UMTravels

It seems to be a long run from Juneau to Ketchikan as we don’t arrive until 2PM. I had to text Swanda when we pulled up next to the Norwegian Pearl – the boat that we were on for our Caribbean cruise last December. Too funny.

But before I go on with the day – here is a shot of Ross and I at dinner last night on formal night:

Today was the Mariner Brunch – in honor of all the “Mariners” on board – that would be someone who has sailed with Holland America before. Free wine with lunch! Apparently there are so many Mariners on board that they had to schedule two of these brunches to handle the number of people. This in addition to the Tile Coaster that was delivered to the room a couple of days ago.

Once we docked I did the “Wi-Fi Dance”. What is that dance? Trying various locations around the ship to find an open signal to snatch on and get my mail. No luck.

New plan – wander around town and do the same dance. I ended up wandering around the boardwalks which are all around downtown Ketchikan and the surrounding hillside -a pretty town.

While on the boardwalk I was “accosted” by five junior high schools kids. “Are you from the cruise boat?” “Take our picture!” And to honor the friendliness of the local kids – here you go:

I came home (that would be to the room on the boat), had a plate of build-it-yourself nachos from the pool bar and took a nap.

Reading update:

• Finished all the New Yorkers
• Finished all the other magazines
• Two-thirds of the way through McGarrity’s “Everyone Dies”

Tonight is just a regular night of stuffing our face at dinner.

Probably no immediate post for tomorrow as we are at sea all day — destination Vancouver, Sunday morning.

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We got into Juneau around 8am this morning… about the same time that breakfast was coming to the room.

Ross is headed to do some jet-boat/zip-line/rapelling shore excursion and I am off to visit my friend since my late teens, Monica.

I figured we would just hang out, shoot the shit, maybe see the husband and kid units. Not exactly.

First there was the walking tour of non-tourist Juneau. First stop? Sarah’s house. That would be Sarah Pallin. And this would be me in front of the governors mansion:

 Next it was off on a couple mile hike to see if we could find some bears on the hillside… not. But it was a lovely walk. All those pictures will be uploaded at some point, hopefully after I post this, so click on yesterdays scroller bar.

Back to the house for a light snack waiting for husband unit to get off work so we can load the truck, drive to the marina, and pick up his boat for a little cruise to a marina on the north end of town (they are headed to Elfin Point for the long Memorial Day weekend).

He also topped off the tanks — 96 gallons of diesel for each of the two tanks. Ouch.

The run to the other marina was a little over an hour — time for Husband Unit and I to catch up since it had been ten years!

After gas we tie up to a fishing trawler (and I probably have that name wrong) that belongs a friend of Husband Unit that also employs his kids during the summer. There are some interesting videos from that visit.

And let me tell you — a couple of drinks on an light lunch and luckily I don’t have to drive back. Thank you Mitch for the ride back to the harbour filled with three large cruise ships and on CruiseWest ship.

Back to the boat a little after 4pm — WOW, talk about whirlwind tour — makes me want to come back, and not on a cruise ship.

Tonight is dress up night number two. Time to get the tuxedo out.

Look for the pictures tomorrow.

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We pulled into dock sometime this morning before I was out of bed. Not surprising, that.

Another dreadful night of trying to keep me warm and my travelling companion cool. Flying home from Juneau tomorrow is looking better and better.

It does occur to me that I haven’t actually showed you the broken down ship that we are sailing on. This would be the Holland America Statendam anchored in the harbor in Haines:

My original plan was to go catch the fast ferry to Skagway, but at the cost of $70 roundtrip… well, there are better things to spend my money on:

• A half pint of Jack Daniels ($10) — fits in the front pocket so I can get it on board and through security
• A six-pack of Diet Coke Caffeine Free ($5)
• A day’s worth of high-speed (384K) at the local library ($7)

I hiked around town to check out the other Internet place which is at the far end of town (which is all walkable) — and slower, and much more expensive at $3 for 15 minutes. Of course I had to wait until the library opened to have a place to plug in and sign in. Meant that I went back to the ship for an early lunch, and then back up the hill.

I’m even managing to get in some billable hours, and I guess I’d better get to that!

Tonight is our dinner at the Pinnacle Grill, the $20 up-charge restaurant. We will see if it’s worth it.

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According to the Park Ranger that boarded at the edge of Glacier Bay National Park the average number of sunny days in southeast Alaska is 4 per month. And we got one of them. As you can see from all the photos and videos – it’s a stunningly clear day.

