THE LAST SUPPER

....or pretty much any food for two days.

After cruising Glacier Bay.....if in fact cruise ships actually cruise, we headed up to College Fjord. I wasn't quite sure what to expect so I checked the definition and a fjord is a long, narrow inlet with steep sides, created in a valley carved by glacial activity.


It was getting a bit chillier,and damper as we made our way northward.

So here is another glacier.....

How about the same one up close....thanks to zoom lenses.

And then even closer....because it was too cold to wait for the next one.



We had one night of rough seas. I headed towards the 24 your buffet, and this is what I saw.....


The pool was dancing under the sky....creating it's own tsunami.
Before I knew it, our Alaskan Cruise was coming to an end. Nine friends got to know each other much better, and discovered stuff that we dare not share with the outside world will never forget. Our last Supper together was nice. I really enjoyed all the fun we had every night at dinner. We were probably the loudest, and we got our share of dirty looks from some of the other passengers....but Joey and Brian were cool....every night. They brought us numerous extras, especially the desserts. We had one friend, Tess, who never had dessert. Of course Tess is thin and always had salad, and never ate red meat...or dessert.

So on the last night Joey and Brian gave this to Tess....then we all fought over who was going to lick the plate take her picture!

After dinner, we pooled our resources and gave the waiters a nice farewell tip...for real. we headed to the final show of our trip in the cruise theatre.

Once again we found a couple of the desperate crew members soliciting for favors. Of course Jan and I jumped up to volunteer.

In the dark of night, our ship docked in Whittier Alaska. Early the next morning we all met for breakfast at six, Tess and I were headed for the Anchorage airport to journey to Southern California...she was on Alaska Airlines in the South Terminal, and I was booked on US Airways in the North Terminal. The rest of our pack were headed out on a four day land excursion to Denali National Park.

Tess had a four hour wait for her plane....she probably ate at Chili's or Hooter's or some other restaurant, because there were several options. I on the other hand had a soft drink vending machine, and a chip machine...that was out of order. I could have eaten at the South Terminal if I had a boarding pass. I didn't have one because the ticket counter for US Airways, in the North Terminal was closed until morning because my flight was canceled and the next one was at 7:30 a.m.

That would be the next day! When everything shut down, the last soul out of the terminal except me, was Phillip....he's also the last man in Anchorage. He was the keeper of the luggage closet...where you can store your luggage until 10 P.M. That's when he brought mine out to me after I paid her $8 each to store them.

Between my last trip to Las Vegas, where I had to spend the night in the Houston airport, and this time sitting in a chair watching CNN all night,Now, I've decided from now on, it's road trips. Then I won't have to rent a car for three weeks either. I still have one more trip back to Texas, and I've upgraded it to first class.

So there you go....my long awaited Alaskan cruise. Tomorrow morning I head down to Ladera Ranch to spend a few days with heartshapedhedges and her family. I will be zigging and zagging for three weeks, and hopefully I can get some blogging in more frequently. Stay tuned for the highlights of my first day with Pooper Beauty and Little One......most of the focus on Beauty, as we head on out for our pedi/mani and some shopping and eating....

I know it's rumored that I spent the whole time trolling for men....nothing could be further from the truth. I spent most of my time hanging out with the girls...John tagged along. Other men noted, were accidental and incidental.

TOOTLING AROUND SKAGWAY and.......

....then on to Glacier Bay.

Skagway is a quaint little fishing village that gets inundated with cruise ships from May until the middle of September.

Then business slows, and the locals can hunker down or hibernate for the winter. Either way, I'm sure it's a mixed bag for them.

I think I mentioned purchasing five hours of Internet in Katchekan that worked in all three ports....except in Juneau, I was on an all day excursion so didn't get into town to hang out. But once in Skagway, I found time to post.....

This is Skagway from the ship's deck. It's very small and is dwarfed by all the cruise ships. I never did connect with Pumpkin Delight, but I did leave her a voice message. Cell service was bizarre to say the least. I hope to catch up with Pumpkin, Jason, JLo and all the other goofballs bloggers in the LA area while I'm in So CA.

I loved all the shops in town, and stopped at a cute shop to buy fudge and some Victorian Vanilla Cremes for my travelling companions and Joey and Brian, our waiters every night for dinner. The gal that waited on me in the fudge shop was hugging and kissing her boyfriend, and after a few minutes, I started laughing...I mean it was bordering on rediculous, there were about four customers waiting to purchase candy. Finally her boss came by and said something to her. I ordered my two boxes of chocolates, and half pound of maple fudge. She put the Victorian Vanilla Cremes in two separate boxes for me, and of course my fudge. She asked if they could all go in one bag and I said sure. When I got back to the ship, I only had the fudge and one box of Victoria Vanilla Cremes. I called the shop (their number was on the bag) and told the manager. She said the other box was there and I could come back for it.....not!! She then offered to mail me a full pound to my home address next week when the fudge maker gets back. I gave her my daughter's address, since I will be in CA. I hope no one opens the fudge. She said he makes fudge every two weeks, so it will be supper fresh. I really appreciated her excellent customer service, and can't wait to get home and order some more fudge for Christmas gifts.

