Alaskan Cruise

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Friday 13th May we boarded our Cruise - it was such a long & unorganized process , it took us over 3 hrs to get on my legs were so sore that Sue asked someone to put me thru quicker which they did & we waited for them on the other side . But all that out of the way the Ship was great done out very nice , Shops , rock climbing wall , indoor & outdoor pools & spas , beautiful foyer & great staff.
Our rooms were very nice Ross & I had a balcony which we used a lot.Each day at sea we saw whales & some Orcas , the seas are really calm & we had a chance to relax & catch our breath a bit , but as normal on a cruise you are forever eating , so much for dieting , the food is great.
On Sunday we reached Juneau we went on a tour to the Menndenhall Glacier what a great site we went done a wooden walk way & 4 Black bears , a mum & her 3 cubs , walked right under us so close we could touch them. the Glacier looked magic we actually got to hold some ice from it , you cant imagine how clear & dense it was. then went to a salmon Hatchery very interesting what they do , but there was not any salmon yet the season starts in a couple of weeks, the Salmon know what waters they were born in & return there the next year.
Next port was Skagway weather was great even the towns people couldn't believe how nice it was this town was lovely the older buildings with the snow mountain backdrop , so pretty. We went on a tour to the Klondike Summit, stopped at many photo shots along the way , just beautiful ths ice lakes are just starting to melt & the water is blue. Then went to Yukon suspension bridge great views over rapids river.
Then went gold panning we all found gold but cant retire just yet , it was a very interesting tour to see how things were done in this harse enviroment.
Next day we travellled on ship up thru Tracey Arm Fjord ... too cool ... we woke up to see ice burgs passing by us we had to go so slow thru the ice that you could not hear any noise of the ship at all only the water lapping onto the ice amazing , some ot the ice we saw was bright blue on the way up to the glacier such a wonderful site. later on that day we were in the pool watching ice go passed us ... Fab ...
Next port Ketchikan drizzled with rain here all day which is normal for this town , went to a lumberjack show which was great can not imagine how cold the water must have been when they fell off in the log rolling lumber really are tuff. Then we went on a duch that took us around the town & told us its history then it went into the water & cruised around here we saw bald Eagles up close they are brown as young birds & get their white haeds as they mature.
Last day of cruise relaxing Sue & I won silver medals in games we played .. shuffle golf & bageo ... we are stars. Left the ship Fri 20th May in Seattle.

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