Celebrating Fifty Years of wedded bliss...in Alaska
I was a kid in grade school when my Dad's parents celebrated their 50th anniversary. It was held at their farm house just south of Topeka, Kansas. The main thing I remember is that everyone was all dressed up, fairly unusual for our farm families. Grandma had on her wedding dress which was all fluffy and white with a huge skirt. Grandpa had on his best suit. And all the aunts and uncles gathered around them on the front lawn in front of the stone house for pictures. That was made even more noteworthy because I don't think anyone ever went into the "front yard" for anything. Not sure I had ever been there. Not that it was taboo, but because life happened on the back porch and between the back porch and the chicken house and sheds, milk house and barn. Why would anyone go clear around to the front of the house?
Of course I remember the huge cake and all the food, and cousins! Most cousins lived elsewhere so this was one more occasion, like Thanksgiving and Christmas to play with them and the farm afforded more than adequate places to play and things to play on, And it didn't matter in those days whether they were "safe" or not! I've been to several other 50th celebrations over the years but that one is most vivid.
August 22, 2015 - Our Turn!
THEN our turn comes. How could it be 50 years since the two of us, just twenty years old got married?! Even when the 49th came around I recall a passing thought about the coming 50th but it still didn't seem real or particularly important or significant.
Then our kids began asking us what we wanted to do. Several ideas were tossed around and then Sharon said, "I'd like to do a cruise to Alaska!" The kids were OK with that, our daughter pointing out, "It's YOUR anniversary, do what you want to do." So in March we began investigating and with the help of local One World Travel agent Deanna, booked a twelve day land/sea cruise for the first week in September. We returned this past Saturday, September 12 from a wonderful time, three days on land visiting Fairbanks, Denali National Park, Princess Mt. McKinley lodge and then overland by coach to Whittier where we boarded the Grand Princess. We stopped at Skagway, cruised around the Hubbard Glacier, Glacier Bay National Park, Juneau and Ketchikan, ending up in Vancouver, B.C., Canada. Click the links below for more commentary, videos and pictures.
Day 1, Sept 2 - Fairbanks, on our own (click)
Day 2, Sept 3 Morning - Riverboat Cruise on the Discovery III (click)
Day 2, Sept 3 Afternoon - Bus trip to Denali National Park (click)
Day 3, Sept 4 - Denali History Bus Tour and coach to Princess McHenry Wilderness Lodge (click)
Day 4, Sept 5 - Coach ride to Anchorage/Whittier (click)
Day 5, Sept 6 - Ship Cruise at Yakutat Bay and Hubbard Glacier (click)
Day 6, Sept 7 - Ship Cruise in Glacier Bay (click)
Day 7, Sept 8 - Visit Skagway
But you can't stay there forever so, "During the night, the Grand Princess maintained a southerly course through 'Icy Strait' towards Point Augusta Light, where we altered our course to port and proceeded north up the Lynn Canal. With the pilots advice the Captain guided the Grand Princess safely alongside our designated berth, starboard side to the quay. The first mooring line went ashore at 6:47pm and the ship was all tied up by 7:03pm. In the evening once all passengers were back onboard at 8:26pm Grand Princess let go her lines and once 'Full Away on Passage' at 8:58pm, retraced her Lynn Canal towards our next port, Juneau."
Not being a seafaring person at all I was interested in how they tied up the ship with ropes. Granted they are big ropes but still just ropes tied to the front and rear (not shipping terms I know) and side and simply drew her up close and tight. Huge earth moving tires were around the dock piers that kept the ship from being scuffed! It wasn't much different than the way you would tie up a row boat.
Skagway was our favorite port of the tour. It is nicely nestled into a beautiful valley. They have done a nice job of preserving and restoring many of the historical buildings and sites and the Park Rangers make you feel really welcome. We attended a short slide talk about the women of Skagway which was colorfully and interestingly done. Then we took a Ranger guided walking tour of the town in which they presented the history of the town through some of the key players in the pre and post gold rush period. Skagway was a very important staging town for gold rushers. It is a bit overwhelming what those guys (and a few gals) went through to get to the gold fields. I still can't imagine how they got a ton of stuff each over the mountains and to their claims.
