May 8 to 10 - All good things must come to an end

When we left Ketchikan on Tuesday evening it was just in time. There was a gale approaching which was set to bring high winds and lots of rain. As it was we had rough seas all night and most of the next morning. I don’t mind it but some people do. Some of my shipmates complained about the creaks and pops the ship makes but I kind of like them.

Wednesday at noon we played our final Trivia game. We were ten points ahead of our lead competitors at the start but we had a bad day. They beat us by quite a bit but all wasn’t lost. All the other teams including us had the opportunity to bet some or all of our points on a final question. We decided to bet it all and we answered the final question correctly so we won that round. I got more swag to give away. Some people keep what they win, but except for a couple of adaptors and a bear I’ve given everything away to crew members who have taken good care of me.

I spent part of the day packing a little.  In the early evening there was a special cocktail party for those of us who did the whole 80-day grand voyage. There was a slide show showing shots of passengers and staff at various ports and events along the way. On the piano on the stage was a framed photo of Helga who a number of us felt was with us in spirit. After the party we all went up to the Colonnade for a special farewell dinner.

Not a great photo but I want to remember the assemblage of people who made my wonderful cruise possible 

The seas had calmed and the sun came out as we sailed through the Inside  Passage which is one of the most beautiful places I’ve seen. Dinner was exquisite and the views were incredible as the sun set. I was seated at a table with the Staff Captain.  Her account of what went on the bridge when we got the tsunami alert back at Miyako-jima was very interesting.  When the warning came the Japanese line handlers had already secured the ship to the dock and left.  Six crew from the ship were dispatched to the pier to undo the lines knowing that they wouldn’t be able to get back on the ship as we sailed away.  A Japanese  official drove them off at breakneck speed to high ground in case a tsunami materialized.  As it was, the wave that hit the island was only about a foot above normal activity, but it still must have been a scary time for those ashore.

As the sun was going down a contrail was blowing apart and I thought this was so neat.

Thursday we docked at our final port, Nanaimo on the east coast of Vancouver Island.  The city is only about fifty miles as the crow flies from Vancouver where my odyssey would end.  Vancouver Island is beautiful, but the most spectacular sights are further north.  Friends who live on the island told me there wasn’t a great deal to see in the city, so I spent the day packing.  I had two suitcases being shipped via Luggage Forward, a perk offered to those of us on the 80-day voyage, and I learned that I had packed a few things in those that might hold them up and delay delivery.  So I spent time repacking and grumbling while I did it.  While it’s easier to pack when you’re homeward bound because there aren’t choices to be made (everything has to go), it’s still not a fun chore.

On Thursday evening, the Odyssey crew did one of their signature events, the Epicurean event and crew farewell.  Out on the deck around the pool officers set up tables with special hors d’oeuvres and cocktails, the band plays for those who want to dance, and then the entire crew comes out on the sun deck above so they can salute us passengers.  Instead I think all of us love the opportunity to applaud and thank the people who have worked so hard to make our cruise great, many of them behind the scenes where we never see them.  It was a beautiful evening; in fact, it was one of the few times when John, the cruise director, didn’t have his deck event rained out.  After the party four of us girls had dinner together for the last time on this cruise.  I’ve made some lovely new friends and we already have plans to get together again.  I went to the Club for the last time to say goodbye to some friends there.  I’ll miss listening to music every night and doing a little dancing too.  I hope on future cruises I have the pleasure of listening to the Trio again.  They are all so talented.

That's Melody who I've written about in red along with the other members of the Trio

This and the next two are staff and crew who have taken such good care of me

Friday, May 10 arrived and my 110-day voyage came to an end.  In some ways I was ready to go home, but I’ve been very spoiled and the real world will be hard to get used to.  I hope I remember how to make a bed or fold a towel.  I said my goodbyes to my cabin attendants and my favorite wait staff.  A car took me to the airport where I cleared US Customs and Immigration quickly and then hung out in the lounge until it was time to board my flight.  I had to change planes in Chicago and then headed to Dulles.  After we left Chicago the pilot came on the PA system to tell us that those on the left side of the plane had a great view of the Aurora Borealis caused by the solar storm.  Unfortunately, I was on the right side and the people across the aisle had their shades down and were sleeping, so I couldn’t even see it from a distance.

