Cruise C

Our Cruise May 4-18 2016




Day three, we had finally reached the north end of our experience, and I managed to solve one of my pet peeves for this voyage.

Helen and I have done somewhere around 20 cruises in total, and only one had soft drinks included. I do like my soda. Of course, they always have it available to purchase, but at a price typically in the $2.25US per can price range. I will NOT pay that much for pop. Twice we've been on cruises where you could purchase unlimited soft drinks at a reasonable rate by purchasing a pass for the entire cruise. That means that on about 15% of our ship travels I've been able to get my fix, either free, or for an acceptable monetary outlay. This ship has neither of those two options available.

However, at the breakfast buffet I noticed a very bright beverage nestled in amongst the white, red, and orange glasses of morning juices. It was a mix of guava and passion fruit, quite sweet enough to act as a soda pop substitute. Huzzah. I guzzled a few glasses on the spot, and later returned for a couple more to consume while doing a morning sit about. Of course, picked up a couple of pastries to keep the drinks company.

Day three was a strange mix of on-board and on-shore. We cruised by a place called Tracy Arm, which is a fjord with a glacier, but only for a very short time. It didn't really matter at all, as the weather was so socked in that nothing could be seen.

By 1pm, we were docked in Juneau for our first port experience. On this trip there are more first-time cruisers than we've ever seen before. The vast majority are Australians. They are not only first-time sailors, but also Alaska newbies, and new to North America as well.

Juneau is the Alaskan State Capitol, and a nice-enough small town. Helen was toying with the idea of taking some kind of bus ride to the nearby glacier, but cooled on the idea due to the weather. We always do a downtown stroll about, and l planned a run sometime later. My on-board treadmill run the day before was as boring as hell, and running on real roads became even more attractive than normal.

The weather was the worst we've ever hit at Juneau. There was rain, serious wind, and cold. We visited Helen's three must-see stores, and scurried back to the ship. Ours was the only ship in harbor, which is unheard of. Everything seemed very dead. We were very, very early in the season.

Supper was grand, and I used up some of my weight buffer devouring a lovely prime rib, and I also ate every morsel of the other items on the plate. For dessert, I had a fancy chocolate cake thing, which was ok, and a first-rate fudge sundae. It was so good, in fact, that I indulged with a second.

After dinner, it was time to run. I had no desire to return to the cold, wet town, so it was treadmill time once more. Then we went to the piano bar to be entertained.

Day four was much nicer. The sky was still overcast as we tied up alongside of the Skagway wharf, but the rain was gone. Helen and I had a very early breakfast, as we had to be ashore by 8:05am.

We have been to Skagway many times, but have never done the one excursion that is considered by many to be a must-see. This time, we rode the Whitehorse Railroad. It was built back during the Gold Rush, and is now used exclusively by tourists. It climbs at a grade I didn't think a train could manage, and pulled itself up the narrow gauge track; over precarious trestles, and through improbable tunnels. It was wonderful.

A dark spot was that when unloading, a woman we'd been chatting to earlier had a nasty fall. She went down hard on both knees. The train people helped her up, and would have provided a lift to the ship, but she was embarrassed and insisted she was fine. I walked beside her, ready to lend a hand, and chatted to try and help her settle down. She admitted that she'd be sore the next day.

We were back by lunchtime, and ate in the buffet. Afterwards, Helen headed into town for a bit of a shopping expedition. Remarkably, there is a very good fabric store right in the midst of all the tourist stuff and jewelry dealers. I ran.

Skagway is the first place I ever ran in Alaska, and I've been doing it ever since. This was the coldest, and least inviting day that I have ever ventured to do so. My "usual" route is to head through town, and over the Skagway river following the highway for a bit, and then turning uphill on the road that heads to where the town of Dyea used to be.

I remembered the distances wrong, but it didn't matter. I slipped into the zone where the length of the run becomes largely irrelevant. I just kept going until I reached the lookout over the town. I snapped a couple of shots, used the bathroom, and headed back. Altogether I logged 13.22km. I had been planning to do 8km, or just possibly 10.

Supper was spectacular. Plenty of selections, but they faded away as soon as I saw the entry for braised brisket. Bernie and Helen both had the same reaction. It was wonderful, with a gravy just slightly hinted with wine.

To maintain my girlish figure, I only had two full-blown desserts; something called a Snicker Cake, and a Baked Alaska made with Rum Raisin ice cream. Mustn't over-indulge.