Alaskan Cruise

For our 25th anniversary, we went on an Alaskan cruise.  We flew through Seattle on the way there, so we spent the night and visited Pike's Place Market and the gum wall. 

We left on our cruise out of Anchorage.  The first stop was not actually a stop, we saw the Hubbard Glacier from our boat.  The boat stopped and we were able to see all the scenery for a little while.

The next day we went to Juneau.  We rented a car and drove to the Mendenhall Glacier. The day before a huge chunk had broken off and flooded the area around the glacier.  We drove downstream and saw some houses that had been flooded and whose foundations were getting swept away.

We also drove along the shore for a little while and stopped at a Catholic camp.  We walked around and saw the salmon running upriver.  There were several times that we smelled this really awful smell and we realized that it was the salmon that had completed their run and they were dying in the streams and then rotting. It was fascinating to see the salmon-as they were getting close to dying they almost looked like zombies, their scales were falling off and they were in very poor shape.

The next day we went to Skagway.   In Skagway, we went on a ziplining tour.  We drove for quite a while and then hiked a short hike and then got into these beast of machines to drive up the mountain.  Partway up the mountain, we stopped and found the ziplining course.  The mountains, trees and river were so beautiful. 

That evening, we stopped at Haines, Alaska.  We debarked and found a cute restaurant in town and ate there.  Then we walked around the town a little and got back on the ship.

  

The next day we stopped at Icy Strait Point.  It was a destination that was made just for cruise ships.  They had a gondola ride from one cruise terminal to another, and a zip line that we didn't take. We did, however, go on a boat ride to see whales.  We drove for about half an hour on the boat and went to an area where there were quite a few whales.  We didn't see any breach, but we saw a lot come out of the water and several that were swimming very close to our boats.

On the way back we saw these seals on a buoy.

The last day we were in Ketchikan.  We had planned to go on a seaplane, but when we got into port it was very overcast and rainy.  They ended up canceling our flight.  We walked around the little town, but by the time we figured out something we could do, everything for that day was booked and we didn't do any major shore excursions.  It was pretty cold outside with all of the rain, I can't imagine how cold it gets in the winters!

We arrived into Vancouver on our last day of our trip.  We saw a little of the city as we transferred from the cruise terminal to the airport, but then we flew home that day.  Overall it was a super relaxing trip and it was nice to get away and spend some time together.