Alaska - Victoria, BC - Day 7

Friday, September 7, 2012: The ship's last stop was Victoria, British Columbia, but we weren't scheduled to arrive until 5:00 pm.

While on my way to breakfast, I saw the Captain - now was my chance to meet a fellow Ashevillian to say hello! He was very approachable and friendly. I told him that I was also from Asheville, and he confessed that he didn't really live in Asheville proper, but people didn't usually know the little town outside of Asheville where he lives. Nice..the Captain was from Barnardsville. Which for anyone that has been to my house/property in Jupiter knows that it shares the same interstate exit as Barnardsville. So in reality, I traveled 3,300 miles to meet someone that lives 6 miles from me. Impressive! He asked for my cabin number a couple times which led me to think that maybe I would get a seat at the Captain's table for dinner, or room upgrade? A girl can dream, can't she? I mean..I had connections now! (hindsight - I have to laugh at myself.)


Beaming with the fantasy of what I would wear to dinner with the Captain - I made my way to breakfast.  The open seating on Norweigian was nice for the single traveler.  As I made my way to a table with only one other person, I asked the gentleman if he minded if I joined him.  Low and behold, it was the little drunk man from the elevator that I had met a few nights before.  He welcomed me to his table and confessed that he was glad to get food in his belly because he had accidentally gotten a little drunk the night before.  I was like..what?...that's the same story he told me three days ago at the elevator!  I wondered if he had drank his way through the whole trip?  Turns out, yes.  He had been schnookered the entire trip, and he hadn't even been off the ship for any excursions.  Personally, I thought this was such a waste of his money and time.  I admit - I judged him.  He was a perplexing man, and he seemed really kind so I engaged him further.  Turns out that he had experienced the death of his wife earlier in the year.  They had planned the trip together, and his family talked him into continuing with the vacation without her.  My heart broke for him!  He was so sad and miserable.  Wow..what a compelling story, and I would have probably stayed smashed myself given his position in life.  Even through the hangover and the gut-wrenching story - this little man still managed a bright smile.  He said I was the first person to stop and talk to him the whole week.  I asked him if he remembered meeting me on the elevator, and he said that he was a little drunk that night.  Ha - a little drunk was an understatement, but instead of judging again - I smiled back and told him not to worry about that.  I gave him a warm hug and went on about my day.  It's amazing how we just never know what other people are going through at any given time.

The arrival to Victoria was very scenic and beautiful.  Our ship docked alongside a lighthouse.  With no planned excursions, I picked up a walking map of the city and struck out on foot.  There were only a few hours to take in Victoria, so I headed towards the Parliament House.  On the way, I took a stroll throught the Wharf area.  It was lined with shrimping/fishing boats, floating houses, and several food stands offering freshly caught salmon and shrimp.  The skies were a rich blue with warm sunshine!  Ahh...bliss again.

After enjoying a finger-licking salmon taco - I watched a young boy feed mackerel fish to a seal.  The little boy had his face painted like a tiger and seemed to be adequately brave enough to handle the slimy fish and dangle it over the water with his grandpa holding his other hand.  The seal finally decided it was safe to come up to feed, and the young child received cheers from the dozens of onlookers watching the experience.

Needing to move on about my day, I utilized a water taxi to get to the heart of downtown.  There was an old building covered in ivy that intrigued me, but I didn't have time to explore in that direction.  Since I only had a couple hours left in Victoria, I headed towards the Parliament House of the Queen.  I had read that the Parliament House was a must-see, and especially at night when it was lit up. (All helpful excursion tips were found on www.cruisecritic.com.)  Stopping to photograph the grounds, I missed the open hours by 5 minutes.  Not to worry, I will just have to go back one day!

With my map in hand and dusk fast approaching, I made my way back towards the ship.  I'm glad I left when I did because it was a long walk with several zig-zags to the ship.  Not knowing the area and walking by myself, this was the only time I was nervous.  Finally, the ship came into view - and what a view it was!  Sunset at the lighthouse with the Pugent Sound for a backdrop.

I'm really glad I had the sunset to keep me busy for a while as it took my mind off the disappointment of not having a dinner invite from the Captain or a room upgrade.  I know..another ego lesson for this ol' gal. 

I awoke at 2:00 am with a horrible sewer smell in my room. Yuck! It was awful. I called Guest Services and they sent someone up right away. Not finding the cause, they agreed to move me to another room. Since we were asked to pack our bags the night before arriving to Seattle for an early (7:00 am) disembarkment - I was already packed.   So, at 2:00 am, I followed the man down the hall to my new room. He put me in a Balcony Suite.  Ha.  I got a room upgrade afterall!  Yippee - too bad it only lasted 5 hours. 