So far our luck is continuing with the weather… just those couple of minutes of sprinkles while we were in the train leaving Denali.

We entered the park about 9, and by 1pm or so the Margerie Glacier came into view. And by 1:30 the battery in my camera started for fail – guess I should have charged it last night. Oh well, a perfect excuse to go back to the cabin and make a cocktail. Too bad the glacier is on the other side of the boat – though the captain did say he was going to spin it around half way through out visit.

The hope is to see a minimum of three glaciers with the possibility of five.

And while we wait for that to happen – here are some words of advice on travelling with people. Going on holiday with someone who decided to quit smoking at the beginning of the trip is a bad idea. By the time they have started up again, the damage is done. Last night I was contemplating getting off the boat in Juneau and flying home on miles. Guess I’d better look into that tomorrow when I’m in Haines.

But now back to our glacier adventure…

A note about the weather. This trip has defied all odds. 30% of the people see McKinley/Denali because of bad weather. 15% of the people who come to Glacier National Park get to see all the mountains. We (and the rest of the tour) have seen both. And I understand it’s raining back home.

Tomorrow is Haines — land, and Internet that works. The satellite system that is on the boat has been pretty much out of action for the whole trip — to the point they have posted signs — signal strength low — if it takes time to load your page, try later — like when you are on land at an internet cafe — forget about the $0.75 a minute you prepaid.

And also on the list of seriously broken items on the ship:

• Back deck pool not working (the saltwater one)
• Two story fountain in the lobby
• Escalators between decks 4 and 5

Reminds me of the Denali Chalet Lodge. Guess that letter to Holland America is going to get a little longer.

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Spent the day cruising up and down the College Fjord Glacier region. Here is a little video from the deck of my cabin (assuming I can get it uploaded!)

And from our in-room Maxi-Bar some recipes you can make without paying for mixers… the trick? Order extra things on the breakfast menu… like orange juice for a screwdriver, grapefruit juice for a greyhound, tomato juice for a bloody mary (with the pepper from breakfast as well), cranberry juice (and lemon from the ice tea bar) for a cape codder, and my favorite, the Holland America Room-made banana dacquiri… half a banana – using the juice glass inserted into the rocks glass to mash the banana, add half and half from the coffee bar, and a shot of moonshine, and mix away. Refrigerate, add a little ice, and drink.

Think of it like being in prison and having to heat up your can of Vienna Wieners under running hot water from the sink.

Tonight is the first of two dress up nights. Will it be a fur night, or will we save that for later this week.

The answer is – it is fur night. I can’t wait to see the pictures from the ship’s photographer as we neglected to get any ourselves. Just imagine two big white guys in matching black pants, open collared white tux shirts, and matching champagne minks.

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It is 5:45am and I still need to hit the shower before breakfast. Off to tour the Fjords after a bagel with lox and creamcheese, then onto the boat this afternoon to sail away.

Don’t know what internet service will be like on the boat — but know I’ll have some Thursday at least.

Evening Update – 5-17-09, Uploaded 5-20-09

A Whale Of A Tour.

This morning it was lots of wildlife, including whales. Here is a shot of an Orca whale:

Also saw puffins, Beluga whales, sea otters, seals, and a glacier or two. All the pictures will be posted once I’m near a better internet connection.

So, what does Uncle Markie look like after days of a forced march….

We finally got on board around 4pm and headed off to have a cocktail once we were settled in. Luggage got to the room about 6pm, and we started unpacking the “wine” – well, two bottles were wine. The others were Moonshine, Orange Vodka, Scotch, and Rye for our own Maxi-Bar (as opposed to the mini-bar at $5 a shot).

I did swing by the Front Desk to check on how much of an onboard credit I got… drum-roll…. $250. They counted this as a 14 day cruise (even though half was on land). Guess that will pay for wine at dinners, a few internet minutes tomorrow to update the blog, and maybe a little left over for the room tip.

Dinner tonight in the Rotterdam dining room – which turns out to be shared table dining. Ick. Oh well – better get around to making some reservations!

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Oh, the joys of sleeping in. I’m actually the first one out of bed this morning so coffee is on by the time Ross stirs.

Ross is off the the Snow Cafe (excellent) and I headed downstairs to the Solstice Espresso/Bar/Cafe in the hotel for a great breakfast of Reindeer sausage biscuits and gravy with hash browns. Yum.