That evening, John and I had dinner alone because the others went on a land excursion that was delayed up some river without a paddle looking for bald eagles.

Here is Joey and Brian. Are they not the best? We had crab legs until we almost burst. They kept bringing more and more. We ordered a dessert called The Love Boat that was pure chocolate delight, shaped like a heart. Then Joey brought us each Cherries Jubilee!

The next morning we were at sea all day, travelling up an inward passage to Glacier Bay.

Here is a picture from level 18. You can see hot tubs on two separate levels in the foreground, and people looking at the scenery.

How about some pictures of different glaciers.....

These are calfing....breaking apart and falling into the ocean...or sea, I get confused.....

I'm currently at the Anchorage Airport, waiting patiently for my flight to Southern California...connecting through Phoenix in nine hours! I still have to post about our last night, but that will be coming in the next day or so. My little boy is picking me up late Sunday night, and I will spend the first day at his house before renting a car and trekking south to Heartshapedhedges.

FROM WHALES TO MARSHMALLOWS......

...which isn't a reference to me and John, or Gavin, or any neanderthal man. Hi Nick.

Well, I trekked by pack mule into the cozy little town of Skagway this morning to post about yesterday. The thought of Chesapeake Bay Woman selling the family estate to pay my Internet cafe fees on ship just for a picture of an old man made me scared for her children feel compelled to comply with her wishes.



Tuesday was an early morning rise in Juneau, capitol of Alaska. We were up at six, and of course I headed outside to take a picture of early morning Juneau, then on to nice sit down breakfast at seven, then head on out for a day of whale watching, tour of the Mendenhall Glacier, a nature walk then a salmon bake.

While waiting for the dining room to open, I was pleasantly surprised to see Kristie, a fellow blogger. I'd started following her daughter’s leukemia journey in October 2005, right after my grandson was diagnosed. Thankfully, her daughter has been off treatment for almost three years…..yeah, Kendrie.


We went by bus to Auke Bay, where we boarded a tri-level catamaran. This is the sun coming up as we heading up the inland Saginaw Channel. The weather was in the high fifties which was warm for Alaska.

Of course John was thrilled to be up run

ning on his umpteenth Alaskan whale watching excursion.

The girls were ready too. One nice thing is the boat had a snack bar with free beverages and snacks like bagels, salmon and pastries.

The tour guide would announce the sighting of a bald eagle, or hump back whale and the whole pack of tourists would scramble to the side of the boat with cameras and binoculars.

I caught a few pictures of humpback whales.

Today there were three of them having a feeding frenzy, which shouldn't be confused with Grandma J.in the buffet line. They were blowing bubbles underwater, causing the schools of fish to scurry away from the light and up into the darkness, which was the open mouth of a whale. The whales would surface as they scooped them up. The tour guide said it’s not that common for whales to orchestrate a “bubble feed”, and it was a rare opportunity to see. BTW, Humpbacks eat about a ton of small fish a day.

We saw Killer whales which are smaller and are actually in the dolphin family. They travel in pods, and are hunt prey twice their size, such as humpback whales. We saw quite a few killer whales, but they surface and dive back so fast, that it’s hard to get a good picture. I was going to draw one in with a sharpie…


Next we headed to the Mendenhall Glacier. It’s a fantastic sight to see. There are waterfalls, ice masses, majestic mountains and bears…lots of bears. We weren’t allowed to bring food into the area because it attracts the wildlife.

We topped the day off with a salmon bake that included ribs, chicken, corn bread, wild rice, beans, salads and a marshmallow roast. We headed back to the ship in time for a nap before dinner. Tomorrow, Skagway. Life is good in Alaska

Thank you Postcard Cindy for the BB update. If anyone who watches BB and doesn't want to know what's going on, please be forewarned that this is the only way I can keep up. I don't have access to network TV. Sorry, Heartshapedhedges. Please don't put any ideas in Beauty's head. We aren't going to the American Girl Store this time around. We will have fun getting our pedi/mani and shopping. We also have a hotel sleepover and a Disney Birthday celebration with her BBF William. Carol Z, thanks, I can't believe I won the first week of the pool, and next time I invite you to come on a cruise....just know the boys will survive! I'm also hoping to connect with Pumpkin Delight sometime today.....You there Pumpkin?

