letting us go hungry by any means. We have a stop every two hours. Today’s lunch stop was at Carmacks – another small village along the highway We had lunch at the Hotel Carmacks – a rich tomato base, turkey vegetable rice soup with our choice of sandwich. I opted for the veggie wrap which was in a green tortilla with only lettuce and cucumber inside – not the best choice taste wise. I would have enjoyed a salad more.
The Hotel is a wooden structure painted in a light blue base with white trim. There was actually a little mini-mart near the front where they had a good supply of goods offered for the travelers that stop by.
After our tummies were all full, we headed out again down the highway and across a new steel bridge over the Yukon River.
We had a picture stop at Five Finger Rapids about half an hour after lunch. Originally there were four islands in this very narrow channel which made navigating through the rapids quite a challenge in the old paddle wheel boats and other boats the prospectors had built for the journey. Now, there are only two islands and three fingers of the river – but it is still a dangerous area to pass through and quite a challenge in any boat.
Looking across the valley out the window of our motor coach I saw a beautiful forest that appeared to look much like a gorgeous green patchwork quilt of every color of green against the rolling hills. The groves of birch trees or cedar trees stood out against the darker pines and so thick that it looked smooth as if sewn together like a quilt.
The Yukon River meandered through the low meadows. As we continued on, every once in a while we would see more evidence of forest fires. Though there was much evidence of mew growth on the forest floor, the evidence of the fires was obvious with the dark, burned barren tree trunks standing tall but with no branches – just like sticks stuck in the ground. There were also many areas where the trees had fallen and the trunks were laying on the floor of the forest next to each other, grey from the weather.
All along the highway there are signs for campgrounds for those being adventurous and driving through this magnificent area. There are small road stops with a one-pump gas station if you are in need of gasoline. Gasoline is quite expensive here at about $1.18 per liter which computes into about $5.00 per gallon in the US. Ouch!
The closer we got to Dawson City, I noticed yet another change in the landscape. The thick forest changed to groves of birch and cedar trees with their branches gently moving in the wind. Their white trunks are straight and tall and they have an umbrella of leaves on their top branches of a light grayish green color.
Dawson City was where the original gold was found that started the stampede to the Yukon in 1898. George Carmack staked his claim on August 16, 1898 at “Discovery Claim” in the Klondike River Valley. As soon as news spread about the gold discovery, Dawson City saw an influx of thousands. The Gold Rush lasted only a couple of years, but the legend will live forever. It is said that there is still a lot of gold in them thar’ hills. Of the 100,000 who trekked over the mountains, only about 30,000 actually made it to Dawson City.
Our afternoon stop about 2:30 was at Moose Creek Lodge – just a little roadside log cabin painted red. Their claim to fame is their homemade tarts. We tasted a raspberry one – and they ARE very tart.
Tintina Trench was our final picture stop of the day. It is a fault line in a glorious valley of spectacular panoramic views of the majestic mountains and valleys of the Yukon Territory. It is 45 miles from here to Dawson City.
The forest has now changed once again to pines that are only one straight truck up standing tall with no branches. The highway is lined with patches of bright pink wild sweet peas that grow to about 6 inches tall and are not edible. The landscape seems to change at almost every turn, and it is more beautiful than the last one. The sky is so blue it is incredible. The skies have cleared with only a few puffy white clouds dotting it making it look even much deeper blue.
One of the other things that we have been able to experience first-hand on this trip is the infamous Alaska mosquito. They are about ½ inch long and unfortunately several have decided my forehead is a nice place to have a little snack. They are pesky little creatures.
We enjoyed dinner last night a Sourdough Joe’s for fish and chips. I had grilled salmon and Jim had the cod. We ate with two other couples from our group and enjoyed getting to know everyone a little more.
After that, Jim decided to partake in the infamous “Sour Toe” drink at the Gold Rush Hotel. Honestly, I thought it was gross and disgusting – but there were actually seven people from our group that got in on the festivities. They have this big ceremony and if you put this frost bitten toe in your shot of Yukon Jack you have to drink it and the toe has to touch your lips. Jim has his certificate along with the others.
Once that was over, we walked outside and the sun was shining high in the sky, not a cloud in the sky and it was 10:30 p.m.!! Such is the land of the midnight sun! Tomorrow we actually get to sleep in and we will enjoy that! We have a small coffee pot in our room – which we will also enjoy while we are getting ready. There are “black out” curtains on our windows, so when we shut them, literally no light comes through and it is easy to get to sleep.
Talk to you tomorrow!
HOLLAND AMERICA CRUISE TOUR - NORTH TO ALASKA
Day Five - Skagway
Happy 4th of July!
Happy 4 of July from Skagway, Alaska! As with all the rest of our days, we were up early again and headed to Starbucks for a quick cup of coffee before we were off for the day. Today we will venture from Skagway up the White Pass on the White Pass & Yukon Railway ultimately arriving in Whitehorse, Yukon Territory.
We boarded the “passenger” train – which is an entirely different train than the “shore excursion” train that is offered through the cruise ships as a shore excursion while you are in Skagway. This is an actual working train that transports passengers up the mountain for a purpose as opposed to the shore excursion train that just takes you up the mountain and back down again.
As the train slowly climbed from sea level departing from downtown Skagway at 8:00 a.m., we traveled along the Skagway River as it tumbled over the rocks and down through the glacial valley. The valley above Skagway is full of mountains full of smooth granite boulders wet with the runoff from the snow capped mountains above. In between the granite boulders are crevasses filled with brush and trees. We climbed higher and higher across a tall trussle that at first glance appeared to be hanging on the side of the mountain. It was amazing as we traveled along and eventually rode over it and through two mountain tunnels.
The White Pass 7 Yukon Railroad is a narrow gauge railroad. Construction began on it in 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush. There are 110 miles of track between Skagway and Whitehorse. The track rises to 3,000 feet at the summit in just 20 miles.
The higher we traveled the thicker the clouds were; and our visibility was completely lost towards the top of the mountain. However, all of a sudden, through the fog and dense clouds magically appeared an old wooden trussle that was shrouded in the fog. It is no longer a functional track, but is quite impressive to see.
Even though the Conductor said we were traveling parallel to the Trail of 1898 where the prospectors climbed up the mountain shoulder to shoulder carrying then heavy supplies, it was difficult to see it through the clouds. The prospectors were required to bring in one years’ worth of supplies in order to enter the Yukon Territory. In order to accomplish that feat, the prospectors had to make several trips up and down the mountain.
As we crossed the summit from the US into Canada, we arrived at Summit Lake. This lake is the head waters of the Yukon River. It is 2,200 miles long and ends in the Bering Sea.
As the top when we crested the White Pass, the landscape changed dramatically. Rocks that appeared to be volcanic were everywhere. It almost looked like something out of a movie set from Star Trek. The rocks and boulders were square with jagged edges. This is where we saw our first tundra which is a thick spongy ground cover that is growing among the rocks and in the flats. Scrub pines grow here. They only have a root system of a couple of inches because of the permafrost beneath; and they only grow a few feet tall.
The Yukon River cascades through the jagged rocks and forms calm pools of water in the flatter areas. There was no wind today, but it was quite cool at about 40 degrees.
At Fraser, British Columbia, the Canadian customs agent boarded the train to check our passports. We literally had to hold our passport up next to our face as he came through. A Canadian tour guide was also boarded here. .
After we received clearance from Canadian Customs, we continued on traveling down the mountain following the Yukon River as it flowed from the summit.
At 10:30 a.m. we arrived at Lake Bennett, B.C. which was our lunch stop. It occurred to me now that the Canadians eat their meals “early”. Inside of the red and white Yukon dining room, long banquet tables set up with blue cast iron kettles full of homemade beef stew. It was hot with big chunks of tender beef in thick, dark gravy and filled full with corn, carrots and potatoes. Everything was homemade including two kinds of bread sliced thick for dipping up the stew. We also had some delicious coleslaw. There was hot coffee and hot tea to drink and homemade, deep-dish apple pie full of cinnamon and nutmeg which made it especially tasty.
After lunch we ventured off with a group to hike around the area in hopes of spotting some wildlife. That didn’t happen, but the views of the First Presbyterian Church just off the Chilkoot Trail were absolutely spectacular. This area is so majestic and dramatic and spectacular no matter which way you turn. One way you are overlooking a gorgeous mountain lake, another way you are gazing at the mountains. The mountains rise up progressing above the very obvious tree line and then continuing up to dramatic granite cliffs where there is no vegetation. Some of the granite even gave the appearance of being gigantic fish scales with curved ridges. These sections appeared to be separated by areas that had obviously avalanched. All of a sudden, the sun burst out from behind the clouds and the lake began to turn hues of green and blue and deepened as the sky got brighter.
We walked around the lake over to the Chilkoot Trail where we hiked along the rivers’ edge. There were several places were old rusted antique relics were just scattered on the ground. There were many old rusted cans, but also an old wash tub, a show next to what appeared to be an old rusted eating bowl of some sort and several other interesting items. They are all protected as this area is a Unesco World Heritage Site.
At the top of the north end of the lake is the First Presbyterian Church. It was built after the gold rush in 1899 by railroad workers out of tree limb and trunks. The logs on the bottom were horizontal, the next layer was angled and the next level was vertical. When I got to the top of the hill behind the church, I was greeted with a picture postcard of the church and the glacial valley and lake below. It was nothing short of inspiring and left me in awe of the magnificent beauty. I’m struggling to find the right adjectives to be able to describe everything to you. I hope when you finally see the pictures that you’ll recognize things from the descriptions in m Travelogues.
At 3:00 p.m. we arrived in the small town of Carcross, B.C. We took our belongings off the train and boarded Holland America motor coach 888 with Clarissa at the wheel. She is living in Washington D.C. and just here for the summer working as a motor coach driver and will return to D.C. once the summer season has ended. Carcross has a population of about 3,000 permanent residents. They only have school for grades 1 through 6. After that, the teenagers mist be transported to Whitehorse and boarded during the school week. As we left Carcross in our motor coach, we passed the Sahara of the Yukon Territory at the Carcross Desert. It is about one square mile right in the middle of the Yukon Territory that is rolling hills of white sand just like we have in southern California. We also had a photo stop at Emerald Lake – known as the Jewel of the Yukon. The deep emerald green and blue waters are caused by glacial silt and something called marl.
We arrived in Whitehorse around 5:00p.m. and enjoyed dinner with another couple in our group. I had a chicken quesadilla and Jim enjoyed a prime rib wrap. After dinner the whole group enjoyed the Frantic Follies which was like a good old vaudeville show complete with girls dancing the can-can, banjo players, opera singers and the like. It was fun, but we were tired and after that, we went back to our room and crashed. Tomorrow is going to be another early morning….