Onto the bus at noon for the hellish (yes, I’m getting tired of tour buses) for the slow trip to Seward — I’d have rather taken the train down.

Into the hotel after 4pm (should have been at 3pm). A couple of good photos on the way down, but I can’t understand people who take week long bus trips. Ick.

Ross went off to see the Exit Glacier ($29) tour — I spent the time on the deck (only place for wireless, which I wasn’t expecting) uploading photos and then headed over to the Roadhouse for what has been the best dinner of the trip so far: a little ensalada caprese from our travelling quad of women from Michigan, and a medium rare Delmonico steak accompanied by a lovely Argentine Malbec (when I ended up drinking a whole bottle of over the course of the evening.

And the view was good too:

Tomorrow we are off on a Fjords tour of the Kenai — at “forced march” times — luggage out at 6:30am, on the bus at 6:45am.

I can’t wait for the boat — no more getting up early.

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The forced march is over for a couple of days.

This morning’s schedule is much more reasonable… bags out the door by 9:30am, out of the rooms at 10am, and onto the bus to the train station at 10am.

I used my time billing some hours, cleaning up email, uploading photos.

At the gift shop next to the Visitor’s Center I finally found the Denali souvenir that I wanted for myself — the Denali Topo Map Bandanna. I’ve got them for Glacier, the Grand Canyon, and a couple of other National Parks. Cool, and practical.

There is always another “shopping opportunity” on a tour — the next one was the Alaska Railroad depot gift store. Scored a t-shirt for Pucci at 75% off (though it was marked at 50% off at $10) and a couple of pins for my collection and some schedules for Dwight.

All that and I’m not even on the train yet for what promises to be a great eight hour train ride. According to guy at the coffee shop — the views from the train are better than from the park itself… and one of the other folks on the tour looked at the Denali Cam up in the visitor’s center and the mountain was 75% out from the clouds.

Make that more like 100%:

Well, there are some clouds up there, but not many.

Both lunch and dinner were on the train. The salmon spread for lunch was just the right amount of food for a light lunch. The salmon for dinner was a little overcooked — what is it about Alaskans that they all overcook their salmon (or at least so far).

Here is the scrolly bar with all the pictures — some of which show more of the dome car, and some videos as well:

Got to the hotel about 8:30pm, time for Ross to take a nap before we head out to see what they gay bars in Anchorage are like — all three of them within a two block area.

The plan was to sample all three. The reality was we didn’t make it past the first one because of one of the oddest drag shows I’ve ever been to. Seems most of the patrons were either straight or lesbians. Add a full kitchen and the stage for the show OUTSIDE in 40 degree weather under half a quonset hut, and you have a good time Alaska style.

Left at midnight to avoid the inevitable drunken brawls Alaska is famous for.

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As with the days that I have an early flight and am worried about my alarm waking me up, I don’t sleep well.

Got out of bed at 4:45am and hit the shower then the restaurant while Ross was getting ready. And no, the call didn’t come in until 5:20am for our 5am wake-up call so that we could be on a bus by 6am.

Today’s major desitnation is Denali National Park and Preserve. I will say that it is pretty. Judge for yourself with this short video clip:

That is a 360 degree view from Primrose Point. Unfortunately, like 60% of the time, Denali is socked in the clouds.

We did see lots of wildlife though:

• Caribou
• Hares
• Moose
• Rabbits
• Grouse
• Squirrels
• Dall sheep (though it could have been a snow blob)
• More birds that I don’t know the names

Lunch back at the cafe, but now with wine. Dinner? Who knows. Thought I’d get this up while I had a signal. Check out the scrolling bar in the earlier post for the latest in pictures.

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Another forced march day.

• Bags out the door at 6
• In the lobby by 7 (luckily I’d bought food for breakfast the night before)
• By 8 we are on the McKinley Explorer (that would be a train)
• Rest and sight-see for four hours
• Afternoon free.

Picture of said train:

The disasters started before lunch.

Disaster number one — lots of faulty cardkeys, and no ice machines working

Disaster number two – lunch. No, we don’t serve wine. Ross’ comment “An opportunity to sell you something with a high mark-up and they are missing it?”

Disaster number three – dinner. No, the upscale restaurant on the property isn’t open yet for the season despite be told at lunch it would be

Disaster number four – off property choices, pizza, or the quality-lacking salmon bake

Disaster number five – dinner at the café on property. Gee – 4 of the 7 entrees on the menu are sold out at 7pm.Look, now they serve wine!

