We Actually Made It!
June 7
Well, our vacation
has officially started. We had a good drive to Petaluma, with little traffic
and no problems. The weather was good. It was going to be almost
100 degrees in Reno toady, but the highest it got during our drive, even in
Sacramento, was 82. Maybe that’s because we went through in the morning,
before it got hot.
We got to Monique and
Brian’s house, took our stuff out of the car, and then went to find some lunch
at a nearby restaurant, called Pepper’s. It was okay, but not
great. We got back to the house, and spent the rest of the day, napping
and reading. It was a very relaxing way to start our vacation.
Brian won’t be home until tomorrow, having gone to Santa Maria to finish
cleaning out the house, which they just sold. Monique will be home from
work soon, and we’ll figure out what we’re going to do about dinner.
June 8
Monique, who is
perfect at everything, except she couldn't make pie crust to save her life,
learned to make pie today. She, with just a little bit of help from me,
made us an apple pie for our anniversary dessert.
|
|
Brian and Monique took us to Graziano’s for a lovely Italian dinner for our anniversary last night. We got home early enough that we were able to sit out in the backyard for over an hour playing cards before it got too cold. We had wonderful homemade apple pie for dessert.
June 9, 2013
We got into the city early, about 9:30, and
went to Eagle Café on Pier 39 for breakfast.
|
Then we walked the length of the pier, despite the fog and wind. Brian and Monique took us to the dock at noon, and we were settled in our stateroom by 12:30, waiting for our luggage to arrive. We wandered around the ship for a couple of hours, until it was time for the emergency drill. The drill was held in one of the restaurants, so we didn’t have to stand next to a lifeboat on the deck as we’ve had to do on other ships.
The Grand Princess is beautiful, not that we were surprised. We were surprised that we were able to get into our room so early, because usually, the rooms aren't ready until close to 2:00. Ours in on the Lido Deck, which is deck 14. There is one deck above us, housing the spa. It is also called the Sun Deck, and there is a walkway all the way to the stern. Above the Sun deck, on the stern is the Sports deck, but there was no reason for us to go up there all during the cruise, because it was just a large basketball court. On the Lido deck, are the Terrace pools, one outside and one under a flexible cover that can be opened. It was never opened during the cruise. The buffet is just on the other side of the pools, extending all the way to the stern, so there is plenty of seating. The restaurants and lounges are scattered around the ship, mostly on the 5th, 6th, and 7th floors. The casino is on the 6th deck, but it was so smoky, that we kept away from that area as much as we could. The Purser's desk was near the casino, so we couldn't avoid going there a few times. The Atrium is three floors, with the large staircases and all the fixtures making an impressive show. There are lots of seats available on the 5th deck, but none on the 6th or 7th, so often, there is no place to sit while waiting to go into one of the dining rooms. The shopping areas are on 6, and 7 has the Promenade deck all around the outside, so while walking outside, there are several doors to get inside.
|
||
After the drill, we met up with Elysa and Hanna for the sail-away. Going out under the Golden Gate Bridge was spectacular, and I took lots of pictures. We pulled a chair over to the edge for Bill so he could sit down, but I had to run from port to starboard so I could take pictures from every angle.
|
|
 |
| Carolee, Hannah and Elysa |
We were supposed to meet our friends at the da Vinci dining room for dinner at six, but when we got there at 5:45, we found that Anytime Dining was only for after 7:30 and we would have to go one deck below to the Michelangelo Dining room.
I tried to call them, but they had already left their room, so we waited near the door because, if we had been seated, they wouldn’t have been able to seat our friends with us. So, dinner was excellent, with a lot of wonderful choices. I had the Pina Colada Cold Soup, Fettuccine Alfredo and Hawai’ian Pork and Bill had Chicken Soup and Salmon. For dessert, we had cheesecake and flour-less chocolate cake.
After dinner, we
came back to our stateroom. Bill took a nap while I went to one of the
hot tubs with Carolee and Elysa. The ship was rocking like crazy, so it
was fun to watch the few people who braved the cold water in the pool because
it looked like they were in a wave pool. The water sloshed out at one end
while dipping down ten feet on the other, and then it went the other way.
I got back to our room about 9:00, and woke Bill from his nap so we could go to
bed.
June 10
We didn’t sleep
very well last night, even though the sea was rough all night, making for a
wonderful rocking motion. Bill’s leg was hurting and I had the foot pain
I sometimes get that envelops the whole top of my foot. I finally got up
at 11:30 to take some Tylenol PM, so I was able to get some sleep after that.
We woke up around 5:30 and Bill called for room service. We had coffee,
fruit and pastries, but we didn’t sit on the balcony because the winds were
fierce. After our morning snack, we left the room and found that we had
two Congratulations balloons and a sign on the door saying “Happy
Anniversary.”
We went down to walk on the Promenade deck, but found that the doors were locked due to high winds. We explored the ship for a little while and went to breakfast around 8:30, where we met Carolee. It’s surprising that, on a ship of this size, and with close to 4000 people, we keep finding each other.
After a light
breakfast, we went to a lecture on Alaska by a naturalist. He gave a
fascinating talk, accompanied by photos of the wildlife, and some of the other
things we’ll be seeing in Alaska. It was over too soon. At 10:30 Bill was
feeling super tired, so we retreated to our cabin, Bill to nap and me to
read. That lasted for about ½ hour until I couldn’t keep my eyes
open. The rocking of the ship put me to sleep, and we didn’t wake up
until almost 2:00.