That's Chris, the leader of the Trio, who I encountered crossing a street in Ketchikan.  He's a great drummer.

German, one of my favorite waiters

This is Marvellous, the hostess at the Colonnade and who is absolutely marvelous

Ignore the person in the middle, these are Alessandra and Joycia, my two fantastic cabin attendants

I arrived at Dulles in northern Virginia at 12:30 AM and because of the late hour I had arranged to stay at the Marriott at the airport and be picked up there on Saturday morning.  I was too tired to do anything but flop on the bed.  My driver came earlier than anticipated, but that was okay because I was ready.  The ride down I-95 and I-64 was uneventful and I was home by noon.  Everything looked great in the house, thanks to the ladies who take care of things for me.

So ends my adventure to the Lands down Under plus a lot of other places.  I can put pins in lots of countries on the map Katie and Stan gave me a couple of years ago.  In fact, I may have to get some more pins.  I have discovered that I can do really long cruises, but I think 110 days is about the max that I want to do.  The last week or so I was getting tired of the menu choices and just craved being able to sit in my robe and slippers and eat popcorn for dinner if that’s what I felt like having. I’ll miss the wonderful people I encountered along the way, but I know I’ll see many of them again, both staff and guests, and that’s something to look forward to doing.  For now that's it for my travel journal until the next one begins.  I've got some time until that happens. If you've been reading, thanks for following along.  Writing this helps me to remember all the wonderful things I've been fortunate enough to see and do and to refresh my memories of lovely days spent in faraway places.

May 6 and 7 - Klawock and Ketchikan

I’m here in Ketchikan, Alaska which is the southernmost major settlement in the state.  This is our last stop in the US before the cruise ends.  Today I began the fun task of packing.  In many ways packing to go home is easier than doing it when you’re beginning a trip.  There aren’t choices to be made; you just know that everything has to get packed.  Nonetheless I still dislike doing it. But there are still a few places to write about so here they are.

Yesterday we had a first. We were the absolute first cruise ship to go to Klawock, Alaska.  It’s a tiny city on Prince of Wales island in the lower part of the state.  According to the latest census data there are 720 residents. The people were very excited at the visit and were delightful.  We tendered to a brand-new dock where they had built a tent with lots of chairs, flower boxes, a fire pit and people to greet us and answer questions.  There was a shuttle bus to take us to the little town where in a community center/gym there was an artisan market. A number of artisans were selling their products ranging from jams and canned salmon to furs and paintings.  I bought some hand-painted note cards from one artist and a pair of earrings from another.  Most of the people I saw looked to be indigenous.  On our ride to and from the dock I didn’t see a grocery store of any kind, not even a little Mom and Pop store, so I’m not sure what people do for food and shopping.  Today someone told me that the town flew in two bus drivers from Juneau for the day because they didn't have enough locals able to do it.  They really went all out for us. I read that Klawock first became settled by Europeans in the latter half of the 19th century to first salt and then later can fish.  I didn’t see a cannery around so I’m not sure that’s still done there.  As I said, the people were so nice and the place is very pristine, but I couldn’t imagine living there.  I’m not a big city girl, but Klawock was too rural for me.  All of us on the Odyssey do forever have bragging rights as Klawock’s first cruise visitors.

The dock, walkway and tent ashore were completed two days before we arrived.  Our visit was a really big deal for these folks.

The landscape is just beautiful.

Overnight we sailed the short distance to Ketchikan.  I’ve been here before and it was always raining thus earning its name  “the Rain Capital of Alaska.”  Today, wonder of wonders, when I went ashore the sun actually peeked out and I didn’t feel a drop. According to the last census there are 8100 people here, but I wonder if that’s full-time or if it includes the folks who come  to work the summer cruise season.  I met several such individuals in stores that I walked through.  One was from St. Thomas and another was from Mazatlán, Mexico.  They both told me that they hadn’t gotten accustomed yet to the temperature (which was about 45° today).

Ketchikan hugs the shoreline of the waterway which is part of the Alaskan Marine Highway and Inside Passage.  The surrounding terrain is very steep and forested so most of the city is only a few blocks from the water.  There’s a creek that runs through the city and when the salmon are running you can see them jumping as they travel upstream.  We were too early for that. 

