Thursday, 091913 Glacier Bay

091913 Glacier Bay

Today the ship visited Glacier Bay National Park, a World Heritage Site.  Throughout the day, the ship slowly made its way up the bay and back out again, providing close views of the glaciers in the bay.  The National Park Service boarded the ship at 7:00 a.m. and provided commentary throughout the visit.  At 9:30 a.m. we passed the first of the glaciers, Reid Glacier, and then we came immediately to Lamplugh Glacier, which the ship passed slowly, but without stopping.  Immediately after Lamplugh Glacier, the ship very slowly crept to the mouth of the Johns Hopkins Inlet to permit passengers to view the Johns Hopkins Glacier at the end of the inlet.  This glacier is the only one that is still growing; all of the others are slowly retreating.  At this point, the captain turned the ship around to permit passengers on all sides of the ship to view the Johns Hopkins Glacier and then the ship slowly made its way back out of the inlet.  As the ship returned to the Lamplugh Glacier, the captain paused the ship for very close viewing.  The captain slowly spun the ship completely around to permit all passengers to view the glacier several times.  Following the Lamplugh Glacier, the ship made its way farther into Glacier Bay until it reached the end of the bay, at which point both the Margerie Glacier and the Grand Pacific Glacier merged into Glacier Bay.  Grand Pacific Glacier is brown from all the dust it had accumulated over the centuries; however, Margerie Glacier is truly spectacular, the most magnificent site on the entire cruise.  Margerie Glacier is about 25 stories high and two miles wide at water level, and the captain parked the ship directly in front of the glacier for a full half-hour.  A few small ice-floes broke away from the glacier as we sat there watching.  This site was by far the highlight of the entire cruise, and one of  the greatest sights in the world.  After the ship had been stopped for a half-hour, the captain turned the ship around, providing great views of the Grand Pacific Glacier, and again the Margerie Glacier before slowly making his way back out of Glacier Bay.  In the afternoon, a naturalist came aboard to lead a whale-watching time as the ship made its way back out of Glacier Bay; however, only a few dorsal fins were spotted.  While the weather was very pleasant, though very cold, for glacier viewing, heavy fog and rain returned in the afternoon as the ship made its way back out of Glacier Bay.

The evening was formal, and the show was a production show called, “Piano Man”, which would seem to feature Billy Joel music; however, the show had music from the 50s to current music.  The production shows are truly great shows, featuring the Princess singers and dancers, and this show was excellent as well.  Dinner was with a man and his wife from Denver; I had met them on the White Pass Railway, where he had introduced himself and asked me if I were Jon Voigt. Later on that tour, I took their photo at the suspension bridge, and as we talked, he asked if I would join them for dinner tonight.

 

Wednesday, 09/18/13 Skagway

09/18/13 Skagway

Today we took the White Pass Railway from Skagway to White Pass, the high mountain pass through which prospectors had to travel to get to the Klondike gold field.  At one time, the railway was used to transport all goods into Skagway, but now that the Yukon highway has been constructed, it is used only for sightseeing.  The train makes its way up the mountain from sea level to an altitude of 3,000 feet; the trip ends in Fraser, Canada, where Canadian border officials checked all passports before passengers were permitted to exit the train.  Buses then took everyone to a pedestrian suspension bridge over a creek several hundred feet below, and then back down the mountain to the ship.  As the bus passed down the mountain, it passed the U.S. border control station, where U.S. customs officials had to check passports.  At the base of the mountain, in Skagway, the bus stopped at a very pretty garden, “Jewell Garden” for lunch and a walk in the garden.  The lunch was not very good, but the garden was really beautiful.

An interesting incident occurred while on the train.  The weather was cold and raining, but I stood on the little platform outside the rail car to take photos.  At one point, two other men were standing with me, and one of them asked me if I were Jon Voigt.  When I told him that I was not, he said that I must get that question a lot.  Indeed, over the years, many people have asked me if I were Jon Voigt, and several have even gone so far as to ask for my autograph.  One man who had worked on a movie with Jon Voigt told me that he thought I was Jon and even began to talk with me as if I were him, until he realized that I was not him.  He was quite startled at the resemblance.  I don’t see the resemblance, but others do. 

