126 Alaska Cruise

One would not think that being bumped from a flight to Phoenix would lead to anything good. You be judge as the following story happened just as told.

Friends hearing of our plans to travel to Puerto Vallarta offered their condo at half the going rate. That was good, what wasn’t so good was getting suckered into signing up for a special tour package through Gold Crown Resorts, which I guess wasn’t all that bad as by signing up, along with some other goodies, we got a free Alaska Cruise.

We heard that our friends, Ed and Shirley Oakley, were going on a cruise to Alaska with Sage, a church group that does good deeds. We decided it would be nice to travel with friends so we departed from Seattle with them one beautiful Friday morning under a sunny blue sky, and a light breeze to begin what turned out to be a once in a lifetime adventure. Why do I say once in a lifetime adventure? Well, just say I hope at least part of the trip only happens once in my lifetime.

Sabbath was a relaxing time and after an inspiring Sabbath School we listened to stories told by Joe Wheeler, a renowned storyteller, invited by Sage to entertain while on the cruise.

The first stop on our trip after crossing the open water of Queen Charlotte Sound was a stop at the historic town of Juneau Alaska. What need I say about Juneau except that Old Town Juneau is situated on the slag from the early mining days and because of the crude mining techniques back then, probably has millions of dollars buried beneath it’s streets. Other then that, it is basically a tourist trap, but I must say quite unique and interesting. Also in it’s defense it does have beautiful Mendenhall glacier just north of town, at least what is left of it, as with all of Alaska’s glaciers, it is melting rapidly and will be no more in a matter of years.

Ed, Shirley and I were still in the interpretive center watching mountain goats climbing the rocks above the glacier when I suddenly looked at my watch and realized it was time for the tour bus to head back to the ship. We ran like crazy to catch the bus and if the aboriginal driver had not waited for us we would still be at the glacier. He was a most interesting fellow and told us all about his people and their lifestyle. I was sorry when the ride and his story ended.

Our next stop was the most famous town of the gold rush days, known as Skagway, the beginning of the most rigorous trek for miners of any gold rush in history, the famous Chilkoot Trail. Literally thousands of miners headed for the gold fields of the Klondike, each required by Canada law to carry one ton of supplies over White Pass, so they would not starve during the coming winter.

Again in spite of the town being another tourist trap, because of its history and unique setting, Sandy and I found it quite fascinating to browse the shops and travel up to the summit at White Pass on the narrow gage rail in the footsteps of the thousands of miners, who risked it all for the dream of making it big in the gold fields of the Klondike.

The shops in Juneau and Skagway had all of the usual made in China touristy stuff for sale at very low prices, except for the artsy stuff made by the indigenous peoples of Alaska, and then the price was out of sight. We took advantage of this and bought two matching and very nice winter jackets made in China, of course.

After Skagway we went up Tracy Arm hoping to see Sawyer Glacier, one of the most popular calving glaciers in Alaska, but because it was so early in the season, the Captain refused to travel the last few miles because of ice. The view of Tracy Arm however was quite spectacular, and maybe on our next cruise we will get to see a glacier calve. We did however take many fine pictures of the surrounding crags, as the Rhapsody of the Sea slowly turned in mid-channel for our return trip.

One could have a grand time by never leaving the ship, as there were always plenty of things to do on board. The casino was always busy and there were shows every evening, plus things happening all over the boat during most of the day and evening. You could eat yourself silly or just relax.

Sandy was a fan of Ricky Nelson and was thrilled when she found out that the twins Gunner and Mathew Nelson were performing one evening. She felt that she really scored when I took her picture while she stood between them.

We were fortunate that even though the weather was cool, we had beautiful sunshine for the sightseeing trips at Juneau and Skagway but it was obvious that a change was taking place in the weather as we left Tracy Arm. I feared for a rough night on the ocean as an ominous sea greeted us as we left Frederick Sound and headed into open water.

My fears were well taken, as the evening’s show in the theater was halted part way through for the safety of the performers and the next thing to go was the chocolate extravaganza that Sandy was anticipating.

About this time I went on deck to catch the excitement of the storm with my video camera. I quickly ducked back in as I feared the salt spray would destroy my video camera as it felt like being sprayed full force with a garden hose. I then went to one of the open upper decks and the wind in the rigging sounded like a thousand banshees screaming to be set free. It was shortly after this that the forward buffet closed so Sandy and I decided to call it quits for the evening.

It wasn’t long after this that the captain sent a message over the room’s cable service telling about the severity of the upcoming Pacific front that we were fast approaching. The rest of the night was a ring-tailed-spinner as we sort of rolled around in bed the whole night, hoping we would not get tossed out onto the floor of our cabin. The next morning some of the shops looked in shambles as things were scattered everywhere. The Captain informed us that through the night we had survived eighty-mile winds with waves thirty to forty feet. That makes it the first hurricane that I have survived at sea.

It was nice to wake up in Victoria to a calm sea, but my day was going to be far from what I had hoped it would be. While the rest of the ship went ashore and did the tourist thing in Victoria I stayed in my bunk.

During most of the trip the crew could be seen wiping any and every surface with disinfectant as we were told there was a stomach bug present. This was also obvious as there were sanitation stations at every doorway and at the entrance to every restaurant where a crewmember would ask you to hold out your hand for a quick squirt. Wouldn’t you know, I woke up in Victoria not feeling so well, and for the rest of the day ran between the bed and the commode doing the dippy bird routine. It was a toss-up as to which end to place in, on, or over the facility first. Well as they say the rest is history as our friends, the Oakley’s, departed the ship in Victoria and we went on to disembark at Seattle the next morning, and then to my son’s place for a few days in Walla Walla.