That's the end of the cruise, and the end of week #1 of vacation.  I was sad that it was over, but I know in my heart I will be back again one day.  It was beautiful and an amazing experience - even traveling hans solo.

Now on to the rest of my vacation!

Alaska - Ketchikan - Days 1, 2, and 3

A kind invitation to join my Uncle Durward and Aunt Bonnie in Seattle while they visited my cousin, Tonia (their daughter), turned into a two-week trip for me since I decided to take an Alaskan Cruise while in the area.  Additional posts will come from my time in Seattle and also the Olympic Peninsula.  I jotted notes along the way and will share them here.

Friday, August 31, 2012:  arrived in Seattle safe and sound. The hotel only had a smoking room available.  It's amazing how used to a non-smoking environment I've become (thanks Asheville!) that I don't even think to request non-smoking anything when making reservations.

Saturday, September 1, 2012:  shuttle to pier, checked-in and went out on deck to enjoy the fresh BBQ cookout and take some photos leaving Seattle.  The breathtaking Mt. Rainer made an appearance as you can see here:

 

Sunday, September 2, 2012:   This was a day at sea.  Very grateful that I had the anti-seasick patch today.  It was a very windy, rainy day which created 6-8' waves.  Feeling somewhat medicated, I used this opportunity to rest.  I didn't realize how tired I was. The ship's nautical information was broadcast on the in-room TV and I was able to keep up with the weather, location of the ship, and more importantly - how much further to our first port.

 

Monday, September 3, 2012:  The ship arrived in Ketchikan, Alaska to rain and fog.  Typical "Alaskan" weather I suspected.  I was up in time for the sunrise, only that I couldn't see it.

 

Ketchikan was the 'Bear Expedition and Rainforest experience." The guide was not keen on me dragging all the camera equipment through the rainforest, but I wasn't leaving my tripod behind.  She also didn't appreciate my wanting to photograph every little twig in the forest.  In fact, we had a special talk about the importance of me sticking with the group.  All it took was me seeing a bear in an open environment to get the message (loud and clear!)

 

We were on a swinging suspension bridge roughly 20 feet above the very active bears.  Here's an area where we viewed and photographed the bears:

 

Here are a few shots I managed to get even though I was shooting in the rain/fog, was shaking from nerves, and had 10 other people on the swaying bridge with me <insert disclaimer for unclear photographs.>  These are my favorites - shot with Nikon D5100 70mm-300mm:

 

 

 

 

 

All said and done we saw about 12 bears total (several small cubs, and plenty of adults.)  They seemed content to focus on the salmon in the river instead of the group of people above.  Have you heard the saying that you don't have to be the fastest runner, you just can't be the slowest to avoid getting eaten by a bear?  Well, I was staking out my competition on this excursion for sure!

 

The next stop was at a 'petting zoo' for lack of a better term.  We were introduced to reindeer (a.k.a. miniature caribou.)  Even typing the word reindeer feels make-believe.  Santa had reindeer in the Christmas books, and we all (or most of us) know about that.  So, in reality I guess no one ever clued me in that reindeer are real creatures.  I thought *until this trip* that reindeer were made up in the books.  Boy was I surprised.

 

 

 

Next was a walk by the salmon hatchery.  Did you know that salmon 'born' at the hatchery still swim back upstream to the hatchery to spawn?  The workers create a make-shift spawning course for the fish.  Once they arrive, the hatchery collects the eggs, and begins the process of raising them until release.  The spawning course begins with a drainage pipe from the river (it's the same river that the bears were in.)  If the salmon don't land in the pipe they hit the wall and bounce back into the river to try again.  Here are two photos: one shows a successful jump, and the second shows a salmon hitting the wall.

 

This one made it:  

 

This one didn't make it (ouch!):

 



Headed back toward the ship.  Had a few minutes to shop in the little town before departing.  Of course I snapped photos as I went along.  Creek Street was really pretty, but due to the rain/fog, my photos weren't so impressive. 

 

Saw a seal munching on a salmon near the ship.  Life is pretty tretcherous for salmon around here.

 

Made a few acquaintenances throughout the day.  Adjusting well to no internet service.  The salad bar on the ship is really yummy.  Sometimes the hot food reminds me of hospital food.  The ship is clean, and everyone gets hosed with sanitizer before entering the ship and restaurants.  They squirt and say, "washy, washy, happy, happy."  Passengers laughed, but we were all glad for the germ control.  Thanks Norweigen!