We arrive in Vancouver BC at 8:00 AM to begin the long flight back to Atlanta.

Ok so some of us are slow learners. I see from looking at our 2006 Hawaii blog, that we said we wouldn’t do any more long flying days. Well, we did it again. This was another 15+ hour travel day including a stop in Toronto where we had to collect our luggage and clear U.S. Customs before getting on our final flight back to Atlanta.

Well this time we mean it. For the sake of convenience, we booked our air travel with the cruise line, and took what they gave us. After doing some online shopping now that we’re home, it turns out we could have booked our own air travel, and probably saved $400 each on airfare and saved about 6 hours travel time into the bargain.

All in all it was a great trip. We’d like to go back and spend more time in Alaska in a couple of years.

Weather is cloudy and grey. After leaving Ketchican, we’re just crusing down the inland passage to Vancouver. Not much to see. The trip is winding down, and we’re getting ready to head home.

The high point of the day, or evening actually, was diner in the Pinnacle Restaurant which is the fine dining restaurant on the ship. Richard tried the escargot, and we both had the Fillet Mignon, Wine with diner, and amaretto with our coffee. Altogether a delightful meal. So you can say we ate very well on this trip.

We stopped at Ketchican this afternoon, and visited the Saxman Native Village. This is one of the first groups of Eskimos to have settled in Alaska. They have a long history and many traditions and much culture that they are striving to preserve. Unfortunately while we were there, a majority of the village were celebrating a Potlach in Juneau so we didn’t see the best of the best that was there. The history and stories of the Totem Poles are very interesting. Also the process of carving.

We also saw the lumberjack show in town before walking back to the ship.

All aboard for a fun day in Juneau (the Capital of Alaska). We had a grand tour of Juneau that included the fish hatchery, the Mendenhall Glacier, and Glacier Gardens. Our driver Rick was a lot of fun. At one point Richard and Rick had dialog going that had the entire bus in stitches they were laughing so hard.

The sights were interesting, beautiful and exciting. This was probably one of the best on shore activities of the entire trip.

We spent today in Haines and Skagway. Started with a Classic Car (1950 DeSoto) tour of haines and the area around there. That was followed by a fast ferry boat ride over to Skagway for a trip on the White Pass - Klondike Narrow Guage Railroad. We followed the train ride with a bus tour to a 1897 Gold Camp.

The train ride was interesting and fun. The bus ride and the gold camp were a bit of a let down. It turns out that Wednesday is the busiest day of the week in Haines / Skagway. There were 5 large and 1 small cruise ships at Skagway today plus our ship at Haines. By the time we got to the gold camp, the place was over run with tourists, and we were unable to participate in or enjoy most of the activities available there.

Winds died down over night, and the sea was calmer. We had breakfast and attended a presentation by the National Park Service this morning. We spent the afternoon in Glacier Bay. We got very close to Marjorie Glacier. Marjorie is a very active noisy Tidewater Glacier. While we were there she did a very impressive calving (dropped a huge chunk of ice into the water). Richard got a series of good photo’s of the action.

Diner was an entertainment. The singers, and dancers turned diner service into show time, all the dining stewards participated and all the guests wore chef’s hats. It was a lot of fun.

Spent today cruising through College Fjord towards Glacier Bay. Richard read a book and kicked back most of the day watching the scenery float by. Karen attended a Diamond and Gemstone seminar. Had a dress up diner (i.e. Richard Wore a tie, and Karen was dressed up) and the Captain’s Toast.

Rough seas tonight. According to the status display on the upper Promanade Deck, 12 -18 foot seas and Force 9 (gale force winds) forced us to slow down. Lots of seasick folks on board. We were pretty comfortable. Our stateroom is amidships so we had a fairly smooth ride, and a good sleep.

Had time this morning for a leisurely breakfast at our hotel the Hilton Towers. Karen did some shopping, Richard met a friend from the National Park Service Alaska region, for a cup of coffee. We boarded our coach at Noon for the trip to Alyeska, and a tour of Portage Glacier that included a boat ride that took us within a quarter mile of the face.

After checking in at the Alyeska resort, we rode the aerial tram to the top of the mountain for the best diner of the entire cruise tour at the Seven Glaciers Restaurant. The views from the mountain were spectacular, and the food and the service were outstanding.

Saturday we had a boat tour of Prince William Sound that included a visit to a Salmon Hatchery, and a visit to Columbia Glacier. Saw a lot of sea lions, and rafts of sea otters.

