Cruise to Alaska - Misty Fjords

written on May 27, 1996

This font refers to what was written in 1996        and this font is my own commentary in the present.

May 23 - Thursday

                Wake up sometime between 4:30 and 5:00.  Made my way out of bed to go to the bathroom.  When I got back I decided I really wasn't through.  And then I felt nauseated.  So after I throw up a few times, I put on my pants and sweatshirt and went for a walk.  When I found a clock, it said 4:50.  So I don't know if I was really up before 4:30 or not.  Maybe.

            Anyway, we weren't getting into Ketchikan until noon.  I planned on sleeping until then.  Only after I finally got up, I decided I should probably eat.

            Grandma and I went to the Palm Court dining room at 1:30 and wolfed down our hamburgers in order to have time to catch our tour at 12:30.  Float plane to Misty Fjord - wh[ich] I had been interested in most of all our side tours.

                It was cool.  It was so cool. And I had gotten a battery after [toying with the idea] for almost a whole day.  Two cameras.  Awesome pictures. [Though I may have believed it at the time, the pictures at present do not do justice to what I saw with my naked eyes.] It was great.  I'd never been in a seaplane.  It was so peaceful.  We landed on the lake.  Gosh, it was gorgeous.

            Downtown Ketchikan was straight off the boat.  We went back to unload our stuff and grandma and then went back to shop.

            Oh, I didn't mention that I had [purchased] a new coat at the gift shop on the boat the night before.  My big purchase - cost more than any of the tours.  But now I am very happy about it.

            Anyway, we [purchased] some more sweatshirts, books, jewelry and of course, postcards.  I bought a hart just before I got back on the ship.  Should have probably gotten one for grandma.

            [I don't remember the hat at all.  I probably did give it to grandma instead of keeping it for myself]

            Another formal evening.  And we had been invited to the Captains Circle cocktail party (we're such the party animals) and had our pictures taken and then once again in the dining room.  And I took several pictures of our waiters.  I hope they turn out.

Cruise to Alaska - Juneau

written on May 27, 1996

This font refers to what was written in 1996        and this font is my own commentary in the present.

May 22           Wednesday

            [The] Casinos are closed while [the ship] in [is] Alaskan waters - I suppose that's another reason why there were so many people on the outside during the glacier bay excursion.  I don't know what they did for the next few days and up until Thursday night when the casinos opened again - not that I cared.  I don't even think I knew where the slot machines or the dome were located . . . I'm not a gambler. 

            When we were asked to make a decision about which tours to take, I said I didn't much care about what we did in Juneau.  There was a wildlife tour offered and also a nature walk that I had checked as possibilities.  Mom said that she had wanted to go river rafting which really surprised me.  [And so] that is what we did. 

            A bus took us out to Mendenhall Lake.  Our driver pointed out some landmarks to us as we went.  Of course, the only one I can remember at this particular time was the three schools.  Elementary, Jr. high and high school - all next to each other which I thought was interesting.  I guess that's why I remember it.

            There were six of us assigned to the boat.  The other three were from a different cruise line.  Our guide's name was Liz.  I took several pictures of the lake and several more of the river [sharing these few as I did not scan them all]  We were given boots, ponchos, and life jackets.  It was the only day of not being on the ship that I wore my coat - we were blessed with really nice weather.

            It was overcast.  Even rained a little bit.  Nothing major though.  The glacier looked blue.  And our guide said that the glacier made the river look green.  We rowed passed a connecting river called Montana.  I am hoping the color difference will show up on my film

[it does not capture the green that we saw in person]

            It was pretty.  There were some sad areas - like the wastage (cars) that had been dumped alongside the bank.  I didn't get a picture because I had only my one camera and was told to leave the other on the bus (which was just as well - the battery had died during the night; only I hadn't discovered it until much later)

 [I honestly don't even remember bringing two cameras or ever having owned multiples]

            [I] didn't get too many pictures of mom and grandma, (as I was located on one end and they were on the other and two other passengers between us) nor did I have the opportunity to even look at grandmas' expressions.  Mom said she was thrilled.  The water was quite tame, but mom said it was the same kind of thrill as teens on a wild raft.

            We got stuck on the rocks at one point - all rafts did.  Or most anyway.  I think there was one which actually made it through without help. 