We went down to do
some more exploring. We were still trying to find the perfect place to
curl up with our books. We checked out some of the lounges and bars, and
found one that looks very comfortable, but it isn’t near any windows, and so it
is pretty dark.
As we left there, we ran into Carolee, Elysa and Hanna. They were all dressed to kill, and it turned out that Carolee was going to the Singles and Solos Tea in the da Vinci Room. We arranged to meet her for dinner at 6:00, and we continued our wandering. After a few minutes, we saw that the tea wasn’t just for singles, so we decided to go check it out, because I remembered that Joline had told me the tea was one of the things we shouldn’t miss. We went in, hoping not to see Carolee, so we wouldn’t embarrass her. We were seated at a table with two very lovely ladies, Pam and Paige, both from the bay area. We talked while enjoying finger sandwiches, scones, Devonshire cream, napoleons, and banana cake. The scones were the traditional heavy sweet ones, and they were the best we’ve ever had. Pam and Paige were so interesting to talk to, and would both love to spend more time with them.
As we left there, we ran into Carolee, Elysa and Hanna. They were all dressed to kill, and it turned out that Carolee was going to the Singles and Solos Tea in the da Vinci Room. We arranged to meet her for dinner at 6:00, and we continued our wandering. After a few minutes, we saw that the tea wasn’t just for singles, so we decided to go check it out, because I remembered that Joline had told me the tea was one of the things we shouldn’t miss. We went in, hoping not to see Carolee, so we wouldn’t embarrass her. We were seated at a table with two very lovely ladies, Pam and Paige, both from the bay area. We talked while enjoying finger sandwiches, scones, Devonshire cream, napoleons, and banana cake. The scones were the traditional heavy sweet ones, and they were the best we’ve ever had. Pam and Paige were so interesting to talk to, and would both love to spend more time with them.
After tea, we found
a bar right next to the windows on deck 5, where we settled in to read for a
little while. Bill started falling asleep over his book, so suggested we
come back to our cabin so he could have a nap and I could write for a
while. I think I will go meet Carolee at 6 and let him continue to
sleep. After all that delicious food at the tea, neither of us will be
hungry 35 minutes from now.
We have decided
that, tomorrow, we will start our day in the gym, (that
never happened, but we did walk and swim a lot every day) and then we
will walk around taking pictures and documenting all the things we have found
that need to be addressed in the ship, starting with our squeaky ceiling.
Bill wanted to
sleep, so I met Carolee for dinner, and she had brought some new friends with
her. Don, Barbara and Terry along with Carolee and her family made us a party
of eight. We had dinner at a table for 12 with some other people, but it was
too loud in the restaurant for much conversation across the table, so we didn’t
really get to know them. It took a very long time for all of us to be
served all the courses, so we skipped dessert so we could go to the headliner
comedy show, Oscar Carlos. We found eight seats together, and I went to
our cabin to see if Bill felt like joining us. Not only did he want to,
he had already been out walking through the De Vinci Room and the buffet looking
for us. The show was hilarious, and we were very glad we went.
After the show, the
others wanted dessert, and they also wanted to see our stateroom, so we all
came up here to get a look at the ocean from our balcony. We thought it
was funny that it was still light out after 9:00 pm, but the farther north we
go, the later the sun goes down. Bill was hungry and the others wanted
dessert, so we went to the International Café and Bill got a sandwich and
pastry and the rest of us got a pastry. We sat and talked in the Atrium
for an hour or so, and then went to the Vista Lounge to see another show, but
when we got there, we discovered that the comedian wasn’t performing, and none
of us felt like watching chamber music, so we all trouped off to bed.
June 11, 2013
Happy birthday,
Bailey! Our granddaughter turns 13 today.
We both slept well
last night, again, loving the gentle rocking of the ship, and the sound of the
water. We woke up at 6:30, and at 8:00 we made our way to the buffet for
a leisurely breakfast. Then we went to the Promenade Deck to walk.
We only made it around one time because it was so wet. Bill was great
about it, but his head had to have been freezing. We went to the Atrium
and found a nice place to read. That lasted only ten minutes before he
was sound asleep, so I woke him up and brought him back to the cabin for a
nap.
I went to the naturalist talk about the glaciers, which was, again, very interesting. After that I went to the library and then came back to the cabin to see if he was awake. I read until he woke up for lunch. We decided to eat a very light lunch, because we are looking forward to our afternoon tea.
I went to the naturalist talk about the glaciers, which was, again, very interesting. After that I went to the library and then came back to the cabin to see if he was awake. I read until he woke up for lunch. We decided to eat a very light lunch, because we are looking forward to our afternoon tea.
We had such a good
time at the tea today.
We met more new
people, Bev and Bob, from North Carolina. Bill and Bob got along great, and
they talked for over an hour, until we realized that the room had emptied, and
the staff was setting the tables for dinner.We felt a connection with them. We
exchanged cards and we hope to see them again.
Everyone else had
plans, because it was formal night, so Bill and I went to the Vista Lounge to
see an acrobatic comedian, who was very funny, but his show only lasted for a
half hour. We left there and as we were passing by the Explorer’s Lounge,
we heard good music, so we went in and sat down for a couple of hours.