Sunday morning boarded our bus for the last time for the ride down to Seward to meet our ship MS Zaandam. Said goodby to Daniel, and boarded the ship. Had lunch on the Lido Deck while we waited for our state room to be ready at 1:30 PM. It took a long time for the luggage to show up.

Diner in the main dining room was served at our table for 2, we had fruit compote, tomato/crab salad, French onion soup, braised lamb shank, and home made ice cream, and chocolate raspberry cake for desert. Saw the show “That’s Entertainment” in the Mondrian Lounge later in the evening.

Had trouble getting to sleep. Sea was a bit choppy this evening, and the doors between our balcony and the neighbors kept banging. Got up, got dressed, and went for a walk. stopped at the Main Desk, and asked for someone to lock the doors. Slept well later.

Had time before taking the Noon train to Anchorage to go for a covered wagon ride and great breakfast that included reindeer sausage, bacon, eggs, pancakes, biscuits, fruit, coffee,…. and more.
Back on the McKinley Explorer car #1050 Kenai, for the 8 hour trip. Saw more majestic scenery, and even caught glimpses of Mt. McKinley later in the afternoon. Because it’s so tall it makes it’s own weather, a full view of the mountian is relatively rare. Diner on the train was excellent.

Much better day than yesterday. We left Fairbanks a little after 8:00 AM on the Alaska railroad. HAL has their own custom built rail cars (as do other cruise lines) called McKinley Explorer.

The front of the train The rest of the train

The double decked cars with their own dining areas and full view Vista Domes. Breakfast on the train was delicious. We enjoyed talking with the couple we shared a table with. Richard had reindeer sausage, and even Karen tried some.

The views and scenery are spectacular. And many folks tell us this is the boring part of the trip.

We arrived at Denali around noon, and by 1:00 PM Richard was off on a river rafting adventure. He had a great time on an 11 mile trip through class 3 and 4 rapids.

We’re staying at the McKinley Chalet Resort (a HAL property) just outside Denali National Park. This is a much nicer place with better service than at the Westmark Hotel in Fairbanks.

When Richard got back from the white water trip, it was time for diner and show at the Cabin Nite theater at the resort. Diner is served family style and includes a lot of fun in getting it served. The food was delicious and included salad, fresh rolls, BBQ ribs, Salmon, corn, Potatoes, and ended with a berry cobbler topped with whipped cream that was to die for.

After Diner the serving staff put on a musical show that was very entertaining and funny.

Another early day. Continental breakfast in the lobby of the Chalet and on to the bus at 6:00 AM for a Tundra Wilderness Tour of Denali Natioal Park. The weather is still cold and cloudy. Everyone says that spring is coming late this year. We’re glad we had our layers of clothing to keep us warm and dry. It even snowed some today. Still and all it was beautiful and exciting. We saw a lot of wildlife including some of the first Grizzly Bears of the season. Besides 11 Grizzles, we saw a moose, many Dall Sheep, Caaribou, and an Great Horned Owl Nest with momma and baby.

Click the following image to see our photos from our tour of the park

we rented a Jeep for a self drive tour which was a disappointment though other folks on our tour said they enjoyed it. Guess the combination of the weather and our tiredness did us in on that one.

Had a delicious King Crab Leg diner at a restaurant called the Alaska Salmon Bake.

Two weeks in the far north. We’ve looked forward to this trip for a long time. We roll out of bed at 2:30 AM, not PM, and head for Hartsfield - Jackson International Airport for the first of 3 flights. We go from Atlanta to Minneapolis, Minneapolis to Seattle, and finally from Seattle to Fairbanks. Total travel time is more than 15 hours. We are exhausted.

We arrived in Fairbanks at 3:00 PM Alaska time and were met by Holland America (HAL) folks who guided us to our luggage, and to the coach that took us to the Westmark hotel where we’ll stay for tonight. We were very impressed with the friendly helpful service from the HAL folks.

We met our Tour Guide Daniel Reynolds a young Canadian fellow who will accompany us for the next 6 days of the land portion of our tour.

Had an early diner at the hotel, and turned in. We were not impressed with the accommodations and service at the Westmark Fairbanks Hotel. Maybe it’s because we were exhausted from the long days travel. But, we thought the food service was poor, and the hotel did not meet our expectations for the category of lodging we expected.

We have an early start tomorrow. The train leaves at 8:00 AM to take us to Denali National Park.