Blogs from Inside Passage, Alaska, United States, North America - page 6

Night two aboard the Alaskan ferry Taku. Last night, sleeping out on the deck, the frigid air knifed through my pathetic sleeping bag, so I've decided to sleep on the observation lounge floor tonight. Anyone else on board who is my age (and white) is sleeping in a bed in a state room. At 61 I'm trying to live the adventures I should have lived when I was 21. Back then, when I had my head buried in a book, I had friends who came to Alaska. They earned big money working 36 hour shifts gutting fish. Some stayed and became the crusty windbags I see sitting in corner of the bar in Sitka, swapping fish stories and complaining about Democrats. Some now own the fishing operations they once worked for and would scoff at my ... read more

We embarked from Ketchikan at 4:00 PM on Tuesday. As we sailed slowly up the narrow passage, we watched an Alaska Airline 737 land at the Ketchikan International Airport. The airport has one runway and a single gate, enough for the occasional flight. We sailed throughout the night heading north. ... read more

Monday was our first full day at sea. It was a cold, wet morning. Although, the seas weren’t too choppy, we felt the constant up and down, side to side motion. It took me a while to find my sea legs. By noon, with a bit of Dramamine in my system, we were able to wobble along the deck. By the looks of other people on deck, I think most were looking for their sea legs. The swimming pools were evidence that we were moving along. The water was sloshing from one side to the other. A light lunch and several trips to the ice cream bar were enough to get us walking upright. Monday evening was the first of two formal nights. You can guess what that means… coat and tie and more photo ops. ... read more

Welcome to our adventure on the High Seas. I hope you enjoy our little getaway and can get a taste of cruising to Alaska. Marie (aka Lani) and I have been looking forward to an Alaska cruise for quite some time. My parents really enjoyed cruising during their lifetime, having sailed to Hawaii, Alaska, the Mediterranean; and the Caribbean; through the Panama Canal; and the St. Lawrence Seaway. So, I guess we come by it naturally. Lani and I have always talked about taking a cruise, so now it’s our time. We have had a taste of what cruising would be like with the weekend getaways to Ensenada on the Carnival cruise line. We celebrated Caitlin and Danielle’s high school graduations with the trips. I always felt they were more like frat parties on the water, ... read more

I'm set to go on a cruise in Alaska with two friends; a married couple. They booked a veranda suite on Holland America and I booked my single interior cabin just across and down the hall from them. Cheryl and I figure we'll have coffee on the veranda in the mornings while Mike sleeps in. They're good friends so a polite walk across the cabin to the verandah won't bother Mike, or so Cheryl says. Today I'm researching the best places to eat crab. It seems Juneau may be one of the best, (Crab Shack or Twisted Fish) but it's also the best for helicopter tours, dog sledding, and whale watching. My list of things to do is so long, that I don't think I'll have time to eat! Good thing they offer box lunches! So ... read more