Blogs from Ketchikan, Alaska, United States, North America
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Have fun in Ketchikan? You bet'cha can!!
Published: September 25th 2012North America » United States » Alaska » KetchikanAll got a little active during the night. Woke up at 1.30 am and found the ship doing its own little version of the Samba. Probably wasn't particularly rough but after the smooth sailing we've enjoyed so far, doing what old men do several times a night became just that little more challenging and requiring just a little more attention to detail! But with resolute attention to detail managed to avoid embarrassment. Was a little bit concerned as it is not a well kept secret that I am not the worlds best sailor, but as it turned out went straight back to sleep. Another disaster averted. Awoke at 7am and Sandy's first words were 'man the ship was getting thrown around last night'. The fact that it woke Sandy is a testament to the fact that ... read more
Ketchikan and the deadliest catch
Published: September 13th 2012North America » United States » Alaska » KetchikanWe had such a fun day with our trip. Our excursion on the Aleution Ballard started right from our dock, which was nice since it was down pouring. One of our captains was Derrick Ray who took over for a while after Capt. Phil Harris of the Corneila Marie passed away during Season 6 I believe. We headed out to open water and they passed out raingear to those who were in the line of fire with the rain/winds. The captain and crew shared stories of their lives on the crabbing waters of the bering sea. We saw two different kinds of nets pulled up containing king crab and snow crap, similiar to Orphelia crap. We also saw dungeness crab and cod nets pulled on board. What was really neat is they took pictures with everyone ... read more
Cruise - fourth stop- Ketchikan
Published: September 15th 2012North America » United States » Alaska » KetchikanKetchikan Another sleepy village nestled between mountain and sea with amazing scenery, somehow I just can’t get enough of the views. Ketchikan is Tlingit Indian for “Thundering Wings of an Eagle” ,that is because the town takes the shape of an eagle in flight when viewed from deer Mountain. We were warned about the “traffic ninjas”, these pedestrian crossing attendants take their job VERY seriously and if anyone should step over the sidewalk before they instructed too they get very upset! I guess it upsets the whole town’s traffic system when a ship or two bring in an extra 3000 people… Shore excursions available were – floatplane or boat to Misty Fjords, flightseeing and I think someone mentioned snorkelling! On board entertainment in theatre “iBroadway” – music from Broadway past and present.. We had the best ... read more
1st Port Aug 6 - Ketchikan
Published: August 8th 2012North America » United States » Alaska » KetchikanKetchikan was an interesting town and unique town. The driver to our excursion gave us a brief history of the town. It's the fourth largest town in Alaska with an average population of 13,000 - 14,000. The whole island is 160 miles around with one road throughout the whole town. The road does not connect to loop around the island it just deadends. Most of the town is built on pilings and it rains 300 days a year. The most rain they received in a given year was in 1949 with 202 inches. The fishing industry is pretty large on the island and equates to 1 in 10 jobs. Since Ketchikan is an island the only way to get on and off the island is by boat. The State Ferry is used by islanders to get ... read more
Ketchikan and the Inside Passage
Published: July 24th 2012North America » United States » Alaska » Ketchikan20th July ’12 Ketchikan A grey, rainy, blustery day and we have arrived in Ketchikan - The Salmon Capital of the World. We are moored up right along the Front Street in the old historic town, which is…. yes you guessed it, lined with jewellery stores and souvenir shops! Again we got off and ran the gauntlet of stalls and people holding signs offering tours at lower prices than the ship. We started the hunt for the coins and charms and found the stores had given up completely on trying to get you to try on or buy their wares, which was a godsend. In one shop they were selling lots of Sarah Palin election promotion items like fridge magnets and postcards saying things like Run Sarah Run! 2012 election and Sarah says I can see ... read more
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Our Day at Sea-Next Stop: Ketchikan
Published: June 23rd 2012North America » United States » Alaska » KetchikanWe've been sailing all night through the Strait of Georgia with Vancouver Island to the west. It rained a bit last night. We spent the entire day at sea. The dinner last night was one of the two "Let's play dress up" dinners for the cruise. It was a very nice evening and a fine dining experience. Marilyn popped for some excellent wine and we all had a very good evening. We hit a couple of bars with some entertainment and had a blast. Thank God we picked up another hour in moving northwest toward Ketchikan over night. The ship arrived in Ketchikan at 6:30 AM. As usual, I was up at 5:00 AM to watch the sunrise and arrival into Ketchikan. Ketchikan is a cute little fishing town with mountains all around. I knew that ... read more
Friday June 15, 2012 Three’s a Crew Kira is returning with us and we are a crew, older and more experienced seamen that on our voyage together last year. With only a captain and an admiral giving orders we need a boatswain (pronounced bo’sun) to the things bo’suns do, like help carry provisions down to the ship and perhaps calm the angry birds. This is the first airplane flight that she can remember finding novelty and excitement in all she sees including the nifty little tables that fold up against the seat in front. She brought crafts, activities and drawing pads intent on using them all on our 1 ¾ hour flight to Ketchikan. I probably should have hailed a taxi for the one-mile trek from the ferry landing to Bar ... read more
Alaska - Part 2 of 3 - Ketchikan to Juneau
Published: August 21st 2012North America » United States » Alaska » KetchikanTrip to Alaska Part Two – June 2012 – Ketchikan to Juneau Intro This is the second of a three part series and focuses on our trip through the western passage from Ketchikan to Juneau. Part One focused on our trip to Ketchikan through the eastern passage, and Part Three will focus on our “bookend” stays in Juneau, with a little bit about our partial day layover in Ketchikan. I will insert a link to Part Three once it is written. As you read this, you will see photos embedded with the text. Continue on after reading to see several more photos. 9 June 2012 – Ketchikan We arrived in Ketchikan on a beautiful sunny day! That is not something you will hear very often for the city that averages 13 feet of rain a year. ... read more
Soft skies in beautiful Alaska
Published: June 9th 2012North America » United States » Alaska » KetchikanWell, peeps - after eleventy hundred hours of travel, I am writing to you from the lovely Inn at the Creek in Ketchikan (Ke-tchi-kan) Alaska - green and cool, the Inn is surrounded by snow topped mountains, which to this plains grrl seem very sharply faced and seemingly endless. The Inn sits on wooden pylons along the Creek and once hosted the Red Light District - filled with tourist spots, it focuses on rogering of another kind now. The trip was uneventful, and suprisingly pleasant (even the attempt a paleo meals was rather good - and hot and served sooner than others!) - thank you my 'sister' Lyndall for getting me aisle seats - much appreciated. So far, so good barring a couple of discombobulations, which I will share with you as a lesson on what ... read more
Saturday May 26, 2012 Ketchikan After posting a blog at Safeway we walked South to the "downtown" area of Ketchikan where the cruise ships tie up. There were four more in today and I hear they come in everyday all summer - in in the morning and out in the afternoon. We mingled with the passengers along streets full of gift shops, jewelry shops with hawkers at every door inviting us in. A boardwalk lined with shops was built out over a tumbling river where people can watch salmon spawning and bears eating them in season. We ate lunch at Annabelle's, which had a 19th century boom town atmosphere and good food. It's raining and blowing pretty hard so not many people are going in or out for the local fishing derby. Sunday May 27, 2012 ... read more
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