Tuesday, 091713 Juneau

Tuesday, 091713 Juneau

Ship tour to watch whales -- Allen Marine Tours (allenmarinetours.com) -- a family run business conducting marine tours in Alaska since 1970.  The young woman who was the captain of the boat seemed to be either a member of the family, or someone associated with the family in some way.  She was excellent in finding whales and following them.  The weather was not good; it was heavily overcast with misting rain all day, sometimes heavier than others, with a breeze, and temperature of about 45 degrees.  It was not pleasant standing outside on the boat trying to take photos.  At first, we saw only one whale, and not well, so she moved the boat to a small island where sea lions were resting; there must have been at least 50 sea lions on the small island.  Then she moved the boat to another area where there were other boats that seemed to have seen whales.  Suddenly we seemed to be surrounded by a large number of whales, so there must have been lots of food fish in that area.  We stayed in that area for the remainder of the tour and we saw numerous whales.  Fortunately, I was able to get a few nice photos of the dorsal fins and some nice tail photos as well.  We felt that the trip was quite good. 

After leaving the whale watching, we were bussed to the Mendenhall glacier, which was very interesting.  I could not help comparing it with the Briksdahl glacier in Norway.  The Briksdahl glacier was much harder to get to; we had to walk a couple of miles up a trail to see it, where the Mendenhall glacier was in full view from a number of viewing platforms.  The National Park Service made it easy to view the glacier, and visitor center also had a really nice video and other displays that provided much information about the glacier.  We felt really good about the experience of seeing the Mendenhall glacier (as we also did about seeing the Briksdahl glacier). 

Later, we walked the one street in Juneau.  Juneau was the town built around the Juneau gold strike.  It is a very narrow town built along a river, with only one street.  Beyond the one street, a high mountain blocks further development.  The state capitol is a plain brown building with no dome.  The entire town is only about 30,000 population, and it is spread out over a wide area.  The one street is filled with the same tourist shops and jewelry shops found in so many places in the Caribbean; many of the jewelry shops are owned by the cruise lines.  Dinner was with an Australian couple and a young couple from San Diego. 

Monday, 091613 Ketchikan

091613 Ketchikan

Neets Bay bear watching.  Twelve adults and one child signed up for the high-speed boat trip to Neets Bay to watch bears in the wild eating salmon.  The day started off very cloudy and misty, but as we got going, it cleared up.  The captain of the boat was Captain Mike, and the tour guide was Bailey, a girl who had just graduated from high school last year.  She turned out to be interesting.  Her dad works for the U.S. Forest Service, and last year he had been offered the chance to be transferred to Alaska from Ohio.  He asked his wife and five children what they should do, and they agreed to the transfer.  Bailey is the oldest, and she finished high school last year.  The others are still in school.  This summer, she got the job with Captain Mike, and he taught her what to say on the boat to explain what customers were seeing. 

The boat ride to Neets Bay was about 45 minutes at high speed.  Once there, the captain watched for bears and then took the boat as near to them as possible to let passengers observe them.  For a while, it appeared that we would not see any bears, but after a time, one bear did emerge from the dense forest to walk along the water’s edge in search of salmon.  Unfortunately, we were too far from the bear to get a very close look, but I did take photos.  We also saw sea lions and seals, which also eat the salmon.  Later at the end of the time in Neets Bay, we went by a small island that was filled with sea lions and a nearby, second island that was filled with seals. 

The temperature was about 45 degrees, and we were very pleased that we had dressed warmly, with heavy undershirt, heavy shirt, sweater, and jacket, along with gloves.  We needed all those clothes, and we were still cold on the way back from Neets Bay.  On the way back to the ship, we encountered a shower, which is not unexpected in Ketchikan; the average annual rainfall in Ketchikan is 14 FEET. We were lucky that it did not rain while we were out looking for bears. 

After arriving back in town, we went for a brief walk in Ketchikan, which is very neat, and is all set up for cruise passengers, with the same jewelry shops and gift shops found in the Caribbean.  Many of these shops are owned by the cruise companies. 

Sunday, 091513 Day at Sea

091513 Day at Sea

Today was Sunday, and the Redskins were playing Green Bay on TV at 10:00 a.m.  After breakfast, I watched the first half of the game, and then turned it off.  We spent the day relaxing, reading, doing a Sunday crossword, and exploring the ship.  The evening was formal, and we enjoyed dressing up.  At dinner, we met several people who we found interesting -- a couple from New Jersey, two people from California, and two women from Australia.  The two Australian women, both grandmothers, were married, but traveling alone, their husbands didn’t want to travel with them, so they traveled alone.

The evening entertainment was a production show, “I‘ve got the music“, featuring songs of Neil Diamond, Barbra Streisand, and Lionel Richey.  As always, the production shows on Princess are great, and this one was, too.  The theater was standing room only, as always for production shows.