The group performed several good songs from the sixties and seventies. We
had a good time listening to the music and watching people dance. We got
to know a few of the regulars. There was plaid man, an older man who was
there alone, but didn’t let that stop him. He asked a lot of ladies to
dance, and he was a very good dancer. Another one we called
“Joline.” She was a tall, slim blond who could have been my sister’s
double. When that was over, it was time for a game show. They wanted
teams to play, and we thought about joining some other people, but we didn’t
know what the game was going to be like, so we decided to watch. Even
that was fun because we could answer the questions to each other and see what
other people said. We decided we should play sometime because we got a
lot of the answers correct.
When it was over,
the next event was something we didn’t care to see, so we left and walked
around the ship one time on the Promenade Deck. The rain had stopped, and
the wind wasn’t as strong as it had been, so, even though it was cold, we
enjoyed the walk. When we went back inside, we discovered it was almost 11:00
and we hadn’t eaten dinner, so I left Bill at the stateroom, and I went to
Alfredo’s for a couple of slices of pizza. We went to bed at 11:30, but
it was very hard to go to sleep, partly because it was still light out, and
partly because the fog horn blew every minute for most of the night.
June 12, 2013 -
Ketchikan
The time changed,
so at 5:15, when I woke up and looked out the door, I saw that we were
approaching Ketchikan. I put on socks, a robe, and a blanket and, armed
with my camera and the binoculars, I sat and stood on the balcony to watch
until we docked, so I was there for over an hour. I got lots of pictures
of the gorgeous forested land. Bill finally woke up close to 7:00 and we
went to have breakfast at the buffet. We just aren’t enjoying the food at
the buffet, but it’s hard to hurt cereal and fruit.
We were scheduled
to meet for the Duck Tour at 10:50, so we left the ship a little after 8:00 to
walk through the town. Once we got off the ship, we had to go up a steep
ramp a couple of hundred feet long, which was very hard for Bill. It was very
cold and windy, but we had a great time, looking at everything. The
flowers are incredible, just blooming wildly throughout town. We found
two caches, and would have gone for more, but both the GPS and my phone ran
down too fast, so we had no way to search.
|
||
We walked as far as
Blasphemous Bill’s, a gift shop that has only Alaska made products or old
things that were found in Alaska. It was quite a long walk, and Bill did
really well, but he got pretty tired.
|
We walked back to
the ship, and had almost an hour before we had to be at our tour meeting spot,
so we went up to our stateroom, but the line to get out was sporadically long,
and once we got out, we knew he would have a rough time getting up the ramp to
the dock, so we hurried and changed our shoes, and took off some of the layers
we had worn, because it had warmed up considerably. When we got out of the
ship, I asked for a wheelchair and we only had to wait a couple of minutes.
It took two men to push him up the ramp and about halfway up, the cruise
director saw them pushing him, so she got in front of him and said for him to
give her his hands. She helped pull him up. I tried to get the
camera out to take a picture of them, but I dropped it, and it was over before
I could pick it up and get the shot.
The duck tour was wonderful.
It took us all around Ketchikan, giving the
history and some of the highlights of town.
|
We saw several bald
eagles, even a pair who watched us float by. We also had some float
planes swoop over us. The information they gave us was really
interesting, and we were glad we had taken the trip.
|
 |
| Selfie 2 |
 |
| Relaxing on the Promenade Deck |
When we left everyone, we walked on the Promenade Deck for a while, and then found the perfect spot to sit to watch the shore go by and watch for whales. We didn’t see any, but it was a very relaxing time. The sun had come out, and the weather was fantastic.
Before going back to our cabin, Bill said he would like to go into a hot tub, so we checked the ones on the Lido deck, but the music was playing so loud, we knew we wouldn’t enjoy being in any of them. We decided to check out the ones on the Sun Deck, and we found that the pool area for adults only is complimentary after all. So, we hurried down to change into our swimsuits. I noticed that the back of Bill’s leg just above his knee was very bruised. All we can think of is that one of the times he pulled it when he moved wrong must have caused some bleeding. We’re going to watch it closely.
We then called Carolee and asked her if she would like to join us at the pool. She did, and sitting in the hot tub made us feel even more relaxed. While we were there, I noticed two men and a woman go into the men-only sauna, and stay in there for a long time. One of the men came out and showered, and a few minutes later the other two came out. A little while later, they all went back in. About five minutes later, a ship officer came into the area. He opened the door, and both men came out, but it took several minutes for the woman to emerge. Bill heard the word, “trouble” but he couldn’t hear anything else. They nonchalantly strolled over to the showers, and then they left the area.
After leaving the
hot tub, we found that we were going through Sumner Straight, and that is where
we saw our first whale, although we didn’t see much of it.
|
We didn’t have any dinner, because neither of us was hungry. By that time, it was almost 8:00 pm, and it was still totally light. We had made plans to meet Bob and Bev at the Explorer lounge for some music and dancing. We got to the lounge when the band was just starting, about 9:00. Bob and Bev came in about 10:00. The music was great, with lots of energy. Since it was 50s themed, there was a hula hoop contest, and the woman who reminds us of Joline won it easily. She competed against five other women, and then the winner of the men’s contest and she had a hoop-off. And they had to keep three hoops up. After she won, they had her try it with six hoops, and she kept three of them up for several seconds. It was fun to watch. Watching the dancing was fun, but we even had a dance. I was surprised because Bill’s leg was bothering him so much all day, but he really wanted to.