Disaster number six — wow, now they don’t have any power. Guess we’d better eat what is hot already. Ross went for the buffet – I went with the Prime Rib and the manager competed f glasses of wine (though I’m sure he only meant to comp the first two).

Gee – with no alarm clocks in the room, what do you think the chance of us getting a wake up call promptly at 5am – yes, 5am, for another forced march tomorrow. Will that be tommorrow’s disaster?

The McKinley Chalet Resort certainly isn’t really ready to be open.

Why do I feel a letter coming on…. “As a shareholder of your holding company, Carnival Cruise Lines, I have the following to share with you…..”

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Today was the forced march — reference the China Trip from 1000 posts ago where every day was planned for morning, noon and night.

Luckily, this is one of the few days like this on the tour.

The schedule today:

• Out of hotel at 8am
• Eldorado Gold Mine Tour, with panning (and rusty bolts with three flecks of gold)
• Dredge Number Eight with a beef stew lunch (with great biscuits)
• Alyeska Pipeline Tour (brief)
• Sternwheeler Discovery III for a three hour cruise
• Back to the hotel at 6pm

Now THAT is a day even more busy with planned activities than yesterday.

And what is a day without pictures….

That would be me with my friend… the Alaska Pipeline.

And if you want to see them all:

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Yikes what a long day.

• Up at 8am
• Finish packing.
• Finish straightening up the house.
• Take the lift off the Mommy Van.
• Bug Ross to get here early.
• Move the RV so Gnarlene can borrow it.
• Mow where the RV used to be.
• Worry about Ross arriving in time.
• Give Gnarlene a lesson in how to run SOB (Son ob Bob)
• Harangue Ross when he shows up at 2:30pm
• Leave for the airport at 3pm
• Check four bags between us (plus the carry-on)
• Arrive Boardroom for cocktails 3:30pm
• Leave Ross in the Boardroom at 5:15pm so I can board early
• Watch 20 people in wheelchairs and scooters pre-board
• Settle into seat 1D
• Abandon bad movie (Office Work?)
• Switch to the Simpsons
• More Scotch please.
• Arrive Fairbanks
• Last luggage off the carousel
• Call for shuttle
• Arrive at hotel before the masses from the Holland America bus
• Eat fish and chips which were really good
• Have a second Manhattan
• Head to the room for a nightcap

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First a few comments about last nights feast. Yum, yum, yum.

How’s that turkey look to you?

Checked out at noon after a scramble for breakfast — and a packed lunch of turkey sandwiches to the road. And we still have too much food.

I’ll probably need a nap when I get back to Seattle.

More later… maybe.

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What a breakfast! Eggs Benedict from scratch. A group effort (well, not from me or Curt). And a choice of Bloody Mary or Mimosa for morning wake-up call (after the coffee).

I didn’t get my nap in today — but I did track down a rotisserie for the BBQ and took a walk on the beach to look at the whale bone exhibit… what hasn’t been lifted from it. I did get some nice shots of the condo from the beach:

The photo collection also includes some from Ross, who is going with me to Alaska next week.

After the walk it was work and some steak fajitas made from last nights leftovers while I defrosted the turkey in the sink. Who would have thought — four days in the fridge and still frozen in the center.

Many false starts before I finally got the infrared burner on the BBQ to work. For the rub, just a little olive oil and Italian seasonings. It being a little over 8 pounds, most of the stuff I found on line for rotisserie turkey that would be like 4 hours — Rich thinks closer to 2.5.

At 125 degrees on the infrared I’m sticking to the 4 hour mark.

With the turkey on it’s time for poker. Luckily Curt brought my change which I left at his place last month.

More later, or not.

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It is so nice to have someone else cook breakfast for you.

This mornings breakfast was scrambled eggs, bacon and bagels — with the signature Rich Bloody Mary.

My schedule for the day is breakfast, nap, lunch, nap, work, dinner, movie.

Of course, that plan was interupted by a wedding on the beach walk in front of our unit.

Great location and talk about cheap — no rental!

An afternoon of calls from the boss and working working working.

A little after five the last two boys arrived from Olympia — just in time to start helping with dinner prep.

Steaks on the grill, salad, bread, and wine, wine, wine.

The movie tonight was Death At A Funeral — which Rich and I had seen when we were at the WorldMark Big Bear — but still funny.