HOLLAND AMERICA CRUISE TOUR - NORTH TO ALASKA
Day Four - Skagway
Our day began early again with our breakfast being delivered to our cabin at 6:30 a.m. because we had to be in the Frans HAL lounge (showroom) no later than 7:45 a.m. to disembark the Volendam in Skagway. This was the end of our cruise. We enjoyed our time on the ship, but were anxious to start the land portion of our tour. All of the cruise/tour groups gathered together to start their land tours this morning. Once we were directed off the ship, we boarded our motor coach and met our tour director, Gabriel. He is a young man in his 30’s, I would guess. He has a fair skin complexion which compliments his short red hair and neatly trimmed and groomed red beard. He is very pleasant and seems to genuinely enjoy his job.
Our coach left the dock and traveled through the small town of Skagway for a short tour out to the Gold Rush Cemetery where we saw the grave stones of several of the infamous gold rush characters from the late 1890’s and early 1900’s. The cemetery is small and nestled back on the side of a hill facing the Skagway River about half a mile out of town. After that, we continued on across the Skagway River to a viewpoint where we had a gorgeous view of the city of Skagway and the Lyn Canal. The Lyn Canal ends in Skagway – so there is only one way in and one way out.
After our short tour of the city, we were dropped off at our hotel, the Westmark of Skagway; and we took off to explore downtown and enjoy lunch in the Red Onion Saloon where one of the “ladies” from the upstairs brothel served us. The ladies will also give you a guided tour of the infamous brothel for a small fee – but we did not opt for that.
The weather outside was quite brisk and a fine, misty rain began to fall. Our only regret was that we left our umbrella in the main suitcase that was sent directly to the hotel and we did not have access to. But, we were fine. After lunch, we ventured over to Starbucks – yes, they even have a Starbucks in Skagway, Alaska! And then we walked back towards the cruise dock where we met the group for our Haines Eagle Preserve float ride.
Once everyone was checked-in and accounted for, we boarded our catamaran, the Fairweather Express with Captain Molly at the helm. Molly appeared to be in her late 60’s with a round face full of wrinkles that gave her the appearance that each wrinkle could tell a fabulous story. Her eyes sparkled and you could see her smile as she steered the catamaran away from the dock and headed down the Lyn Canal to Haines. She maneuvered the catamaran so smoothly that you could barely feel any motion.
Haines is a small town 14 nautical miles from Skagway. It has a population of about 2500. As soon as Molly pulled into the dock, we were escorted off the boat to meet our tour guide, Tom Lang. Tom was quite a character. He had a vibrant personality and in addition to being a tour guide on the river in Haines, during the winter months he travels to Bali and writes books and gives talks and lectures on communication.
We were driven through the small town of Haines up to a flat area in the Tsirku River where there was a large opening and flat area to “put in” on the river. Our rafts were there along with the other tour guides. There were three rafts for the 23 of us. Jim and I were with Dan in the last raft or “safety” raft. Our raft was the one that had the communication to base camp and some first aid supplies that the other rafts did not carry. We were asked to exchange our shoes for tall rubber boots, a green rubber rain poncho and our life jackets. Once everyone was snug in their new found fashions, we each sat on the edge of our respective rafts and swiveled into the raft where we took our places. Jim and I were in the front of our raft.
The Haines Eagle Preserve encompasses several miles along the Tsirku and Chilkat Rivers. This is where the bald eagles come in the winter to mate and to feed on the salmon left over from the salmon run of the late summer. All in all we counted 43 bald eagles on our trip. Some were soaring above us with their 7 foot wing spans and gliding effortlessly through the air. Others were sitting on branches in trees along the river watching with their eagle eyes for the perfect fish to dive down on and have for their next meal. And others were perched majestically on pieces of driftwood as we floated by. I think they were all laughing at us when our rafts became stuck on the glacial silt and we had to get out of the raft and walk through the water a bit until deeper water could be found.
From the Tsirku River, we traveled to the Chilkat River - both glacial rivers that were that indescribably grayish aquamarine color that is so spectacular. The rapids we floated through were no more than a Class I and very mild. There was never any white water at all. As we came to the intersection of the two rivers, we saw a small Tlinket Indian Village called Kwaklu (?). Their homes were log cabins along the river and their smoke houses were right on the rivers’ edge and appeared to look more like dilapidated and abandoned shacks than anything with a real purpose like smoking fish.
All along the rivers’ edge you could see the accumulation of large amounts of driftwood that was twisted and knurly. Several of the ladies picked up small pieces and are taking it back home for souvenirs.
The misty rain continued for most of our trip down the river, but was never heavy enough to be a problem. Captain Dan skillfully paddled our raft down river and eventually pulled us out in a small opening 7 miles from where we began our day. We were greeted by the pick-up team for the rafts who had brought us sandwiches, Sun chips, fresh fruit and homemade chocolate chip cookies along with hot chocolate to drink. We took off our gear and put back on our regular shoes and made our way back to the transport bus where we were driven back down the mountain and through the small town of Haines.
Captain Molly was happily greeting everyone as they re-boarded the Fairweather Express and off we went to return back to Skagway through the Lyn Canal. The mist had stopped by now, and it was nice to go out onto the back deck of the catamaran and take a few more pictures of this glorious country.
Once we returned back to Skagway, we finally checked into our hotel and changed into some dryer clothes and took off to find a little dinner. We found the Bonanza Bar & Grill right around the corner from the hotel and one of the only places open at that time of night and so we ducked in there and enjoyed a cup of seafood chowder and a burger. It was about 8:00 p.m. and the Volendam had departed for Glacier Bay with a new group of passengers who had just finished their land tour. The street was deserted with only a few people out enjoying the evening. The campgrounds here in Skagway appeared to be full of campers who had driven in and were staying for the 4 of July.
Skagway celebrates the 4 of July at 11:00 p.m. on the 3 of July by having a fireworks show over the harbor. We were so tired from all of the day’s events, that we decided to just go relax back at the hotel and try to get a little shut eye as our day tomorrow will begin by everyone meeting in the lobby of our hotel at 7:45 a.m. We need to find coffee before we leave on the train tomorrow – and Starbucks had a sign on its’ door that it would be closed on 4 of July – so we need to find a local alternative. Tomorrow will be another early morning for us. We are off on the White Pass & Yukon Railway tomorrow headed for Whitehorse. Till next time…
HOLLAND AMERICA CRUISE TOUR - NORTH TO ALASKA
Day Three - Inside Passage and Juneau
Every time we visit Alaska and sail the Inside Passage, I am always in awe of the serenity and beauty of it all. Gliding through the narrow channels of the Clarence Strait is always beautiful. The clouds above us had thickened overnight so we awoke to very overcast skies. Amazingly though, the clouds gave a blue/green hue to the icy waters we sailed through seemed more colorful than if the skies above were clear.
With countless small islands on either side of us, we sailed along with barely a ripple on the waters of the Inside Passage. Because the area in southeast Alaska is technically a rain forest, the islands and mountains surrounding us were thick with dense forests. The moss laden trees could be seen everywhere. The inlets and waterways that we passed were so calm, they appeared glass like; and the reflection of the surrounding mountains could be seen so clearly in the water that it was like a mirror.
What made the morning spectacular was all of the whale activity in the area. We were greeted by orcas and humpbacks for several hours. Someone (not us) even saw a black bear on Admiralty Island – which has the largest population of black bears in Alaska – more bears than permanent residents actually. The whales traveled together in groups of two or three. We saw whales spouting off in the distance and coming pretty close to the ship (within 50 yards or so). I got pictures of a humpback rising up above the water and slapping its fin. And, I have some fabulous pictures of a humpback’s tale that was spotted with white barnacles.
We were told early on that we would not be able to visit Tracy Arm Fjord and the Twin Sawyer Glaciers because of the tidal range along Vancouver Island. This was a huge disappointment, as we both had really looked forward to seeing this area that we had never visited before. The ship did offer a shore excursion if you wanted to pay an additional $199 per person; but we opted out of that. As the Volendam approached the entrance to Holkham Bay and the Tracy Arm around 10:00 a.m., the Captain stopped the ship to allow the excursion boat to come alongside and let the passengers board who did decided to take the tour. When the Volendam pulled into Holkham Bay, many of us noticed a huge hanging glacier on the left bank of the entrance. I do not know the name of the glacier, but it was spectacular. The colors of turquoise were quite noticeable. The turquoise color is the result of the density of the glacial ice. The darker the colors of blue and turquoise means the more dense the glacier is.
Once the small excursion boat had pulled away from the side of the Volendam, she again was slowly underway towards Juneau. By now we were cruising along the Glass Peninsula of Admiralty Island and along Stephan’s Passage heading north. After a couple of hours, we arrived in Juneau at around 1:00 p.m.
Juneau is the capital of Alaska and is only accessible by air or by water. There are no roads leading in or out of Juneau that would connect it to the Alaska Highway because of the Juneau ice fields. Juneau is located in the Gastineau Channel of the Inside Passage. A century ago, two miners beached their canoes along the Gastineau Channel at the mouth of Gold Creek – the stream that now courses through the center of town. Prospectors Dick Harris and Joe Juneau found themselves a place in history – and founded a city. The mountains that surround Juneau were rich in gold ore and thus Juneau found its’ place among history and the gold rush.
The Gastineau Channel dead ends at Juneau; and so when the cruise ships leave to head north, they must re-trace their path around Douglas Island going south and then turn northwest at Bishop Point. When the Captain docked the Volendam, he pulled her right downtown along the pier directly across from the Red Dog Saloon. We have never docked so close to the center of town before – usually we are about half a mile south along another dock. But, as luck would have it, the Volendam was the only cruise ship in Juneau! Great for us - because the crowds were insignificant. After having lunch on the ship, we decided to venture out and wander a bit through some of the shops along the dock area and down the main street before we had to go back to the pier to join the group for our float plane excursion over the Juneau Ice Fields.
Wings Over Juneau was our tour guide. At 4:00 p.m. we boarded our turbo prop Otter airplane and before we knew it, we were up in the air. There were 9 of us on the plane; and each of us had a window seat. There were headphones for us to wear and listen to a pre-recorded program for the duration of our tour. It was still overcast above us; but the clouds were high enough that it did not deter our pilot from continuing. We flew south out of Juneau to the Taku Inlet and then headed east towards the massive Juneau Ice Fields. Below us were the calm, tranquil waters of Taku Inlet. It’s difficult for me to describe the colors to you; but I’ll try. The waters are cloudy, not clear; but are the more gorgeous colors of light aquamarine with a grey hue. The color is incredible and every time I see it, I am in awe of the beauty.
Much of the area below appeared to be exposed mud flats from low tides – which the pilot confirmed. The mountains were covered with a thick, dense forest of trees and bushes. The “tree line” was very obvious and noticeable with the pine tree forest coming up the mountain to a very distinctive point and then abruptly ending and nothing but thick brush above that.