We stayed at the
lounge until the musicians took a break at 11:00 and we walked around the
Promenade Deck one time with Bev and Bob before heading to bed.
|
We discovered that
it had gotten very cold and windy again. We are hoping that tomorrow will
be nice and sunny in Juneau.
June 13, 2013 -
Juneau
We slept so much
better last night. Maybe not having the fog horn blowing most of the
night helped. We woke up at 6:30 and watched the shore go by for a little
while before going out to walk on the Promenade deck. Bill couldn’t go very
fast so we only went around one time, but the views of the shore all around
were incredible. We arrived in Juneau at about 7:30.
When we got back to
the cabin, the phone rang and it was Carolee asking if we wanted to join her
for breakfast. So, we trouped back out and had breakfast with her.
She was going on a tour of Mendenhall Glacier, and we would like to do that,
but it involves two hours of walking so we passed on it. We are going to
walk into town and see what we can find.
We were getting
ready to go when Bill found out that his card case was missing. He has
been using that instead of a wallet so he only has a $100.00 bill, a credit
card and some of our business cards. He had no idea where it was, but we
guessed he must have dropped it at breakfast. I hurried back to the table
we had been at, and just as I walked in, Alex, our server, who was standing at
our table, looked at me and called across the room, “Did you lose a wallet?”
A lady who was just sitting down at the table had noticed it as it fell off a
chair and onto the floor. I was so glad that it had been found. If
we had had to cancel the credit card and lost the only money we had, we
wouldn’t have been able to shop in town for presents.
As it turned out,
Bill forgot to take his credit card with us so we didn’t shop at all, but we
had a wonderful time.
We walked about two miles in all, and part of them were uphill to a neat old building that was in ruins. I had to take a picture of it for Tony. I also got a shot of the graffiti we saw along the way.
We walked about two miles in all, and part of them were uphill to a neat old building that was in ruins. I had to take a picture of it for Tony. I also got a shot of the graffiti we saw along the way.
|
|
We met a fellow Geo-cacher in town, who was searching for a cache.
He was having trouble finding the micro cache and we saw that he was looking for it near the head. We walked up and said, “We know what you’re doing.” He laughed and said he’d been looking for the darned thing for quite a while and I walked over to where it was near the rear end of the dog, and just pointed it out to Bill.
Patsy Ann was Juneau’s canine gal about town in the 1930s. If she
wasn’t observing the situation in the lobby of a fine hotel or the dark corner
of a saloon, she’d likely be lounging at the Longshoreman’s Hall. She came to
Juneau by ship from Portland, Oregon, in 1929 as a pup, destined to be a family
pet. But Patsy would have none of that and found she preferred life on the
docks.
Patsy Ann was the town’s herald. Although deaf from birth, Patsy
Ann somehow “heard” the whistles of approaching ships and immediately headed at
a fast trot for the wharf, not to be sidetracked for any reason. ‘The ship is
coming! Mail! Tourists! Packages!’ The citizens of Juneau followed behind her
when they saw her heading for the harbor.
Kind-hearted travelers threw treats to her out porthole windows and
expected to see her on the docks. Her picture appeared on postcards as she
became the most famous dog west of the Mississippi–more photographed than Rin
Tin Tin.
When the town instituted dog-licensing laws, someone bought her a
collar and a license, which Patsy Ann promptly managed to remove and lose.
Someone else repeated the kind gesture. And so did Patsy Ann–again and again. A
“lady” of such dignity and breeding should not be burdened with a collar.
In 1934, Mayor Goldstein proclaimed Patsy Ann to be
the ”Official Greeter of Juneau,” for her unerring sense of ships’
arrival and her faithful welcome at wharfside. He also allowed her special
diplomatic immunity” from collars and licenses.
Patsy Ann fulfilled her duties with diligence and devotion
throughout her life. In later years, rheumatism, brought on by unscheduled
dives into Gastineau Channel, slowed her down somewhat but she still headed for
the docks on the double whenever she sensed a ship turning down the channel.
On March 30, 1942, Patsy Ann passed away in her sleep, fittingly at
the Longshoreman’s Hall. The next day a crowd of mourners watched as her little
coffin was lowered into Gastineau Channel, just a short distance from where her
statue is now.
In 1992, the Friends of Patsy Ann Society commissioned a bronze
statue by New Mexican artist Anna Burke Harris. It is a spirit piece: clippings
of dog hair from all over the world were added to the statue at the time of
casting. Patsy Ann once again waits at the waterfront, her head turned, looking
down Gastineau Channel, forever the “Official Greeter of Juneau.”
The statue, erected in Patsy Ann’s honor in 1992 on the 50th
anniversary of her death, ensures Patsy Ann’s endearing story will not soon be
forgotten. Since then, her story has been spreading, generally by word of mouth
from cruise ship passengers who stop in Juneau and are greeted by Patsy Ann as
they would have been in the ’30s.
We talked a bit, and found out that he is a travel agent who travels with his clients. He had 30 people with him, but they all went on a tour of the glacier, so he took the day off. We said goodbye, and went on our way to look for the next one. We climbed up Ewing Street - which is nothing more than a long flight of stairs - to the top and a little while later, John showed up to look for it with us.