We didn't take the train tour but it is apparently outstanding. The train was built to carry the minors over the mountain or rather around it to speed them to the mining are. Unfortunately it was completed just after the "rush" was over. So now it takes tourists out and gets some of their gold!
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Not being a seafaring person at all I was interested in how they tied up the ship with ropes. Granted they are big ropes but still just ropes tied to the front and rear (not shipping terms I know) and side and simply drew her up close and tight. Huge earth moving tires were around the dock piers that kept the ship from being scuffed! It wasn't much different than the way you would tie up a row boat.
Skagway was our favorite port of the tour. It is nicely nestled into a beautiful valley. They have done a nice job of preserving and restoring many of the historical buildings and sites and the Park Rangers make you feel really welcome. We attended a short slide talk about the women of Skagway which was colorfully and interestingly done. Then we took a Ranger guided walking tour of the town in which they presented the history of the town through some of the key players in the pre and post gold rush period. Skagway was a very important staging town for gold rushers. It is a bit overwhelming what those guys (and a few gals) went through to get to the gold fields. I still can't imagine how they got a ton of stuff each over the mountains and to their claims.
We didn't take the train tour but it is apparently outstanding. The train was built to carry the minors over the mountain or rather around it to speed them to the mining are. Unfortunately it was completed just after the "rush" was over. So now it takes tourists out and gets some of their gold!
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Day 8, Sept 9 - Visit Juneau
Ships Log: "During the night, the Grand Princess maintained various southerly courses through the Lynn Canal and then Stephens Passage before altering our course to port around Marmion Island light, entering Gastineau Channel. We started to reduce our speed for the approach, where Captain together with the pilots advice maneuvered the vessel alongside; the first line was sent ashore at 6:11am and shortly after we started with the gangway operation. For our departure in the afternoon, once all passengers were confirmed onboard at 3:36, we let go our mooring lines, thrust off the berth and proceeded ahead out through the Gastineau Channel. Grand Princess completed her departure at 4:30 by giving the engineers 'Full Away on Passage'."
Juneau was probably our least favorite stop. It is just a city, small and confined at that. With waterfront all along one side and up against steep mountains on the other side, there it is. The seaplanes taking tourists out to various sites were fascinating. We decided not to spend extra money on a tour so just walked around town and back to the ship. It was nice to be back on the ground again though the ship had been very stable with only the occasional brief period of slight rolling motion.
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Juneau was probably our least favorite stop. It is just a city, small and confined at that. With waterfront all along one side and up against steep mountains on the other side, there it is. The seaplanes taking tourists out to various sites were fascinating. We decided not to spend extra money on a tour so just walked around town and back to the ship. It was nice to be back on the ground again though the ship had been very stable with only the occasional brief period of slight rolling motion.
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Day 9, Sept 10 Visit Ketchikan
During the night, Grand Princess transited south down Stephens Passage and then subsequently entering Frederick Sound. At 1:30am we passed the southern tip of Kuiu Island, passing around Cape Decision point and altering our course to the north. The Grand Princess transited a narrow passage of water called 'Snow Passage' at 3:55am in the morning, then proceeded south through the Clarence Strait and eventually entering Tongass Narrows at 8:20am where we made our final approach to the berth. The first mooring line was sent ashore at 9:00am and we were all fast alongside at 9:12am. In the evening once all passengers were back onboard at 5:40pm, Grand Princess let go her lines, thrusted off the berth and spun around 180 degrees to proceed southerly down the Tongass Narrows. We disembarked our local pilot at 6:58pm.
Ketchikan was pretty rainy and on the cold side making it difficult to move around and enjoy. We did enjoy the small but interesting Tongass Historical Museum and walked around the tourist area. We did see one sea lion in the river or creek that flows through the town. In former days the town was famous as a supply point for gold rushers and timber. It nearly disappeared when both of those industries faded but is now one of the key cruise ship stops. There are a number of tours by land, sea and air out of Ketchikan but we didn't purchase any of those. Some who did had a wonderful time and others wished they had not due to the weather and timing.
