Cruising Pictures Galore

This will officially be the most pictures I've ever blogged at once. I tried to narrow it down to the best ones, I really did! We just had such a great time in Ketchikan, and I have the pictures (and pictures and pictures) to prove it. First thing in the morning we docked and headed out for our crab boat fishing excursion. Ross and I are big fans of the Deadliest Catch, so when Ross' dad told us he was taking us on this excursion we were so excited! It did not disappoint! Not only did we get to go out on a crab fishing boat in Alaska, we were on a boat that was featured on the Deadliest Catch, (the Allutien Ballad) with a fantastic crew of experienced fisherman who did a fantastic job of telling us their stories, everything we ever wanted to know about fishing, crab, the Bering Straight and more.

I'll kick things off with a picture of me below the Captain in his wheelhouse.



This turned out to be so much more than a crab boat fishing excursion. They took us to see the seals (who were enjoying the sun just as much as we were) as well as some bald eagles. They threw fish in the water to bring the eagles down, I managed to get a picture of one swooping down.









The crew showed us how they fished for all kinds of fish, as well as the crab. We went to different areas and they pulled up various fish, crab and even an octupus for us to see!







We got to get up close and personal with some crab-YES-it is alive!!





Overall it was a fantastic excursion, one I highly recommend to anyone going to Ketchikan, Alaska!!



Once the crab boat excursion was over, we still had time in port. (those crab fishermen start early!!) So we did some shopping and headed for yet another hike. Our shopping time cut into our hiking time a little (awww) so we didn't get to reach any lookouts or summits, but it was still a great hike.





Just to add sprinkles to the ice cream sundae (what, I told you I hit the ice cream bar every day!) that night we had one of the most spectacular sunsets I think I've ever seen. An incredible ending to an amazing day.





Tomorrow, last post from the cruise!!

And still more cruising pics...

I am thoroughly enjoying reliving our cruise in blog form. Are you jealous yet? Just checking...
Our next day was a "cruising day" up to Tracy Arm. We woke to brisker temperatures and ice in the water! We threw on our warm clothes (for the first time) and went out on deck to check things out. The ship got as close to the glacier as possible, but being later in the year (we were the last cruise to Alaska for them) we didn't get too close. Still, the view was spectacular, the ice chunks were scary and we enjoyed a lovely breakfast on the deck (or was it second breakfast?) while taking in the sights.









It was hard to get good pictures because it was too sunny! Did I say too sunny? I mean, it was perfectly sunny, but not so great for photos.








And...what Alaska cruise would be complete, without a whale sighting?!! Did I say "a" whale? Well, let me tell you, once again, we were treated extra special on this cruise. Later while we were sailing back out of Tracy Arm, our ship was surrounded by whales!! They were out the back, off each side, from counting the blow spout spray, we must've seen dozens. Some were far enough we only saw the spray, several were quite close to the boat. I tried to get pics, but as soon as you got your camera out, down they'd go again. But trust me, there were whales! When the excitement calmed down and there were no more whale sightings happening, I went inside to get something to eat, and I heard yet more exclamations and people rushing to the window. I had to put down my plate and run back outside to see the porpoises that were jumping alongside the ship! Along with the seals we saw from the ship, my wildlife expectations were more than met!



The day got more beautiful as we headed back out, we enjoyed much relaxation..and of course, food. Here's me in the room after all the whale sightings...still hoping to see more!



You HAVE to tune in tomorrow for my report on Ketchikan where we went out on a CRAB FISHING BOAT!! One that was featured on The Deadliest Catch. See you then!

Yet More Cruising Pics

The next day on our Alaskan cruise we stopped in Sitka. There's no space or docks for the cruise ships, so we took the tender, which I quickly learned is our life boats, taking us from the cruise ship to land. Here's a shot I got of it before we got back on. It was kind of strange to sit inside it and look around, picturing what it would be like if we were all in there for an actual life boat emergency situation. *shivers*





We had planned on doing the Advanced Mountain Bike excursion, a 4 hour, 22 mile ride..but there wasn't enough interest in it, so we went with the same company, but did their bike and hike excursion instead. It was a pretty short bike ride (on touring style bikes-weird!) and then the hike, then a bike ride back to the beginning again. Somehow my husband still managed to look cool with his riding gear and bike. I look horrendously dorky.





The hike was gorgeous, thanks again to some spectacular weather.





