*Part I of Alaska Cruise Adventures
So, where did we leave off? I was about halfway through this thing when I stopped you mid-cruise but here we are to finish the job!
That excursion on the boat in Juneau to see whales was one of the prettiest days I had, with some great photo ops. We didn’t get rain and the sun even came out — great! Then, we moved on to a few other gorgeous sites!
Of course, we stopped in the evenings for some fabulous drinks, dinners and company!
Glacier Bay
We didn’t get out of the boat here but instead cruised through these magnificent glaciers on crystal blue water. I never expected water in in Alaska to look like the Carribean but it did! Everything was different shades of blue and white and you could just sit there and stare for hours — as we did!
I swear we were headed right for these things when I first saw them. Actually, I was on the treadmill in the gym, which overlooks the front of the boat. I ran out mid-workout when I saw the crowd. It was pretty crazy — and yes, of course, I kept hearing, “Iceberg, right ahead!” in my head.
Sitka, Alaska
The next day we were off to a more remote part of Alaska, Sitka. I was off the boat again on another excursion — this time wildlife. I wasn’t sure what I would see but was pretty impressed by the end. Our boat guide was a lifelong Sitka resident, which was fascinating to me. What do you DO around here?
So we hopped on a smaller boat and cruised out to an island of black sand where there are tons of eagles, bears, otters, and other animals. Check out my shots!
Eagles
Otters
Bear Tracks
I’m pretty glad we didn’t see a real bear, I’m okay with just the tracks. We stayed on the island about an hour exploring and hearing about it. I saw hundreds of oysters and seafood ready to eat as it was right there!
There was tons of sea life hanging out in it’s natural habitat, as well as a lush green forest behind us. Here are a few more photos from Sitka:
We escaped the rain in Sitka, luckily but not so lucky when we hit our next stop.
Ketchikan, Alaska
I had a very cool excursion planned in Ketchikan — a float plane ride over some waterfall type thing. It was supposedly the thing to do there — but it was cancelled because of the weather. However, I still got off the boat and wandered around. Unfortunately, for one passenger, they heard the “all aboard!” time wrong and missed the boat from Ketchikan and we had to sail away without them!
After Ketchikan, we sailed to Victory, BC — but I didn’t take a single photo there because it was night time, raining and not much to see. However, we did have dinner at a great restaurant so that was a plus.
I’m flying home to DC from Seattle as I write this post. Yes, 7 days and nights is a long time for a cruise and to be gone from my husband! It feels like I’ve been gone forever. I had a really good time, though, and am thankful I got to see the world — and get to know my colleagues from both NYC & DC better. Plus, I met some very cool National Review readers who were a lot of fun.