When I looked out this morning I saw that we weren’t alone here.  We were docked between a big Princess ship off our bow and a Carnival vessel off our stern.  It was a good day for the merchants and restaurateurs of Ketchikan.  We were docked right downtown and as I got off the first thing I saw was the beautiful bronze statue called “The Rock,” which pays tribute to the early pioneers and native peoples who helped build Ketchikan.  There are a miner, a fisherman, a bush pilot, a logger, a frontierswoman and a native drummer. Atop the sculpture is a native chief who is greeting the newcomers.  The place was bustling with cruisers looking for bargains.  There are lots of jewelry stores, including ones that I’ve seen on nearly every Caribbean island, fur stores, and the usual tourist souvenir trinkets.  I wandered through a lot of them but wasn’t tempted to buy anything.  I met a couple of entertainment people who were going to lunch at a place that is known for good fish and chips and they asked if I’d like to join them.  I declined because it hadn’t been that long since I had breakfast, but I’ll bet it was good.  The crew on ships are always eager to have a meal ashore and I can’t say that I blame them.  When you’re on a ship for a long time, the food does get pretty repetitive and a change is nice.  I confess that I’m feeling that way now too.   After I’d checked out the shops on the few streets here I headed back to the ship.  There was a shuttle to a local Walmart, but I went to the one in Kodiak so I didn’t need to visit another.  If there had been a Costco I would have gone there, not because I need anything but just because it’s interesting to see the different merchandise available in different places.  Years ago Al and I stopped at a Costco in Maui and they sold all kinds of leis, fruits and fish that I’ve never seen in the Newport News Costco.

We were supposed to have a sailaway ABBA dance party on deck this afternoon, but the weather gods didn’t cooperate.  It’s sprinkling and pretty cold and windy so the Cruise Director postponed it.  He’s had a terrible time scheduling dance parties ever since Sydney two and a half months ago.  I think all but one or two have been rained out. As I look out now I see that we’re on our way again.  Tomorrow we’ll be sailing down the Inside Passage heading to our last port, Nanaimo on the east coast of Vancouver Island, British Columbia.  Tomorrow is also a big day – it’s the final Trivia match.  Will we win?  I hope so because I have a few more people to whom I’d like to give my prizes.  There are so many fantastic crew members here.

Anyway, that’s it for today.  Hasta mañana.

May 4 - Glacier Bay National Park

The last few days have whizzed by. After leaving Homer we spent a day at sea on our way to Glacier National Park.  We had our penultimate trivia game and we’re once again in the lead, but only by ten points.  I went to a lecture about Arab-Israeli conflicts. It was interesting but no solutions were offered. (If someone had an answer he’d probably have come forward by now.) At dinner I dined with one of the new guest entertainers who came on in Kodiak.  She’s a Russian violinist who was a very nice dinner companion.

May 4th we arrived in Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve.  What a glorious place this is!  I didn’t get up in time to see this, but one of my shipmates Greg did. There was a truly spectacular sunrise.  We spent the day cruising up and down various arms of the waterways in the park.  The most magnificent is Tarr Inlet  into which Marjorie Glacier and the Grand Pacific Glacier flow.  I’ve been here before but I can’t remember how far into the inlet they flowed so I can’t judge how far they’ve receded.  Grand Pacific glacier is very debris filled and just looks like a muddy delta flowing into the water. Marjorie, on the other hand, is a tall white cliff of ice meeting the water.  We didn’t see any calving while we lingered but I have seen that before and it’s impressive, in terms of both visual and audio sensations.  There were lots of little ice pieces, called growlers, in the water and a few larger floes.  We were pretty far away but on a couple I could see numerous black spots which were seals sleeping on the ice.  It wasn’t a sunny day which was a shame because the ice looks even more beautiful when the sun shines on it.  It makes it easier to see all the colors in the ice.  The ship moved slowly and silently through what are essentially fjords and the only sounds were of birds cawing.   It is probably one of the most peaceful places I’ve seen.  The surrounding mountains are rocky and where there is vegetation it's fir trees.  Interspersed I could see some aspens which hadn’t yet begun to leaf out.  There was quite a bit of snow on the mountains.