 We finally located
it even higher up on a different street, and then we found one we hadn’t even
brought with us, because John had the information with him. When we were
done, we climbed down Decker Street - another flight of stairs -157 steps
high. Bill was struggling but he made it. |
Just as we got to the bottom, we heard horns blasting and people yelling. It turned out that a huge tour bus was going the wrong way on a one-way street. He must have been a new driver because there aren’t that many streets in Juneau. |
||
Carolee joined us for an hour or so. We went back to our cabin and changed for tea. We wanted to walk around the ship to take in the views of Juneau and I snapped a picture from the stern as we were leaving.
|
| Nobody else joined us today, so the three of us had a nice quiet time to talk. |
We rested and then did a load of laundry. Joline called at 6:30 and we talked until we had to leave to meet Carolee for dinner at 6:45. Dinner was nice, with Carolee and Elysa. Elysa arrived late, carrying a package, which she gave to Carolee. I thought she had gotten her mom a present but Carolee handed it to me. She had bought us the boarding portrait of us that I had taken a clandestine photo of.
It was a wonderful
surprise. Just as we were finishing dinner, we noticed that we had pulled
away from the dock. We quickly went to get our jackets and joined the
whole gang on the stern for photo ops. The scenery was awesome.
|
We went to the crew
talent show, but left after two singing acts that were less than stellar.
We were exhausted anyway, so it was okay that we didn’t stay for the whole
thing.
June 14, 2013 - Skagway
We slept well last
night and there was no fog again, so there was no foghorn. We woke up
just as we were arriving in Skagway, and the day started with beautiful
weather. We went to breakfast after calling Carolee, and finding that she
had woken up with a very sore knee. We found out later that Elysa took
her to the infirmary and they gave her some pain medication and iced her
knee. They also provided her with a wheelchair and a cane, but after the
pain meds took effect, she didn’t need the wheelchair.
We left the ship at 8:00 to meet the
trolley for our tour.
 |
| The Trolley |
We found out that the seats were very narrow, so, even though we were able to sit side by side, we both tended to slide forward and off the seat. The tour guide said the tour was full, so we had to share seats, but we noticed that the back seat wasn’t taken, yet, so we went back there and had the whole back of the trolley to ourselves. The guide made the tour fun. We drove through the downtown, which is probably only 12 blocks long and four blocks wide, but then she kept on driving out of town to the old cemetery. She gave us a lot of the history of the town and the people in it.
|
||
 |
| Soapy Smith's Grave |
The infamous Soapy
Smith was a late 19th century American old west confidence man and gambler par
excellence. Known as the "king
of the frontier confidence men" he was beyond comparison the
most artful grifter of his time. As a crime lord Soapy organized a large and
powerful gang of talented scoundrels and rogues in order to assume control
of the criminal underworlds in Denver and Creede, Colorado, between the years
1884 and 1895, and in Skagway, Alaska, during the Klondike gold rush of
1896-1898. In the latter he was known in the newspapers around the nation as
the "uncrowned king of Skagway."
Soapy Smith was the last of his kind, an old west crime figure who refused to give up the old ways for a constantly changing, modernizing nation. He was shot dead in a horrific gunfight while facing angry vigilantes on July 8, 1898. Four days prior, he had been the man of the hour. He had led Skagway’s first Independence Day parade as one of its grand marshals, and he stood on stage along side Alaska Territorial Governor John Brady. Four days later he died, labeled a criminal outlaw.
Soapy Smith was the last of his kind, an old west crime figure who refused to give up the old ways for a constantly changing, modernizing nation. He was shot dead in a horrific gunfight while facing angry vigilantes on July 8, 1898. Four days prior, he had been the man of the hour. He had led Skagway’s first Independence Day parade as one of its grand marshals, and he stood on stage along side Alaska Territorial Governor John Brady. Four days later he died, labeled a criminal outlaw.
The tour was an
hour and a half, and when she got back within three blocks of the ship, she offered
to stop for anyone who wanted to get off the bus early so they could
walk. We chose that option, and we walked for a couple of hours, poking
around in some of the shops. We found some presents for Bryanna, Bailey,
Carson and Brenden. Nothing great, just some things we think they’ll
like. Just like in Juneau, the weather warmed up so I took off my jacket
while we were walking. We found out later that the temperature got up to
73 and it was the first day this season that it wasn’t overcast and rainy.
Then it was time for some geo-caching. Again, Bill had picked out some caches close to the ship, but we weren’t able to get the coordinates to line up and it was very hot and sunny, so we just decided we had done enough for the day. We walked back to the ship, and changed into our swimsuits. We spent the next two hours at the Sanctuary pool. I swam, with the wave current on, and it was really hard. I thought I was a strong swimmer, but I found out I’m not. We sat in the hot tub, but it was in full sun, so Bill didn’t stay in very long.
  |
The rest of the
time, we read and enjoyed the total quiet.
At 3:30, we went to
tea, and met some new people, Jennifer and Chris from Sacramento and Christine
and Evan from Chicago. After tea, we went to the Vista Lounge for a trivia
game, and then we sat in the Atrium to read and see if any of our friends
showed up. Nobody came down, but the violin player started his set around
6:00 so we stayed to enjoy the music.
|
||
When the music was
over, we went to our cabin to change and then when it was time for sail-away, we went out to the deck. We took more photos than we have at any other time on the
trip. The sunset was spectacular. We wanted to stay out on deck to
watch, but it was very cold with the wind, and Bill didn’t want to stand for
long, so we went to the grill for a hamburger and watched through the windows on both sides of the ship. Carolee joined us for an
ice cream cone and then we came back to our cabin to watch the scenery from our
balcony. We saw a huge glacier from
afar.