As we flew further back into the Inlet, we began to see the enormous glacial rivers of the Juneau Ice Field. We flew over Lemon Glacier and Taku Glacier. Looking out my window as I looked down upon this river of ice, I could see the deep crevasses and cracks in the glacier. The crevasses were the deepest blue surrounded by skyscraper high frozen ice that went on for miles and miles and miles – back farther than we could see from the plane. The river of ice flowed towards the Inlet and ended in the waters below. Along the face of the glaciers, you could see where the ice had broken off or calved and the small icebergs or “bergie bits” were floating all around in the bay.
Our flight was over too soon from our perspective. We would have loved to have had more time in the air – but that wasn’t part of the program – and all too soon we found ourselves gliding onto the water and gently landing back in the harbor at Juneau. It was a fabulous flight and we highly recommend it to everyone.
Because the clouds had lifted and the weather seemed to be getting a little more pleasant, we decided to take the tram up to Mt. Roberts. The gondola raised us about 1,800 feet up the mountain to a platform where we exited and followed the path to the nature center and the gift shop/restaurant area. Unfortunately, once you leave the platform, you lose the entire view of the Gastineau Channel. It was very disappointing as that was the entire purpose of our going up there. We walked around a little and then decided to head back down the mountain. It wasn’t until we got back out to the platform to wait for the gondola that we realized you had to be out there to get any pictures. We rode back down the mountain with another couple who complained about the same thing.
After that adventure, it was time for dinner. We found this tiny Crab Shack directly across from the Volendam where we enjoyed a crab roll with cole slaw and some delicious crab chowder that tasted so good and warm after our day full of adventure in Juneau.
The Volendam set sail for Skagway after 10:00 p.m. It was still twilight outside as we pulled away from the dock. The cruise portion of our trip is almost over. We will arrive in Skagway tomorrow and will disembark the ship there and begin our land tour. Until next time…
HOLLAND AMERICA CRUISE TOUR - NORTH TO ALASKA
Day Two - Sailing the Inside Passage
Even though you would think that because we are “on vacation” we would have slept in and taken advantage of one of our days at sea, that was not the case. Nor was it the case for many of the passengers on board the Volendam as we all seemed to appear up in the Lido for breakfast around 7:00 a.m. I don’t know about the reasons why any of them were out and about so early, but for us, we didn’t want to miss a chance to see anything – whatever it was. (photo above - The Inside Passage)
We spent most of the daily sailing up the east side of Vancouver Island and out into the Pacific Ocean and Queen Charlotte Sound. Sailing along with barely a ripple on the water was incredible. The waters were not still like a mirror, but they were close. Up above us was brilliant blue sky with what I think was every type of cloud formation there is. Whether it was stratus, cumulous or whatever – it seemed to be there. Some of the clouds appeared as if to have been painted in the sky with a swooping brush stroke and then curled at the end. Others appeared to be more thunder type clouds (those were over the mountains) and yet others appeared to be cotton balls that had fallen out of a bag and were sprinkling the skies. It was a glorious day and actually quite pleasant outside – about 65 degrees or maybe more.
Our “official” day began with a get-together with the group of travel agents we are with. We were both amazed that there were agents from as far away as Malasia and Italy. Unless everyone was not there for that meeting, it will be a rather small group of only about 35 people. After the meeting, we were told to go enjoy ourselves and explore the ship. That was the only official gathering we will have on board the ship until we disembark in Skagway where our “tour director” will meet us and escort us on the rest of our trip.
During the day we enjoyed a wide variety of activities from two cooking demonstrations in the Culinary Arts Center on how to cook a fresh salmon in a white wine marinade and another recipe for crab cakes (yes, I have the recipe). We joined in on a couple of games of trivia – but most of the time we were up in the Crow’s Nest the furthest point forward and the highest where there is a great room with comfy chairs all around huge floor to ceiling picture windows. This is where we could sit and visit with other passengers and watch the world go by.
Off to our West is the Cascade Mountains which stretch from Canada all the way down to Northern California. The lower, front range had no snow capped peaks; but the range directly behind it was covered thick with snow. The jagged peaks of the Cascades up here and have no trees because of the cold weather conditions in the winter. They are stunning to see and very different to the rolling hills we have in California.
Eventually, much later in the day, we maneuvered in closer to land and begin our journey through the Inside Passage where we will also be tomorrow.
The Inside Passage is a narrow passageway that the ships can sail through along with a “pilot”. The pilot is a trained navigator for these specific waters, and guides the Captain where to sail the vessel without any difficulties. There are several lighthouses that are dotted along the coast. Most of them appear to have home quarters on the bottom with the tall spire of the lighthouse on top of that. The settings are stunning – some out on the edge of rocky cliffs on the shore with others set back in meadow like areas and the buildings are spread out. Most of the lighthouses now are all electronically regulated and maintained. What I find fascinating are the stories of the real lighthouse keepers – those men and women who literally risked their lives to keep the light burning under the worst of weather conditions. Though most of the lighthouses are in remote locations and not easily accessible to a town, these men and women had their entire families with them and the children were home schooled by their mothers.
The Captain announced today that because of the tides, we will miss going into Tracy Arm Fjord and the Twin Sawyer Glaciers tomorrow. They are offering an extra shore excursion for those who really wanted to see the glaciers; and so the boat will stop at the mouth of Tracy Arm; and those passengers will transfer to their excursion boat and will meet up with us in Juneau. We did not opt to take that excursion but chose, instead, to remain on board the ship and enjoy sailing the Inside Passage.
Our daylight begins at about 2-2:30 a.m. and it remains light well after 10:30 p.m. This definitely enables us to see much more of the scenery along our route. We have met people from all over the world – Australia, South Africa, Germany, Canada and from all over the U.S.
Tomorrow we will continue through the Inside Passage and into Juneau. Till then…
HOLLAND AMERICA CRUISE TOUR - NORTH TO ALASKA
Day One - Embarkation and Sailaway from Vancouver, BC
Just between you and me – 3:30 in the morning is VERY early! But, that is when we had to set our alarm for to be ready for the shuttle to pick us up and whisk us off to the airport in San Diego to begin our cruise tour “North to Alaska”. We couldn’t get coffee soon enough once we got to the airport. But once we did, all was well and we gave a big sigh of relief that we had arrived on time, made it through the security check point and had our Starbucks coffee in hand - all with 30 minutes to spare before boarding our plane at 6:30 a.m.
Our flight was uneventful from San Diego to Portland and again from Portland ultimately to Vancouver. The skies were clear with only a few clouds here and there adding a little color and dimension to the view out my airplane window. From San Diego, we flew directly up the middle of California flying right over Yosemite National Park, Kings Canyon and Lake Tahoe. The views were stunning – we could even see Bridal Veil Falls in Yosemite. As we continued north, we flew past Mt. Shasta, which was completely covered in snow and definitely stood out in the landscape below. When we arrived in Portland, Mt. Hood could be seen in the distance and when we flew past Seattle, Mt. Rainier greeted us as well.
I never tire of seeing the beautiful landscape below me when I fly up north. The mountain ranges are all dotted with alpine lakes that look like mirrors from my window; and being able to see the islands in the Puget Sound is always a treat. I love seeing the Washington State Ferries on the waters as they are transporting their passengers from here to there and fondly remember when we have been passengers on those ferries and how much fun it is to ride on them.
Once we arrived in Vancouver, we were directed to a motor coach that took us directly to Canada Place¸ the cruise ship terminal in Vancouver. It is about a 45 minute ride. Our check-in for the ship was extremely smooth and I think the easiest of all the cruises we’ve been on.
MS Volendam is a beautiful Holland America ship well-known for its artwork and décor. She carries 1,450 passengers. The Atrium has a beautiful spiral glass staircase with a multi-colored and lighted spire that goes from the bottom of the Atrium on Deck 3 and up to Deck 6. Around the Atrium are several alcoves on the different decks where you can sit in comfy, padded armchairs and watch the world go by through the large picture windows that seem to be everywhere on both sides of the ship on several decks.
After we found our stateroom, a very nice ocean view cabin mid-ship on Deck 1, we took off to explore the ship. The Lido Buffet is on Deck 8 and encompasses both sides of the ship. There are different stations for pastries and breads, salads, Italian, Asian, and main dishes as well as an entire space between the two sides where they have a beautiful offering of desserts.
There is only one main pool with a retractable roof which is the main activity area on the ship; and there is also a small children’s pool at the back of the ship. The library is actually three rooms all open and continuous where they have one wall full of books for you to enjoy, one room where there are jigsaw puzzles set up and then another room with computers and tables for games. Along the huge picture windows are several massage chairs and reclining chairs where we’ve seen several people doing what they love to do on vacation – “nap”.
All of the Holland America ships have now been retrofitted with beautiful, state-of-the-art million dollar culinary centers where they offer cooking classes and demonstrations. This area also serves as a small theater when the culinary department is not having an event.
We listened to a lecture on the first explorers to Alaska in the early afternoon and heard many of the stories that we all learned in history class many years ago. But, even though we had heard the stories long ago, it was nice to get a little refresher as we began our journey up north. The native tribes of the Tlingit and Haida were the very first inhabitants and the trailblazers who introduced us to Alaska some 10,000 years before the first “white” man came here. Vitus Bering was commissioned by Peter the Great of Russian to find out if Siberia was connected to North America back in 1725. Even though he died, his journals and charts were saved, but not published until many years later when one of his fellow shipmates, George Stellar published them. The Bering Sea was named after Vitus Bering. George Stellar was the first naturalist in the area. The Stellar Blue Jay and the Stellar Sea Lion were named after him. After that, there were many more explorers to visit this great land including James Cook, George Vancouver and William Seward. John Muir, the Scottish immigrant who was the crusader for Yosemite National Park, came to Alaska in 1879 and founded the Sierra Club in 1892.
So much for our history lesson today! At 5:00 p.m. on the dot, MS Volendam was underway from Canada Place and quickly began her journey past Stanley Park and under the Lions Gate Bridge out into the calm waters of the Strait of Georgia where we headed north. The ship glided smoothly through the waters that had barely a ripple on them it was so calm. The skies above us seemed to be dotted with cotton balls of clouds against the clear blue skies above. We stayed out on deck for several hours because it was so pleasant and so serene. Inside around the Lido deck pool, the crew began barbequing at 5:00 p.m. and offered the passengers a fabulous array of Alaska salmon, cooked over the smokey coals of the barbeques, along with chicken, ribs, and steak. There were several different salads from mixed green salad to a corn and kidney bean salad to coleslaw. They offered rice pilaf or baked potatoes and baked beans as well. In another corner of the pool area, there were tables set up with white table cloths covered with delectable delights for dessert – among which were small custard fruit tarts, a huge bowl of fresh fruit, a banana cream pie in a Phyllo dough crust and several other things. The table was decorated with carvings made out of white chocolate – one of a bald eagle and one of a prospector.
