Alaskan cruise Aug 20-27, 2010

Hi again,
At 5 am this fine Friday morning we got up, packed our luggage onto Dan's old pickup & headed west on the I-84, then the I-82 to the I-90 westbound, arriving in a Seattle suburb close to 12 pm. Along the way we saw many vineyards, apple & peach orchards, nice canyons, a cheese factory (I'd like to have had the time to tour it) lakes & mountains. Included were Mt. Hood and Mt. Rainier. We parked the truck & took a cab to the Pier 91 terminal. Got some excellent pics along the way, including the famous fish market and the Space Needle. We got onto the ship without a hitch; that evening we saw a welcome aboard show, which included a stand-up comic.
The next day, Saturday was mostly spent wandering around the boat--it was kinda cold outside, especially when the sun was hidden..Saw some informative seminars, toured some shops, ate a lot, watched "Leap Year" (chick flick) that afternoon. During a trip outside we saw whale spray off in the distance. After supper at the buffet we watched the comedian/musician Gary Mule Deer perform in the big theater--good show!
Sunday was cool & rainy, which is typical for the west coast I hear. After breakfast we exited the ship in Juneau, AK & went to the tour waiting area, or so we thought. We almost missed our bus, as we were in the wrong place. The short quick ride thru Juneau left us wanting more--the guide seemed to be in a big hurry. The exploration of Mendenhall Glacier though was really neat; never saw anything like it! After our hour was up we went back into town where Sue & I got off the bus and explored Juneau on our own, mostly looking for souvenirs. One notable building was a visitor info center whose front was composed entirely of 9,000 pieces of driftwood. Later that evening back on the ship, we saw the Piano Man show in the theater, performed by the ship's song/dance group. Good show.
Monday the ship docked in Skagway, AK & after an early breakfast we left the ship to tour the town and White Pass. This tour was nice & informative. We toured the old graveyard, saw magnificent scenery and many waterfalls. After crossing into Canada and stopping at the shortest suspension bridge in North America in the Torment Valley we headed back to Skagway. We got off the bus in downtown, going thru many shops, saloons & tour brokers. The Klondike Gold Rush Museum was interesting and showed a cool video of those gold rush days. While going back to the ship we spotted 2 seals in the harbor (or 1 seal in 2 places)--we weren't quick enough for pics. That evening we filled out a few postcards and after dinner we saw the country/western show at the theater. Today we are farther north latitude than we have ever been. If it weren't cloudy at night we might've seen the Northern Lights..
Overnight we sailed to the Tracy Arm Fjord, a narrow strait leading to the Sawyer Glacier. The weather is great this morning! The Rhapsody of the Seas stopped within a half mile of the glacier, then spun slowly 180 degrees. This was for me the best scenery I've ever seen! Hundreds of waterfalls, snow-capped mountains & icebergs of many shapes & sizes. We sighted some whale fins, spouts & tails. Far in the distance I saw a rather large whale emerge and splash down spectacularly like that one on the insurance commercial! In a few hours the weather turned cooler & foggy and the seas got rougher, so no more whale sightings. That evening we attended the Motown show by a group called Spectrum (Temptations, Platters, etc.). Good show.
Wednesday was spent at sea. The weather was pretty decent--sunny but chilly. We walked around a lot, played some games at the casino and watched some of the Little League World Series (a team from Pearland was still in it). That evening we had our first dinner at the Edelweiss Restaurant. We had crab & scallop appetizers then tried the butterfish--it was just so-so. Tonight's show was the ballroom dancing song & dance; it was pretty good.
We went ashore on Thursday in Victoria, B.C., Canada, where we took a bus tour of the city. During the tour we stopped at Craigdarroch Castle, 105 years young. Going thru the castle involved climbing 5 floor's worth of stairs (no elevator). There was alot of original artifacts, decorations and personal items. The upper floors gave a nice view of Victoria in many directions. Next we wound up the tour, then walked around downtown where we bought a sandwich at a 7-11 store. After that we started making our way back to the ship, seeing Chinatown and much of the harbor, as well as the Empress Hotel (one can have "afternoon tea" for a little over a hundred bucks). Back on the ship after stuffing ourselves yet again (that darned buffet) we watched the evening show, the "Farewell Show", which featured a comedy juggler dude.
Early the next morning they made us get off their ship, so we packed up and went back onto the mainland in Seattle, got back to Dan's old blue pickup, it started and we were off on the I-5 south toward Portland, OR...