There was a cute little lighthouse on a tiny island, and we saw
some animals swimming in our wake, probably dolphins, but we couldn’t get a
good look at them. We pulled ourselves away from the balcony at 10:30
because we were so tired and it was getting cold. I could have probably
stayed out there all night taking pictures.
We later fount out that Pam and her family took a bus trip to the Yukon, and had a delightful time. The most interesting thing was that upon re-entering the United States, the bus was waved through without anyone having to show their passport. We find that rather disturbing. That is yet another way for terrorists to waltz into our country.
We later fount out that Pam and her family took a bus trip to the Yukon, and had a delightful time. The most interesting thing was that upon re-entering the United States, the bus was waved through without anyone having to show their passport. We find that rather disturbing. That is yet another way for terrorists to waltz into our country.
|
||
|
||
This morning, I
woke up at 5:18 and made the mistake of peeking out of the door. I was
stuck outside for almost four hours because the views were so incredible.
We were going through the Tracy Arm Fjord.
Waterfalls, ice
floes in the water, forests, and mountains all around. It was simply magnificent.
|
||
I took a few
minutes to get dressed in leggings and sweat pants, and put on two shirts and
the hooded sweatshirt because it was bitterly cold. At 6 ish, I went up
on the bow to see what it looked like directly in front of us, but I was only
able to stay for a few minutes because the wind was crazy strong and cold and
the sun was so bright that I couldn’t see the face of my phone, which I had to
use for photos because the camera forgot to get charged last night – silly
camera. People were dressed in full cover-up snow-suits, with hats,
gloves and goggles. If we ever do this cruise again, we will certainly be
more prepared.
The sea was dotted
all over with ice, which was an awesome sight.
 |
| Valley |
|
After I got back to
our stateroom, Bill woke up enough to go outside for a couple of minutes, but
he had a bad night, with his leg hurting a lot, so he mostly dozed until 9:00,
when we went to breakfast. After the sun rose enough to be overhead, the
day was warm and bright.
|
||
The cruise director
said that in all her time on the ship, she had never seen two days in a row
with sunshine. We wonder if that is just what they say, or if it is
really true. Whatever it was, we enjoyed not having to wear so many
clothes.
We didn’t see it
happen, but we noticed that we had turned and were heading the other way, and
we later found out that the pilot had made the decision not to go all the way
to the Tracy Glacier because it was too dangerous. We didn’t find out
what the danger was. At the buffet, we were able to get a window table,
so we could see the scenery passing by.
After breakfast, we
went to the lecture on whales. It was sort of a refresher course for us,
but we discovered that we had forgotten some things that we used to know.
We also discovered that the naturalist left out some key points on cetaceans
that we used to cover in our presentation when we did the lectures for the
Pacific Whale Foundation.
When the lecture was over, we changed and went up to the Sanctuary, but this time, instead of being alone, or with only one or two other people, there were several other people there. We found only one chair, so we went into the hot tub. Bill thinks it is helping his leg, but I wonder why, if it is helping, he is still in so much pain. The bruise he got when he pulled his knee a few days ago is almost gone, but he is having a hard time walking. He wishes he had brought his cane. While we were in the hot tub, Carolee joined us. She knew where to find us. Bill went back to our cabin for a rest and Carolee and I stayed for about an hour.
I wanted to go to
the talent show at 2:15, so I went back to take a shower and get dressed.
Bill had planned to skip the show, but he decided to join me. It was
disappointing. The people were brave to get up there to perform, but only
two out of the five acts were good. There was a piano player and the kids
from the kids club put on a very cute skit about pirates. The harmonica player
was good, but we don’t like the sound of a harmonica, and the two singers, were
just bad.
We went to tea and
saw Bob and Bev just before we went in. She wanted to go with us, but
they had just had lunch, and didn’t want to over-indulge. They have the late
seating for dinner, so we probably won’t see them tonight. At tea, we
were joined by Carolee, and six other people we hadn’t met before. But,
it is really interesting how we keep running into them as well as Pam and
Paige. It was very nice, as always. After that, we watched a fun game in
the Atrium, called 60 Second Challenge. It was pretty crowded, with lots
of people standing to watch. We were lucky enough to get chairs because
Bill wouldn't have been able to stay if we hadn't.
And that brings me
back to the beginning of day, and why we have an hour we don’t know what to do
with. We got to the theater about 15 minutes before the show was to start, and
we were glad we did. As always, people were saving seats, some even saving two
whole rows, so the theater was already very full.
We found seats up against a place where Bill could rest his leg. The comedian/magician was wonderful. His name is Martin Lewis, and we will be watching for him to perform on TV or in Reno. Maybe he'll be a guest on the tonight show before Jay Leno leaves for good. He did comedic card routines and we know they are deceptive illusions but there was no way to figure out what he was doing to trick our brains into seeing what couldn’t have really happening. After the show, we walked around he deck one time, and then we went to bed, the earliest we’ve gone to bed the whole trip, at 8:40.
We found seats up against a place where Bill could rest his leg. The comedian/magician was wonderful. His name is Martin Lewis, and we will be watching for him to perform on TV or in Reno. Maybe he'll be a guest on the tonight show before Jay Leno leaves for good. He did comedic card routines and we know they are deceptive illusions but there was no way to figure out what he was doing to trick our brains into seeing what couldn’t have really happening. After the show, we walked around he deck one time, and then we went to bed, the earliest we’ve gone to bed the whole trip, at 8:40.
