Vacation (4)

Alaska vacation.

As I said before: most people are enthralled by an Alaska-trip, but for most of us it takes planning and saving. Most people we talk to are either planning to go, wishing to go, or have been there. With the help and encouragement of our daughter and our son-in-law we embarked on a sea cruise from Vancouver, BC, to Seward, AK; followed by a land cruise to Fairbanks, from where we flew home again. We spend the night in Minneapolis, where we were visited by Tony & Dawn, our children from Hollandale, MN.

In my previous post I gave you a very brief description of some of what we saw and did and I shared a few pictures. There are more pictures on the blog-site of our children (http://realrick.blogspot.com) .
Rick and Monique also posted a few albums on face-book. So if you have access to either our or their page you can feast your eyes on many pictures of us and the beauty of Creation we were blessed to see and experience.

We were really blessed with many days of sunshine. The weather in Alaska is usually expected to be cloudy with rain showers, but we mostly missed that; not that we “missed” it. We had four ports of call and we cruised two fjords. During both “days at sea” the weather was more in keeping with Alaska’s norm, but the port visits were enjoyed with beautiful sunshine. We rode a paddle boat in Ketchikan and were treated to a saloon show while on board and the performers explained the days of the gold rush.


We also explored some more of the town and took some nice pictures.

In Juneau we did some sightseeing and got a repair kit for Corrie’s glasses. Her primary glasses broke, her back up glasses were missing one nose pad. I was successful in repairing the back-ups. In the afternoon we went on a bike trip, north of town, in the area of the Mendenhal glacier. After enjoying the beautiful spring scenery,

the snow still in the ditches, we also visited the visitor-center at the glacier. At the close this memorable ride we stopped of at the only authentic commercial brewery in Alaska, appropriate called “Alaska Brewery.” Every thing needed to brew beer here is imported, except the water. We got a really good taste some of their specialties. All in all a very good day.

So, onward to Glacier Bay. The silt filled water was smooth as a mirror, with lots of ice flows, mini bergs. Then we saw where all this ice came from: Marjory glacier did not disappoint us by calving many times while we were in her vicinity. A powerful display of “white thunder” and falling “chunks” of ice. Our brides brought us some special “Captain’s coffee” while we were enjoying the spectacle, during bright sunshine and cool air.





The next day we called on Skagway. This is a very small town, which still retains some of its frontier character. We bought hoodies, expecting cooler weather farther North; and they came in really handy, as expected. In the afternoon we went on a hike, away frm the bustle of the town and all the cruise boat passengers. We hiked along the shore, through the woods and over rocky outcrops.
Obviously we were treated to many gorgeous views and scenery. Spring had fully sprung here also. Again the weather was sunny and relatively warm; although, we did wear our hoodies on the hike.


Overnight the swell became very noticeable. We had ordered breakfast in our room, and although it took some time to arrive, we got it and ate it without spilling any.
During the morning the sea quieted down and by the time we were cruising “College Fjord” it was very still again.
There was a lot of cloud cover, and it misted, so we were privy to some regular Alaskan weather as well. The next day we disembarked without difficulties in Seward. Here we started the land portion of our trip. (To be continued)