| A journal of our trip to Alaska August 18-25, 2006 |
| Day 1 - We flew to Seattle, got a bus to the pier. They handled our luggage for us, except the carry-ons. We set sail |
| on the Vision of the Sea (Royal Caribean Cruise Line) at 5:00 pm. We got settled in our cabin. It was small but |
| with a huge window. They don't have port holes anymore. The windows are square with rounded corners. We |
| checked out all the shops and looked at the casino. It was closed but we had to walk through to get to the other |
| part of the ship. I took pictures while nobody was around. It can't be operating while in port, I found out later. |
| We had an emergency drill so we would know what to do if we have an emergency and had to leave the ship. The |
| The bus that took us to the ship had delivered our luggage and it was in our cabin waiting for us after the drill. |
| There is a formal dining room and a cafe-style buffet. We thought we would be eating at the buffet more often |
| because it's faster, but for the first night we "dined" in the formal area. We didn't have to dress up for it, though. |
| The other couple at our table was from St Louis. A third couple never dined with us. |
| Day 2 - We ordered room service for breakfast. I've never done that before, so I wanted to just this once. We see |
| land and mountains from our window. I'm told that it's B. C. Still sailing. Went to a "shopping" show. They told |
| us where to go when we got to port. We bought a coupon book for $20. (We got more free things than $20 worth. |
| I got a travel bag, worth $25, free with a $5 purchase. I also purchased a lot of Christmas gifts. We saved a lot and |
| there were coupons for all the cities we went to, also) I fell asleep early and slept all night. I missed everything else |
| that night. |
| Day 3 - Juneau. We went white-water rafting down the Mendenhall River. We passed the Mendenhall Glacier. We |
| also saw three bald eagles on the way, but couldn't take pictures because we were holding on. I DID take pictures |
| from the raft, just not at that moment. Most of the white water wasn't there because the river was high from all the |
| rain they had (For a month) After this, I'm ready to raft the Colorado in the Grand Canyon! Juneau, we learned, |
| is only accessable by plane or boat, not by car. There are no roads in or out of the city. |
| Day 4 - Skagway! We took a helicopter ride through the "Valley of the Glaciers". We saw quite a few of them. It |
| was windy so the ride was a bit bumpy, but hey, most people pay bucks for that kind of a ride at Disneyland, |
| right? We landed on a glacier. We got to take a small hike on it and ask the guide questions. Gabe was from |
| Israel but speaks perfect English. He said that his family only spoke English at home because they originally from |
| the United States. I looked at the thermometer. It read 55 degrees. Not too cold at all since we were standing on a |
| glacier on top of a mountain. On the way back to the ship, there was a small stream. I wanted to see if there were |
| salmon because it's spawning time. I walked down to the creek and it was indeed full of salmon. I tried to get a |
| good picture of one jumping but they are fast! Later we went to the Masquerade Theatre for a show (onboard). It |
| was a Broadway review. Songs from old Broadway shows. The troupe was very professional. The singers and |
| dancers with lots of energy. |
| Day 5 - Hoonah, Alaska in Icy Strait! We went whale-watching. We got on a boat at Hoonah. We first saw some |
| porpoise, or is it porpoi? They had black and white markings similar to Orca, or Killer whales. After that, we saw a |
| pod of Orca. they jumped so fast it was hard to get a good picture. We were there for a long time. Then we went |
| someplace else and saw some humpback whales. There were sea lions around them. The whales were ignoring the |
| sea lions but it looked like the sea lions were trying to bother the whales. The humpbacks surfaced slower, so |
| pictures were easier to take. We saw a lot of whales here, too. The guide told us that humpbacks are solitary |
| travelers, so it was unusual to see so many at one time. The guide said they must be feeding in that spot. It was |
| colder on the water. I was glad I bought a jacket at the ship's store. I needed it that day for sure! We saw some |
| small boats near where the whales were swimming. I'm not sure I'd want to be in a small boat out there! |
| Day 6 - Sailed all day. I went to a craft class while Steve went to a class on digital photography. He was hoping to |
| get some more hints on the use of the digital camera. Went to the library. I found a magazine and we went to one |
| of the lounges to read and listen to some live jazz from downstairs. Later, we went to the onboard art auction. We |
| We ate in the formal dining room. It was formal night, so we had to dress up for dinner. We were walking earlier |
| and saw they were eating lobster, so we decided to go for it. We could have all the lobster we wanted. The tails |
| rather large, so we had two each. They were GOOD! I went to a trivia contest for a bit. It was about TV shows I |
| didn't know anything about. Instead, I checked out the shops again - spent money. |
| Day 7 - I went to the craft of the day (Memo book covers) and had breakfast after. Steve already ate while I was at |
| the craft class. We took a back stage tour of the theater. We saw how little room they had. Then learned about the |
| costumes and wigs and how the shows onboard are different than shows done in regular theaters. OUR LAST |
| PORT, Victoria Island, B.C. When we were there a few years agp. we saw they had motor scooters to ride around |
| tour. We looked for a place to rent a couple. We rode down the coast highway for about five miles and took |
| pictures along the way and returned the scooters. We went downtown to see what was going on. There was a small |
| art fair. We went to some shops and looked at the art, then went back to the ship. Their valet service would take |
| care of our bags if we got two each outside our cabin by 11 pm. They also got our boarding passes. It was |
| convenient...... for a small fee, of course! But it was worth it. |
| Day 8 - Sailed all night last night and got to port at 5 am. We had to get up early. We showered, finished packing |
| the last things and went to breakfast. Picked up our bags, said goodbye to everyone, caught the bus to the airport, |
| and flew back. Got to Dulles at 9, got home at 10. |
| ~ Pictures ~ |
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| Click on page (or icon) you want. On the photo page, you can either look at the photographs or click on the slide show option at the top, or click on each picture to enlarge it. |
| Some of the pictures have a yellow glow. These are the ones from the lower decks with soft yellow lighting. |