Tomorrow, we are
going to be cruising again, toward Victoria, British Columbia.
June 16, 2013
We got a rare treat
this morning. We slept until almost 8:00. Then we dozed and watched
the ship move through the map on TV until Carolee called just before 9 to ask
us if we wanted to go for coffee.
|
||
We declined,
because neither of us was ready to start moving. Finally, at 10:15, we
dressed and went to breakfast. Both of us are feeling like zombies
today. Can you get jet lag on a ship?
We don’t have anything
planned for today except for tea at 3:30 and a comedy show at 7. Bill is
napping (at 12:42pm) and I’m thinking of going to the Sanctuary for a while to
read. It is too cold to sit on the open deck today but the Sanctuary is
protected.
 |
| Sanctuary Pool |
I did go to the
Sanctuary. I read for a while and my eyes got so heavy that I couldn’t
keep them open so I started to take a nap. Suddenly, Bob and Bev showed
up, so we talked for a few minutes. They said they were going to join us
for tea and bring two other people with them. Betty and Andy were fun and we
stayed at tea for almost an hour. After that, Bill and I walked on the
Promenade deck for a few minutes, even though it was very cold. We immediately
spotted a pod of dolphins, sort of spitting water up into the air. We
counted 12, before we went on our way. We ended up at the Terrace pool,
inside, where we read for two hours.
At 9:00, we went to
the buffet for a bite of dinner before heading back to the Vista Lounge for the
comedy show. Bev and Bob didn’t make it there, but Carolee and Elysa
did. Carolee seemed fine when they got there, but she was tired and
shivering soon after. They left early because she was feeling terrible.
The show was terribly funny. We are looking forward to his next
performance on Tuesday night. We went to bed at 11:00.
June 17 - Victoria,
British Columbia
We arrived at 6:30. We had breakfast and were off the ship by 8. We rode the Princess bus into town because the area we wanted to see was close to a mile away, and we didn't know what the terrain would be like. It wasn't like in the other ports where we could see the whole town from our balcony.
The bus dropped us at the Empress Hotel.
 |
| Dolphins Made From Plants at the Empress Hotel |
We got on the bus to go back to the ship, and we were the only ones on it. The bus driver was very nice and he talked to us the whole way back. Bill got a picture of a beautiful palace through the bus window, but neither of us remembers what it was except that it was some kind of national building.
 |
| Palace |
When we got on the
ship, it was just 10:45. We went right to our cabin to change and then to
the Sanctuary. We had it almost to ourselves. I swam with the
current, and Bill sat in the hot tub. We stayed at the pool until just
after 1:00. I called Carolee to see how she was feeling and what she had
done this morning, and she told me that she had spent the last 12 hours in the
infirmary. They gave her antibiotics and IV fluids. She didn’t seem
to want to talk, so I will check on her later. I also called Brian to
tell him the approximate time we will be disembarking on Wednesday.
Everyone had to be
back on the ship by 1:30 but four people didn’t get back until almost 2. The
gangplank had already been taken away. We don’t know what happened, but they
held the ship for the people, so they must have been on a Princess excursion,
or we wouldn’t have waited for them. We pulled away from the dock
immediately, and we watched sail-away on the Sun Deck. We were with Bev
and Bob for a while, and then we sat in lounge chairs and just enjoyed the
view.
|
||
 |
| Victoria From Our Stateroom |
We ran into Elysa after tea and she was taking some food up to Carolee. She said that she was doing better, but not great. I didn’t want to call her because I was afraid I would wake her up. I will check in with her tomorrow.
We went to the Vista Lounge with Jennifer, Chris, Samantha and Samantha’s husband, Darren to play Trivia. Then we sat in the Atrium to watch for whales. We saw a couple, but nothing great.
At 6. We went to
the buffet to have a light dinner, and then we went to the Princess Theater
early to get good seats for the magician. His show was even better than
the last one a couple of nights ago. We decided that we should have a
cocktail, so Bill got a Blue Hawai’ian and I got a Pina Colada.
Yummy! When the show was over, we came back to our stateroom and read and
watched sitcom reruns until dark.
We can’t wait to
get home to our own bed.
June 18, 2013
Our last day of
cruising. We had a light breakfast at the buffet, and walked on the
Promenade Deck.
Then we spent a relaxing couple of hours visiting with Paige, Pam and Allen while sitting on the Promenade Deck watching for whales. They are so fun to talk to. Bill and Allen got along as if they had known each other forever.
We’ve met a lot of
people on the ship, but Pam, Paige and Allen and Bev and Bob are our favorites.
We saw Bev and Bob race walking on the
Promenade deck.
 |
| Paige, Pam and Allen |
Then we spent a relaxing couple of hours visiting with Paige, Pam and Allen while sitting on the Promenade Deck watching for whales. They are so fun to talk to. Bill and Allen got along as if they had known each other forever.
Promenade deck.
It’s no wonder they
both look so fit, with the amount of time they devote to exercise. They
said that gives them the ability to enjoy the food on the ship without too much
guilt.
 |
| Bev and Bob On Their Umteenth Time Around |
There was no answer
at Elysa and Hannah’s room, so I left a message for them to let us know how
Carolee is. Carolee called about five minutes later, and said that she is
quarantined to her room because of a high fever. She has to go to the
doctor’s office to have IV antibiotics regularly because she can’t take pills.
