Cruising in Alaska

From Whittier we sailed South.

Glacier Bay did not disappoint.

The Hubbard Glacier thundered and rumbled
and gave us the first tastes of these icy Alaskan wonders.

But Margerie Glacier stole the show!

Below is the link to a youtube video I took of the glacier calving.

"blogger.com" did not allow me to upload it - file too large I guess.

Hope you can open it.

What a beautiful sight!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mbkkfzMZ6RM&feature=youtu.be

Our staterooms were across from each other and near the back of the ship.

We literally ran back and forth to each other's rooms

and to the back deck to view this

magnificent glacier as the ship turned in the bay.

Basking in the sun on a glacier ice float.

All dressed up for the "fancy" night - making good use

of all those extra clothes that were packed and sent ahead to the ship at the

beginning of our tour!

These dear forever friends have stood beside us for many decades,

through all of our ups and downs.

First Port - Skagway, AK

We visited the Kroshel Wildlife Refuge and were surprised

to see some "tamed" wildlife.

These injured or rescued animals were handled with so much skill

by Steve who together with his wife Laura have worked on

several documentaries including "The Grounded" and "Heal for Free".

Downtown Skagway reminded me of an old Western movie set.

I found a fabulous fabric shop there and purchased a kit to make a quilted row.

Could have spent hours in that store but alas, too little time!

If you've ever been on a cruise,

have you ever wondered who buys all that art at the art auctions while cruising,

or who buys really expensive jewellery???

There were jewellery stores all over the downtowns of our ports

with coupons from the ship etc. - we must be farmers and don't "get" it?

It just seemed weird to us all.

Next port was Juneau, the state capital.

A picturesque and friendly capital city.

We rode the sky tram to the top of Mt. Roberts which overlooked breathtaking views

of Juneau and surroundings.

The Nature Center there featured a rescued bald eagle - amazing!

Many beautiful hiking trails to discover as well.

The Alaska State Museum was a great place to visit on this sunny and hot afternoon.

So many interesting displays and a special exhibit on the famous Titanic of the North

Ship Wreck - S.S. Princess Sophia in 1918.

Our travel mates did other excursions here:

One couple did the helicopter ride to the Glacier for a dog sledding experience and

the other went to explore the Glacier Gardens.

They both really enjoyed the day!

Next port was Ketchikan (love saying that word)

A beautiful walk about the city, salmon ladder, Creek Street

and an unexpected Lighthouse, Totems & Eagles tour

made our day complete.

Captured some of my best Bald Eagle shots here ...

The 5:15 p.m. All Aboard call came much too soon.

This was our last night on the ship as we cruised further down the inside passage

on our way, silently towards Vancouver ...

I shall miss my comfortable bed and oh those lofty pillows

on this lovely Coral Princess.

We were SO fortunate to have had the best weather possible

on this voyage.

The days were clear and afforded us the very best views of all the sights.

Would highly recommend doing this cruise in mid July to early August like we did!

Next chapter - Vancouver Island ...

From home - looks like someone else was "cruising" as well ....

Till next time ........ have a wonderful last week of August!