We ventured up to the “Crow’s Nest” which is a large cocktail lounge/viewing area up on Deck 9 in the very front of the ship that is surrounded by floor to ceiling picture windows, nice comfy chairs and sitting areas where you can watch as the world passes by. I went out on deck several times to take pictures – how odd – and during the time we were in the Crow’s Nest I went out once only to be greeted by a phenomenal view of Mt. Baker as the sun hit its snow white
(above) Mt. Baker at sunset
covered peaks giving it a bright pink glow through the hazy foreground. Because it was “behind” the ship, I doubt that many of the passengers even realized that this gorgeous sight was there if they had only gone out onto deck.
It had been a long day for us, and we finally went back to our room about 10:00 last night. It was still twilight outside. But, we were both tired and had no problems falling asleep quickly.
Tomorrow we’ll be sailing through the Inside Passage. I’ll talk to you then!
Our next adventure will begin on June 30, 2010 as we head North to Alaska with Holland America for a cruise and land tour! See you then!
TWELVE DAYS AND COUNTING! Published June 17, 2010
In just twelve short days we will be on the road again! We will be flying from San Diego to Vancouver, British Columbia and boarding the beautiful Holland America Volendam for a 13 day adventure on water and land.
As a travel agent and an Alaska Destination Specialist, this is a trip that we have been looking forward to because it will take us to places we have only dreamed about visiting.
We will start our adventure in Vancouver - the home of the Winter Olympics in 2010. As we sail out of Vancouver in the late afternoon, we will pass Stanley Park (one of our favorite places to visit in Vancouver) and our voyage will begin North to Alaska.
We will enter the Strait of Georgia and travel along Vancouver Island which is the home of a resident pod of orca whales known as "J" pod. Granny and Ruffles are the two oldest members of this pod. Granny is the matriarch and thought to be almost 90years old! Along with her son, Ruffles, they lead the pod through the waters in and around Vancouver Island. There are over 40 members of this pod. We hope to get a glimpse of them gliding graciously through the waters as we pass by!
From Vancouver we will continue on up the Inside Passage past Wrangell and Petersberg to Tracy Arm Fjord which is off of Stepens Passage across from Admiralty Island. We will visit the North and the South Sawyer Glaciers (Twin Sawyer Glaciers) and then spend an afternoon in Juneau, the capital of Alaska.
From Juneau, we will continue up Stephens Passage to Lyn Canal where we will cruise to Skagway. We will disembark the ship in Skagway and will spend the night there. That afternoon, Jim and I are scheduled to take a float plane ride!
The next morning we will board the White Pass and Yukon Railroad traveling along the same route that the gold miners hiked one after the other in 1898 hoping to strike it rich in the gold fields in the Yukon. We'll visit Lake Bennet and eventually arrive in Whitehorse, where we will spend the night and enjoy the Frantic Follies Vaudeville Revue.
From Whitehorse, we will board a motor coach to Dawson City and stay overnight in the Klondike National Historic Site. We will then visit Dawson City or Tombstone Park and learn more about the Gold Rush and visit the gold fields and explore where a full range of wildlife roams free.
On Day 8 we will cruise the Yukon River on the MV Yukon Queen II catamaran and hear tales of river pilors, mail carriers, prospectors and Mounties as we travel to the small Alaskan town of Eagle.
A motor coach will take us up the Alaska Range and along the TransAlaska Pipeline to Fairbanks on Day 9 where we will visit Gold Dredge No, 8 and actually give a good try at panning for gold ourselves.
On Day 10 we will board the McKinley Explorer (Alaska Railroad), and travel along the scenic byway as we travel through the heart of Alaska to Denali National Park where we will stay for two nights. Not only do we hope to get to see Mt. McKinley, we have high hopes of seeing a lot of wildlife on our Tundra Wilderness Tour. We could see Caribou,moose, grizzly bears, wolves, Dall sheep, bald eagles and much more.
From Denali on Day 12, we will again board the McKinley Explorer and travel the rail down to Anchorage. In Anchorage, we have plans to meet up with my dear pen pal Pattie and enjoy some time catching up with her. Our last day will find us on a 26 Glacier Cruise out of Whittier that will take us into the Prince William Sound to visit 26 "named" glaciers including those in College Fjord. We will see all types of glaciers including Alpine (hanging), Piedmont and Tidewater glaciers( glaciers traveling down valleys towards the ocean). Getting up close to these towering masses of ice, we will be able to "hear" them move while they groan and crack as they move ever so slowly to the icy glacial waters below. There will be many "bergie bits" (small chunks of ice floating in the water) and the glaciers will be brilliant colors of blue and turquoise.
And, as with all vacations our time will end sooner than we want and we will find ourselves on our way home. We hope you'll join us on June 30th as we take to the skies to Vancouver and set sail on the first day of our journey. I'll be posting blogs all along the way, so you can come along if you want!
Now - I've got to start packing!
TRAVELOGUES
from our
PACIFIC WINE COUNTRY COASTAL CRUISE
SAPPHIRE PRINCESS
May 8, 2010 to May 17, 2010
Sapphire Princess in Seattle, Washington
Photo taken by Barbara Carpenter
TRAVELOGUE NO. 1
PACIFIC COASTAL CRUISE LOS ANGELES TO VANCOUVER
SATURDAY, May 8, 2010 – Embarkation and Bon Voyage Experience
Our day began with Jim’s brother Carl and sister-in-law Carol who drove us to the cruise terminal. We arrived at San Pedro and dropped off our luggage and proceeded into the embarkation area where we all showed our ID. Carl and Carol were given special passes to get on board with us. The Bon Voyage Experience is something new that Princess is offering to passengers that has not been offered since 9/11.; Carl and Carol along with about 100 other guests of passengers, were allowed to come on board with us.
We gave Carl and Carol our own tour starting in our stateroom. We have a balcony room on the port side of the ship near very near the aft end. In fact, we are only three cabins from the door that leads out onto the furthest aft deck. There is a small pool here that is about 12’ X 12’ along with several dozen lounge chairs around the wooden deck. On the next level up, there is an outside bar area with some more lounges and chairs under the shaded overhang. After we came back inside, we went back to midship in the Atrium. The Atrium has four elevators that have a filigree fascia which cover the elevator on the first couple of levels until it rises higher in the Atrium. There is a large marble dome in the center of the ceiling above and similar marble inlaid on the floor. The winding staircases will let you walk from floor to floor in the Atrium area.
The Wheelhouse Bar and the Explorers Lounge are the two largest lounge/bars on the ship. Both are tastefully decorated with a nautical theme and lots of beautiful wood. As we walked on the Promenade Deck we walked through the Photo Gallery and then on into a beautiful fine art studio. There are shops on three levels in the Atrium. There is also a coffee café next to the Pursers Desk. There are several areas on either side of the ship around the Atrium where you can sit and enjoy the musicians playing in the evening along with getting an “adult” beverage.
Lunch was served to us in the International Dining Room which is the main dining room for “traditional” dining. We had a delicious four course lunch. Both Jim and Carl had the beef tenderloin and Carl and I had the salmon. We all enjoyed the chocolate soufflé for dessert with its warm rum sauce poured in the middle.
After lunch we walked up to the Lido Deck, up to the very top of the ship where we had a bird’s eye view of the entire ship from aft to stern. It is a l-o-n-g ship! The Sapphire Princess holds 2600 passengers and 1,000 crew members. On the upper deck we saw two more pools, one with a retracting ceiling called the Conservatory. There is a 9-hole miniature golf course (Princess Links) along with a golf simulator. There is also a paddle tennis court way up front along with a 1/10 mile walking track. Yep – ten times around equals one mile.
At 3:00 Carol and Carl had to leave the ship and the actual embarkation process for us continued with our Muster Drill (Safety Drill). At 4:00p.m. sharp, the whistle blew and the crew threw the last of the ropes aside and we were on our way out of the Port of San Pedro. We sailed past Ports of Call Village and on to the breakwater and the lighthouse at the end of the small strip of land. The lighthouse had quite a bit of rust around the bottom, but it still blew its horn as we sailed past and out to the Pacific Ocean. We headed north and up towards our first stop, Santa Barbara.
We thoroughly enjoyed the Bon Voyage Experience and really appreciated that Princess allowed us to bring guests on board to share a little bit of our sail-away. Thank you Carl and Carol for driving us to the cruise terminal! Hope you enjoyed your time onboard the ship!
Bon Voyage! Our journey has begun!
TRAVELOGUE NO. 2
PACIFIC COASTAL CRUISE LOS ANGELES TO VANCOUVER
SUNDAY, May 9, 2010 – “Mother’s Day” – Santa Barbara, CA
We arrived in Santa Barbara early in the morning after a pleasant evening sailing up the coast from Los Angeles. Santa Barbara is a tender port, so the Sapphire Princess anchored out in the harbor and began to launch the tender boats to transport the passengers to and from the pier.
The weather could not have been more beautiful. It was about 65° with a slight breeze. The sky was blue with only a few fluffy clouds here and there in the sky. As you looked from the ship towards the city of Santa Barbara, you could not help but notice the mountains behind the city that were still green from the winter rains. With the shadows from the few clouds, the mountains almost appeared to be covered with a dark, forest green velvet cloth.
As we entered the harbor on our tender, and came around the breakwater we were greeted by hundreds of pelicans that were lining the shore. Many more were flying above and then diving straight down into the water “going fishing”. As we arrived at the pier, it seemed that the entire staff of the visitor’s bureau was out to greet us along with the harbor patrol and the police department. Everyone wished all of the ladies Happy Mother’s Day as we walked up the ramp. There were tables near the street where we could find maps of the downtown area. This is also where we were directed to our Trolley Tour.
We chose the Trolley Tour because we have only ever driven through Santa Barbara before and have not had the good fortune to explore it much – so we thought this would be a great way to introduce ourselves to this beautiful city.
Santa Barbara is called the America Riviera and is a place where food, art, history, fashion, sunshine and WINE mix to create a delightful and unique experience. The architecture is mostly Spanish and with the warm Mediterranean climate, you can take full advantage of the charming sidewalk-cafés and beautiful seaside setting.
Our Trolley driver, Mark, was quite enjoyable and explained about the history of Santa Barbara as well as pointing out popular current attractions. As he drove us through the streets of Santa Barbara, you could almost picture yourself in the Mediterranean. The Spanish and Moorish style buildings are graced with beautiful bougainvillea which was in full bloom. The streets are lined with 900 different species of trees (all of them imported). The ficus trees give a beautiful shade cover to some streets, where others are lined with tall palm trees that have their trunks full of huge bougainvillea bushes that are climbing up. Yet other streets are lined with jacaranda trees which are in full bloom with their delicate purple flowers.
You could definitely tell that Spring was here, because the rose bushes were in full bloom. There is a rose garden up at the Santa Barbara Mission across the long lawn. As you arrive at the Mission, you pass a large wooden cross in the middle of the lawn and at its’ base are a wide array of colorful flowers. The Mission is set back in a valley and up on a hill. If you turn around, you will have a beautiful panoramic view of the valley and out to the ocean. The hills that surround the Mission are gentle rolling hills that graduate up to the top of the range of only about 1,000 feet.