Saturday, 09/14/13 All Aboard

09/14/13 All Aboard

The bellman knocked on our door at 7:30 for our luggage, although the bus would not arrive until 9:00 to leave the hotel for the ship.  We had breakfast in the hotel, and we had a feeling of elegance having breakfast in such an ornate dining room.  The eggs Benedict were wonderful.  After breakfast the wait was brief until we boarded the bus for the ship.  As the driver pulled the bus away, I asked him if everyone was on board.  He suddenly stopped the bus and made a head count, and said, no, everyone was not there.  Soon some others arrived and we were off.  If I had not asked him my question, I guess they would have been left behind.  The ferry crossing was uneventful except for one thing -- we decided to pay $12 to sit in a luxury section with comfortable chairs and snacks provided.  It was well worth the price.  After leaving the ferry, the driver took us a different route back downtown to the pier where the ship was waiting, and it was very interesting to see a different part of Vancouver.  It is a very pretty town, and so orderly and clean. 

Boarding the ship was uneventful; although the lines were quite long the process moved quickly.  When we arrived at our room, we felt “at home”.  A feeling of comfort, both physical and emotional, came over us.  We freshened up and went for a walk and a bite to eat at the cafeteria on the top deck while we waited for our luggage to arrive in our room.  At 4:00 p.m. the ship held its mandatory safety drill.  We discovered that somehow our dinner reservations were “free style”, which means any dining room at any time.  When we went to dinner at 8:00 p.m. the lines were long at the first two dining rooms, but when we arrived at the Santa Fe dining room , we were seated right away with a very interesting elderly couple who were originally from Uzbekistan.  They came to America in 1991, after the fall of communism, and lived in Pennsylvania until a couple of years ago, when they moved to Florida.  They told us about living in Uzbekistan, which they loved until Stalin came to power.  After that they said that living was very hard.  They had relatives in the U.S. but they were not permitted to visit, or ever to leave the country together; the thought was that if one was left behind, the other would return, too.  Eventually, they were permitted to immigrate to the U.S. and they have been very happy.  One of the great things about traveling is the interesting people one meets.

In the evening, we skipped the comedian, and went to sleep early.

Friday, 09/13/13 Vancouver Island, Butchart Gardens, Victoria

09/13/13 Vancouver Island, Butchart Gardens, Victoria

The bus arrived at 8:15 a.m., and we were off to Vancouver Island.  The bus driver was very informative, talking constantly as he drove the bus through the downtown area, then south past the airport and on to the ferry terminal an hour away.  The city of Vancouver is very neat, very well organized, very clean, without litter and graffiti.  The presence of a large Asian community is very noticeable.  As the bus drove out Cambie Street, the driver informed us that a subway line had been installed the under the street prior to the 2010 Olympics, and as a result, development was underway around the stations.  Indeed, we could see dozens of buildings under construction near the subway stations.  The area had formerly been residential, and houses near the stations were empty, with signs indicating that new buildings were planned.

At the ferry terminal, the driver informed us that the ferry transported both large vehicles and cars, as well as bicycles and even foot traffic.  The ferry held 410 cars and 34 large vehicles, including busses and even semi.  The bus pulled into the second deck, and passengers went upstairs to the fifth and sixth decks for seating and refreshments.  While on the ferry, I stepped outside to take some photos, and at one point, I noticed a young Muslim woman trying to take a self- photo; I took her camera and took the photo for her.  Then her companion, another young Muslim woman, came up, and I took both of their photos.  Then they permitted me to take their photos with my camera as well.  At the appointed time, passengers reboarded the bus, and when the ferry arrived at the terminal on Victoria Island, the driver was on his way to Butchart Gardens.  Travel time for the ferry was about 1.5 hours.

The driver described Butchart Gardens, now more than 100 years old.  It was formerly a shale quarry, and after the shale played out, the wife of the owner decided to install a garden in the pit and surrounding areas.  Now, after 100 years, the gardens are a national shrine.  Inside, the bus driver explained that passengers would have two hours to visit the gardens, and we were off.  We wandered about and I took photos of the beautiful scenery.  It truly is amazing how a former mine pit has been transformed into a beautiful site.  While I was taking photos, again I saw the two young Muslim women taking photos, so I took a few photos of them with their camera, and then again, they permitted me to take a photo of them with my camera.  I talked with them for a moment, and it turned out that they were visiting from Oman, attending a conference in Vancouver.   I was able to tell them about our one day in Muscat, Oman, on a cruise in 2010.  After wandering about, we stopped for gelato before reboarding the bus to Victoria.

