Land Ho!

Top: We could Bare-ly stand it!

Bottom: Laraine & Kathy at the Bar AGAIN...Laraine just had to have another drink...

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We finally got off-ship and landed in Seward Alaska. Seward is named after the Sec of State who purchased alaska, who was coincidently from just down the thruway here in new york. A short van drive took us to anchorage, where we spent a morning doing laundry, and evening having an incredible steak dinner with our friends who live there Burns and Stephanie, and a really fun walkabout at the local sat morning farmers market.

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Anchorage is a nice city, far and away the largest in alaska, and has most everything you'd expect in a city. You can actually see Denali from certain highpoints, which is incredible given that the peak is something like 120 miles away. That's how big it it.

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Tom and I rented some bikes and did a nice ride along the coastal trail which was very scenic. We then biked around the city for a couple of hours, and really got a feel for it. It was a nice place, and would be ok to live there for 6 months when they have daylight.

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"Anchor-age's Away" Lumpy out

Hail Hail, The Crew's All Here

Our crew poses in front of Hubbard Glacier, our last stop on the Alaska Cruise. From left: Kathy, Laraine, Tom, Koz, Jan, Lumpy, Alexis, Carl, Ginny, and Bob.

That everyone for a great trip!

Next up: The Austin's and Gallagher's go land surfing.

Hubbard Glacier...AWESOME!

TOP: Glacier "up close and personal"

2nd: Laraine & Tom on deck

3rd: Ice "calving" off the glacier

BOTTOM: The glacial "river" as it flows through the mountains to the sea. That face of the glacier is about 15-20 stories high to put it in perspective

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Today we hit was was to-date the highlight of the trip...the Hubbard Glacier. After an all night cruise at full speed, we entered the fjord where the glacier is located. It was full of icebergs, surrounded by 2-3k ft near vertical mountains, and had a deadening wind whistling through it.

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After a couple of hours in the fjord, we came around a bend and saw Hubbard glacier...it was magnificent, and we thought we'd be there in a few minutes so we scrambled up on deck. As it turns out, we were WAY off on the scale, and it took us another couple of hours to get to the glacier itself. It was huge, mage 15-20 stories tall, and since the water was calm, the Captain elected to back us in to within about 200 meters of the ice. He said it was far and away the nicest viewing day of the entire summer tourist season.

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We watch ice continually calve of the glacier, we could see underwater rivers flowing from below the glacier, and the sea was awash with huge icebergs. The Captain spun the ship about 270 degrees so that everyone topside could see the glacier from different angles. It was truly a magnificent site to behold.

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After a couple of hours of viewing, the Captain reluctantly began heading out of the fjord, and we bid adieu to Hubbard. But, that is without a doubt, one memory that will forever stick in my mind.

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"Hubba-Hubba Hubbard" Lumpy out

Skagway...Finally, Real Alaska

TOP: Housing in Hoonah at its best...seriously

2nd: Rafting in Skagway. Our guide had already done the Appalacian Trail, and was attempting the Pacific Crest Trail next summer...impressive

BOTTOM: Hiking the trails in Skagway with 50 of my closest cruise friends

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Our next port-of-call was a little town called Skagway, and this to me was the first taste of "Real Alaska". The people were way more interesting, they had an awesome brew pub, good hiking and rafting, and a real rustic feel to the town.

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Tom and I went hiking in the morning then rafting in the afternoon, then struck out for the brew pub. We had a 6:00 deadline to be back on-ship, giving us a good couple of hours to sample the local hops.

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OK, so at 5:55 we decided we had better make a beeline for the ship (they had already left passengers at 2 prior port-of-calls) and headed out the door in a dash...or as much of a dash as two old, gimpy guys can do. As we're headed shipward, turns out the the group dashing alongside us is 4 of the musical entertainment for the ship...they also just leave them behind if they don't make it. And, let me tell you, I don't know how they played that evening, as they were shitfaced drunk at 6pm.

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We made the ship with moments to spare, the ramp went up, and we got totally bitched out by the womenfolk. I guess not having our wallets or passports on us could have been a bad thing also. We'll be better prepared next time.

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On a positive note, damn good beer.

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"No skanks in Skagway" Lumpy out

Do Juneau What I Know?

TOP: Tom of the mount. You should have seen the lightning when I went inside!

2nd: Ugly heads collection

3rd: Laraine, not drinking for once, proving that the wethead is not dead

BOTTOM: Lumpy (almost) overboard

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We cruised through the night from Ketchikan to Juneau, and deboarded there. Juneau was bigger, and the state capital, but still a small town by Lower 48 standards. It was pouring outside...not just raining, but a Noah-like rain. Everyone was soaked, many folks elected to just stay on the ship, and the cold wind just added to the fun.