Though we were not able to get inside the Mission, we were able to walk around the grounds and take in the beauty. The architecture is definitely Spanish. There are two bell towers on the main part of the church; and to the left was a row of rooms that were all lined with covered archways. There was a bronze statue out front of Father Junipero Serra and a beautiful tiled fountain.
Once we left the Mission, Mark drove us down through the town and explained that the area known as Montecito is very popular with the “rich and famous”. Brad Pitt¸ Jennifer Aniston, Oprah Winfrey, Michael Douglas, just to name a few, have all purchased multi-million dollar homes here. One of the most famous residents of the area is Fess Parker, best known for his role of Davy Crocket on the Disney Show many years ago. After his show business career, he bought up quite a bit of land here in Santa Barbara and started a vineyard. Fess Parker wines are among some of the best from this region.
After our tour was over, we opted to be dropped in town and walked down State Street past the refurbished train station and across the railroad tracks. At the entrance to the station, there are curved planters with four, 12 inch ceramic tiles that form the picture of a train. It was quite interesting. We were told that once a week the red-brick lined sidewalks of State Street are steam cleaned, so they remain pristine and beautiful for everyone. The streets are lined with tile fountains and beautiful planters full of colorful flowers from bougainvillea to birds of paradise to morning glorys. Most of the stores have archway entrances which are lined with vines. We walked under the freeway and continued on down to Cabrillo Street which is directly across from the beach.
There was an art fair on the lawn adjacent to the beach where the lawn was literally lined with paintings and photographs and the artists selling their work. Across the street, we could not help but notice “Rusty’s Pizza” which was in a lighthouse building. So, in honor of our Golden Retriever, Rusty, we decided to have lunch out on the terrace. We chose to enjoy the lunch “special” which was a small salad from the salad bar, a personal size pizza with two toppings and a soft drink for $6.95 each. After lunch, we walked further down the street and out onto the pier at Stearns Wharf and then headed back to the dock where we caught our tender back to the ship.
The winds came up dramatically in the mid-afternoon and this became an “issue” for the crew as it was difficult to keep the tenders steady enough to unload the passengers coming back from town. The winds actually increased to 40 knots around 4:00 p.m. and this delayed our departure as the crew had a difficult time getting the tenders secured back on the ship.
Once we finally left Santa Barbara, we expected a “rough” night because of the high winds and white-capped seas. But, we were graced within an hour of a calm Pacific and I even saw breaching gray whales off the port side of the ship. Though they were far in the distance, I still was able to capture a picture or two.
For Mother’s Day, Jim treated me to a delicious dinner of steak and lobster in the Sterling Steakhouse. The Maitre’ d, Stefan, was quite gracious and sent us a complimentary appetizer of jalapeno poppers stuffed with a light cheddar cheese and marinara dipping sauce. We each enjoyed a glass of wine and a beautiful sunset out the window as we continued sailing north out of Santa Barbara. I enjoyed a brie cheese quesadilla with mango salsa appetizer while Jim had a jumbo shrimp cocktail. Then my main course was a rib eye steak and lobster tail with a baked potato and Jim had a filet mignon with lobster tail and baked potato. For dessert (which we did NOT need) I enjoyed a raspberry crème brulee and Jim had a chocolate pecan pie.
We hope you all had a wonderful Mother’s Day and enjoyed each other. We wish you were here!
TRAVELOGUE NO. 3
PACIFIC COASTAL CRUISE LOS ANGELES TO VANCOUVER
MONDAY, 10, 2010 – Sausalito and Muir Woods out of San Francisco
As we sailed north out of Santa Barbara, the Captain told us the winds were in excess of 40-50 knots. Believe me, it was a rocky night for sure. We were told that Sapphire Princess would slow down and pick up our pilot to go into San Francisco Bay around 7:00 in the morning. We were up early and did not want to miss the beautiful sight of sailing under the Golden Gate Bridge.
The weather could not have been more perfect, other than it being a bit cool up on deck with the winds blowing against us, it was a perfect morning. The clouds above us stayed away, so we had a bit of sunshine shining down on us. As we approached the harbor, we passed by The Cliff House Restaurant and Seal Rock which are perched out on a bluff south of Golden Gate Park. I was lucky enough to go to The Cliff House when I was a teenager back in the 1960’s, and I remember the view as being spectacular. On the left side of the ship as we entered the bay we passed by a lighthouse which greeted us with its shining beacon every ten seconds or so. The Golden Gate Bridge was in complete view to us and most of the passengers (I think) were either standing out on their balconies or up on deck with the rest of us to enjoy the magnificent structure we were gliding under her at about 7:45 a.m. We had a mere 38 feet clearance above the funnel of the ship when we passed under her about a mile south of Alcatraz Island. The ship’s horn blew as we passed under and couples kissed each other in true tradition of sailing under the bridge. The Captain very delicately brought us in to Pier 27 just slightly east of Pier 39 without even touching the wooden dock on either side of the Sapphire Princess.
Our tour today was of Sausalito and the Muir Woods. We chose this because neither of us could ever remember being there before. We were gathered in a group down in the Princess Theater and then walked out to the gangway where we walked through a barren metal terminal building and over to our motor coaches. Ours was a 44 passenger coach with a tour conductor, Dave and our driver, Vince. Once everyone was on board and comfortable, we headed through the Embarcadero and past Pier 39, Ghirardelli Square and the Presidio on to the Golden Gate Bridge. Just after we came to the far edge of the bridge, we pulled into one of the viewing parking lots to get some pictures. By this time, the clouds had come in and were threatening rain above us. Just as we got off the coach, the rain began to sprinkle and those of us with umbrellas promptly opened them. Jim and I first walked to an oval granite area where a bronze figure of The Lone Sailor was proudly standing facing the Bridge with the American and California flags proudly flying behind him on a white flag pole. As we turned around to see the view the Lone Sailor had, we immediately saw the magnificent red/orange painted Golden Gate Bridge. Though it was raining and the clouds were lowering closer to the ground as if in a fog, we were still able to take a few nice pictures of the Bridge and see the full expansion of it. Both sides of the Bridge were full of commuters on their way to work to start their day. The Golden Gate Bridge is a toll bridge, but you only pay a toll as you return back into San Francisco.
Our tour then continued north and then took off on the very winding road to the Muir Woods. It was pouring rain at this point. We climbed up a hill and then very carefully, Vince drove down the other side being careful to pull over in the turn outs so the cars backed up behind us could pass by safely. As we drove further and further down into the canyon, the trees became denser and the undercover foliage became thick with gorgeous ferns and wild flowers. We saw a few redwood trees but not many before we got to the National Park. The Muir Woods were purchased by William and Elizabeth Kent, who bought the land to preserve and protect one of the last stands of uncut redwoods in this area. To ensure the permanent protection of the area, they donated 295 acres to the federal government; and in 1908 President Theodore Roosevelt proclaimed the area a national monument. At Mr. Kent’s request, the area was named for the conservationist John Muir. John Muir wrote Mr. Kent a letter thanking him for the gift to the government and for naming it after him and said “This is the best tree-lover’s monument that could possibly be found in all of the forests in the world.” What is ironic about that statement is that at the front entrance to The Muir Woods, there is a plaque designating a specific area for demonstrations under the First Amendment. Who would protest such a thing?
As we walked along the heavy wooden planks that marked the trail, the rain began to gently mist above us. We were somewhat protected by the canopy of the trees above; but we did pull out the umbrella as the rain began to fall harder. Both Jim and I commented to ourselves that this was the first time in years that we were consciously “walking in the rain”…and a beautiful walk it was. The wooden planked walkway is lined with redwood railings so as to keep you on the path. You are not allowed to venture off on your own. We crossed over a gently babbling brook on Bridge No. 1 and then continued through the forest. The rays of sun would gently come through the trees every once in awhile; but most of the time, it was dark because of the clouds and the rain. The forest floor was thick with luscious ferns and a small ground cover called redwood sorrel that has leaves that almost look like clover and delicate pink flowers about the size of a quarter. If you stopped and just took a deep breath, you could not help smell the freshness of the rain on the redwoods. It was completely relaxing for both of us. There was no agenda for us and no group to keep up with – which enabled me to stop and take pictures whenever I wanted. The groves of redwoods were magnificent as they seemed to reach to the sky. The shade loving undergrowth thrives under the redwood canopy above. Besides the ground cover, there were a couple of other wild flowers growing on the forest floor.
The redwoods love the rain and soak up every bit they can then release it when it is necessary for the environment. The tallest of the redwoods stands 252 feet in the air and is over 14 feet wide. Many of these trees were 1,000 years old or more; but the majority of them are about 500 to 800 years old. As we walked along the path to Bridge No. 2, the rain began falling harder and we quickened our pace so we didn’t get totally soaked. But, I still had to stop and take pictures all along the way. There was a nice gift shop near the entrance of the park along with a coffee counter where the majority of our other passengers were crowded around getting a bite to eat and something warm to drink.
As we left the Muir Woods, we headed southwest and through a valley here a very famous Zen farm is located. You can go there and “work” in exchange for your lodging or a reduced rate. The brand name of their natural vegetables and bakery goods is Green Gulch. Dave told us these items are sold all over the state – and one of the most famous supporters of the Zen Center is former California Governor, Jerry Brown.
We continued out the windy road; but the clouds seemed to be stalling, and the rain subsided. I cannot even begin to imagine driving either of these roads in the thick, San Francisco fog! In fact, Dave said there are several cars at the bottom of the gulch that didn’t make it.
Our afternoon continued by arriving in the quaint seaside town of Sausalito. With its many sidewalk cafés and homes built on the side of the hill, the view of San Francisco was spectacular. We walked down the street about two blocks to the Yee Chee Park, where there were hanging baskets full of blooming flowers above us on the lamp posts. We walked out to the edge of the concrete sea wall where we were joined by several birds looking for scraps of food. After that, we headed back along the other side of the street where we passed a park with a monument of elephants on either side of the steps going up to a large oval fountain. This was given to the City of Sausalito by its sister city in Chile. We’re not quite sure what the significance of the elephants is – but – whatever…The rain began to fall once again just before we were supposed to get back on the coach and head back to the ship. By the time we reached San Francisco and the pier, it was raining again. Several people got off the coach and went on to Pier 39 and Fisherman’s Wharf to enjoy a little more shopping and some yummy clam chowder. We opted to head back to the ship to get out of our wet clothes.
Late in the afternoon before we left port, Jim noticed a double rainbow gracing us outside off of our balcony on the port (left) side of the ship. This rainbow literally started from right beside the ship and made a full circle above us over towards The Bay Bridge. Then, magically, another rainbow appeared almost shadowing the first all around. We could hear many passengers telling their friends and family to go out and see the rainbow. It was a perfect end to a perfect day.
We left San Francisco and sailed out past Alcatraz Island and lighthouse and again under The Golden Gate Bridge and headed north into very rough seas. The Captain said the swells “might” be a little rough during the night. And so it was! We passed the lighthouse at Point Reyes and continued on our way.
