Days 3, 4, & 5 - Ship and Icy Strait Point

Life is great on board the Radiance of the Seas.  We’ve seen lots of people that we’ve cruised with before and it’s always fun to reconnect.  The ship is even more beautiful after her “facelift” last year.  

Yesterday was a sea day as we sailed through the Inside Passage.  It rained almost all day, so I didn’t get the camera out in it.  I got a good start on my new secret project and I’m feeling fantastic about it.

As a wannabe insomniac, I’m finding the 4:55 AM sunrise a little challenging.  We have a large window over our bed which lets a lot of light in.  I’m already feeling a little sleep deprived.

Today we arrived in Icy Strait Point.  The little village is called Hoonah.  The day started out with a steady drizzle.  I have to say I hope we get to see some of Alaska without the veil of drizzle.  It sure is getting old.  Fortunately it let up just in time for our tour, although the day remained gray.   The water reflects the sky, so it also looks dull gray.  We went to the Spasski River for a Bear and Wildlife Search.  This is the river where the salmon swim upstream to spawn, and the bears come there to catch them.  The only animals we saw were 2 mosquitoes and a red squirrel - and I couldn’t even manage a picture of them!  I was disappointed we didn’t see more, but the river and the forest were beautiful.  Here are a few pictures…

We did see an abandoned eagle’s nest.  The eagles abandoned it because another tree fell against this tree which made it possible for martins and minks to climb up and get the eggs.  I thought the way the light was shining on the moss was interesting.

 When we got back to the pier, we saw this bald eagle soaring above us. 

Then we saw this silly raven stealing French fries from the table outside a café. 

The highlight of the day for me came when we got back on the ship.  I went out to the bow on the helicopter pad and got some great pictures of a seal with a fish in his mouth.  A bird was dive-bombing him, trying to steal his fish.  I love nature!!

And of course, I got some whale shots – a tail, a double-header, and then one shot with a whale, a whale spout, an eagle, a passing ship, and a mountain background.

I had a great time taking pictures (433 to be exact).   Tomorrow is the Hubbard Glacier, assuming we can see it through the rain.

Stay tuned…

Days 1 & 2 - Vancouver

Well, I managed to complete the packing process including everything I thought we would need.  We had a quiet flight and a safe arrival.  The hotel is perfectly located in the heart of downtown Vancouver.  It's quite nice, although small.

We had planned to have dinner with my friend Helen last night, but unfortunately she was unable to make it.  We were all very sad, but it simply couldn't be helped.  All the more reason to plan another trip here!  We had a nice dinner at a pub next door to the hotel. 

I think I should have named our blog "Drizzly Greetings".  It's been a rainy stretch of days here and not forecast to change until well after we have sailed away.  It let up for a short while yesterday - long enough for us to walk a few blocks to China Town. 

We were searching for the world's narrowest building, but apparently it's so narrow that we walked right past it.  It's only 6 feet wide.  We expected it to be a free-standing building, but it's actually attached to another building.  Here's a few shots of it that we took today when we walked back there.  These were taken with my old camera because I didn't want to get the new one out in the rain.

Here's a view from the front, which is why we missed it last night.  But when viewed closely you can see how no more than 2 people can stand side by side in each office.

Some other interesting features include the Chinese-influenced iron gate and the glass sidewalk. 

Today we awoke to a steady drizzle that never let up.  We waited until noon so it could warm up a bit before we ventured out to Gas Town, the oldest area of Vancouver.  They have preserved the world's first steam clock - and I LOVE clocks.  The cool, damp weather allowed me to capture a great shot of the steam coming out the top.

The other main historical site of Gas Town is the statue of "Gassy Jack". 

His name was really John Deighton.  In the mid-1800's he opened the first saloon in the area, where all the lumberjacks and miners would gather.  He earned his nickname for his "gassy monologues".  The saloon burned down in the fire of 1886.

We saw two funny signs - one for Bruce and one for me.

 

I must say, if I ever had a store it would definitely sell chocolate and ice cream!  

I love these 2 shots...

 

We wanted to go to Stanley Park, but decided not to in the rain.  Perhaps we will be able to see it on our turn-around day next week.  We had a nice Chinese dinner tonight.  Now it's time to shift gears and get ready to board Radiance of the Seas tomorrow.  Hopefully I haven't spoiled you with all these pictures.  When I'm writing from the ship it takes too long to upload them.  So there'll be fewer of them, but hopefully better quality from the new camera.

Stay tuned....

Preparations

Grizzly Greetings, friends and family!!  This will be our blog for our first venture into Alaska.  If you've followed us before, you already know that these posts are displayed in reverse order.  So if you fall behind in reading them, start at the bottom and work your way back up.  If you're new to our travels, and you want to catch up, you can read about our trips to Australia and Spain.

I have a special treat for this blog - a new camera!!  It's digital, HD-quality, and fairly complicated.   I'm really rusty after about a 20-year absence from this type of photography, so I hope I can capture some awesome picture to share with you.  If not, maybe I'll at least get a few happy accidents.

We're 8 days out and I'm struggling with how to pack for this trip.  The weather will likely be highs of 50-60 and lows (brrrr, too cold to discuss).  It's a good thing this trip is only 2 weeks.  I don't think I could possibly pack enough warm clothes for any longer.  There's a huge difference between our usual shorts and sandals and this trip's sweaters and boots.  The airline restriction of 50# per bag is really challenging.  But I shall overcome!

We will begin the adventure by flying to Vancouver 2 days before the cruise so we can meet up with my long-time friend, Helen.  We met in a rather unusual manner.  Back in the early 90's we were both horse owners and subscribers to equestrian magazines.  Helen, who was living in her hometown of Perth, Australia at the time, posted an ad in one of the magazines requesting American pen pals.  I thought it would be so cool to do this.  So I wrote her a letter - this being in the days before the internet.  We actually wrote letters and mailed them with stamps and everything.  It would take them more than a week to arrive.  Helen received letters from 200+ hopeful pen pals.  She decided to select only 10 people to continue to communicate with.  I was one of the lucky ones.  We wrote back and forth for several years, developing a great bond.  She's someone I instantly felt I had known forever.  She came to visit me in the mid-90's.  We had such fun exploring the Colorado mountains and Denver sites.  We've stayed in touch all these years, through many life changes both up and down.  And now she lives in Vancouver.  I'm so excited to get to see her in person again!  And Vancouver is a new city for us to explore.  It will be a great way to kick off this big adventure.

For this cruise we've planned a few fun excursions:  hiking to the bear-viewing platform on the Spasski river, hiking the Mendenhall glacier, a train ride through a mountain range, a whale watching tour, etc.  We'll also have plenty of time to explore the port cities: Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan, and Icy Strait Point.  We'll be cruising past the Hubbard Glacier and the Inside Passage.   We'll be switching ships mid-way through, doing the first week on Radiance of the Seas and the second week on Rhapsody of the Seas.  We've spent significant time on both ships:  40 days on Rhapsody on the Australia trip and Radiance took us through the Panama Canal and the Mexican Riviera.  The adventure will end in Seattle.

So... stay tuned...