            We returned to the boat.  Mom and I ate at the buffet while grandma rested, washed up and either went to lunch or tea.  Mom and I walked from the boat into town to buy more souvenirs (and of course postcards)

            I think it was in Juneau where I bought my ornaments actually.  I charged what I could.  I had decided I hadn't really needed to get traveler's checks [after all]

            Oh, I must mention that during the glacier bit, there had been an Italian dinner and we had our pictures taken with a pirate.  Neither that one nor our embarkment pictures turned out - or at least not that we saw.  And we did look for them every day.

            Mom did find my glacier picture and I [purchased] that along with two pictures of our disembarkment in Skagway.  When we disembarked we were greeted by a mascot moose and bears and had our pictures taken with each.  So I [purchased] three pictures I guess it was the same day we had gone to Juneau

            And the dress was semi-formal.  And we had our pictures taken again.  This time a prop display - bar and float tire of the regal princess and a backdrop of water and the moon

            The cuisine was French.  Mom and I both tried snails.  My main course that night was trout, I think.  Ocean trout certainly tastes different than the river trout of Utah.  Probably my most bland meal other than the eggs.  

            Mom and I had gone to a movie trivia challenge and so did not get to the theatre until first after the magician's act had started.  I think she probably enjoyed the trivia things and hadn't missed out on a whole lot.  It was okay.  I liked the princess dancers best - although the juggling act was quite impressive.  And we had front row seats for that one, but in a way it seemed we were too close.

Ward Service and updates

            Myrtle Creek has a summer festival at the end of July or the weekend closest to July 25th.  We learned that our first year here when Roland had asked one of the members about Pioneer Days - a holiday celebrating the movement of the pioneers to Salt Lake City, Utah.  Our ward here does a service project the Saturday prior to the Saturday of summer fest.  The first year we had moved in, we had gone to Riddle to clean up the cemetery here.  I took several pictures though I was not yet familiar with the majority of members who appeared in each photo. 

            The following year we had painted the shed and spruced up the track and bleacher area at the high school.  I must have forgotten my camera that day.  I don't recall having taken any photographs.  I was hoping that my sister's family would be in town that afternoon or evening, but a fire alarm had disturbed their sleep and put them behind schedule (see here).  So they were not there for service project or pool party afterward.

            Last year we had gone to the American Legion on Old Pacific to spruce up grounds and add stars to the building (it is actually pretty cool looking) 

Before picture taken from Google maps

same building after: taken July 22, 2017 ward activity

I took more pictures of our service project there than I had at Riddle but does not appear that I posted anything - not even on facebook.

            Yesterday's project was at Millsite Park.  I would have taken pictures had I had a camera, but I don't.  And as you can see from my blackberry pics (a few posts back) my cell phone does not take great pictures and would not have been worth the effort.  Mulch was dumped between the walking path and ballpark and looks really nice.  I will have to add pictures at a later date.

            As always, we had a barbeque and pool party later in the evening.  I had not been feeling well but had chosen to go for the barbeque - which may have not been the wisest decision.  I was there for only forty minutes or so before I had Roland bring me back home.

            I aced both of my classes.  My accounting teacher praised me for including Hershey's code of Ethics on my report.  Truth be known, I wasn't including it because I thought it should be part of my report or because I found it interesting.  I needed over 1,200 words and had included whatever I could for the sake of word count.

            I also introduced my Ethics instructor to a made-up place of work based on an actual family owned business that I would guess does not use an auditor, which I had chosen as it has been the subject of my other class.  For the sake of my report (PowerPoint) I had to use my major as a profession for a place of business - not that I will ever specialize in auditing unless it is for nonprofit - which is the point of view I took for my PowerPoint.  All done.  Both classes complete.  I will start another accounting class tomorrow.

Cruise to Alaska Glacier Bay & Skagway

written on May 27, 1996

This font refers to what was written in 1996        and this font is my own commentary in the present.

May 20  Monday

            Our cabin steward was named Gaetano.  He left a new Princess Patter each night to inform us of the events that would be held the following day.

            We entered Glacier Bay.  For the most part, people were seen on the decks and outside of the boat - probably more that day than the rest put together.  We visited two glaciers and the ship stopped for each one and turned around.  They were pretty.  Still not what I had expected.