We enjoyed dinner at Table 55 in the International Dining Room with our six other table companions. I had some delicious pasta with a red lobster sauce for my appetizer while Jim enjoyed French Onion Soup. We both had veal scaloppini cordon bleu as our main course.
Tomorrow we have a “day at sea” and will be enjoying “The Ultimate Ship Tour” – something special I purchased for Jim and me to do. We will actually get to go onto “the bridge”!!
TRAVELOGUE NO. 4
PACIFIC COASTAL CRUISE LOS ANGELES TO VANCOUVER
TUESDAY, May 11, 2010 – Day at Sea and the “Ultimate Ship Tour”
Today was a special day because we signed up for the “Ultimate Ship Tour” – something that has not been offered since 9/11. One of Cruise Director’s Staff escorted a small group of 12 of us for this tour. The cost of the tour is $150 and worth every last penny; because we actually got down into the belly behind the scenes of the ship. It was fascinating!
Our first stop was in the Princess Theater where we got to actually go up on stage and look above us five floors where lights, sets, and costumes where suspended and would be pulled down when needed. As you can imagine, the floor is wooden and also has an elevator lift that takes dancers and singers down underneath if the production number requires it right from the center of the stage. We then proceeded back into one of the several dressing rooms where we met two of the dancers. Each dancer has their own make-up station and a large number of attendants who help them dress, buckle their shoes, touch-up their make up and fix their hair. There is a cleaner rack with the push button mechanism in there that they will push and recall whatever costume they need for the next dancer. Just like getting your clothes from the dry-cleaners.
From the stage we went down to the Medical Department and met the Doctor who has a staff of three nurses. There are three exam rooms and they have a full pharmacy if needed to dispense prescriptions to the staff and the passengers. They have the ability to do small surgeries such as fix a broken arm but most major surgeries would have to be done on land and so the passenger would have to be air-lifted off the ship and taken to the nearest hospital. The Doctor could not emphasize enough the importance of purchasing travel insurance for this very reason. She said that the cost of the air-flight helicopter is a whopping $50,000!
We went to the galley next where we actually got to go through one of three galleys on the ship. The chef’s were all busy preparing soup in huge 10 gallon drums. Looked like tomato bisque to me! There were some prep chefs dicing and cutting vegetables. The galley has “stores” where the different types of food are kept. We went to the “produce store” the “fruit store” and we actually even got to go inside the freezer where the meat is in one section, the chicken in another and the fish in another. I have to tell you that I truly felt like Lucille Ball when she got locked in the meat locker on I Love Lucy! It’s cold in there! Then we went over to the “Bread/Bakery” Department I found the perfect machine that anyone who entertains must have! Of course, it would not look very nice in your kitchen, but what a great thing to have! Once your dough is made and raised, it is put through this machine on a plastic paddle that looks much like an oversized deviled egg tray. You turn the machine on – it jiggles around and Whalla! Out pop 24 perfect dinner rolls! There’s no rolling, kneading, patting, or weighing to make the perfect size – the machine does it all for you! After that we were treated to some 2” size chocolate covered strawberries and small decadent butter cookies along with punch in a tall; fluted glass complete with umbrella, orange slice and cherry on top!
The Print Shop was our next stop. Here they print everything for the ship from the daily restaurant menus, to the Princess Patter (our daily newsletter) along with information about the ports we are going to visit, shore excursion information and also the daily sales from the ship’s stores. We were each given a 5 X 7 pad of paper that said Ultimate Ship Tour and had each of our names on top.
Once we left the print shop we went to the laundry. Every department on the ship works 24/7 with three shifts of 8 hours each to keep everything running smoothly and efficiently. The laundry is no exception. Here I found another couple of machines that I would love to own but would not have the room to put them in my house nor would they be pleasing to the eye – but what a fabulous job that do! One of the greatest was the presser for the napkins and table cloths. The operator will put a slightly damp table cloth into the machine and when it comes out the other side, it is pressed beautifully and folded! They have another machine like this for towels! Fabulous! And, everything comes out perfect! This is also where the crew has their clothes cleaned and the Captain and his staff have their uniforms dry-cleaned.
From there we went down to the engineering control room. There’s four diesel engines and one turbo engine. The big turbo engines on the top of the ship serve no purpose other than they look cool up there.
Going to the Bridge was the highlight for everyone, as you can imagine. We met Captain Dino Sagani who was born in Trieste on the North East Adriatic coast of Italy. He is proud to tell you that he is Captain of the “largest” ship in the Princess Fleet – the Sapphire Princes weighs in at 117,000 tons. Although she does not carry the most passengers, she is 5’ wider than the Grand Princess and the Golden Princess. Captain Sagani showed us the “joy stick” and the steering wheel, which is the size of a steering wheel you would expect to see on a Ferrari. It is not much bigger than about 12 inches at most. There are two officers with binoculars standing at the front of the bridge constantly watching the horizon, and there are three more behind the center console. There is a separate control station on both sides of the bridge out on the wings which go out beyond the side of the ship about 5-6 feet. This gives the Captain the perfect view he needs to pull us perfectly alongside the piers without touching them.
Our Ultimate Ship Tour was ended with a glass of champagne and more chocolate covered strawberries. Pictures were taken of us in each of the departments with the staff. After the tour, we were each handed a folder with copies of all of the photos. Along with our personalized paper pad, it was a very nice gift. But, Princess went above and beyond and gave each of us a beautiful Princess waffle robe and chefs apron on top of everything else. It was really the “ultimate”.
TRAVELOGUE NO. 5
PACIFIC COASTAL CRUISE LOS ANGELES TO VANCOUVER
WEDNESDAY, May 12, 2010 – Astoria, Oregon
Astoria, Oregon is one of our favorite ports of call on a Pacific Coastal cruise because we get the pleasure of being with friends and family! We do not sign up for any shore excursions, because they take us on our own private excursions around the area – and this time was no different.
Astoria is in northwestern Oregon and a port on the Columbia River where it is a major shipping point for logs and grain and has fish and wood-processing industries. Fur traders sent by the America merchant, John Jacob Astor, founded Astoria in 1811. Astoria is the oldest U.S. settlement west of the Rockies. Around 1802, President Thomas Jefferson sent an expedition of explorers searching for large rivers and possible road-ways through the wilderness that Captain Robert Gray had found in 1792. Thus, the Lewis and Clark journey of discovery was formed. They began their journey in Saint Lewis and after a 2000 mile trek, the 33 members of the group spent an incredibly difficult winter at Fort Clatsup in 1805.
There are several interesting places of interest in Astoria. One of our favorites is the Astoria Column – a 125 foot high column patterned after the Trajan’s Column in Rome by architect Electus Ritchfield. From the Column you have spectacular views of the Columbia River Gorge and of the Willamette River Valley. You can climb up into the column as well; but we have not made that trek yet.
Another of our favorite places is the Columbia River Maritime Museum. It is located right on the waterfront and contains one of the most extensive collections of nautical artifacts on the west coast. The exhibits about the Coast Guard rescues at the mouth of the Gorge in bad weather are incredible and so interesting that you cannot help but stand and watch the entire video presentation.
Fort Clatsup is nearby and commemorates the 1805-1806 winter encampment of the 33-member Lewis and Clark expedition. This is a replica of the actual 50 X 50 fort and is nestled in the coastal forests and wetlands of the Coast Range as it merges with the Columbia River Estuary.
Today, however, we did not go to any of those places. Today, Jim’s daughter Jen and our good friends Rob & Christie all drove out from Portland to spend the day with us. The Sapphire Princess picked up the local pilot to help navigate us through the “bar” (which is where the Columbia River greets the Pacific Ocean) and continue on down the Columbia River to Astoria. The morning was a brisk 55° or so with a slight wind, but actually, very pleasant. After Captain Sagini gently pulled the Sapphire into its mooring spot on the dock and we got customs clearance to leave, Jim and I walked down to get in line with the passengers leaving the ship. Once we walked down the gangway and through the small flea market where the locals were selling their homemade jams and jellies and knitted scarves and such, we walked through the chain link fence to the parking lot where our three greeters were there waiting for us with open arms. It is always so good to see everyone.
And so, our adventure of enjoying the day began…we went to Pig’n’Pancake for breakfast where we caught up a little and filled our tummies with warm food and coffee and then we were off to Cannon Beach – our ultimate destination today. Cannon Beach is about one hour south of Astoria and is surrounded by the rugged natural beauty of forests, ocean beaches and rivers. We drove to Tolovana Beach, where we parked and walked out to the beach that had spectacular views of the Cannon Beach Haystack Rock which is a monolith right on the water’s edge. As we walked along the firm sand of the beach, you could not help notice that when the water swept in from the ocean and up onto the beach, there were no crashing waves, but rather the water flowed calmly up and washed across the beach. There were seagulls in front us, that seemed to be playing in the water as it reached them and they kept walking right in front of us as far as we walked. The last time we were at Cannon Beach, Jen and I both found sand dollars in the sand, but we had no luck this time. We did see a couple of broken remnants of some, but nothing in tact.
From the beach, we got back in the cars and drove back into the small community to enjoy walking through some of the boutiques and art galleries. Jim & I and Rob & Christie both bought some art at a local gallery and they will ship ours to us once we get home in a few days.
For lunch we enjoyed a delicious meal at one of the only restaurants on the water at the Wayfarer Restaurant. The view out the front picture window was spectacular of the Cannon Beach Hay Stack and beach. We sat and visited and just enjoyed everything.
Because the Sapphire Princess was leaving Astoria at 4:00 in the afternoon, after lunch we headed back to Astoria where Jen left us and headed back to Portland and we went back to Pig’n’Pancake with Rob & Christie for a cup of coffee and a quick game of Euchre (our favorite card game). Although I “feathered”, the guys still took the game – but we gave them a run for their money as the score was 31 to 29. Then, they had to take us back to the ship and say goodbye. This is the part I always hate because there just doesn’t seem to be enough time.
I don’t know about you, but I feel that way at the end of a cruise as well. No matter what we do – we always seem to say we wished we had just a few more minutes. This was no exception.
As the Sapphire pulled out of port in Astoria, the Captain pointed out several points of interest for us – one was where Free Willy was filmed. We got pictures of the area where Keiko actually was “freed” and jumped over the rock seawall. After that we passed the Cape Disappointment Lighthouse to the north and could also see further north to the North Head Lighthouse. Both of those are easy driving distance from Astoria, and if you’re a lighthouse fan like me, they are truly worth going to visit.
