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So, we're back from Alaska...
Jul. 6th, 2012 06:55 pm...caught up on laundry, mail, bills, email, and sleep. The week had that Independence Day interuptus, which made Thursday feel like a mini-Monday, and now it's the weekend, officially.
Our cruise to Alaska was filled with friends, good times, the intimacy one can only get on a small ship (max 60 passengers, and 26 crew), and even more amazing eye candy than we saw in 1999 on a much larger ship.
When we docked in Ketchikan Saturday for the end of the voyage, one of the Disney cruise ships was in port. It was...vast (2,700 passengers). And the people disembarking seemed overly interested in shopping in the over-priced, cruise-company-owned shops that filled the first few streets along the waterfront.
Compare this to our experience, where the largest town we saw for a week - indeed, the *only* town we saw for a week - was Wrangel, population 2369. We all got disproportionately excited that, for the first time in 4 days, we had cell service. People with Jesus phones (Mike included) picked up news and some email. We all got voice mail. I contemplated, briefly, spending time in a cafe with 'net access and the iPad, then decided that there was nothing in my life that wouldn't wait three days.
I'm glad we skipped the big ship thing again. As it was, we hiked (Mike), kayaked (me), went on skiff tours (everyone) of glacier and stunning parts of the Inside Passage (including the Misty Fjords, which were enough to make everyone feel reverent). We saw (and Mike photographed) many seals, icy waterfalls, bald eagles defending pylons and trees, a bear (brown, aka "Grizzly" - Ursus arctos horribilis), unusual ducks and birds, humpback whales, unique and common flora, and the staggering beauty that is the Tongass National Forest (and Wilderness).
We talked with friends for hours, played silly card games, ate well, argued about the greater mysteries of the universe, and wished only for our own pillows and a bathroom larger than a broom closet. (In order to shower, one had to pull a waterproof curtain around the toilet if one wanted dry toilet and tissue.) Oh, and there was much cocoa and coffee and tea consumed, because after the first two unseasonable days (in the 80s and 70s), we were back to lower Alaska panhandle standard: highs of 52°F-ish and rain.
And through it all, we marveled at the unparalleled spectacle, praying that we could keep it protected forever.
The day we flew out of Ketchikan, the high was 54°F. The high in *Boston* was 92°F on our first day home...and we hid in the air conditioning, wishing for a happy medium. :-)
Our cruise to Alaska was filled with friends, good times, the intimacy one can only get on a small ship (max 60 passengers, and 26 crew), and even more amazing eye candy than we saw in 1999 on a much larger ship.
When we docked in Ketchikan Saturday for the end of the voyage, one of the Disney cruise ships was in port. It was...vast (2,700 passengers). And the people disembarking seemed overly interested in shopping in the over-priced, cruise-company-owned shops that filled the first few streets along the waterfront.
Compare this to our experience, where the largest town we saw for a week - indeed, the *only* town we saw for a week - was Wrangel, population 2369. We all got disproportionately excited that, for the first time in 4 days, we had cell service. People with Jesus phones (Mike included) picked up news and some email. We all got voice mail. I contemplated, briefly, spending time in a cafe with 'net access and the iPad, then decided that there was nothing in my life that wouldn't wait three days.
I'm glad we skipped the big ship thing again. As it was, we hiked (Mike), kayaked (me), went on skiff tours (everyone) of glacier and stunning parts of the Inside Passage (including the Misty Fjords, which were enough to make everyone feel reverent). We saw (and Mike photographed) many seals, icy waterfalls, bald eagles defending pylons and trees, a bear (brown, aka "Grizzly" - Ursus arctos horribilis), unusual ducks and birds, humpback whales, unique and common flora, and the staggering beauty that is the Tongass National Forest (and Wilderness).
We talked with friends for hours, played silly card games, ate well, argued about the greater mysteries of the universe, and wished only for our own pillows and a bathroom larger than a broom closet. (In order to shower, one had to pull a waterproof curtain around the toilet if one wanted dry toilet and tissue.) Oh, and there was much cocoa and coffee and tea consumed, because after the first two unseasonable days (in the 80s and 70s), we were back to lower Alaska panhandle standard: highs of 52°F-ish and rain.
And through it all, we marveled at the unparalleled spectacle, praying that we could keep it protected forever.
The day we flew out of Ketchikan, the high was 54°F. The high in *Boston* was 92°F on our first day home...and we hid in the air conditioning, wishing for a happy medium. :-)