TRAVEL DAY AND THEN ROME IN 3 HOURS

We left Mykonos by plane at 10:00 this morning and then we switched planes in Athens to continue our journey to Rome. On our way to the hotel, we were driven around the coliseum –so although we didn’t walk around the sight, I am going to say I have seen it – I didn’t even get a picture, so I will have to get a picture off the internet when I get home. I’m sure there are photos there that I can print out that will be better than any I would have taken today. We arrived at our hotel in Rome at 3:00 … dropped our bags … and then headed out the door to find the Spanish Steps and Trevi Fountain.

After much walking we arrived at the Spanish Steps – Rome is very busy with tourists already. It was difficult at times to walk on the street without people in your way or being in the way of someone else. They don’t seem to get the “keep to the right” thing over here. There were many tour groups that took up huge blocks of sidewalk space too. But we managed to get to the Spanish Steps and took some pictures. I would love to know the significance of these picturesque steps, but I have to pay for the internet here and I didn’t want to spend the precious time on Google. I would rather get the blog out.

.After the Spanish Steps, we wound our way around the streets to the Trevi Fountain. OMG you should have seen the crowds there. We had to wait a bit, but eventually got down to the fountain and I threw three coins in. One for me, one for Pamela and one for Matthew. I hope one day they can visit the fountain for themselves (but that wasn’t any of the wishes – I can’t tell you my wishes or they won’t come true!) The sculptures are exquisite and until today, I had no idea of the size of this magnificent fountain





I made a decision on my speed walking tour today that I would take pictures of not doors…. but door knockers. Had to try something a little bit different – I’m not here long enough to make a real collection, but I collected enough photos to do a couple of scrapbook pages! Some of the knockers are very high – so high that I’m not sure who would be able to reach them – certainly no one in the Asian tour group that we saw plodding along the streets today!
Now for those of you who remember the incident with the candle holder and me in the backyard one fall evening ….. I just want you to know that the fall I had in Mykonos and landing with a certain body part on my camera case ….. well I’m not going to mention any more! I just hope the bruise goes away before I come home on the 26th of May – oh and Colleen, you can stop laughing anytime now!!

WOULDN’T YOU KNOW….

It was raining a bit this morning….but it wasn’t very cold and it wasn’t raining very much. It was the first rain we have seen. Now the sun is shining once again and the skies are blue.

We walked into town for the last day and after being so careful, I fell on the uneven paving stones. I hurt my knee and scraped my nose, but thankfully I didn’t break teeth or bones. I know my knee will be sore tomorrow. A kind waitress from the restaurant near by came to my aid with some serviettes and alcohol (unfortunately not Masticha - it was only rubbing alcohol). I got cleaned up and on my way but I must be extra careful from now on.

Met another older gentleman in town who didn’t mind me taking his picture and then he wanted to have me sit with him while his friend took a picture. On Mykonos you don’t see lots of older people, I think it is definitely an island for the young. They call it the party island. I’m sure when we get to Santorini, I will be able to get lots of people pictures. I enjoy taking pictures of people as much as the scenery.

I tried to get some pictures of the vehicles making their way along the streets in the shopping area. There are so many little streets in the shopping area called the labyrinth. You can’t really get lost in it because there are may exits, but if you see a store where you like something, you had best get it when you first see it, cause for 3 hours today I tried to find a certain store and sure couldn’t see it again. The store might not even be open until evening and all my looking might have been in vain anyway. All the shopkeepers have their own hours and a lot depend on open hours when the cruise ships come into port. One nice shopkeeper offered to phone the store for me if I bring him the receipt I had from yesterday. So I will take that into town later and he can help me get to the right twisty turny little street of shops. I’m sure there are well over 1,000 and so so many jewelry shops! Neat little area though – glad we had more than a cruise stop to visit in Mykonos – you need at least three days to see it all and then some!

So to sum up Crete and Mykonos … beautiful seas, warm friendly people, delicious food, introduction to drinking shots, men and worry beads, narrow streets, labyrinth, sunny skies, big yachts, cruise ships, scraped nose and bruised knee!

BUS TO ANO MERA

Took the public bus to a Monastery today – pretty much in the center of the island. It is so amazing and kinda scary how narrow the roads are. I took a picture out of the bus window of us approaching a car coming in the opposite direction. More than once we have seen cars back up to let someone pass. Also you might notice that there are no sidewalks and pedestrians almost risk their lives getting around from place to place.