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Up at a little after 8, and out of the house by 9:30 headed to the office for the weekly marketing meeting to find out we are opening another branch bringing us to six branches. Guess that means I’d better get them ready for getting another press release out to all the markets announcing out expansion as the economy contracts.

Left the office at noon, stopped for a sandwich and a tank of gas for the mommy van and headed to Olympia to pick up Rich. Final destination: The Presidential 3-bedroom Condo at the WorldMark Long Beach, Washington.

Today’s picture is of me working at the granite topped bar in the kitchen.

Ross and Curt arrived a little after 7pm — they detoured through a DNR site for an unannounced visit — and dinner was served a little after 8pm.

Dinner, you ask (even if you didn’t)… racks of lamb all the way around thanks to Rich’s BBQing skills (one of the few I trust around a grill!), salad, bread, wine, song.

Not a bad way to live.

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Stayed up late last night chatted with Tokyo Dave… so the morning came early.

With his flight at 1pm and a little shopping to be done before, it was out of the house by 10am. No Jaguar for the run to the airport today (did it last night between rain clouds) but the Mommy Van instead. In the shopping run I saw a wonderful Mercedes factory limosine. Didn’t get a picture of the white one I saw, but did find a picture of a black one:

Pretty isn’t it….

But I digress. Lot’s of work yesterday and today on trademark infringement stuff — not my favorite, but it does pay the bills. Got the rest of the packing done for the trips with the exception of the booze for the Alaska trip (and I did pack the “Beer Belly”).

The highlight of the day is dinner with Helene and Jonathan and a bunch of champagne. We are celebrating Helene getting laid off yesterday. Yes, celebrating. Think big severance package for her fourteen years of work which doesn’t include to the two paid months off and all the vacation, and extended health benefits.

Now this is good news because she can now take the summer off while transitioning her life to Canada, which she was going to have to do this fall to keep her landed immigrant status.

Yes, a reason to celebrate.

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Today’s news is that this evening, Tokyo Dave makes a brief appearance in town on his way back to Tokyo from San Francisco, then St. Louis. All his visit did was to remind me that it’s been too long since I’ve gone to visit my friends in Tokyo.

The downside was that he didn’t get in until almost 9 — his flight was 45 minutes late, and he had luggage, though it was the second bag on the belt. Pretty amazing that United Airlines is down to one dedicated baggage belt, and sharing another one with Alaska.

The day was filled with work and figuring out how to maximize my Alaska Airlines EQM (Elite Qualifying Miles) with their offer of Double EQM AND Double Miles on flights taken before the 30th of June in all ticket classes other than their Hot Deal fares.

Guess where I’m going just to get my Alaska MVP status next year?

EWR — I’ll let you all look up that airport code. Six hours out, hour on the ground, six hours back. It will be a little under $400 (rather than the $300 Hot Deal fare) but it’s still worth it. Maybe I’ll get lucky and get upgraded, though that is less likely on their long haul flights.

And that is what MVP status is all about — getting FREE first class upgrades.

Add some packing for the two upcoming trips and the day is done.

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I do believe that today is the last sunny day for the storms headed in after dinner with power outages and whatnot further north. Oh well, spring was nice.

The Colonel (one of two) sent me a much better picture of a B-17….

Though the actual one that I had a chance (if I was willing to pay) was this one….

If you want to fork over $430 for a ride, check out their website at: http://www.libertyfoundation.org/index.html. No clue how long the flight is.

For me today, just working, running errands, and starting to pack for the two upcoming back-to-back trips. 4 days on the Washington Coast in Long Beach playing poker with the boys in a 3-bedroom presidential condo on the water, and then back to Seattle to catch my flight to Fairbanks for a 13-day land/cruise package.

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Stayed up way too late, got to bed at 2am — meaning a 10am start to the day with Ross snoozing in the guest bedroom/office. So much for getting to Helene’s by noon for the start of the much postponed “Tequila and Latke Party To Celebrate Chanukah”

Yes, that would be the holiday normally celebrated in the November/December time frame. Snow storms cancelled both previous attempts so she just moved it to spring instead.

There was tequila, but no latkes were to be found this time of year — and Helene isn’t the “from scratch” latke person, but more in the way her grandmother made them: “out of the box”.

Still it was a good time, ended up staying until after 5 and then swinging by Jimmies to drop off some parts — even declined an invitation to dinner. Still tired from the night before and drinking wine for most of the afternoon.

I went home, fixed dinner, collapsed on the couch.

No pictures for you folks today — don’t feel bad, you got three yesterday.

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