These two photos of the sunrise are courtesy of my friend Greg

More photos of Glacier Bay than you ever wanted to see

This is Marjorie glacier

Those black things on the ice are some seals taking it easy

Just to prove I was here

These were some orcas spotted in the water

Not a bad birthday breakfast - heart shaped pancakes with strawberry & blueberry eyes, a mimosa some bacon and a capuccino

The earliest recorded history of Glacier Bay comes from a 1741 expedition by the Russian Vitus Bering.  Shortly after that expedition around Alaska, Russia staked a claim to the area and it belonged to them until we bought it in 1867. In between the British sea captain George Vancouver, who explored much of the northwest Pacific coast, had written that one of his ships was blocked from exploring this area by a wall of ice 2 miles wide and 3900 feet tall. The British tried to claim the land as a result of that expedition but the dispute was settled in an 1825 treaty and Russia maintained its ownership.

 

In the evening I had dinner in the TK Grill with friends and the Cruise Director and his assistants to celebrate my birthday.  We had a lovely evening, talking and laughing a lot.  We missed the show and after I went down to the Club and danced (a little) and talked with friends until nearly 2 AM.  It was a wonderful day in a beautiful place.  I’ve been so lucky to be able to go to and see the things I have.  Life has been good.

May 2 - Inertia has set in

It has been a few days since I’ve written anything and it’s not because I’ve been terribly busy. Instead I’ve become lazy. Six straight days of moving the clock forward finally got to me on April 29, the day we arrived in Dutch Harbor. I couldn’t fall asleep the night before because my internal clock told me that 11 PM was 5 PM, way too early to go to sleep.  I finally dropped off at 6 AM on the 29th.  Unfortunately at 8:30 the cruise director John came over the public address system to tell us that the US Immigration and Customs people were ready for us to have a face-to-face with each of us to clear us for entry into the US. Everyone had to appear with passport and, if not a US citizen, a visa or  ESTA in hand. (It may be just me but I see a little irony here.) We went deck by deck and when I finished I went back to my cabin and back to bed.  I slept until 12:30 PM.  Half the day was shot already.  There were no tours offered and there truly is nothing in Dutch Harbor.  I thought I’d at least get off the ship just to set foot on dry land after nearly a week.  About the time I stepped on to the gangway it began sleeting.  I made a u-turn and went back inside and did not much of anything for the rest of the day.  One thing I did hear was there were lots of eagles around and one of the ship's dance troupe got this great video of an eagle perched on a railing of the ship.

I should mention a little about Dutch Harbor.  The community is on Amaknak Island in the Aleutian Islands.  In June 1942 it was the target of Japanese bombers, thus making it one of the few US places attacked during WWII.  During the war there were close to 20,000 sailors and soldiers based here. The military facilities have been decommissioned for a long time and the principal activity on the island now is commercial fishing.  Dutch Harbor is the home of a large fishing fleet through which more than a billion dollars of mainly cod and pollock are transferred every year.

When I looked at the photos I'd taken as we sailed from Dutch Harbor, I realized that the scenery was very pretty albeit desolate.  The first one I took as we moved away from the dock.  When we left Japanese ports there were always bands and people waving goodbye and thanks for coming.  Do you notice anything missing in this one?

Not a single, solitary soul saying goodbye

This was some very pretty scenery though.

April 30th we were back at sea on our way to Kodiak, Alaska.  We had the usual full slate of activities including lectures, classes and trivia. I went to a couple of lectures, played trivia (we’re tied for 1st place), and took a nap.  A really productive day!  It was cold and blustery outside so except for stepping outside to take a look around I stayed in where it’s warm all day.  In the evening John, the cruise director, did a show called John &Friends in which he included members of the ship's entertainment staff and at the end the guest entertainers who were leaving us the next day.  It was a great show which I think all of us enjoyed.