This island isn’t very large so it only took about 15 minutes to get to the Monastery. We wandered around and took a few pictures. We were up there for about 3hours … kinda long as there wasn’t a lot up there, but eventually the bus came and took us back to town. We walked more in the town and up to the windmills. They are neat old things. There are five of them and two have families living in them 1 has a jewelry store and the others we weren’t sure.

Saw a wonderful crusty old fella in town today. Had to take his picture. His whole demeanor epitomizes Greece. His wonderful little cap, his moustache, his sun wrinkled face, his clothing, his pipe and of course his glass of red wine – I imagine that it might even be Retsina. He evidently enjoys having his picture taken – he gave me a big smile anyway. Maybe the restaurant pays him to come and sit there to bring more customers in.

We walked all the way around the Aimani Port to a part of Mykonos they call little Venice. From the back side we weren’t sure why – but from the water side, it is quite evident. Very different from the rest of Mykonos. Even the restaurants in this part of town are influenced by Italy and offer menu items like pizza and spaghetti. I am so glad that we are seeing so much. Already 1 week has gone by and our heads are full of the traditions and antiquity of the country of Greece; our eyes are taking in all the beautiful sights of Greece; our hearts are full of the warmth and kindness of the Greek people; our tummies are full of the wonderful food from Greece and our livers ….. well you already know about that!

MYKONOS

We were up fairly early today in time to be on the ferry to Mykonos. We were on a FastCat that went 40 mph. Lovely ride through the seas and up to Mykonos. Altogether with other stops our ride was about 4:45 hours. Comfortable seats not like BC Ferries. We had a very short taxi ride from the pier to the hotel – took all of about 5 minutes.

So far what we have seen of Greece – it is very difficult for seniors. Hotels with no elevators, cobbled streets, lots of hills, lots of stairs. Today all the up and down and I am pooped too.

We walked down and around the harbour and saw the famous windmills of Mykonos. The didn’t have the little white sails on them, but they are there just the same. Prices are higher here – but we were told to expect that. Our hotel is lovely and right across from the harbour. When we arrived the lady said if you are too hot -open the window and if you want to heat your room – close the window. Sounds simple!

We had a wonderful dinner at a restaurant right on the boardwalk. We had Greek Salad, breaded fried zucchini with feta cheese and egg, pita and tzatziki and beer - the the piece de resistance - our free shot. Today it was Masticha – and that is the best so far. Made out of tree sap. It was quite sweet and delicious. It is quite windy here – I guess that why they erected the windmills.

So tonight we are going to stay close to home I think. The town is a labyrinth of tiny streets and lots of shops. We will wander and wander and see what we find. We may find that we get lost! Oh well…

MOSTLY ABOUT THE FOOD AND DRINK

We went to a beach resort town today called Kokkini Hani. It was a lovely spot and there were lots of people out enjoying the sun and even a few brave souls were in the water. Although the Cretan Sea is certainly warmer than the Pacific Ocean – it is still way too cold for me. We wandered quite a way and went in some of the touristy type shops and then had a very good lunch.

Tina had a gyro without the pita bread and I had Cretan Salad. This local salad is basically Greek salad with chopped potato, egg, chunks of dried rye bread and Cretan Cheese (like feta but even creamier) and then you put your own olive oil, balsamic vinegar and salt and pepper on and just enjoy. Course the Greek Beer, Mythos goes well with all their food.

After lunch out came the dreaded Raki AGAIN – and a dessert of yoghurt, honey and chopped walnuts. I found out today that it is customary to bring you a dessert and some ouzo or raki after every meal. I thought it was just us. But every customer is treated the same way. If we ever say no – knowing that will make it easier. Ha –like we would ever say no!

We came home in the early afternoon and walked our legs off again all around the town. I am certainly doing my 10,000 steps each day. I hope I can keep up the habit when I get home. It feels so good to get out and walk like that – of course it helps that you are in a beautiful place.

There is this one restaurant and the kitchen is on one side of the street and the seating is on the other and the waiters have to make their way back and forth through traffic with orders and food. The street is fairly busy and it is the weirdest thing to see. Not sure if we will eat there, but I must take a picture cause who would believe it!

So I guess the next blog will come from Mykonos – as Raki is a local drink in Crete, we’ll see what free liquor they will give us there! I’ll need a liver transplant when I get home!

