Victoria British Columbia

We are at our last port, Victoria British Columbia. We are currently off the ship walking through downtown enjoying the sites. Unfortunately, we are only here for about 3 hours. We had some wind coming into Victoria, in fact, so much that Julie and Bryan's whale watching excursion was cancelled. While on the bus to downtown we were told Holland Americas Westerdam opted not to come into port. We made sure Bryan had a whale sighting after all! We are in Darcy's pub watching the opening ceremonies of the Olympics! Go USA!

Well, our cruise is done tomorrow. Been a great time! Hope you have enjoyed your virtual cruise of Alaska!

Ketchikan

Today was an early morning. We went to see a wildlife sanctuary and a bear habitat. We were fortunate enough to have a bear cub sighting. This year Alaska has been very short on rainfall, so the facility said the bears have not been out and about as much.mwe also got to feed some reindeer and this part of Alaska is famous for bald eagles. We have seen a ton of eagles throughout our vacation, such magnificent creatures.  We have set sail for our last stop before Seattle, Victoria British Columbia.

Dinner was the Captains Gala with Beef Wellington and Lobster/shrimp...and of course baked Alaska!

Glacier Bay

Today is to be the highlight of the cruise, cruising  Glacier Bay. We started out with a foggy and misty day, but just before we got to Margerie Glacier the fog lifted and the sun came out. Margerie Glacier is about 250 feet tall and about 21 miles deep. Due to global warming, 95% of the glaciers are receding. It is difficult to put into words what these glaciers look like in person - amazing, magestic, and impressive are a few adjectives which would come into play. Since Glacier Bay is a National Park, Rangers came on board to give information and answer questions about the park. Only 2 cruise ships a day are permitted into Glacier Bay National Park. Special shout out to our friend and travel agent Mrs. Mortel for setting us up on one of those 2 ships permitted in today! I will let most of these pictures speak for themselves. Enjoy! I assure you, these don't do justice to the beauty. We even got to see/hear some caving as small chunks of the glacier fell into the bay.

This was the scene when we entered the Park. 

We didn't see any whales today...yet, but lots of either seals or otters hanging out on the different ice chunks.

Skagway

Skagway, Bryan was ecstatic to see the White Pass train from their room. The train goes from Skagway to Yukon, and, that's what we are doing today. Only about 3,000 residents call Skagway home, but double that during the summer, aka cruise season! According to the booklet, this railway is a Historic Civil Engineering Landmark since 1994 and shares this honor with such places as the Eiffel Tower, Statue of Liberty, and the Panama Canal! This "scenic railway of the world" will surely be a highlight for us all, most especially Bryan who is already planning on spending his souvenir money in the gift shop!

Arrived in Skagway

At the USA/Canada border. The flags are USA, Alaska, British Columbia, Yukon Territory, and Canada.

Juneau

Will write more later but wanted to upload some amazing pictures from our hike today.

Mendenhall Glacier

Salmon 

Bear!

Juneau is the state capital. It got to be the state capital because of the......Gold Rush. Alaska was purchase from Russia who had it due to seal fur. Kevin and family did a helicopter ride onto a glacier and then learned about the Iditarod race and even met some of the canine contestants! After learning about the dogs and mushing, they tried their hand at a 2.5 mile dog sled ride. My cousin Sue and I spent most of the afternoon on a beautiful trail hike where we saw lots of salmon, bald eagles,many even a bear! My parents have already been to Alaska so they walked to downtown Juneau to look around. After dinner on the ship, we walked back down to the Red Dog Saloon where they proudly announce if their food and service don't meet your standards...lower your standards! All aboard for our next stop...Skagway!