The Sapphire reached “the bar” and soon after, the pilot left the ship and our Captain turned the Sapphire north once again on our way to Seattle. Tonight we enjoyed another special dinner in the Sterling Steakhouse. Till next time…
TRAVELOGUE NO. 6
PACIFIC COASTAL CRUISE LOS ANGELES TO VANCOUVER
THURSDAY, May 12, 2010 – Seattle, Washington
It generally rains 226 days in Seattle. The “rain” is actually more of a mist that a downpour of rain – but it is wet nonetheless. Fortunately, we arrived in Seattle on one of those rate 139 days that grace the city with not a cloud in the sky. It was about 65 degrees and absolutely glorious. We could not have had better weather. You could see Mount Rainier in all her glory with her snow capped glacier peaks and you could also see out to the Olympic Mountains to the west where the mountains peaks were also covered thick with white snow. It was breathtaking. Because we have been to Seattle several times, we decided to just play tourist today and so we signed up for the “Grand City Tour of Seattle”. The tour consisted of three parts – a tour of downtown Seattle and Pike’s Place Market on motor coach – a harbor tour on The Argosy tour boat from Lake Union to the Port of Seattle – and, a visit to the Space Needle.
Pike’s Place Market is a public market down on the waterfront in Seattle. It consists of various food stands and vendors all hoping that they have the exact thing that you are looking for. It is very well known as the place where “they throw the fish” over your head at the seafood counters. It is also the home of the best tea that I’ve ever had, Market Spice Tea. Many years ago, when my parents lived here in the Seattle area, they introduced me to this fabulous cinnamon-orange spice tea. It is best if you steep it in boiling water for at least five minutes. The aromas that come out of one little tea bag are incredible. You take in a deep breath and smell the richness of the spices…and once you take one sip, if you are a tea lover, I guarantee you’ll think this is some of the best tea you’ve ever had. So, naturally, we had to go there and pick up several boxes of this fabulous tea to take home. It is especially delicious on a rainy day when you are staying inside, have a fire going in the fireplace and are enjoying a good book. Here is the website if you want to savor a little for yourself. www.marketspice.com
We enjoyed walking leisurely through the Public Market and just people watching. The produce and the seafood counters were gorgeous, full of fresh fruits, vegetables and fish caught in the morning and brought to the Market to put on display. There are small flower carts in several areas, along with this other famous Seattle drink – Starbuck’s. There are close to 600 Starbuck’s stores in the greater Seattle area. The original location is across the street from Pike’s Market.
Our tour continued as our driver took us through Pioneer Square downtown and then out to Lake Union where we boarded our tour boat, the Argosy. As we pulled away from the small pier, they announced that they had some clam chowder for purchase, so Jim went and got each of us a cup. We sat at one of the picnic type tables on the second deck right next to a window, so we had a perfect view of everything the narrator was talking about. After we finished our soup, we went out on deck. Lake Union is home for over 10 of the boats seen in the TV series The Deadliest Catch – a show about the perils of being on a fishing boat in the northwest and Alaska. It is also home to the famous houseboat used in the film “Sleepless in Seattle”. Interestingly, that houseboat was just sold to a couple who had just seen the movie and fell in love with the movie and the houseboat so much so that they got married inside their new “home”. The houseboat sold for a mere “several” million dollars!
As we continued on our tour of Lake Union, we passed under two draw bridges and on out to the locks – where we entered and secured, then the water level began to drop and we miraculously traveled DOWN 18 feet to sea level, where the locks were opened and we continued on out into Elliott Bay and on into the Puget Sound to downtown Seattle. The small lighthouse there is in the process of being restored and, unfortunately, was all covered in white plastic. Our tour continued along the waterfront and eventually took us right past the Sapphire Princess which was proudly docked at Pier 66 downtown and almost directly below the Space Needle.
Next, we boarded the motor coach again and were taken past Safeco Field, the home of the Seattle Mariners and Qwest Field, which is home to the Seattle Seahawks. After leaving there, our next stop was the Space Needle. This was built for the Exposition in 1962 and the World’s Fair. It only takes 42 seconds to travel from ground level up to the observation deck where you will enjoy a 360 degree view of Seattle.
After the tour, we went back to the ship and cleaned up and then were off for one of the highlights of our entire trip. We met Michele, my Strategic Sale Coach from my host agency. Michele has been coaching me the past few months, and has guided me along my path as a travel agent. We had agreed to meet at Ivar’s Seafood Restaurant near Pier 57 on the waterfront. Jim and I arrived first and were standing in front of the restaurant when we noticed a gal walking briskly towards us. She had straight, long hair and was wearing sunglasses that quickly were raised above her eyes when she spotted us. I immediately raised my sunglasses as well and when she reach us, we both laughed and agreed how nice it was to meet each other after only talking on the telephone on Wednesday mornings at 9:00 a.m. for the past few months.
We were taken to a table in the middle of the restaurant where we had a beautiful view of the water and were only one dock away from the terminal for the Washington State Ferries. So, while we sat and chatted and got to know each other in person, we enjoyed all of the activity on the water as well. Jim had a pound of Alaskan king crab legs, while Michele enjoyed the halibut and I enjoyed my salmon. The clam chowder at Ivar’s is some of the best that we’ve ever had, so Jim and I both got a cup of that along with a small dinner salad with their house “Louis” (thousand island) dressing. After dinner, we all had dessert – again, each of us enjoyed something different – Jim had bread pudding, Michele had the apple/rhubarb crisp and I had crème bruleé. Unfortunately, we had to get back to the ship by 9:30 p.m., so we eventually had the say our goodbyes and go on our separate ways. But, I have to say that being able to meet someone who you have only talked to on the telephone for several months was absolutely incredible and really meant a lot to me.
We sailed out of Seattle at 10:00 p.m. It was still twilight outside, and so I stood on our balcony and took some beautiful pictures of the Space Needle as we left port. Our final stop will be in Victoria, BC tomorrow. It is only a short distance from Seattle, and so the Captain announced he would only be cruising at about 10 mph.
Thank you Seattle for such a glorious beautiful day ~
TRAVELOGUE NO. 7
PACIFIC COASTAL CRUISE LOS ANGELES TO VANCOUVER
FRIDAY, May 14, 2010 – Victoria, BC, Canada
It is hard to believe that this is the last day of the cruise portion of our cruise. As with most cruises, they seem to end too soon and leave you wanting “just a few more days”.
Victoria greeted us with blue skies and 65 degree temperature, much as Seattle did yesterday. Victoria is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island and is the largest and most metropolitan city on the island. Our tour guide told us that Victoria is second in Canada only to be outranked by Vancouver City for an average priced home. It has the mildest climate in all of Canada because it sits in the rain shadow of the Olympic Mountains in Washington State. They only get approximately 20 some inches of rain here. There is no humidity here either – which makes it VERY desirable.
Butchart Gardens is among the most famous and meticulously maintained gardens in the world. Other attractions here that are equally as popular are The Empress Hotel and The British Columbia Museum of Natural History. One of our favorite things to do is to walk through downtown along Government Street and enjoy the little boutiques and souvenir shops along the way.
Enjoying our beautiful weather, today we took a tour to Craigdurroch Castle and Mt. Toume. Our motor coach drove us through downtown and out to “Mile 0” which is where the Trans-Canadian Highway begins and continues for over 4000 miles out to the Atlantic sea board. We passed the tallest totem pole in Canada which is at the south end of Beach Hill Park and faces mainland Washington State.
When we arrived at Mt. Tuome, the 360 degree views were nothing short of spectacular because of the clear weather. We could see over to Mt. Baker which is north of Seattle; we could see east over to San Juan Island across Haro Strait where we had a waterfront home rented for a week with friends; we could see south across the Strait of Juan de Fuca down to Washington State and magnificently standing proudly in the clear skies beyond were the Olympic Mountain range. It was just simply a glorious view. The landscape was granite with many varieties of wildflowers growing through the cracks. And, one of the most prolific bushes is the Scottish Broom, a bright yellow bush that we were told is actually a weed and taking over the island. But – weed or not, it add a beautiful yellow brightness to the area surrounding you.
From Mt. Tuome, the tour driver drove us down the hill and through the campus of The University of Victoria where they seem to have a rampant infestation of rabbits. The authorities are now in the process of trying to trap them and neuter them.
We wound around the streets and eventually arrived at the Craigdurroch Castle. Robert Dunsmuir found his fortune in coal back in the mid 1800’s. He and his wife had 15 children. When he passed in 1879 and never lived in the castle. It is built of huge stone on the outside and some of the most exquisite and intricate wood working on the interior. After passing hands several times it finally was donated to the City of Victoria. We climbed the wooden banisterred staircase up four flights of stairs – on each floor were more bedrooms. What was so beautiful was that each room was recreated in period décor complete with mannequins dressed in the beautiful long dresses of that time. The pictures on the wall were all historical. One shadow box picture caught my attention and when I asked about it, I was told that the 3 dimensional heart filigree inside was made of human hair. Each of the dining rooms had tables that were set “properly” for a very formal occasion.
It does not take much longer than half an hour to go through the Castle. There is a gift shop when you exit as with most every tourist attraction today. We walked around the grounds and were able to take some great pictures of the exterior of the house. One of the things that you could not help but notice were the blooming rhododendrons that were completely covered in flower blooms of every color from pale pink to bright magenta to a pinkish orange and everything in between. We found these bushes all over the city.
As we left the Castle our tour guide drove us through China Town which in contrast to the city of Victoria that has it’s streets lined with lamp posts with five white globes, in China Town, the lamp posts are on a red post with one Chinese lantern on top. Very fitting for the area.
We were dropped off in downtown Victoria near The Empress Hotel on Douglas Street where we chose to leave the tour and walk around on our own. It was near lunch time and we chose to enjoy some moist and delicate fish and chips at the Bard & Banker Restaurant. The batter of the fish was crunched Ruffles potato chips. I’d never seen anything like this and when we asked the waiter about it, he told us the Chef had come up with the recipe because the potato chips minimizes the shrinkage of the fish and what you are served is plump and juicy. Their tartar sauce was some of the best I’ve ever had; and we asked if they sold it and they unfortunately said no.
We walked up and down Government Street and then down past The Empress Hotel where there was a bride and groom on the front steps having their pictures taken. On the harbor side along the sidewalk, there were several street entertainers performing. We saw Darth Vader playing the violin, a gentleman painting a picture in chalk, and a juggler as well. Along the street we past many musicians playing guitar who were sitting on the ground – but it added a nice ambience to the day as we walked around.
Many of the students in Victoria earn extra money by transporting visitors around in their pedi-cabs. We found Andrea, who is a student of environmental studies and French and she got us settled and we were on our way for a leisurely ride back to the ship. All total, it took about an hour. She peddled through town and over to Beacon Hill Park where the “rhodos” were simply breathtaking with several bushes grouped together and created this burst of bright magenta amongst the green grassy knolls and trees in the park. We passed several peacocks in the park that are allowed to roam free throughout the park. There are several small ponds with fountains and there is a bronzed bust of Queen Elizabeth (or Victoria) with a flower bed of huge pink tulips underneath. Our ride continued along the waterfront and eventually down to the cruise ship terminal where it ended all to soon (as with everything else).
