Wow I can't believe I broke my streak of so many days without missing a blog post. Anyways, I know I also missed Scrap Basket Sunday yesterday so I'll have to do some extra sewing on that project to make up for it. Before we get too far into August, I want to wrap up my vacation pics and summary :)
Sunday 8/4 was another long day at port – we got to Skagway at 8am and had to be back on board around 8pm again. We hadn’t made any plans so we were talking about what we wanted to do at our last port on the cruise. We talked about going Salmon fishing but apparently it’s not as good in Skagway as it is in some of the other areas of Alaska. We talked about doing a Jeep tour and a few other things but then we saw a tour where you go to Davidson Glacier and hike and kayak to the actual glacier. Mom decided to splurge and take us to do that. We had a couple hours to kill before the tour started and there wasn’t much in the town except for the obligatory jewelry and tourist shops so we found ourselves a trail. The trail led up to a pretty lake called Dewey Lake. We would have liked to go all the way around the lake but we didn’t have quite enough time so we just hiked to the lake, checked it out and headed back.
Sunday 8/4 was another long day at port – we got to Skagway at 8am and had to be back on board around 8pm again. We hadn’t made any plans so we were talking about what we wanted to do at our last port on the cruise. We talked about going Salmon fishing but apparently it’s not as good in Skagway as it is in some of the other areas of Alaska. We talked about doing a Jeep tour and a few other things but then we saw a tour where you go to Davidson Glacier and hike and kayak to the actual glacier. Mom decided to splurge and take us to do that. We had a couple hours to kill before the tour started and there wasn’t much in the town except for the obligatory jewelry and tourist shops so we found ourselves a trail. The trail led up to a pretty lake called Dewey Lake. We would have liked to go all the way around the lake but we didn’t have quite enough time so we just hiked to the lake, checked it out and headed back.
After a quick lunch back on the ship, we met up with the tour and embarked on a 45 – 60 minute boat ride over to Glacier Point or Davidson Glacier. On the boat, we saw some more whales, a sea lion and a TON of bald eagles (my brother has all the pics of the eagles so you'll have to wait to see those).
Once we got to the basecamp at the glacier, they had sandwiches waiting for us and then we got on a school bus to head over to their kayaks. Everyone got some rain gear and a lifejacket (very stylish…but very warm too). It turns out the boats weren’t really kayaks – each one held around 12 people and they also had a small outboard motor on them so we didn’t do a whole lot of paddling. It was pretty darn cold out there but they got us really close to the glacier and then actually let us off the boats to go walk around on some of the lower ice. It was cool! The crazy guy was our guide...he joked that he was going to take a pic of himself but when we got home we saw he actually did take a pic of himself, LOL
We had another hour boat ride to get back so by the time we got back to the pier it was time to go back to the ship and get ready for dinner. It was another fun and exhausting day – I think everyone was pretty glad to shower and warm up after the cold ride out to the glacier.
Monday 8/5 was another day at sea for some scenic cruising and after 3 busy days at port we were super glad to have a relaxing day. The big views for Monday was our cruise through Glacier Bay national park. We drove really slowly through the park, watching glaciers calve and watching whales and sea otters and birds. The coolest thing we got to see in Glacier Bay was a little bit of calving – where big chunks of ice fall off the glacier and splash into the water. We didn’t see any major pieces but it was pretty cool to see and hear the ice breaking off.
Monday was also our 2nd and last Formal night where we all got dressed up all perdy for dinner. They also had the best food for dinner that night - lobster and escargot and all sorts of fancy stuff, heehee.
Tuesday 8/6 we had a fairly lazy day at sea until we got to do some more scenic cruising in College Fjord. It was really neat to be able to see so many different glaciers at once in College Fjord but I wish we had been able to get a little bit closer. Below are pics from Glacier Bay & College Fjord
Monday 8/5 was another day at sea for some scenic cruising and after 3 busy days at port we were super glad to have a relaxing day. The big views for Monday was our cruise through Glacier Bay national park. We drove really slowly through the park, watching glaciers calve and watching whales and sea otters and birds. The coolest thing we got to see in Glacier Bay was a little bit of calving – where big chunks of ice fall off the glacier and splash into the water. We didn’t see any major pieces but it was pretty cool to see and hear the ice breaking off.
Monday was also our 2nd and last Formal night where we all got dressed up all perdy for dinner. They also had the best food for dinner that night - lobster and escargot and all sorts of fancy stuff, heehee.
Tuesday 8/6 we had a fairly lazy day at sea until we got to do some more scenic cruising in College Fjord. It was really neat to be able to see so many different glaciers at once in College Fjord but I wish we had been able to get a little bit closer. Below are pics from Glacier Bay & College Fjord
For our last dinner on the ship, we invited a couple at a nearby table to join us for dinner. They were so funny! The gentleman was a Scottish guy in his eighties and his wife was Canadian and only a few years younger. The gentleman kept fawning over me and telling Ryan how lucky he is (LOL) and his wife kept fawning over my little brother and telling him how much he looks like her grandson. It was pretty hilarious! For our last evening on the ship we went to a comedy/magic show. We had seen the magician and his wife perform earlier in the week (did I tell you that?) but he was doing a second show by himself that incorporated some comedy as well. We sat right up front so we could see well and this guy was good (and funny too)! It was a fun ending to a fun cruise!
In case you missed it, here are the rest of the Alaskan vacation blog posts:
Part 1: Vancouver & Embarkation
Part 2: Ketchikan & Juneau
Part 3: Skagway & Scenic Cruising
Part 4: Denali National Park
Finale: Fairbanks & Going Home
In case you missed it, here are the rest of the Alaskan vacation blog posts:
Part 1: Vancouver & Embarkation
Part 2: Ketchikan & Juneau
Part 3: Skagway & Scenic Cruising
Part 4: Denali National Park
Finale: Fairbanks & Going Home
