It’s been a struggle to find good wifi signal in Alaska. It’s the wilderness, after all! So we’re a few days behind on the blog.
Our last few days of the cruise were a wonderful cap to this portion of the trip. On Wednesday, we were docked in Skagway, where gold miners began the trek up to the Yukon to seek their fortunes. With no excursion scheduled, we wandered into town and rented bikes. We headed out toward an old cemetery, where we found a beautiful waterfall, and then biked along a river park for a bit. Back in town, we cruised through a few small museum displays and learned about the town’s history and colorful characters. We learned this is the place people came to head up to the Yukon. They each had to have 1,000 pounds of provisions or they weren’t allowed over the mountain. For many, this meant multiple trips up the mountain – a trek that involved pulling yourself up on a rope. The cemetery was full of people who died within the first year of arriving in this remote place.
We continued our education of gold-related industries by visiting a brothel. In its gold-rush heyday, Skagway was home to 15,000 men and 300 women. The famous Red Onion Saloon was where men got a drink and 15 minutes with a lady. 
Here’s how it worked – men would come into the saloon downstairs and “choose” their working girl by motioning to one of the dolls behind the bar. The dolls apparently resembled the girls, in hair, eye and dress color. That doll would then be laid down, indicating that girl would be busy for the next 15 minutes. The man would head upstairs to visit his chosen girl for $5 for the 15 minutes. (the tour guide joked, “wonder what they did for the other 13 minutes?”) . The rooms were tiny and the beds minuscule, as shown at right; the bed was a normal length but probably only 3/4 of the width of a twin bed. After the “activity” was completed, the girl would send the $5 coin down a money hole in the floor, and this would indicate to the bartender that he could sit up the doll. The girl was available again. These girls worked 12-hour shifts. Holy cow, what a life.
Back on the ship, we had signed up for a wine pairing dinner at the Chef’s Table in the Italian restaurant onboard. It started with champagne and a very nice tour of the galley, which was fascinating – 13,000 meals a day and a $1 million a month food bill. What I walked away with is it’s a business, like all else. The dinner was good and the people at the dinner were nice enough. All in all, a nice evening.
Our meals on this ship have been exceptionally good for cruise food. We were sailing in what Celebrity calls Aqua Class, which means we had, among other things, access to a nicer grade of restaurant than the usual dining room. The food was really good. The ship also had several restaurants at which you could pay extra, and we visited all of them – the tapas restaurant where the food was presented in such interesting ways, the Italian restaurant that had the best focaccia bread we’ve ever had, and the sushi restaurant where each item was handmade to order. We ate our way through the cruise!
Thursday morning dawned cloudy and rainy, and it was our day for the big glacier viewing. We had been told the best viewing would be 7-9 a.m., so we were up super early, had a quick and warm breakfast, and put on all the clothes we could manage. We headed out to the bow of the ship (through the ship’s theater!), and came out onto a breathtaking scene of calm water with chunks of ice floating in it. (the rain had stopped and it was clearing) As we neared the glacier, the crowd and the excitement grew. 
We were plowing through increasingly large chunks of ice; we learned that there are four categories of ice chunks – up to 3 feet above water are called brash, 3-7 feet above water are called growlers, 7-15 feet above water are called berry bits, and more than 15 feet above water are technically icebergs. And of course, as we’ve all heard, the part above the water is just 10 percent of the total piece of ice. We didn’t go through any icebergs or berry bits, but we did see them. 
And we plowed across many brash and growlers. We were told we were extremely fortunate to get so close to the glacier – about 1/2 mile from its face. Hubbard Glacier’s face is nearly 7 miles long, and we could see the whole thing. We saw the glacier calving and heard the popping and cracking of the ice. When a glacier calves, there’s a delayed thundering sound. It was so beautiful, and we stood on the bow of the ship (kings of the world!) for the full hour it was in view. The captain was great, and turned a full 360 degrees so every person on the ship could have a chance to see the glacier before we started our trip back out of the bay. The whole experience was amazing, and that word doesn’t really cut it. Full-on trip highlight.
Back inside we warmed up in our individual ways – Andy went to the gym while I went to the spa. We spent most of this last day of the cruise – a rainy day at sea – just lounging around, and finished off with a great dinner at the tapas restaurant just as the sun came out again. A great way to finish off our cruise!
On to the bucket list – mushing a dog sled! I was beyond excited to do this, and it did not disappoint. After a quick ride to the heliport, and getting a safety briefing and weird ice shoes, we got on the helicopter. 
A 15-minute helo ride later, we were standing on the Mendenhall Glacier. The scenery was beyond stunning. The dogs – about 150 of them – were barking and super excited to pull the sleds. These Alaskan Huskies are bred and trained expressly for this purpose. These dogs are all being trained for competitive mushing; many of them have or will run the Iditarod. We also met two men who are signed up to do the 2017 Iditarod. This is their summer training camp and part of how they are raising money for the race. We got their card and will definitely be following them next March as they make the grueling 1,000-mile run.
One other quick note about the beauty of the scenery in Alaska in general.
at Icy Strait Point. The natives here started a corporation for the sole purpose of showcasing their culture and opening to cruise ships. It’s a lovely, largely unspoiled and very small port. Everything is brand new.
out after lunch to explore the area. I was excited to put my fingers in the cold water,
so we walked along the beach trying very hard not to step on the thousands of mussels clinging to the rocks.
Alaskan towns have histories of salmon fishing and canning, as it was their main source of income for generations. We’ve seen many old and a few still functioning salmon fisheries and canneries. At Hoonah, we toured a small cannery museum, then decided to hike the nature trail. The minute we stepped under the canopy, the light took on a beautiful luminescent quality. It is actually considered a temperature rainforest. Reminded me of the Forest Moon of Endor, where the Ewoks lived. 
Our 4-hour train ride from Seattle to Vancouver was largely uneventful. We met two nice Kiwi couples whom we continue to run into on the ship. And we took lots of pictures of the pretty scenery as the train made its way north.
We have discovered our favorite area to sit. It’s a combination coffee/wine/dessert shop. Bonus! That’s where I’m typing this right now, enjoying a glass of champagne and the violin/cello duo that’s playing nearby. We spent much of our first day here. It rained most of yesterday, an “at sea” day, so it was a great day to curl up and read a book. Which I did lots of. We also ate and drank waaaay too much. So much for keeping to the diet.
It was a fun show, though. Then we did a tour of a nature preserve and got a demonstration of totem pole carving and storytelling. Interesting stuff. The city here is extraordinarily clean and really well suited for and welcoming of cruise ships. After all those stops in Mexico and the Caribbean, it’s refreshing to not be accosted the instant you step off the ship. Oh, and there are TONS of bald eagles here. They’re everywhere. The locals act blasé about it, but we thought it was very cool.
at Amazon this summer. Tomorrow morning, we’ll take the train to Vancouver where we’ll board our ship. We’re very excited and ready to feel that cool air and take in the beautiful scenery. Stay tuned …
The Biker's Wife 