That's Manic John on the left and Madcap Melody on the right

Yesterday May 1st we docked in Kodiak, the principal town on Kodiak Island with a population of close to 6,000 people.  Kodiak is the home of a lot of the Alaskan king crab and snow crab industry.  Kodiak suffered greatly back in 1964 when there was a 9.2 earthquake in Alaska and before the earth had even stopped shaking a massive tsunami struck Kodiak and other parts of the state.  The town and its entire industry were essentially wiped out. Alongside our dock there were hundreds of huge crab pots waiting for the season to begin.  Once again we had a cold rain falling, not at all conducive to walking around.  One of my friends and I got a cab and went to – are you ready for this – Walmart.  That’s right, Kodiak has a Walmart and a Safeway. I needed to buy an extra suitcase because I have bought some things along the way and I’m not sure they will all fit in my bags.  Seabourn will pay for shipping two suitcases so I figured I’d get another one just to be safe. We passed through downtown Kodiak and we saw a MacDonald’s, a couple of Filipino food trucks (evidently there are quite a few people from the Philippines living here and working in the fishing industry), a Mexican restaurant and a Chinese one.  Aside from that there wasn’t a whole lot.  From what we saw of the island it is pretty mountainous with lots of fir trees a little higher up and deciduous trees on the lower slopes. The latter showed not a sign of budding yet.  Another of my friends who took a tour of a crab business told me that the guide told her that the weather that day was like a January day in Kodiak, not really springlike. When we got back to the ship it was afternoon and we stayed on board. 

Lots of big crab pots waiting for the season to start and to be filled with crabs to go to your local Costco

Kodiak not at its very best

I forgot to mention that in the Walmart there was a very large and impressive stuffed Kodiak bear.  Kodiaks are one of the two largest types of bears (the other is the polar bear) and they average standing heights of 8 feet.  Physically Kodiaks are similar to grizzlies but they are 1.5 to 2 times larger and males can weigh as much as 1400 pounds.  This guy was really impressive!

Now this is one BIG bear!

  

In the evening there was a dance party in the club after dinner.  A friend and I went down and got a table near the dance floor. The ship was doing a lot of rocking and rolling so we decided dancing would be dangerous.  Instead we had a very entertaining evening watching some of the people who had had a little more to drink than perhaps they should have dance.  It was a little like watching a flock of birds as they fly in unison this way and that with the wind or air currents.  As the ship rolled the dancers would lurch across the floor.  Nobody fell which was a good thing and I suppose it might sound bad that we were entertained watching this but we were.  Oh well, what can I say. We had a good night.

The ship rolled a lot all night and this morning we arrived in Homer, Alaska.  Once again it was raining intermittently and extremely windy.  All the tours for the day had been canceled because the tour operator didn’t have the proper insurance.  Somehow it seems that someone would have figured that out long before today, doesn’t it?  The Chamber of Commerce of Homer was evidently so happy that a cruise ship came here that it made a shuttle bus available to take people into the town.  It seems I’m not the only one caught in the grips of inertia.  My friends and I sat around in Seabourn Square and contemplated making the long walk down the pier in the wind and rain to get to the bus. Another friend came along and said she’d gone to town and there wasn’t much to see.  Finally we’d thought about it enough that it was lunch time. After lunch it was just too late to even think about going ashore.  Do you get the picture?  We’ve all gotten just a little lazy.  In fairness to Homer I have to say that another friend told me in the evening that she took the shuttle bus and stopped someplace where she took a tour of a workshop where they made mesh fishing nets.  She said it was fascinating; really, I kid you not.

This was Homer.  Maybe I should have gotten off my rear end and gone ashore, but you know what they say about a body at rest. It's inertia.

At dinner I dined with a new guest entertainer, a Russian violinist.  She was a delightful dinner companion.  She lives in Los Angeles now which must make it easier for her to travel because of what’s going on in Ukraine.  After dinner there was a comedian in the Grand Salon.  He wasn’t as funny as one we had earlier in the cruise but he did get some laughs.  As many comedians do he picked a foil in the front row and unbeknownst to him he picked the man who we know as “bathrobe man.”  I can’t remember if I’ve written about this man before but he has shown up at very inappropriate times wearing only his bathrobe plus he’s a strange  guy.  A few nights ago he dined at a table with a couple of my friends and a guest speaker who is a former ambassador.  He started the conversation by asking the ambassador how much it would cost him to buy an ambassadorship (is that a word?) for himself or his son.  Not the most appropriate way to make small talk at  dinner.

After the show I went to the Club but once again we were doing quite a bit of rocking and rolling.  There were only a few of us there and we talked for a while and then called it a night.  I think for those of us who have been on for a couple of months we’re winding down and getting into time-to-go home mode.  Only a week left!