NORTH TO ALASKA

It has been over seven months since I last posted to this blog.  My life has been busy at times, but nothing seemed "blog worthy" so the blog just seemed to fade away.  We have taken several trips in that time and have been busy with the grandkids.  There were numerous times I missed posting my pictures and sharing my life with far away friends and family.  We just returned from a cruise to Alaska and I decided this was as good a time as any to resurrect the blog.

Ken's sister and her husband celebrated their 41st wedding anniversary this month and planned a cruise to Alaska to celebrate.  They invited us to go along, it took us about 5 minutes to make the decision to go with them.  The cruise originated in Seattle and flying there from Billings is ridiculously expensive so we decided to drive and make the drive part of our vacation.  We left Billings Friday morning and boarded the ship on Sunday.  Along the way we stopped at the Copper King Mansion in Butte (no pics, left camera in car).  We also took in a farmer's market and car show in Ellensburg, Wa.

 A good view of Mount Ranier taken from the waterfront in downtown Seattle. 

We arrived in Seattle late Saturday afternoon and after checking into our hotel we found the light rail and headed into the city to explore a little and have dinner.   The weather was perfect and a welcome change from the cold, wet spring we have had in Montana.
Our hotel was about 10 miles from the port so after a quick trip to Wal Mart Sunday morning to  pick up a few forgotten items, we headed to the ship so we could board before lunch.  The GPS system we were using tried to get us lost but we eventually found our way and were on the ship by 12:30.  We were lucky to be upgraded to a balcony room on the ship so after lunch and meeting up with friends from Georgia we enjoyed the view of the harbor from our balconies.

The sail away party on the Lido deck was just as much fun as on a Caribbean cruise.  The only difference was the cruise staff was dressed in plaid lumberjack shirts instead of tropical wear.  There was the usual Conga lines, dancing and games.  We joined right in and had a fun start to the cruise.   Monday was our first day at sea and it was a wild one.  This was the roughest seas we had ever encountered and quite a few people were sick.  I always take medication the first night and I have never been sick, but I'm sure I would have been if I hadn't been prepared.   Everyone was quite relieved when we docked in Ketchikan the next day.

Ketchikan was our first port and even though you see snow on the mountains the weather was perfect.  The temperature was about 70 degrees and the skies were blue.  Ken and Duane went salmon fishing (didn't catch any) and the rest of us went shopping and exploring.  Ketchikan is a small city and easily explored on foot.  The flowers and trees were all in bloom and it was a beautiful walk.

Our first stop, after souvenir shopping, was on Creek Street.  Actually, it is not a street, but a boardwalk winding along Cripple Creek.  A row of wooden buildings are perched over the creek on pilings.  During the gold rush the street housed  Ketchikan's red light district.  The red light district wasn't shut down until 1953 and the infamous madam, Dolly, turned her last trick at the age of 73. 

 Cripple Creek

 The rocks were covered with this bright green moss.

 The madam of this house had quite a flair for decorating.  The floral embellishments on these curtains were made from silk condoms.  The silk wasn't very effective as a condom, but worked quite well for decorating.

Our friend from Georgia "visiting" Dolly's.

 

 Sue and I taking the "tourist" picture.



Our first day in Alaska was a sucess and we were all looking forward to the next ports.  Continued tomorrow with pictures from Tracy Arm and Juneau.