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Ketchikan was pretty rainy and on the cold side making it difficult to move around and enjoy. We did enjoy the small but interesting Tongass Historical Museum and walked around the tourist area. We did see one sea lion in the river or creek that flows through the town. In former days the town was famous as a supply point for gold rushers and timber. It nearly disappeared when both of those industries faded but is now one of the key cruise ship stops. There are a number of tours by land, sea and air out of Ketchikan but we didn't purchase any of those. Some who did had a wonderful time and others wished they had not due to the weather and timing.
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Day 10, Sept 11 - At Sea
During the night, the Grand Princess maintained a southerly course through Hecate Strait. At 12:30am we embarked our British Columbia Pilot who assisted us to navigate the ship towards Vancouver. At 8:30pm we transited the narrowest part of our route, an area called "Seymour Narrows one of the vilest stretches of water in the world" 5 km section of the Discovery Passage in British Columbia known for strong tidal currents, through this narrow channel, currents can reach 15 kts."
I recall noticing how close we were to the mountain tops rising from the water in this area. Glad I had not read the above description! They conveniently didn't give us this log until after the cruise was complete.
This was a long two night one day run as we were confined to ship the whole time. They had a couple interesting things available. One was a presentation by the Executive Chef and the man in charge of all housing and food services. I'm not sure we learned anything useful about preparing food but it was fun and we got a walk through of the galley which was impressive if only because of its size. One potentially useful thing I did learn is that you should add the butter toward the end of many recipes instead of earlier to avoid burning it.
Somewhere along the way as we traveled toward Vancouver we passed an area with whales and sharks. We saw the fins of several from our balcony. Some people saw rather dramatic jumps from the water.
We both finished the books we had brought along and had a very relaxing day.
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I recall noticing how close we were to the mountain tops rising from the water in this area. Glad I had not read the above description! They conveniently didn't give us this log until after the cruise was complete.
This was a long two night one day run as we were confined to ship the whole time. They had a couple interesting things available. One was a presentation by the Executive Chef and the man in charge of all housing and food services. I'm not sure we learned anything useful about preparing food but it was fun and we got a walk through of the galley which was impressive if only because of its size. One potentially useful thing I did learn is that you should add the butter toward the end of many recipes instead of earlier to avoid burning it.
Somewhere along the way as we traveled toward Vancouver we passed an area with whales and sharks. We saw the fins of several from our balcony. Some people saw rather dramatic jumps from the water.
We both finished the books we had brought along and had a very relaxing day.
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Day 11, Sept 12 Arrive Vancouver, B.C. Canada and return home
"At around 6:00am the Grand Princess sailed under the Lions Gate Bridge. Once under the bridge, we continued into the bay, following the buoyed channel. To approach berth, we made a large alteration of course around the knuckle of the dock and then thrusted the ship laterally towards the quay, putting the vessel port side alongside. The first mooring lines were sent ashore just after 7:00am."
It was impressive to see this massive ship maneuver. It had thrusters so it could move in just about any direction. I was very impressed how gently they both arrived and departed. If you weren't paying very close attention you would have no idea either had occurred.
It was equally impressive how they got us on and off ship at the beginning and at each port and at the end. Baggage service was very smooth. Just leave your bags in the hall at the prescribed time and they took it from there. When disembarking they gave us colored and numbered baggage tags and then a prescribed time to arrive at one of the lounges at the rear of the ship. From there we went out as called to the gangplank and directly into a waiting bus. Our baggage was awaiting us at the Vancouver airport. Everything went off without a hitch and with ease for us passengers. Food and shows and events were all good. We of course liked some more than others but everything was quality. What an easy way to travel.
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It was impressive to see this massive ship maneuver. It had thrusters so it could move in just about any direction. I was very impressed how gently they both arrived and departed. If you weren't paying very close attention you would have no idea either had occurred.
It was equally impressive how they got us on and off ship at the beginning and at each port and at the end. Baggage service was very smooth. Just leave your bags in the hall at the prescribed time and they took it from there. When disembarking they gave us colored and numbered baggage tags and then a prescribed time to arrive at one of the lounges at the rear of the ship. From there we went out as called to the gangplank and directly into a waiting bus. Our baggage was awaiting us at the Vancouver airport. Everything went off without a hitch and with ease for us passengers. Food and shows and events were all good. We of course liked some more than others but everything was quality. What an easy way to travel.
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