Blogs from Ketchikan, Alaska, United States, North America - page 2

Sharon went to the morning mass and I met her in the Exploration Lounge. From there we proceeded to the Dining Room. We had a leisurely breakfast, and I enjoyed the egg white frittata again. Sharon decided on the French Toast. We had a tour scheduled, taking the trolley out to see the totem pole park on the edge of town. Sharon booked it from an online company so it wasn’t one available from the ship. The ship was cleared about 10 minutes later than scheduled and the people waiting to get off the ship were lined up on several decks. We were there early since it was on our deck but many people squeezed in from the upper decks via the stairs and elevators. We finally made it off but were close to our meeting ... read more

Monday, August 15th, 2016 Day 13: Ketchikan, Alaska - the salmon capital of the world! Ketchikan, is our last official stop in Alaska. It rains frequently in Ketchikan and today was no exception. Renata and I decided to spend the day at the nearby Saxman village. Ketchikan has the world’s largest collection of standing totem poles and many of them are found at Saxman Village. Some of the interesting facts we learned about totem poles is that inanimate objects are forbidden on totem poles and all of the figures must represent living beings. There are many different types of totem poles. There are clan crests, mortuary poles, story poles, memorial poles and house posts. There are even shame or ridicule poles. Some of the interesting totem poles that we saw were the Lincoln pole and Seward ... read more

I can't believe the self guided portion of our trip is about over. We've had a fabulous 10 days with 3 nights in Juneau, 3 nights in Sitka, 3 nights in Ketchikan and one night on the Alaska State Ferry. We thought we might be ready for a guided trip figuring we would encounter some hassles along the way doing it ourselves, but it has been perfect and we have said many times how happy we are that circumstances pushed us to do the Inside Passage on our own. Today we fly to Anchorage (via Seattle) and tomorrow begin our Multi-sport adventure with World Outdoors. We are looking forward to meeting our group but feel fortunate to have had so many opportunities in the past 10 days to talk with Alaskans as well as many other ... read more

Yesterday we visited our first port, Ketchikan. The sea was like glass and the weather overcast. Ketchikan yearly rainfall is measured in feet, not inches a year so overcast is good. We joined our group for a wildlife and seafood experience. Actually we were a group of six. I was surprised that they didn't cancel the tour but it was great for us. After a 30 minute bus ride, the six of us were dropped off at an interesting "resort". Located on the water, it has a few motel type rooms but the majority of accommodations were RV's and campers that were driven from all over and ferried over to the island. Some stay for a few days, many for the entire summer. We maneuvered a steep ramp and boarded an open sided boat. Our first ... read more

We have some friends who very well travelled across the globe. They are incredibly boring to listen to. Dull. Plus+++. I am concerned about falling into this category. Droning on. Hmmm. We are sharing a wee glass of sav. blanc from Sonora Ca., as we sit on our verandah. The ship, Mutanuska, is floating up the river in front of us. It is said to have 499 people on the manifest. We are boarding a vessel tomorrow that holds 76 passenger plus crew. Hmm. WHAT HAVE I DONE? But then, Kel survived on a boat with a number range of people from 3 to 8 over eight weeks so naff him. He'll just have to adapt. Tough bickies, Kel! Suck it up, Princess! (Demonic laugh haunts the air suddenly. Good times!) We have come via Seattle, ... read more