My youngest was bugging me to take the family on a cruise. She wanted Disney. I told her ain't no way I'm going any where near the Caribbean in July. They talked me into it last year and that dog don't hunt no more.
So I got to checking on alternatives. Always wanted to do the Alaska cruise and I found a pretty sweet deal for last week on an NCL ship leaving and returning to Seattle. So off we went, me, the wife, two youngin's and yes, the 91 yr old mother in law. The circus!
We flew from Hotlanta to Seattle with a 12:30 AM arrival on the day of the boat's departure. Got a little shut eye in Seattle and boarded the boat around 2PM. The NCL star was a nice ship and the food started the minute you got on. Left the port about 5PM and started out of Puget Sound. What a waterway.
Our first stop was Kitchican Alaska where I had arranged a charter to take the whole family salmon fishing. Captain Al meet us at the dock and we board his boat to find hot coffee, fresh smoked salmon and salmon dip waiting us. Probably didn't travel 5 miles from the boat before we put out lines. My daughter outfished her old man. She put 4 nice pink and silvers in the boat. I got two nice silvers in and lost a fair king. Must have been 30 boats trolling the same area and most were picking up fish. Lunch time came and crew wanted to make their way back to the ship. We had the Captain drop us at a dock at the end of the town away from the ship and we saw town while strolling back. Weather was overcast with occasional drizzle, but a lovely 56 degrees. Bald eagles worked the area around us and the Capt was able to get one close to the boat by throwing out a little bait.
Next, on up the passage to Juneau. An interesting little town to be the capital city of Alaska. Again, low ceiling, but little rain. We got a tour guide named Duane. He was a retired cheese head former pitney bowes salesman and a die hard liberal. What an idiot. We went up to the Mendenhall glacier and that was an awesome site. A tree hugger asked the park ranger about global warming and she replied, yes, we are experiencing global warming and have been since the last ice age. Not what the hugger wanted, but I got a laugh. When we reboarded the tour bus, I asked Duane to keep is idiot political views to himself. I said, while you are feeling so good about being a "progessive", you might want to study Rome. It had the same "progressive" agenda, just before it collasped. The govonor's mansion was a southern ante bellum home, which looked funny in Alaska.
Back to the ship and we were off to cruise up to the face of another glacier. The Capt threaded the ship through a slew of small icebergs up a forde where another glacier was. It was not nearly as large as the Mendenhall, but very nice none the less.
Back to sea and up to Skagway. Skagway was a small mining town that had obviously undergone a face lift for cruise ships. There were 4 ships in port that day adding over 10000 folks to a town that has a permanent population of only 800 year round. I had arranged a jeep tour up the yukon highway and over white pass. We got a nice new rubicon 4 door, which held all 5 of us nicely. The service even included a little stool to help with my mother in law getting in and out of the jeep. She gave the tour folks 4 stars. My daughter wanted to see whales, bears and seals. We had seen whales, but no bears or seals. We made our way along the same trail that the gold rush had followed up into Canada. On the way over, the fog was so thick you couldn't see anything at the pass. After we cleared the pass, the view was spectacular. Long glacial lakes shadowed the road and mountains rose up on both sides of this valley. No bears. We turned around and the mother in law had to stop for a break. We pulled into the Cabin's area and there it stood. A large black bear in its brown stage was lumbering along and feeding. My daughter loved it. Myself, I wished I had my 7mm mag to get a good run for the cabin. Back in Skagway, we ate fish at a locals hangout and walked back to the ship. The record was 5 jewelry stores in one block.
Off we go, next stop Prince Rupert in Canada. The trip from Skagway to Prince Rupert takes you down a straight with some of the most beautiful scenery you will see anywhere. Snow capped mountains and glaciers that run all the way to the water. It was a chilly 50 degrees with a cold breeze blowing over the deck, but Drew and I sat on the deck and watched God's handwork go by.
Prince Rupert is a Canadian fishing village and we made a short stop there. Hit the maritime museum, that did not live up to its hype. Ate dinner at the Crest Motel where a huge glass restaurant overlooking all of the Prince Rupert sound. Some guys from South Africa sat next to us and were there for the fishing. They had moderate luck fishing that day.
Left Prince Rupert and cruised at sea all the next day to get back to Seattle. Nice scenery most of the way. Long flight back and pretty long drive.
A trip not to be missed. Next time I go to Alaska, I fly to Anchorage and explore points north.
Just walked outside and baby, I ain't in the NorthWest no mo ... what a difference, over 30 degrees higher temps.