            There was a juggling act before our scheduled dinner and so we went and saw that.  We were greeted by the head waiter when we went into the dining room.  Everyone had missed us as we had not been there the night before.  That was pretty cool - the warm welcome and sincerity. 

            Trying new foods was great.  And having the option of having appetizers and so forth to add to the main meal.  Oh, the food was so wonderful.  Of course, I weigh more now than when the cruise began.

            After dinner, we went to see How to Make an American Quilt - that was interesting. A show I'll probably appreciate more with each time I see it - if I have that desire.

            Bed Again.

May 21 - Tuesday

            Now, this should be a more lengthy entry.  We stood in yet another line on Monday so that we could pay for tour trips.  Today we will do the first two on our side trip list agenda.

           

            Enter Skagway.  Population 700 or thereabouts.  I can't remember if that's the summer or winter population.  There are twice as many in summer than in winter.

            We're told that we arrived at 5:30 a.m. - I was fast asleep and have no way of knowing if we were on time that day or not.  Our first tour started at either 8:00 or 8:30 - I had told mom and grandma that I did not want to wake up before 7:00.  And so they went to breakfast without me.  For the next few days, in fact.  Grandma snored loudly and I seemed to have to go to the bathroom more often (different air I would imagine) and since climbing out of my bed was such a chore, I didn't really sleep all that well.

I remember walking around the boat a few times when it was only 3:00 a.m.  That's when the janitorial action happens.  And apologies to my family who have had their fair share of hearing me snore loudly.  I am not aware that I am doing it. 

 

After we disembarked for our first tour, we took a bus to the summit.  On our way, we stopped off at a gold panning camp, heard stories about Skagway and legends of conmen - particularly one who earned the nickname Soap - E (I don't know the spelling that was used; I had originally spelled s-o-p-p-y but the pronunciation is a hard O) and had a lesson on how to pan for gold and received opportunity to do so for ourselves - oh, boy - what a thrill (NOT)

Then up to the summit - that was quite beautiful.  Of course, I took many pictures of that area [back before digital cameras; mine required film] the sign converting 55 miles into 90 kilometers.  

The bus driver let those of us who wanted to get off the bus and walk across the Canadian border.  That was fun.

When the tour ended the driver said he could drop anyone who wanted to get off in town before taking the rest back to the ship.  And so mom and I found souvenirs (hers were sweatshirts while I wnt for a stack of postcards)

We took a shuttle back to the boat (it cost us a dollar each) and ate lunch in the dining room.  Mary Ann (one of our dinner companions) told about the glaciers she had visited.  And we told her and her parents what we did. 

After lunch, we disembarked the ship once again to take a second tour - this time by street car.  And some of the stories we heard were the same [as the ones we had been told on the bus trip] but some details seemed a little different. 

I thought it was interesting that there was only one school in Skagway.  Grades 1 - 12

Skagway was a cute little town.  We were supposed to set sail at 6:30 but didn't leave until after 7:00. 

Blackberries Growing Wild

            To the best of my knowledge, nobody around here intentionally plants blackberries.

            They grow like weeds.  Most people don't seem to like them.  They're not attractive plants.

            When we first moved to Tri City, we would pick berries from an overgrown explosion down the street.  They were gone the following year.  But we did have the opportunity to hike our brown hill to get to them.

            But now we have an opportunity to reach the blackberry goodness without having to leave our yard or climb the hill

            They have come into our yard, I'm guessing by the wind.  They are starting to chock the life out of our poor fir tree

            But we like the fruit - though retrieving it is quite a chore as the plant is a very unfriendly one with thousands of thorns that guard the berries and will prick and scratch at you if you're not careful.

            Roland made a fabulous blackberry sauce.  Although it was intended as a syrup, its thickness is somewhere between syrup and jam.  We have used for both and I like it.   

            The shape of the  blackberry reminds me of the raspberry

            I used to love raspberries, but now prefer the taste of the blackberry.  I also like them better than blueberries or Oregon's own marionberry.  I cannot tell them apart by sight, but I can with my pallet.  I am not too impressed with the marionberries lack of flavor.

unless I am wrong and we have been eating marionberries all this time instead of blackberries - though I don't think so.  Someone had brought us a marionberry pie last Thanksgiving and the berries were not all that tasty.  I like the pies, cobblers, and syrups that Roland makes from the wild blackberries.  I don't like the summer brown.