As is tradition on the last night of the cruise, the Princess waiters did the Parade of the Baked Alaska and we were surprised (and disappointed) that Princess no longer lights the Alaska’s but not have battery operated flames. We said good bye to our table mates and everyone went off to finish their packing and make sure our luggage was put outside our stateroom by 10:00 p.m. so the crew could swoop it up and take it into the baggage holding areas down below and it will magically appear when we pass through Customs in Vancouver.
Don’t fret – the Travelogues are not over yet! We will be staying two days in Vancouver, so there’s still more to come!
Hope you are all well and we sure wish we were sharing this with you all! What a fun time that would be! Safe Travels!
TRAVELOGUE NO. 8
PACIFIC COASTAL CRUISE LOS ANGELES TO VANCOUVER
SATURDAY , May 15, 2010
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
Sapphire Princess arrived in Vancouver around 7:00 a.m. and sailed down past Stanley Park and the Lions Gate Bridge on to Canada Place, the beautiful cruise terminal in Vancouver. Once again, we were blessed with nice weather and a very high cloud cover. The jagged peaks of the Coastal Mountains to the north were still covered with snow, which added to the beautiful landscape that we saw. The Vancouver skyline is dramatic with numerous glass sided skyscrapers . The reflections of the city could be seen from every place you looked which gave you a different perspective each time you turned around.
Due to the fact that there were three ships in port simultaneously (The Sapphire Princess, The Coral Princess and the Holland America Zuirdam) our disembarkation process was a bit slow – but it gave us added time on board and to say our good byes to new friends - and prolonged the realization that the cruise was over.
Our motor coach came and whisked us off to our hotel. We stayed at the Westin Bayshore on the waterfront. We had a beautiful room with a bay view. The large marble shower was perhaps the most welcome features of the room as it was four times bigger than the one on the ship.
After we freshened up, we went down and grabbed a bite to eat and then walked over towards Stanley Park. There is a walkway all along the sea wall not only includes the 5 ½ miles inside Stanley Park, but it continues to the west side and past Granville Island and also continues to the east all down towards Gas Town. The path was very busy with roller bladders, bicyclists and walkers all out enjoyed the beautiful weather.
As we walked along the boat harbor, we passed by the Vancouver Rowing Club where we saw several dozen rowing sculls and hundreds of boats moored in the marina and empty tall masts. As we stood at the water’s edge and looked north, before us was a spectacular panorama. The water in the lagoon where the small boat harbor was seemed to be as calm as glass, with the reflections of the sailboat masts reflecting in the waters. The Tudor Style Rowing Club was freshly painted with a dark, burnt red base color on the main part of the building with striking white contrasts on the decorative facia. Beyond the Rowing Club, were the tree tops of Stanley Park – each seemed to be a different color of green, yellow or red. Beyond that were the green rolling hills of the Coastal Mountains. Then, in the background, far in the distance were the snow capped peaks of the mountains.
We continued on around the lagoon and up into the park where we found the Horse Drawn Trolley. We boarded our trolley and got to sit in the very first row next to our drive and tour narrator, Emma. Emma was a woman in her 50’s. Her hair was blonde and she wore her hair up underneath a beige,visor hat. She wore a small pair of wire-rimmed glasses. She had a few gentle wrinkles starting at the corner of her eyes. She wore a multi-color beige woolen pullover sweater and jeans. Her voice was articulate and clear as she began to talk about the two horses that would be pulling us around the park. “Reno” was a red, draft horse, very similar looking to a Clydesdale; and “Pepper” was a Berjeron with a salt and pepper colored coat. When she was read to take off, Emma merely said “Come on boys” and gentle tugged on the reins and off we went.
Stanley Park covers over 1,000 acres of land – which makes it larger than Central Park in Manhattan. There are two lighthouses in the park and the sea wall walkways is 5 ½ miles long and goes all around the perimeter of the park. On top of that, there are countless hiking trails and pathways through the park There is a cricket field. A game of cricket can last up to five days; but they do stop to have tea and sandwiches. We traveled slowly along the Burrard Inlet out to where we had a view of the Lions Gate Bridge and up the Capillano Valley. The park is thick and plush with numerous different types of bushes and ferns; and interspersed among the variety of green were colorful rhododendrons, rose bushes, forsythia (a bright yellow bush), and every color of azalea as well as Japanese red maple trees. Trees in the park range from the Western Red Cedar (which is the best wood to carve totem poles and canoes) to huge Douglas Firs and an occasional redwood. The colors of green cover the spectrum from a yellowish cast to the deep, dark forest green; and this adds to the dimension of the landscape.
There is an aquarium inside Stanley Park, as well as a miniature railroad that children and adults may all enjoy riding on, as well as a petting zoo and a gorgeous rose garden. Our horse-drawn trolley tour lasted an hour – which seemed to fly by and all of a sudden we found ourselves back where we started. We weren’t ready to leave the park yet; so we took off up the hill, going through the park from the seawall near the Rowing Club up through the park to the rose garden. Along the way, our paths crossed with two “black” squirrels, which were busy gathering something to munch on and then scurried away. I saw one small red-headed woodpecker and a few black birds, but not much more animal life than that. Once we arrived at the rose garden, we saw a bronze memorial to President Warren G. Harding which marked the spot of a speech he made there in Stanley Park during his presidency. Though the roses were not blooming yet, the rhododendrons, azaleas, pansies, iris, birds of paradise, hydrangeas and several other different species of flowers were all in bloom and added a variegated color display that was similar to that at Butchart Gardens in Victoria.
The grounds of Stanley Park are meticulously groomed and kept in pristine condition. Even after the big storm in 2006 which came through Victoria with a vengeance and downed over 10,000 trees, the gardeners worked fast and cleared the debris; and now there are only slight reminisces of the violent storm. What is interesting is that though the trees themselves uprooted and fell, the gardeners chose to leave the roots in place and exactly where they fell to show the visitors to the park the extent of the damage of that storm.
After our walk, we went back to our room and freshened up and then caught a cab to Gas Town. On our way there, we asked the cab driver to stop by the Olympic Flame which is outside the Pan Pacific Hotel. The structure appears to be ice-like crystals of massive proportions. The flame was not lit as it is put out after the end of the Olympics, but it is still a magnificent sight to see.
We enjoyed dinner at our favorite sidewalk café in Gas Town, the Water Street Café which is directly across the street from the Vancouver Steam Clock. As luck would have it, we sat directly across from another couple who had been on our cruise on the Sapphire; so we enjoyed a little chit-chat during our meal.
The sun does not set until 8:45 p.m. here in Vancouver; so we were able to stay outside at the café and enjoy a very pleasant evening. The people watching from this vantage point was quite interesting. Mini-skirts have made a return to the fashion industry after being dormant since the late 1960’s. Platform heals are also very popular. After our delightful dinner, we sat and just talked about our trip and commented on how it is always good to go home, but sad that it is ending.
Tomorrow we are going to go whale watching in hopes of finding some of those “BLACK & WHITES” (orcas) off of Vancouver in the Gulf Islands. That will be the final Travelogue for this trip – so one more to go!
TRAVELOGUE NO. 9
PACIFIC COASTAL CRUISE LOS ANGELES TO VANCOUVER
SUNDAY, May 16, 2010
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA
Because our whale watching excursion was not until 12:00 noon, we were able to enjoy a leisurely morning and a nice cup of Starbucks and a blueberry muffin for breakfast before we caught a cab over to Granville Island where we would go to Wild Whales and depart on our adventure in search of those “black and whites”.
Granville Island has a fabulous Public Market, very similar in concept to Pikes Place Market in Seattle. There are fruit stands piled high with fresh vegetables. The red, orange, yellow and green bell peppers alongside the thin, fresh asparagus and huge (5”) artichokes and gigantic red and green grapes filled the counters of the vegetable and fruit stands. The fish counters were filled of king crab legs and fresh salmon along with other local varieties of fish that had been brought to the market in the morning. We found our favorite deli stand and purchased our sandwiches to take out on our excursion. We found our favorite deli counter where we bought our sandwiches for our afternoon excursion and then we set out to go explore the market a bit before we boarded the Quick Change II, whale watching vessel.
Our tour guide, Caley, along with our driver greeted us as we boarded the covered whale-watching boat. Caley was about 25 years old and though it appeared that she had a full head of hair in dread-locks, she had them tied up in a scarf around her head. She had a small nose, hazel eyes and a beautiful smile. She is had a small frame and seemed genuinely happy that we had all chosen to be with her on this exploration for go find the whales.
We took off out of the harbor at Granville Island and passed under the Granville Island Bridge and out into the Strait of Georgia, which is the main route of the Alaska Marine Highway. We passed many tankers and tug boats on our way heading south west to the Gulf Islands. As we reached Porlier Pass and Galiano Island, we passed the small white and red Grace Point Lighthouse. The base of the lighthouse is wider than the top. It had four sides that were trimmed in bright red paint and then the lighthouse lens was on top. On top of the lens proudly were two bald eagles proudly perched as if they were greeting us as we entered the Trincomali Pass heading south.
The skies above became more gray with thicker clouds, that eventually gave us a fine, misty rain as we passed through the narrow passageway of the Pender Islands. We had been in the boat about three hours at this point and still had no sightings of any whales. The scenery was breathtaking; and as is true after most rains, the smell of the freshened forest and trees was noticeable and refreshing.
Unfortunately, those black and white orcas remained silent and elusive; and we never found them. We did see a few dolphins as we headed back out into the Strait of Georgia heading back to Vancouver. As we reached the breakwater, we saw some California sea lions and stellar sea lions basking on the rocks of the breakwater. A couple of them were lifting their bodies and stretching high and barking loudly as we passed by. The staff at Wild Whales graciously issued all of us a “free” pass to come back another time (no expiration date) to see the whales – so we will tuck that away in a safe place and look forward to doing that sometime in the future.
Realization eventually set in that in only 12 hours we would be heading to the airport for our trek home – so we decided to have a nice, quiet dinner at the Sea Wall Restaurant in the lobby of the Westin Bayshore. We had a window table and were among only half a dozen or so, groups of people in the restaurant – so it was quiet and peaceful as the sun set on another beautiful Vancouver day.
And, so it ends my friends – our trip is over – I hope you’ve enjoyed coming along with us on our journey and hope you have enjoyed the trip with us. We’ll be heading out again on June 30 this year as we will go visit Alaska on a three day cruise from Vancouver to Skagway visiting Tracy Arm Fjord and the Twin Sawyer Glaciers and Juneau before we reach Skagway. From Skagway, we will leave the ship and go on a 10 day land tour up to the Yukon, Dawson, Tok, Fairbanks, Denali and Anchorage.
Till then…safe travels to you all!
Barbara
The Golden Princess departing San Diego
TRAVELOGUES
from our
PACIFIC COASTAL CRUISE
September 17-26, 2009
Pacific Princess
Seattle to Vancouver
and
Golden Princess
Vancouver to San Diego
