Today is our first of two days at sea and we are cruising the Hubbard Glacier. The Hubbard Glacier is famous for being North America's largest tidewater glacier. It's over 75 miles long and 7 miles wide and flows directly into Disenchantment Bay, which feeds into the North Pacific Ocean.
We woke up to a foggy morning and as usual, Ed had breakfast and we wandered around until 11:00am when Ed played in the blackjack tournament where he won. No trophies anymore but he did win $100.00.
Then it was time for lunch which of course we ate a lot more than we usually do
At 1:00pm we entered Yakutat Bay and arrived at the closest point to Hubbard Glacier at 3:00pm and stayed there for about 30 minutes. What an amazing experience as we go up to 1.7 miles from the bottom of the glacier. We were able to go up to the helicopter pad at the very front of the ship to see the glacier. After ½ hour, the ship rotated so that all sides of the ship could see the glacier. Then it was time for the ship to leave and we finally exited the Bay at 6:00pm.
As is our usual custom, we went to the first show at 7:00pm and it was a singer and she was very good.
Then onto dinner and finally to the casino where we had a nice night as Barb won and so did Ed.
Tomorrow, we arrive in Juneau.
Night
At the present time, we do not have the ability to download pictures. When we get to Juneau we will do so.
When we woke up finally at 9:00am, it was 56 degrees, clear,
and no humidity. It appears that most
places do not even have air conditioning and the hotel did not – you don’t need
it up here. It is so warm that we could
walk outside without a coat and in shorts and a short-sleeved shirt if we
wanted to - amazing!!
It was a wonderful stay in Seward and the hotel was amazing.
We took the hotel’s shuttle to the pier at 11:00 to board
our ship the Celebrity Millennium for a 7-night cruise.
Our schedule for the rest of the trip is:
Saturday -Cruising
the Hubbard Glacier
Sunday – Juneau
Monday – Skagway
Tuesday – Icy Strait Point
Wednesday – Ketchikan
Thursday – Cruising the Inside Passage
Friday – Arrive in Vancouver
Saturday – Vancouver
Sunday – Fly to Los Angeles – Atlanta – Bloomington,
arriving home at 10:21pm
We have a unique cabin on this ship and it is a cabin at the
back of the ship so we have a larger balcony and can see everything on both
sides of us – should be fun.
We went to our cabin and dropped off our carry-on bags and
then went to the back of the ship to eat at the Oceanview Café.It is tradition that we always sit outdoors
on the very back and today was no exception.The temperature was 63 degrees and the sun was shining.
After lunch we walked around the ship to see where
everything was.
There are 3 classes of ship in Celebrity and this is the smallest
of the classes.We have been on this
ship 3 times with the last being in 2016 when were in Asia.
The ship has been newly renovated and extremely well done.
We went to eat at 7:30pm and met a couple from Texas. They have over a thousand acres of land right
on the border right next to Del Rio and they spent time talking about all their
problems with the illegal border crossings.
After dinner, we went to the theater and the show was a
comedian and he was pretty funny.
Then it was onto the casino where Barb lost a little and Ed
had a great first night win.
Our room - #1141
The amazing Ocenview Cafe
Check in is about to begin!!
Lunch on the outdoor deck at the back of the ship
Our extra large balcony at the back of the ship - we can see both sides
Seward, Alaska is such an amazing little town. The main street is basically 4 blocks and there
is another “town” area a mile away at the marina. The marina has a few hotels, tourists’ shops
and restaurants and where we will board our ship tomorrow.
We were told by several locals that there was virtually no
crime, little drugs and several churches in town.This is the first town we saw no homeless persons.
Today the weather is 60 to 65 degrees, little wind and no
humidity.
Ed had breakfast in their quaint, little breakfast area and
then we took a cab to the shuttle area and a 15-minute shuttle up to the Exit Glacier.The glacier
is part of the National Park Service and we join a Park Ranger in the hike up
to the base of the glacier.The first
part of the trail was easy walking; however, the last 100 years was very strenuous
but getting to the outlook was well worth it.Along the way the trail was marked with different years which represented
where the glacier was in those years.It
was amazing to see how far the glacier had receded over the last 100
years.Just the amount that it receded
in the last 50 was scary.If you didn’t
believe that the globe is warming, this is proof!!
We took the shuttle back to town and ate a great sandwich at
a local restaurant run be 3 couple from the same church.We had a Halibut sandwich with maple drizzled
fries and it was delicious.
We then walked a block to the Sea Life Recuse Center and
spent a couple of hours there and even was there when they fed the 3 seals that
they have recused.
There is a free shuttle running between and within the two
areas of Seward so we took it up to the marina area and walked around before taking
the shuttle back to our hotel.