        

             In addition to dry grass, we have Queen Anne's Lace popping up all over

            I would rather have lush and green.  It's nice when it rains.

Cruise to Alaska College Fjord

written on May 27, 1996

May 18  continued

We did get dinner.  We were (each group) greeted by a waiter who would take us to the next available table.  I don’t ever remember what we had – I know we sat clear at the end of the dining room, up, nowhere near a window.  I had hoped we’d be close to a window in the future.

There was a lifeboat drill – life jacket rather.  We were requested to meet in the show lounger and bring our life jackets so that we would know what to do in the event of an emergency.

 I saw more pursers, directors, and that sort of crew that night than I did for the entire rest of the trip.  I remember thinking one of the female crew members seemed rather curt and ornery – that was the only night I saw her –  during the demonstration of the life jacket.  I don’t even know what her position was.  She was wearing a full uniform . . .

Did we go to a show that night?  I think we did.  Yes. He was a comedian.  I didn’t find him very amusing.  I left before the show had ended.  I don’t recall whether mom and grandma stayed or if they went with me.  Or exactly where I had gone after I had left the show lounge. 

I know that the boat didn’t take off at its scheduled time.  Passengers were still arriving to Seward from Anchorage

When I returned to the cabin, one of the beds had been pulled from the ceiling and there was a ladder that went up to it.  What a chore.  My new bed for the next seven days.  What a trip.

May 19 Sunday

A newsletter called the Princess Patter outlined the agenda of daily activities.  I had wondered if there would be any kind of Church services.  And they were.  Holy Mass, they called it.  I figured it was for those Christens who felt the need to attend services for Sunday worship.  I had no way of knowing that Holy Mass was going to be an everyday occurrence.

We had gone on a self-guided tour of the boat.  When we got to the princess theatre, I could see the ministers upon the stage addressing their congregation.  When the congregation stood up to sing amazing grace, I decided that I would return to the cabin and read my scriptures – not that I got a whole lot out of them.  I did attempt it though.

Grandma went to the library and got herself a book.  I went outside and took several pictures of college fjords.  It wasn’t as exciting as I thought it would be.

I was thinking that we had met our dinner companions prior to the breakfast, but maybe not.  I got the eggs Florentine.  Sounded good, but they were actually kind of boring.  We had gone to see the Bridges of Madison County – I don’t know if we had gone before or after lunch – or if we had even eaten lunch that day.  I wrote that I had missed two mills [should be meals - I do know how to spell - I obviously had not communicated that to my pen] in the dining room.  I don’t know if we had gone to the café de sol for their interpretation of a snack before or after we had gone to the movie?

Anyway, after the movie let out, we noticed the movement on the boat - or at least I did.  The boat was going in one direction and my stomach was going in another.  Mom didn’t feel well either.  We had gone back to the cabin to lay down.

It was the captions welcome dinner.  We were supposed to dress up formally, so we all changed and made our way to the dining room and as we were waiting to get in, it dawned on all of us that none of us were hungry (that’s why I think maybe we did have the buffet snack) and so we decided to go see the early show instead.

We couldn’t find three seats together.  We were lucky just to find three seats.  We’d gone up to the balcony.  The show was fabulous.  The theme was called A Night On the town.  Dance periods introduced.  I like watching dance performance.  And the band was good, too.

There was a Name the Tune being played that night.  I had planned to go to it, but just didn’t feel well and went to bed.

The next morning, we went to breakfast.  Maybe that’s when I ordered eggs Florentine.  Or perhaps that is the morning I went with mom to the buffer and then with grandma to the dining room.  That’s probably what it was.  I didn’t really participate in the breakfast meal during the cruise.

I'd rather go to Disneyland

            We have tried saving up for a Disneyland vacation for the last three years - asking each of our children and my siblings to please save for October this year.  Each year we have dipped into our funds - not that we ever had enough to get us there.  Last year we had gone back to Utah for Jeanie's funeral.  Next year will be returning for a wedding between Biff and Clair.  I really would like to meet her and support Biff again.  But truth be known, I HATE weddings.  I'd much rather go to Disneyland.