Love from me! (hell when I drink all this stuff – I love everybody!!)

TRIP TO AG. NIKOLAOS

Today we took a bus trip to Agios Nikolaos. It was about a 90minute bus ride from Heraklion. Scenery was pretty along the way. Today, May 1, is the equivalent of our Labour Day Holiday. Some places were closed up tight and there were solidarity gatherings. Lots of speeches and chants and men in and around the town – I imagine with the current situation in Greece, it was better attended than usual.



The town we went to was a seaside resort and we saw our first glimpses of what I perceive Greece to be with small boats all lined up. It was a very picturesque little place and once again we walked our feet off. We found a restaurant – actually you don’t have to look hard they are everywhere and each one has a hawker out front, “Ladies please come sit.”. So eventually you give in to one of them and take a seat. We try to settle on a restaurant with cheap looking chairs. Don’t know if it is true, but we have decided that the cheaper the chairs – the better the price. We had Greek Salad, chicken and pork Souvlaki and a beer. It was refreshing and delicious and the feta cheese here is so much better than home. Very creamy and absolutely wonderful on salad or alone.

It was extremely windy in Ag. Nikolaos – warm, but very windy. A lady we met in town said that it is very unusual for it to be this windy…she said that it was a south wind coming up from the Syrian Desert. We only had capris and light t-shirts on and were never cold. Just had different hairdos! So our return trip was only 14.5 euros and we were gone from 10:45 and came back to our hotel by 5:00. It was a pretty full day!

There was a beautiful church in the village and Tina and I went over and looked in. I don’t think there was any area that wasn’t covered by paintings of the story of Christ – it really was beautiful. I lit a candle for Peter as it would have been our 35th anniversary today.

Don’t know what we will do this evening, but we probably won’t go far. As it is Sunday, the only things open at night are restaurants. We will probably have a walk down by the water and back again. That will do us good.

CRETE AND THE TWO OF US

Today when we arrived in Heraklion, Crete we were met by our driver who took us directly to the hotel. We were here about noon and shortly after our arrival, we walked up into the market area. There are lots of really nice walks to do around the area. We stopped for lunch in a little outdoor café and had calamari, tzatziki and beer. It was very good and the calamari had just the right chewy texture. We continued to walk around the market streets until we were home about 3:00 and then both of us had a nap.

At the beginning of the evening we walked a different route. This time our walk took us down along the sea wall. That walk ends at the Museum of Natural History. We must see that before we leave Heraklion. On the way back from our walk we stopped at a restaurant with outdoor seating. The waiter asked if we wanted to sit downstairs (outside) or upstairs (inside). We chose outside and Tina enjoyed a pork chop while I had a “boat” of steamed mussels. They were good. We find that Greeks use a lot of salt in their cooking but they give you half a lemon with your meal and when you squeeze it on your food, it drastically cuts the salty taste.

When we asked for the bill, our waiter brought us a little glass bottle with ouzo and 2 shot glasses, a plate of cut apple and pear and another plate with some sort of desert on it – kind of a pudding/cake with cinnamon and honey. So he poured us a shot of ouzo each … well we didn’t want to be rude …… so we downed that. Then he came back a few minutes later and brought a third glass and refilled ours. So once again we thought we should show our appreciation. They we quickly paid our bill and continued our walk.

Our next stop was a tourist /fast ferry place and thought we would go in and ask about a sightseeing trip. He said we would be better to go on the public busses on our own if we had the time. So he wrote out a list of the things we should do and see and how to go about that. The biggest part of the list he gave us was the different foods to try and the local drink. Since we had already tried ouzo, he said they we must try raki. At which point his manager came out with 3 shot glasses and a bottle of raki and there we were again not wanting to seem impolite….So as I write this to you now, I have had 2 shots of ouzo and 3shots of raki and other than the letters being blurry – I hope I am managing to write an engaging blog.

So back to the hotel and tomorrow we will try the local buses and see where we get to. I have a feeling that ouzo and raki will not be on the menu tomorrow.

I’ll echat with you soon

THERE WAS MORE TO ATHENS

I know that I said I would I would be writing from Crete next, but I realize that I’m not finished with Athens. I never told you about the dogs of Athens. There are many dogs wandering the streets and ruins of Athens.