We had extra time so we got to stop at Whale Beach on the way back. Didn't see any whales..then-but that's another story. ;)





We had time before we had to get back to the ship, so we wandered around Sitka. I, of course, had to go into the bookstore and found on the front table what I thought was one of the funniest titles I've ever seen for a book...and did you know that Random House is based in Sitka, Alaska? Neither did we! (kidding)







That night after indulging in cruise buffet (oh, the food!) we got to enjoy a gorgeous sunset.



Next update: Tracey Arm, Alaska!

More Cruising Pics

Our first port of call on the cruise was Juneau, Alaska. We'd checked things out ahead of time, and decided the plan would be to take the tram up Mount Roberts, then do some hiking once we were up there.

Notice I said, "the plan." We did take the tram, it was nice, but short compared to what I'm used to in BC. (shout out to my BC peeps!)



Once at the top, we visited the nature centre, (though I'm sure they called in the nature center) checked out the bald eagle they had rescued, and Ross narrowly escaped a bear attack...inside the building...



Since the bear told us to take a hike, we did. There was a "regular" loop that most people did, we did that, then continued higher.





We hiked back down the main area, and this is where the plan took a bit of a turn. We saw a sign for hiking all the way DOWN the mountain. Problem was, our time was running short and we had to be back on the ship soon. We asked a local working in the nature shop (where Ross was once again attacked by wildlife, so weird) how long it would take it to get down the mountain.



She told us since the weather was so great, it would be dry and a good hike, and it would take us about 1 1/2 hours to get down to the parking lot, plus another 20 minutes to get to the ship. We had two hours until our ship left. So, of course, we decided to go for it.

It was AWESOME! Since we had the pressure of missing the ship, we actually ran parts of the trail. Whenever it was a flat switchback part, we jogged it out, then walked again when it got steeper or too clogged with roots, stumps and rocks. We even started taking short cuts down through the switchbacks...skipping part of the trail and pretty much climbing straight down. I LOVED it!





I did love it, but my body had something else to say about it. My ankles kept twisting and at one point, (in a clearing, of course, where we'd slowed for a second) I rolled my ankle right over. It dropped me to my knees and I got up as fast as I could, told my husband I had to keep going right away before I could register the pain. It was really weak the rest of the way and I could feel it swelling, but I tried to ignore it. Luckily, we didn't have much farther to go. The entire hike down to the ship, that was supposed to take us almost two ours, took us less than an hour!

I did go see the medical officer on the ship the following day to get wrapped up for our next adventure...but that's, another story. ;)



That night we ate in the Italian restaurant on the ship, had a fantastic meal, I forget how many courses it was...6 maybe?!! Before dessert they even brought us a giant plate of cotton candy, which I just couldn't resist. Hey, I'd earned it!!



More in my "we had an awesome time cruising and I'm going to make you jealous" series coming soon!! ;)

Cruising Pics

I'm slowly going through my pictures from the cruise and resizing them. Wow. I didn't realize I'd taken so many great shots! I won't dump all of them on you, just my favourites. ;)

When we first boarded the boat, our staterooms weren't ready so we went to the Lido restaurant. (don't I sound like a veteran cruiser already?) I had my first bowl from the "make your own sundae bar", something I would repeat pretty much every day. Ah, life on a cruise.



Once we were settled in to our rooms, we found the Explorations Cafe and settled right in. My husband Ross found Joe Hill's second book "Horns" (actually, I found it, did a little squeal and handed it to him) which he signed out and read during the cruise. He couldn't say enough good things about it, so now I HAVE to read it. The cafe is sponsored by the New Yorks Times, so they have done the recommendations for the books in the library, which was much bigger than we expected. There were five walls of books, as well as coffee table sized books, take-one-leave-one books, games, puzzles, and a daily suduko and crossword. I was in heaven!! Ross and his mom tackled and completed on puzzle in the early stages of the cruise, other people joined in, fun times had by all. ;)







Of course one of the very first things we did when we got on the ship, was check out the gym. It was quite nice, it had all the equipment we needed, including machines, dbs, and a variety of cardio equipment facing large windows looking out the front of the ship. When we first walked in, one of the trainers tried to talk us into going to the "Secrets to a Flatter Stomach" seminar. I'm not sure what the expression was on my face, but I know my husband was holding in laughter. (I was covered up) When we went back to work out, Ross made me take a picture with the sign up sheet..he thought it was funny. ;)



Ah, I think I have forced enough photos on you. Next post, our excursion in Juneau!