            We used this year's tax refund to pay off bills, replenish our food storage and an excursion to Enchanted Forrest - though the latter was not necessary.  After struggling from paycheck to paycheck every month, sometimes you just feel that you need to do something so as not to go insane.  So after Jeanie's funeral, I changed the Disneyland excursion to next year.  I suppose if we were to save our tax refund and not touch it until September, we could do both . .. but we'll still have bills.  Still in need of new furniture.  I realize that Disneyland should not even be placed on the list of priorities - Disneyland is not a need whereas food and electricity are.

            I don't know when in September, but I would like to ask Kayla if our family can crash with her family for the length of time that we are there.  Maybe we can drive to Disneyland together (should we happen to be in that position)  I guess it's good to have a goal to shoot for - because even if we never obtain that goal, we have used the money for a more important purpose.  What dilemma.

Cruise to Alaska May 18, 1996

          I grabbed a notebook before we drove the girls to Coos Bay on Independence Day.  I figured I'd have thoughts which I would wish to write as they happened since my mind is not reliable at remembering anything less than a minute into the future.  I haven't quite slipped into being Dory as I am aware of what I've forgotten, but I seem to be getting close.

https://movies.disney.com/finding-dory

          After I had completed my thoughts, I turned the notebook to the front and found an entry I had created on May 27, 1996.  I was amused by much of what I had written and so thought I would share.

This font refers to what was written in 1996        and this font is my own commentary in the present.

  Originally, I thought I would start at the end of my trip and work my way back to the beginning – since the end was what happened most recently and I should remember it best.  But there’s still a lot that may never fall in order anyway.

 May 18 – Patrick drove mom and me to the airport.  He just dropped us off at the terminal and we walked in, checked in our baggage, and waited to board.      

We had a connecting flight in Seattle.  Grandma got off the plane to find us but got back on before we were called to start boarding. 

There are so Many people.  And everybody starts to cram in line.  And I’m thinking what’s the point?  I’m on vacation.  Relax.  We’ll get there eventually.  Let’s wait for the line to die. But then mom starts in with her paranoia because she knows grandma is going to worry. 

 So, let her worry.  That’s her problem.  We weren’t the first ones in line.  And there’s nothing we can do about that. 

I don’t know what grandma’s hurry was.  Old people are always in a hurry.  I am never going to get old.

[Though my body and mind seem to be aging in ways I seem unable to control, I am proud to say that I can still take my time; I believe in enjoying the journey and not focusing solely upon the destination.  I am in NO Hurray!]

After we arrived in Anchorage we were shuttled to a waiting area and spent a few minutes before being shuttled again – this time to a line – where we found our luggage and waited for our shuttles.

The driver of our bus had been in Anchorage only two days longer than we had – or was it one day.  I can’t remember.  I personally would never have admitted to that – it certainly didn’t seem to go over very well with many of the passengers.  They were so uptight anyway and her being “new” to the area didn’t ease their minds at all.

 Old bitty in the back of us talked loudly to her companion – perhaps subconsciously, or maybe it was for the driver’s benefit.  I wanted to turn around and smack her – of course, I never would.  But her negativity was rubbing off I guess you could say. 

 So, we’re on the highway going to Seward I took some pictures – not a log.  But a few.  I didn’t know we were going to stop – that ought to account for better pictures. 

[keep in mind that this was in a day before I had any kind of access to a digital camera.  I was using film and would not know the results of each picture that I took until the film was developed]

The broad [which I had spelled "braud"]behind us had seen it all – knew it like the back of her hand.  She couldn’t understand why we were stopping.  I wanted to tell her to shut up.  Of course, I didn’t.

We drove passed Turnagain Arm.  Our driver gave us a little history and told some bad jokes.  Several of the passengers were not amused.  A bunch of sour people in my opinion.  Even grandma was getting antsy and so of course mom was also.

https://www.cruisecritic.com/articles.cfm?ID=1236 (Train pic)

“Is this what the entire trip is going to be like?” I wondered.Once we arrived and got out with our luggage and worked our way up to the boat, we had to stand in yet another line while each group of people had their pictures taken for the embarkment. 

We were in B124 – perhaps we knew it was the Baja deck.  But I don’t think so.  I don’t remember anybody showing us how to get there.  I know we asked someone.  It was an awkward arrival.