They don’t bother anybody and they are happy to be patted or just left alone. When I asked our guide about them, she said that they are the pets of the city. They are not wild, but they don’t belong to anyone. They are treated with medicine if needed, they are fed and they just roam and live where they want. They all seem to be shepherd / lab crosses and you can see them all over the city – usually sleeping or walking about.



There is marble everywhere. On the sides of buildings, the floors, the sidewalks, counters, walls, stairs – it must be deadly when it gets wet. It can be so slippery at the best of times – I was so glad for my rubber soled walking sandals. Up at the Acropolis – which is entirely made of marble…you are seldom walking on anything else. The patterns on the walkways are different from each other. It was really beautiful, but you had to be careful walking!



Now about the bathrooms. The first one I saw, I just had to take a picture. Just where is a lady supposed to sit??? Do a quick check to make sure it's not the men's...it isn't! Then when you close the door for privacy, there is a sign on the back of the door that says don’t throw toilet paper in the toilet….please put it in the garbage container. Ok – so picture this – you are squatting over the toilet trying to hold your purse (which if you’re lucky is already around your neck)…then while balancing carefully you have to pull of 4 or 5 squares (if they come off easily – NOT) wipe yourself. Now you have to get the lid up from the garbage container - most do have lids (there is a handy foot pedal - give me a break) pop the paper in (you are still balanced aren’t you?) …then stand up pull up your pants …and oh my god. Now that was only about having to go #1 …I don’t even want to think about #2.

Now I think to sum up Athens in a few words...traffic…cabs…vacant buildings…people smoking everywhere…(except perhaps while they are in the toilet as mentioned above – that would just be impossible)…marble…olive trees…ancient ruins…churches…sooooo many banks and keeping your balance! Now we can move on to Crete.

ATHENS ON THE RUN

Today started early. After a relatively good night’s sleep, Tina and I had a wonderful breakfast which included fresh squeezed orange juice. Our bus came to pick us up at 8:15 and we were off for a day of sightseeing.

First we went to the Acropolis to see the Parthenon. I was surprised that I made it up there. I have named the hike up the hill, The Acropolis Grind. But we did make it up and had a wonderful look around. It is quite amazing to think that it was constructed in 447-432 BC. Walking on slippery marble all day it was hard to imagine the number of slaves and oxen required to push, pull and drag all these enormous pieces of marble to these hilltops to construct these monuments. Our excellent guide was very informative and loved telling the mythology to explain how the times were back then. The design even took into consideration that the columns, many of which are still standing, had to be curved into a bulge in the middle in order for the structure to look straight and not crooked from the city of Athens down below …. wayyyyy down below!

We went to the Acropolis Museum that only opened its doors in 2009. It is an incredible structure built on columns so that the architects can continue to excavate the ruins that lie beneath the building. As you walk to the museum, you walk on glass panels and can view the work that is going on down below.

Lunch was included in the tour and we had a sampling of all things Greek – it was delicious and quite filling – then it was off to Sounio to see the Temple of Poseidon also built around the same time as the Parthenon. More stunning ancient architecture….and another hike up a hill.

We came back to the hotel to relax for a bit and then took a taxi to the Plaka (touristy shopping and eating area) – Tina popped out of the cab and bought a pin from the Athens Hard Rock Café and in the Plaka we walked and shopped from about 8:00 until 10:30. Athens is such a bustling place at all hours. Now we must go to bed. We need to meet our driver who will take us to the airport for a short flight to Crete (Heraklion) for the next 3 days.

Lesson from today – make sure when you get in a cab that they are not going to gouge you – we had to get out of one in the middle of the street cause he was going to charge us 3 x as much money to get home as it took to get there! He’s probably still looking for us!

Talk again tomorrow from Crete …

GETTING HERE

First let me say that business class is amazing! All you can drink anytime you want and you don't have to pay. Chairs that make into beds - Airbus A340 WOW! Tablecloths on our tables and a 3 course meal. Champagne as soon as we boarded and Bailey's after dinner. MMMmmm.

We arrived in Frankfurt a bit late and then we were delayed at the airport by a security breach. Good thing we had 3 hours between flights as some of the people that were in the lineup with us waiting to go through security were not going to to make their connecting flights. So thank goodness we were ok. Next flight to Athens we were seated with the riff raff!!! No room, not at all relaxing - but it was only 2hours and 40 minutes.