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We took a small van tour, with a moron driving, telling all about Sara Palin, how the country has gone to hell with the blacks and gays, how mine and logging waste was a good thing, why bikers shouldn't be allowed on the road or kayaks on the seas, and how alaska should secede. I couldn't have gotten out of there fast enough, but it definitely was an intro to the "alaskan mindset", sad as it is at times.

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We spent most of the afternoon at the famous Red Dog saloon, a touristy-crusty establishment with sawdust on the floors, mouthy waitresses, and cheap beer. We had planned to kayak, but the rain was so heavy and the seas so tumultuous that we bagged that idea. All in all, Juneau was a bust.

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"Juneau I couldn't get out of there fast enough" Lumpy out

Land Ho!

TOP: Small boat cruising the fjords near Ketchikan Alaska

2nd: The fjordettes (Laraine, Jan, Kathy) getting windblow topside

3rd: Skateboard Kathy moosing about

BOTTOM: Kathy and Lumpy touch down on their 50th state!

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After a few days of cruising the open seas, we finally did the old "Land Ho!" into Ketchikan, Alaska. It was really cool to see the Captain dock this monstrous ship into dock, alongside 3 others, in a town that was probably smaller than any one of the ships individually. Apparently this goes on from June-September all summer long, every day 3-4 ships with 3,000-5,000 passengers and crew arriving for day trips. And, every one of them wants to buy "tourist crap" at the warfside markets.

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We exited the ship, above, and in doing so bagged our 50th state!!!!!! How cool is that, and the culmination of our multi-year adventure. (Ed Note: Next Up: 100 countries).

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Ketchikan was a dinky tourist trap, so we all grabbed a small ship and did a boat tour of the fjords. They were awesome, all sorts of spikey islands, and massive, vertical walls, some rising 1,000 feet or more off the waterline, and at least as far straight downward. Well worth the trip. After a quick walkabout around Ketchikan, back onboard and cruising on to the next port.

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"50 state down" Lumpy out

Celebrate Good Times, Come on!

Celebrating our (soon to be here) 25th anniversary on the ship. What a memory!

A Sailing we will go, A sailing we will go

TOP: The welcoming buffet, complete with carver watermellons

2nd: Jan (AKA Gopher) in her sailing whites on the red carpet

3rd: OK, so perhaps posting this may be a bad idea, but hey, if you know how to accessorize, you just HAVE to flaunt it!

BOTTOM: the entire crew at the Captain's dinner. Just like we eat at home every night...

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As soon as we (finally) onboarded, we made a mad dash to the topside bar. The view from the, oh, 20th floor as we exited Vancouver harbor was priceless, with the skyscrapers, the mountains, and the bridges in full glory. We ordered up a round of drinks, including a bunch of deep blue, glacial ice and curaco"Blue Alaskans", to which Koz asked (I swear) "Which one is the Blue Alaskan?".

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We did a long walkabout to acquaint ourselves with the ship, and then decided to get a workout in. Thankfully, they had a decent workout room (treadmills, spin bikes, some weight machines) otherwise I think tom and I were going to go nuts. Koz signed us all up for a spin class, and then showed up 15 minutes late totally smashed; seems his mixology class included 2 hours of tasting their creations. The instructor wouldn't even let him on the bike.

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We had decided to vastly scale down our Internet usage, which was pretty easy with it costing $30/hour for access. So, we'd just have to focus on the onboard activities, including food, gambling, BINGO, food, sauna, spa, food, bars, shows, and, oh, did I mention food (In the end, I was up 10 POUNDS from this vacation, a first for me). The buffets started at 5 am, and continued on to about 10pm. We just ate non-stop, and for those who know me, having a "food governor" is not way up my list...if it's in front of me, I just keep eating. I did make a point to have a salad every day, but that paled next to the endless cookie and ice cream bar, fresh omlettes, 8 or so main dishes including italian, indian, and asian, and pretty reasonable booze, the only thing that we really had to pay for on the cruise.

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Unfortunately, I got a bit seasick (if you can believe that) the first day out on the open water, and basically slept for 24 hours. Not sure what all happened, as I'm an experienced seaman (go ahead, have fun with that), and kayak a great deal. I just totally lost my equilibrium...everything was in motion when a sat or stood up. So, I totally crashed and just slept it off, finally coming around after a day or so. Then, I was fine for the rest of the trip.

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Every night we did a show or game, did some gaming, walked the deck in the moonlight, and played cards topside. Soon we would be in Alaska, our 50th state!

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"Roling, rolling, rolling" Lumpy out