Dinner was in a restaurant that we tried to get into last
night and they had a 1 ½ wait at 7pm so we made reservations for tonight.
For dinner we went to a restaurant called The Cookery that
we could not get into yesterday. No
question, it was the best restaurant we have eaten at for the entire trip so
far. We would characterize it as a 5-start
restaurant with 3-star prices.
We had a
Halibut dish follow up with a strawberry soup both prepared like we have never
experienced before. We were able to get
the specific receipts from the waiter and spend some time talking with the
owner.
Then it was time to pack for tomorrow when we finally board
our ship, the Celebrity Millennium for 7 nights of cruising.
Up at 5:45am to check out and take a taxi to the train
station for a 6:30am boarding.
Boarding when smoothly and again we had the best seat on the
train – the front row with all the windows in front of us. We had asked several months ago for those
seats and they gave them to us.
We sat with a couple from Houston, TX and enjoyed breakfast
of reindeer sausage, eggs and biscuits.
The 4-hour trip went fast and the hotel shuttle was at the
station to meet us; however, we could only give them our luggage as we had a
boat trip to take for the next 4 hours from 12:30pm – 4:30pm.
WOW!! What a great 4 hours. The Captain told us that the odds of seeing a
whale was very, very slim and guess what – WE SAW A WHALE!!We also saw, Puffins, Sea Lions, Seals and
Bald Eagles.
After an exciting trip, we took the shuttle to the hotel to
check in.The Hotel is the Hotel Seward
and it has been in existence since 1905 and has only had 4 owners. They gave us a great room as you can see by
the picture.
We went to a local restaurant for dinner and had a fresh
caught Halibut dinner.
Back to hotel to take the COVID test and we both tested
negative – YEA!!
After another long day, it was to bed for a fun day tomorrow
in Seward.
Night from Alaska again.
This is when we saw the Whale - wait till you see the end!
We woke up late to a beautiful day with the skies clear. The temperature is going to be from 56 to 66
and it is very crisp as there is no humidity.
We went first to the mall to exchange an iPhone power pack
and then it was on to a place called Ships Creek to see the Salmon running.We had been told that low tide was at 1:39pm
so it was a perfect time to see the Salmon.It was amazing to see all the Salmon trying to get upstream.
Along the way to Ships Creek, we did stop at a store and Barb bought a new coat and Ed bought a hat and gloves.
Lunch was again at a bar that Rick Snow recommended and it
was very good.We ordered Salmon spread
and also Alaskan Crab nuggets and there was enough food for 4 people.
After that we had lunch, we walked to the Anchorage Museum
where we spend almost 3 hours looking at all the displays in the Museum.
The early history of the Alaskan people was really
interesting.They were living quite peacefully
and each of the islands in the Aleutian change had their own language and
customs.Then the Russians came in the
1800’s and diseases decimated the population.
Following that, the US government moved a lot out because of concerns
during WW II.In some villages they went
from 10,000 to only a handful of people left!!
We got back to the hotel at 6:00pm, had some snacks in the Concierge
Lounge and then went to dinner at 8:00pm.
Dinner was at a highly recommended restaurant called Simon & Seaforts Saloon & Grill and the earliest we could get in was at 8:00pm, which was fine as we ate a late lunch. The restaurant has been in operation for the last 43 years.
We ordered a pan seared King Salmon and it was the best meal that we have had on the trip todate!!
Tomorrow, we have to be us at 5:45am so that we can take the
6:45am train to Seward, a 4-hour trip.
Seward will be our last place we visit before boarding the
ship on Friday.
We are in Anchorage for a full day of sightseeing and a
surprise for Barb.
Ed first went up to the Lounge for his free breakfast and
the quantity and quality of the food was very good for a US Marriott.
After breakfast we left to go the Visitors Center and took the
Anchorage Trolly at 10:00am.
The trolly took us on a 1-hour sightseeing ride around the
city and it was fun.
One of the major facts about Anchorage was the earthquake that occurred on March 27, 1964 which was the largest in US history (magnitude 9.2 on the Richter scale) and the second largest ever recorded in the world. Only 115 people died because it was a holiday.
The main road downtown in Anchorage was split right down the middle with one side dropping 14 feet!
The driver showed us an area out by the airport that and
entire section of houses were destroyed when the earth also dropped there by 14
feet!!
The other amazing site was the airport for private
planes.There were hundreds of them and
there were several lakes actually at the airport where the small float planes
were docked and could take off and land from.
After the tour, we went around the corner to have an
early lunch at the F Street Station because Rick Snow had recommended it
and it was very good.