BABY IT'S COLD OUTSIDE.....NOT!

The airlines cooperated, and I got to Seattle without a hitch.

Met up with my friends twenty minutes later......Here they come, John, Jan and Patty......the others are stragglers.

All seven of us with baggage climb into an SUV that seats eight, or five with luggage...but who's counting? Lynne drives us from Seattle to Vancouver....a nice long ride We Stop for lunch in La Conner....which is in probably in Canada...or else it's in Washington State. Either way, it's on the way.

Once we arrive in Vancouver....we check into the Comfort Inn right downtown in the ritzy Gothic rave party district part of town. The hotel lobby is up about ten steps. You don't have to worry about being handicap compliant in Canada...so up the stairs we carry our junk.

Because we're really cheap shits a close bunch, of friends we decide to all bunk in one really big room. John and I took the couch(s).

We arrive at the port, turn in the SUV, then stand in the parking structure hoping someone helps us...not happening.

Once on board we head to the all you can eat buffet for lunch..then afterwards up to the promenade deck to say good-bye to Vancouver....

Nice lighthouse.....

Foggy evening.... with a rainbow.

We headed for the Welcome show Friday night...It was nice, really just an introduction to upcoming entertainment.

This is Grandma J with Gavin, he's the cruise director and my new BFF on the cruise. We watched the sunset on the water, since in wasn't in the sky.....we played a bit of blackjack later on, then headed to bed.

Today is Monday...because nothing happened on Sunday except for more buffets and a musical tribute to Elton John, Barry Manlow, and some other oldies...like Liberace.
I got up at five a.m. to take pictures of the ship pulling into port here in Ketchikan.....I do that for my readers. This is a small town of approx 7,700 people according to the city bus driver. The tour buses are 15 dollars, the city bus is 50 cents.
Our Ship, the Sapphire Princess

I stopped here at the Christmas shop to get a few ornaments.

Then on to this quaint cafe to get on the Internet. There is an Internet cafe on ship, but Grandma J isn't spending fifty cents a minute to blog....So I'll try to blog in ports.

And the weather? Sunny, in the 60's...no need for even a sweater...so far so good.

NO FLY ZONE....
..or big black hole

I hate to obsess about things, especially things that should be fairly simple. I don't subscribe to the Murphy's Law Club where if anything can go wrong it will. I am a Virgo detail person, and usually take every scenario into account when planning things like vacations.

Some of you might vaguely remember me mentioning a cruise I'm taking to Alaska in September. Aboard this ship.

The Sapphire Princess. With about ten eight friends from So CA. We are meeting in Seattle, then we will rent two vans and drive to Vancouver B.C., where we reserved three rooms for the night. We don't board the ship until 4:40 PM the next day so we can do a bit of sightseeing.

I booked this cruise back in December, and it was suggested by the cruise agent, at American Airlines, that I wait a while before booking my flights. With all the bruhaha with fuel prices, and the airlines charging extra for things like seats luggage, and the rumor that they might charge fat people more, I finally booked my flights on May 26th.

Remember me telling you about flying to Seattle from Texas, which requires changing planes in Dallas? And, remember me mentioning flying back to Orange County CA after the cruise? Good...just stay with me on this. I board my first flight on American Airlines out of the small regional airport where I live at 5:30 A.M., changing planes in Dallas, then on to Seattle.

The cruise ends in Whittier Alaska, docking at 12:30 A.M, The shuttle to the airport in Anchorage takes two hours, give or take. So I book a flight out at 7:30 A.M. on USAirways, changing planes in Phoenix, on to OC. This is what my vacation routing looks like.
On may 27th I email my flight info to one of my travel friends, who calls me and says, "they don't let you off the ship until morning" ......Holy mother of God!

Expedia booked me on two different airlines because that was the most economic package. I called Expedia right away and explained that I had to change my fights going home because I didn't bother to ask when we could leave the ship misunderstood the disembarkment rules. Well, this was going to cost me $150 from the airlines, and an additional $30 from Expedia....OR..I could call the airlines and change it myself and save $30. US Airways changes it for the next morning at 7:30...because that's all they had. When they emailed me my updated itinerary this is what my route looked like.
Somehow, USAirways, or Expedia, messed with my flights on American Airlines..which were fine!! Guess what? After calling Expedia every day since, nothing has changed. No one can tell me why they were messing with the leg of my trip that was OK from the beginning.

Things could be worse....my friends are booked on Alaska Airlines, and they filed for bankruptcy.

Tomorrow, I will call again! Then get drunk go to a matinee.