When we arrived at the Athens Airport, our driver was waiting for us, with a Mercedes no less, and we were whisked away to our lovely hotel in downtown Athens.

We walked a couple of blocks to a bar/restraurant and had some dinner and then it was back to the hotel to get some much needed rest! Friday is an all day tour of Athens...so we need to be rested for that!

Next post will come in a few hours ...

STARTING OFF RIGHT!

We were pulled out of line when checking in at the YVR. "Are you two ladies travelling alone?" ... was the question. OMG I thought - they are looking for us ..... maybe they are warning us ..... or maybe a police BOLO - what could it mean? "Yes..." we replied a little hesitantly. "Lufthansa would like to upgrade you to Business Class for this flight." said the attendant.

So that was our fantastic happenstance for today! This adventure is starting out in the most amazing way already! Now the 10 hour flight to Frankfurt will be roomy, relaxing and perfect in every way!

Are we lucky or what!

NEW ADVENTURE COMING SOON!

My friend Tina and I will leave for Athens on the 27th of April for a wonderful 4 week adventure. The first week will be spent between Athens, Crete and Mykonos after which we will fly to Rome and embark on a 12 day cruise on the Pacific Princess. We will visit such wonderful spots as Sorrento, Jerusalem, Nazareth, Egypt, Ephasus, Patmos and Santorini. After disembarking, we will return to Santorini for 6 nights before coming home on the 26th of May. I understand there will be good internet connections throughout our travels. So once again I will pack along my laptop and document our journey. I hope you will follow along and enjoy some of my ramblings as we wend our way in and around some of the holiest and holeyest places on the planet. We hope to visit the Grotto where St. John the Theologian lived and wrote the Book of Revelation and then we may be perched on the edge of a giant caldera. We might even visit the Dead Sea which at 412 meters below sea level is the lowest point on Earth. I can't wait to tell you more when we get there!

Stay tuned ...

THE FINAL FAREWELL TO ALASKA 2010

Tuesday, August 24th – skies are clearing as we get closer to home

Today was a sad day as we are packing to leave the ship. We were invited to one more luncheon with Captain Bos and is was a wonderful spread they put out for us. We were so fortunate to be able to take park in these meet and greets – it meant a lot to Mom. She will have so much to tell her friends at Fleetwood Villa when she gets home tomorrow.

As I write this final entry to the blog, we are sailing into Robson Bight and hoping to see Orcas. This is the rubbing beach that is talked about. The Captain made an announcement that if you google Robson Byte, there is a link to an underwater camera and you can see the Orcas rubbing on the pebbles on the bottom. I must do that when I get home – it is way too expensive to google on the ship. Internet charges are about 55 cents a minute and the connection rates are slower than the lightning speed we have at home. However, I enjoy doing this so much and this is my hobby when on these trips.

The weather has gone from rain last night – to foggy and socked in most of the day, and now that evening is here and we are nearing home, we are enjoying a lovely, albeit cool scenic cruise. OK so I had to run down to Deck 6 and out to the bow of the boat. There were 4 or 5 Orcas, but they were too far away for a picture with my camera – we could only enjoy watching them blow and splash in the distance. There were hundreds fishing boats in the area – more than we have ever seen there. Evidently the season was extended because the run of salmon is so very large this year. This is the run they have talked about for years – and it didn’t appear until this year. Finally the fisherman can have their turn.

So time for our last chance in the Casino. We have had fun putting $5.00 each in this one machine and we doubled our money on the first spin and quit. Then the next day we put in our $5.00 each in the same machine and doubled on the first spin again! So tonight we have to try this machine again and see what luck we have.

Thanks for coming along for the adventure!

….to be continued on a future journey!

IT’S RAINING … IT’S POURING

Monday, August 23 – weather is scrudgy

We pulled into Ketchikan and it was nasty – driving rain, windy and just very very wet. All in all we have been very lucky with the weather, but today in Ketchikan was only the second rainy day they had all summer. Although Ketchikan needed the rain badly, we would have preferred they waited just one more day before the deluge!

Eileen and I braved the weather and tramped around the downtown shops for a couple of hours. We came back with a little less cash in our pockets and soaking wet. Brian went off to find an internet café and he was splashed by a passing vehicle and had to change his socks and shoes when he returned.

All in all it was just a dull grey day! After dinner we played Name that Tune and the four of us did quite well, but not well enough to win a “Dam” prize. That was our last opportunity to snag one of the “Dam” coveted prizes – so we are coming home empty handed.