The doctor wants to have her admitted to the hospital in San Francisco, but she
is refusing, preferring to go to her own doctor in Maui.
Our last tea was
lovely. We're going to miss the scones and getting together with our new friends.
 |
| Almost Packed |
We arranged to meet
them for the comedy show tonight if they can get their packing finished before
then. It is Kevin Hughes, who we saw a few nights ago in the Vista
Lounge. He was so funny, and we are looking forward to more of his humor.
We are packed and ready to put our suitcase out in the hallway for pick-up. All we have to do in the morning is put the last of our things in the carry-on bags. We started with two checked bags and one carry-on, and we now have one checked and two carry-on, because there is no way we can sleep tonight without out pillows, and they won’t all fit in the beige duffel that we use for all our carry-on things. After tea, we walked most of the way around the Promenade Deck. It is cold, but not very and we were hoping to spot some more whales.
We are packed and ready to put our suitcase out in the hallway for pick-up. All we have to do in the morning is put the last of our things in the carry-on bags. We started with two checked bags and one carry-on, and we now have one checked and two carry-on, because there is no way we can sleep tonight without out pillows, and they won’t all fit in the beige duffel that we use for all our carry-on things. After tea, we walked most of the way around the Promenade Deck. It is cold, but not very and we were hoping to spot some more whales.
 |
| Rhapsody Trio Playing In the Atrium |
retreated to our cabin to finish packing. All we had left were the clothes we were going to wear for the evening, and the clothes we wanted to wear in the morning.
At 7:00, we went to Alfredo’s for personal pizzas which turned out to be surprisingly good. We were treated to a lovely sounds of the Rhapsody Trio one more time, while we had dinner. They have been our favorite music group on the ship. One of the songs was something that Andrea Bocelli sang, but we couldn't think of the name of it. Bill said that right then was his favorite moment of the trip – the ocean, the music and a quiet dinner with just the two of us.
| After dinner, we
walked for a little while. I was worried that we wouldn’t be able to get
seats at the Princess Theater for the Kevin Hughes show at 9:45, so we went to
the British Invasion at 8:45. Both shows were crowded, but we got very
good seats. We sat right in front of Jennifer, Samantha and Darren so we
had someone to chat with between the two shows. The comedy was simply
wonderful, and it was over far too soon. We walked on the Promenade Deck
for a little while and thought we’d check the Explorer’s Lounge before going to
bed to see who was there. It turned out that Carolee was released from
quarantine at 7:00, and she had gone to the lounge to see if we were there, so
we got to say goodbye to her, and Elysa. Tom and Barbara were also there
their sons. They are very nice people. We only stayed for 10
minutes because we all were getting very tired and we will be getting up very
early to watch the ship go into San Francisco harbor. |
| The comedy was simply wonderful, and it was over far too soon. We walked on the Promenade Deck for a little while and thought we’d check the Explorer’s Lounge before going to bed to see who was there. It turned out that Carolee was released from quarantine at 7:00, and she had gone to the lounge to see if we were there, so we got to say goodbye to her, and Elysa. Carolee was feeling so much better. |
 |
| One Last Get-Together |
June 19, 2013
We had a bit of a disappointment this
morning. We had left a wake-up call for 5:00 am, so when the phone rang,
we popped up immediately and got dressed. We went up on the Sun Deck in
plenty of time to watch our approach to San Francisco. But when we got there,
we found that the entire bow was closed. We went down to the Promenade
Deck and the bow was closed there, too. There were a handful of other
people milling around looking for a place to see. The Golden Gate Bridge
was quickly approaching and we couldn’t get to a spot to take photos of the
complete bridge. We went back up to the Sports Deck and got some good
shots but they weren’t what I had hoped for.
 |
| Not a Hint of Fog |
 |
| Wake Up San Francisco |
At 7:00 we went to Botticelli for breakfast and sat with people we hadn’t met before, all of whom were from the bay area. We saw Pam and her group come in and be seated at the next table, so when we left, we had one more chance to say goodbye.
We went to our
cabin to get our stuff, and then found seats in the Atrium to wait for our
group to be called at 9:55. While waiting, we saw Barbara and Don and
their handsome sons. I chatted with them for a few minutes. They
said they are going to definitely, probably go to Maui next year to get
married, and they will see about staying in our condo. She said she is
going to stay in touch with Carolee, and that she thinks she is such a lovely
person. I know Carolee feels the same about Barbara.
The ship was
emptying more quickly than we had expected so I phoned Brian to tell him that
we would be getting off well before 11:00. He left his house right away
to drive into SF to pick us up but the traffic was still heavy so it took him
an hour to get there. Our group was called, but we waited for a few more
minutes to leave, until they started asking us if we were ready.
We took the hint and disembarked, found our suitcase right away, and went out to a bench in front of the Aquarium to wait for Brian. The weather was still perfect so we sat for about a half -hour enjoying people watching.
We took the hint and disembarked, found our suitcase right away, and went out to a bench in front of the Aquarium to wait for Brian. The weather was still perfect so we sat for about a half -hour enjoying people watching.
|
June 20
Today, Monique is at work, and Brian had to drive to Santa Maria to finish clearing out their old house, so we have the house to ourselves. We are reading and enjoying the quiet. We loved the cruise, but it is good to not have to go anywhere or do anything. |