Then it was time to go to the Anchorage Center for the Performing
Arts where we received a private tour by the Stage Manager (who had been there
30 years) of an amazing facility.They
have multiple auditoriums for different sizes of performances.Back stage we walked down an isle that had
posters and signatures of all the performers and staff that had appeared there,
including Jan Leno who was the initial performer.
Then Ed stalled until it was 3:00pm and went to Sullivans
Steakhouse to meet Lil and Bob Crow who we had met in Puerto Rico a number of
years ago way out in the countryside when we were driving about the island.Barb was really surprised.There are now living 2 hours north of
Anchorage and living on several hundred acres off the grid.They had amazing stories and we had a fun
couple of hours talking about their life in Alaska.
We then went back to the Performing Arts Center to see a
movie about the Aurora Borealis and it was very interesting.
Finally, after 13,000 steps we made it back to the hotel and
our busy day was finished.
Tomorrow we are still in Anchorage and have some wonderful
things to do.
Stay tuned for tomorrow.
Night - Night
One of the runways at the airport
Flowers are amazing here - everything is
bigger than back home. These are 3' tall!!
Lunch at the F Street Station
The main stage at the Center for the Performing Arts
We slept in as there was nothing we wanted to do except get on the train. We left the hotel at 11:00am because that was the latest the hotel shuttle was available to go to the train station.The train was right on time so we took off at 12:30pm for 8 hour trip to Anchorage.
Soon after we left they called us to breakfast which was very good. We enjoy our lunch sitting with a couple from California.
Then it was just a long train ride for 6 hours when we stopped at the town of Talkeena to left a large group off.
For dinner we were joined by a couple from West Virginia and had a very good meal with a nice couple. Then we passed be the little town that Rick Snow lives in.
As it is close to Anchorage there were regular houses and stores. Rick lives out of town in a house he built with his own airplane hanger!
We were delayed getting into Anchorage due to the tracks being overheated and the train had to slow down. Then as we were already late, we had to pull of on a siding to let a large freight train pass.
We finally made it into Anchorage about 2 hours late and then we took a Uber to the Downtown Marriott.
We are going to have a fun couple of days in Anchorage.
Night - night
Our Train to Anchorage for the next 10 hours
The view from the train as we were on our way
Going over a very long bridge
Great seat location
More mountains - these are smaller ones then in Denali
Our huge room at the Downtown Marriott until Wednesday
This day had been secretly planned for a very long time as a
special occasion for Barb.
At 9:30am we left the room and went to the little local
airstrip.It is not an airport as there
are no buildings there and it is just a one short landing strip next to the train
station.
There we were first fortunate to see a mother Moose and her
two babies come out of the bushes between the airstrip and the train tracks and
walk right towards us.It was amazing to
see something that close just walking around.
Then Barb went into the train terminal and Ed waited for an
old friend of Barbs family who used to live just north of us to arrive in his
plane.
At 10:00am Rick landed and walked over to the train station
while Barb was still inside.Ed went in
and told her there was another Moose and she came out and was totally, totally
surprised to see Rick standing there.It
was an amazing moment.
After catching up for a few minutes, Rick, in his two-seater
Piper Cub took Barb up for her first small plane ride for an hour or so and
Barb loved the ride and the experience of seeing Denali Park and the Mountain from
the air.The Rick took Ed up and both of
us had amazing flights around Denali.
When the flights were done, we took a cab into town, had a
late lunch and spend a lot of time talking about the time when Rick and his
family were in Merna.They lived just
north of us and Barb has known them since they were little kids.Rick is now 71!!
We then took Rick back to the airstrip and he flew home,
which was abut 2 hours away.We make
plans to hopefully meet Rick and his daughter Allison in Anchorage Monday or Tuesday
for dinner.
We walked across the road from the train station to a bus
stop within Denali Park where we bought tickets for a 4 ½ hour round trip into
the park as far as the road will let you.
We boarded the bus at 4:30pm and since it was one of the
last busses for the evening, there were only 2 other people on this big bus
with us.So, it was almost like hiring
your own personal tour guide.
During the trip, we saw some Mountain Goats, Cariboo and a
couple of Wolverines so it was eventful.
The view however was the real attraction, including Denali which
is the highest mountain in North America.We were told that there have only been 5% of the people visiting the
park have seen the entire Denali Mountain without any clouds and we were so
trilled to see the mountain several times in all its beauty!
We arrived back at the hotel at 9:30pm, packed for tomorrow’s
trip to Anchorage on the train and finally went to sleep.
Night from Denali and tomorrow is Anchorage.
Barb meeting Rick Snow in Denali
Momma and her babies
Barb and Rick - ready to take off
Rick Snow flying Ed in Denali
Rick Snow flying Ed low in Denali
The three of us - what a great day!!
Denali Mountain - actually Mt. McKinley from 60 miles away