Tomorrow we hope to see fin whales and more humpbacks – they are on their migration to Hawaii and there is a very good possibility that we may spot them between 8 and 10 tomorrow morning. Evidently you can tell the type of whale by their shape of the blow (the puff of steam and water that comes out of the blow hole) – I’ll let you know how that goes.

G’night

MARGERIE – STILL FRIDGID!

Sunday, August 22 – surprisingly clear skies!

Today we set the alarm for 5:30 a.m. so we could take full advantage of the whole day of scenic cruising in Glacier Bay. Our day started with an unexpected emergency on ship and someone needed to be tendered off the ship and then jetted to Ketchikan Hospital. We were delayed by 2 hours. We don’t know any other details but what we do know is that because of the unexpected turn of events….we could have stayed in bed and ASLEEP for an additional 2 hours.

When we did get underway again. We began our way up Queen Inlet and saw the Carroll Glacier then back down and over to Johns Hopkins Inlet and saw the Reid Glacier and Lamplugh Glacier and then Johns Hopkins Glacier. The highlight came when we came out and entered the Tarr Inlet and then……there stood Margerie Glacier in all her glory right next to the Grand Pacific Glacier. There were some calving events going on there were lots of puffins. Did you know that several puffins together are called an improbability of puffins not a flock of puffins. That was quite a site. Lots of sea lions and lots of sea otters – it was a great day for spotting wildlife. Just as we were completing the last 360 degree turn before we had to leave the bay, the clouds moved in and the rain began. We really had a perfect weather window for our Glacier Bay visit.

Once again, we continued the tradition of having pea soup on the outer deck in Glacier Bay.

Brian finished the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo today and we all had naps this afternoon feeling much better for it. Tomorrow we will wake up – when we wake up no alarms! Tomorrow we are in Ketchikan and this will be our last shopping day. We have had fun on our adventures on and off the ship and we still have a couple of days to go.

Tonight the Captain said we would be going at warp speed in order to make up the two hours that we were delayed during the medical emergency. So we will be rocked to sleep and I’m sure we will not have any trouble falling asleep – the bed looks very inviting!!

Talk to you tomorrow!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KIT!

Saturday, August 21, 2010 – clear skies

We began our day singing Happy Birthday to Kit and we hope you had a wonderful day. The cabin mates of 7034 are warming wishing you all the best for the year to come too!

Hi! Did you miss us? We are sorry that we did not blog yesterday.

Yesterday, we arrived in Skagway at 6:30 am. This town is the beginning for the White Pass Yukon narrow guage railway. It is truly our favourite stop. After breakfast, we went into town to wander around and shop. We have been so lucky with the weather. We had been expecting overcast skies and misty rain, but so far, we have had lovely mild and for the most part, sunny days.

After a couple of hours walking about we came back to the ship and had lunch then played some Scrabble until it was time for Mom to have a nap. I read my book until it fell on the floor and woke me up. Eileen laughed at me and then we decided to veg in the room for a while until it was time to get ready for dinner.

After dinner, when we usually blog, and we did have every good intention of doing so, we were invited to a special party to have after dinner drinks with our wonderful captain and totally lost all track of time. Actually, we arrived a bit late and he remarked that he had been waiting for us. Are you jealous?

We stayed up in the Crow’s Nest to watch the ship leave port and then Mom wanted to gamble!! So we played for a while and the next thing we knew it was 11:30 – and knowing that we needed to get up for 5:30 a.m. as we begin our approach to Glacier Bay, we just needed to get to bed! So we did.

Be sure to peek in again later today for the highlights of Glacier Bay!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO RYLAN!

Friday, August 20th – Cloudy with sunny bits

The day began with the members of cabin 7034 singing Happy Birthday to Rylan!! So we hope that you had the best day ever and know that you were fondly remembered on your special day of by the four of us.

Today was the scenic cruising day up the Tracey Arm to see the Sawyer Glacier. We had better weather than we thought and the glacier was magnificent. Years ago when we were up this way we were able to see both of the twin Sawyer Glaciers, however climate change has made it impossible to see both of the Glaciers from a large ship.



There were lots of bergie bits in the waters and of all shapes and sizes. It is still thrilling to come into these waters and start to see the narrow passage and the amount of ice. The captain did 2 360 degree turns to ensure that everyone had a excellent view of the glacier. Mom said that these were the best views she had ever seen and they were right off of our balcony.