The bus driver took a scenic route to Victoria, driving along the coast.  Eventually, the bus arrived in Victoria for a loop around the downtown area before stopping at the stately Fairmont Empress Hotel.  A large, imposing red brick building, the hotel was constructed more than 100 years ago.  It sits across from the Parliament building, constructed about the same time by the same architect.  After checking in, we went to our room, which seemed to be an original room, with little upgrading since construction.  With high ceilings, and a ceiling fan whirring, the room seemed to be out of a historical movie.  The bathroom was tiny, with very old fixtures, and even the furniture seemed very old.  We found it all charming. 

After our luggage arrived in the room, we took off quickly to walk the downtown area of Victoria for some photos of the old buildings along the two main streets in the downtown area.  Government Street and Wharf Street, along with adjoining streets, were constructed 50-100 years ago, and had been renovated, forming a very picturesque scene.  Most of the shops were tourist shops.  I took photos until the sun set, and then we returned to our room before going out again to dinner at a restaurant that overlooked the marina sitting just in front of the hotel.  After dinner, I took photos of the Parliament building which was outlined in lights, forming a very pretty scene. 

Repacking before bedtime; luggage must be ready the following morning by 7:30 to return to the mainland and then to the ship.

Thursday, 09/12/13 Vancouver

Thursday, 09/12/13

Jet lagged, I woke up at 5:00 a.m. and had difficulty staying in bed.  My movements woke Rae around 8:00, which was 11:00 at home, and we got ready to start the day.  We had planned to walk the downtown area of Vancouver, getting a feel of the city.  However, after I took my shower and got dressed, I was feeling very groggy, and decided to lie back down for a few minutes.  I woke up FIVE hours later!  I was totally exhausted from the travel and the time difference.  This time, after getting up, we went downstairs to an underground food court and got some breakfast -- an apple fritter from Starbucks and coffee from McDonald’s.  Then we began our walk at noon, local time. 

The concierge at the hotel had mentioned that one of the most interesting sights in Vancouver is an area called Yaletown, in the far Southeast section of the downtown area, so we headed in that direction.  It turned out that the hotel was located in the financial district of Vancouver, and it reminded us of the financial district in New York, with many tall banks and other financial buildings.  Like Lower Manhattan, this financial district is also located on the tip of the peninsula by the cruise port, the ferries, and marinas.  Vancouver had also built an elegant convention center on the water front, with five tall “sails” on the building, denoting the five provinces of Canada.  The convention center is also the cruise terminal, and a Silver Sea ship was in port. 

Slowly, we made our way south, turning when we saw a building or street that looked interesting.  When we got to Robson Street, we turned east, toward a large indoor stadium.  It turned out that Robson Street is one of the most important streets in Vancouver, running east-west through the entire peninsula.  Businesses line the street from one end to the other.  Along the eastern part of the street, most of the businesses were Asian -- Asian restaurants (Thai, Chinese, Vietnamese, Indian, and others), and Asian stores.  Throughout our stay in Vancouver, we were struck by the large Asian population there; it seemed that almost half of the people were Asian, and I will have to look up the percentage when I can.  Many Hong Kong residents came to Vancouver when Hong Kong reverted to China from Britain. 

After reaching the large stadium at the east end of Robson, we turned south on Hamilton and walked through an area of high-rise apartment buildings.  Rae spotted a foot massage salon, and we went inside where she decided to get a foot massage.  While she was there, I went for a walk and discovered Yaletown, which turned out to be an area in which old warehouses along two streets had been turned into upscale restaurants and shops.  The area was very interesting in appearance, although I did not enter any of the shops or restaurants.  At one end of one of the two streets, a farmer’s market was underway.  After a half-hour, I went back to get Rae, and we walked to Yaletown again, where we wandered through leisurely.  I was pleased to have visited the area, although we did not find anything of particular interest.  We were told that the area is very lively in the evenings because of the restaurants.

We made our way back in a northwesterly direction, passing hundreds of small shops, which were everywhere in Vancouver.  We noticed that everywhere we walked, everything was neat and clean; there was no trash on the streets, and no graffiti.  The entire downtown area was very clean and neat.  Slowly, we made our way back to the northwest until again we arrived at Robson, where we decided to turn west.  Again, Robson was filled with small shops, many of which were Asian, as were many of the people walking on the streets.  And so many young people everywhere -- people in their 20s and 30s.  Vancouver seems to be filled with young people.  We walked almost to the end of Robson, stopping once for gelato. 