We docked at Juneau at 2:30 in the afternoon and ventured out to the shops. The Alaska T-Shirt Company still does a booming business. The purchases are placed in a trademark red plastic bag and then the procession of the passengers coming back to the ship looks like a large red millipede.

Casino is closed today because we are in port and so Brian, Eileen and I are having some time in the pool and the hot tub tonight. Maybe this will ensure a good night’s sleep – Eileen and I are still working on that!

Talk to you tomorrow …

….CAUSE WE WAS TOSSIN AND TURNIN – TURNIN AND TOSSIN …..

Thursday, August 18 – Sunny with Clouds

Did I explain to you before we left that we are all staying in a deluxe verandah suite….and that the 3rd and 4th persons in this suite pay only $358.00 each? Well, the reason is clear! The queen hide-a-bed has a 1/8th inch mattress that sinks in the middle.

Although Eileen and I would start the night facing out on the edges – we would inevitably wake up (often) nose to nose in the middle! Brian delights in describing our bed as “the rack”.

Easy for him as he and mom and their own single - pillow topped 3 foot thick mattress with the extra fluffy down duvets. This morning Brian brought in muffins and latte’s for breakfast. He said he had a wonderful sleep as did our mother. Brian did serve Eileen and me lattes in bed as we floundered around – I guess he felt some guilt – but not enough to give up his bed tonight!!! Oh well….

There were several hump back whales about – but we were never close enough to get a decent picture. Maybe we’ll spot some later on in the cruise. We played trivia after lunch and came 2nd. We missed winning the “Dam” prize by 1 answer. Did you know that Great Britain holds the patent for polyester? Well, neither did we!!! Phhhhhht.

Formal night dinner tonight, we looked gorgeous and managed to escape all the photographers by saying we were in the witness protection program and told them to read the memo.

Well, clocks go back an hour tonight as we are officially on Alaska Time – we will be cruising the Tracy Arm starting at 7:00 a.m. and then docking in Juneau at 2:30 in the afternoon.

Talk to you tomorrow …

ALL ABOARRRRRRD

Wednesday, August 18 – Sunny but cooler

Today was the most easy embarkation day ever. We arrived at the pier at Canada Place at 10:45 and were checked in right away. After Mom gave a pat down to the Customs Officer, we were escorted on board. At 12:00, we were sitting in the dining room having a lovely lunch. The emergency drill was painless as Holland America no longer required you to wear your life jacket during the drill. So basically, we just took the elevator downstairs to the promenade deck and lined up under our designated life boat. Odd isn’t it how the reflective strips for the life boats are on the underside of the boat…hmmmm.

Dinner tonight was yummy Alaska King Crab Legs – Brian was exhausted after his feast. We used our special invite and went to a meet and greet with the captain and some of the officers. This captain is the same one we sailed with years ago – Peter Bos. Kit you will remember him. He is very nice and very enthusiastic. He enjoys these waters tremendously and he is fun to sail with. He greeted Mom by name and assured her that this would be a memorable cruise with lots of wild life both on and off the ship.

After our meet and greet, we went to the casino to help pay our dues. Didn’t hear of any big winners and we certainly didn’t walk away with any bundles of cash….but this was only Day 1. Tomorrow I will take my big purse to bring all the winnings home!

We have an “at sea” day tomorrow so it will be very pleasant. We will do some more exploration on this ship and find out where Trivia is and any other “Dam” games that are happening. (Holland America’s ships all end in ….dam –like Vollendam, Zandam, Zuiderdam etc – so they always talk about the dam ships or the dam trivia or the dam name that tune and their prizes are embroidered, embossed or engraved with dam on them. Maybe we will be able to bring some dam thing home to show you!

Bye for now …..

ALASKA OR BUST 2010

Once again I will blogging our way up the coast to Alaska and back. It is such a beautiful trip - and enjoying it with my brother (Brian) sister (Eileen) and our mom (Mom) will be full of special moments that will undoubtedly create wonderful memories. The cruise to Alaska is our Mom's favourite. For Mom, Eileen and I - this will be our 4th cruise. Brian has enjoyed it a few more times than we have....but enjoying it together is always special.

I will post every day beginning on the 18th and I hope you will enjoy a bit of the trip along with us!

Chat with you soon ...