Toward the end of Robson Street, we turned to walk along the waterfront all the way back to our hotel, and that turned out to be a really wonderful walk.  A wide pedestrian sidewalk zig-zagged along the waterfront all the way back to the convention center near the hotel.  All along the waterfront, high rise apartments had been built, and the area reminded me of Naples Florida.  I could easily imagine living in that area.  It was really beautiful, and the green park areas all along drew people into them to sit on the lawns or benches next to marinas and all of the activity on the water.  As we walked along, the Silver Sea ship pulled out of the port and made its way out to sea.  People lined the walkway to watch. 

After the long walk, we arrived back at our hotel at 6:30 p.m., having walked for 6 ½ hours.  I did not have my pedometer with me, but I guessed that I must have walked 8 or 10 miles.  It was a really great walk, and I felt that I had really “been” to Vancouver.  Later, we went out to eat in an area called “Gastown”, another old area that had been renovated and is now an upscale area filled with restaurants and shops.  It was a really lovely area, and we stopped to eat at an Italian restaurant that was filled with people, indicating a good restaurant.  After eating, we went back to the hotel to pack up and get ready to leave the following morning to go to Vancouver Island, to visit the Butchart Gardens and Victoria.  We were notified that our bags would be picked up at 7:30 a.m., and the bus would arrive at 8:00.  I asked for a 6:00 a.m. wake up call, and went to sleep.

Wednesday 09/11/13 To Vancouver

Wednesday September 11, 2013

Although we had set the alarm for 5:00 a.m., I was awake at 4:30.  I rose, took my shower, and began to run through my list of last-minute “to do” items -- check email one last time, unplug computers, unplug phone so that all calls would automatically be routed into voice mail, adjust thermostat, water indoor plants one last time.  Close and lock luggage.  I had arranged for the taxi to arrive at 6:00. 

The trip to the airport was uneventful, with no delays, and airport security was quick with no long lines.  As usual, my camera bag required hand checking by security, but that process was not long.  The woman who hand screened my bag never once made eye contact with me.  Boarding was strange, as is often the case; the attendant called for rows 20-34, but after a few moments, I realized that everyone on the plane had formed a line and was being boarded; so we got in line, too.  No questions were asked, and we boarded with no problem.  The flight to Los Angeles was uneventful, and I tried to take a brief nap; however, as usual, I was not able to sleep on the plane.  During the flight, Rae read from her Kindle, and I worked crossword puzzles -- five New York Times Sunday puzzles with sports themes from a book I had.  It’s always interesting to pass over the Great Plains, with vast areas of neat farms, and the desolation of Death Valley was striking.  The arid landscape and brown air of the great basin of Los Angeles were also striking, leading me to wonder again about the vast population that continues to pour into this area.  People clearly come for the opportunity and not the geography. 

During the three hour layover, we got lunch and read a bit, and then boarded the small plane to Vancouver.  Again the flight was uneventful, and I leafed through the airline magazine.  Just before landing in Vancouver, the plane made a sharp turn to the East, and out the window we got a fabulous view of Vancouver with the snow-covered mountains to the North.  I wished for my camera, which was stowed; however, I realized that I would not have been able to take a photo because of the water and age stains on the airplane window.  Still, I enjoyed the view very much.  I was struck by the farmland so near and even within the city of Vancouver, much of which was standing in water.  Later we learned that the previous week had brought heavy rains to the area. 

The passport control process at the Vancouver airport was odd.  Passengers entered the airport at the far eastern end and then proceeded to walk through a very long hallway all the way to the far western end of the airport, where passport control was located.  The hallway was glass enclosed and on the second floor, giving passengers a view of the entire airport, which was very beautiful; later I was told that this airport had won awards as being the most beautiful city airport in North America.  The airport predated the 2010 Olympics, having been constructed in 2001.  After we got our luggage and went through passport control, the Princess Cruise Line representative, George, was waiting for us by name, and escorted us to a waiting Lincoln SUV to take us to the hotel, the Fairmont Waterfront.  When the young man brought our baggage to the room, he informed me that if I were a member of the Fairmont Presidential Club, Internet use would be free of charge.  I immediately went to the front desk and inquired about joining, and I was told that I could enroll online.  After enrolling, I was given a FPC number, which I phoned to the front desk, who deleted the charge for Internet use. 

When we first got to our room, I noticed that the time was 7:20 p.m. Pacific time, or 10:20 p.m. Eastern time; my total trip had been 13 hours 20 minutes.  We were exhausted.  After freshening up a bit, we went out to eat; the concierge recommended a restaurant nearby, so we went there – Rogue, a steak and seafood place.  We sat outside in the beautiful evening weather and had macadamia crusted halibut, while Rae had fish tacos; it was not great, but it was okay.  Afterwards, we fell asleep immediately.