2011
Alaska was always on my bucket list. My brother, Tony, went to Juneau for a TDY assignment when I was in high school, and I always said I would go investigate what he loved about it. Now, officially addicted to Disney Cruise Line and the pampering, Rob and I jumped at the opportunity to cruise to Alaska and explore the beauty and wonder of the region.
When I say "addicted", I don't use the word lightly. I don't even think a 12-step program could help either of us at this point. We are so used to the care and treatment that we receive aboard the Disney vessels, we aren't even interested in other cruise lines.
Anyway, we booked on the Innaugural sailing aboard the Disney Wonder. I was about 25 weeks pregnant... and looked like a small giant was growing inside me. But we were cleared to go.
We flew into Seattle (once again, flights into Canada are outrageously priced). Spent a night there, ate at the warf and climbed what I thought was the largest hill I'd ever seen on the way back to the hotel. Climbing these is no small feat when you're pregnant, you know... come to think of it, I think I more or less waddled up the hill, but that's beside the point. We then took the Amtrak to Vancouver, where we spent a night before going to the cruise terminal to board the ship.
Sailing Alaska for the first time brings some interesting challenges for cruise lines. For instance, they are not allowed to sail the inner pass on innaugural sailings. Instead, they have to brave the Bering Sea. I now have a whole new respect for the folks on Deadliest Catch who brave the Bering Sea for their livelihood. Wow.
I had come prepared with Sea Bands, just in case. When I woke up rolling all over the bed... without actually physically rolling myself over (another laborous chore for a pregnant woman), I put them on. I was actually surprised that the listing of the ship didn't make me queezy... as it was so significant I couldn't even walk straight. The staff actually closed the pools due to the amount of listing the ship was doing. (Personally, it wasn't warm enough outside for me to brave the pools, but more power to those who did.)
Once we came to the inner pass, the water was much calmer. Our first stop was Tracy Arm, Alaska... for a party on the dance fjord. (Hehe, just kidding. I have to use that every once in a while - it was coined by my friend Lisa Glavin - we met Lisa and her husband Chris at the port terminal and formed a pretty fast friendship with them.) Anyway, Tracy arm is 45 miles south of Juneau. It is a 30-mile long fjord named after Civil War General Benjamin Franklin Tracy. The inlet, created by glacial activity, weaves past 7,000 foot high, snow-capped mountains and large and small icebergs.
Now... the mountains were truly breathtaking. I mean, that is the first time I've ever witnessed anything towering over a Disney ship. The little icebergs that were floating around and bouncing off the ship... let's just say that, while beautiful, they really made you think of that trivia you hear about only 10% of the glacier being viewable from the surface of the water. Anywho... at the end of the inlet sit the Sawyer Glaciers. They are so white, they appear blue. It's absolutely gorgeous. About once an hour, pieces of the glaciers break and tumble into the water below... we were able to witness this happening.
As we sat at the end of the inlet, taking in the beauty of the glaciers and the mountains... and the icebergs... we began to wonder how in the heck we were going to get OUT of said inlet. I mean, ships aren't exactly the size of fishing vessels. And, there was a media helicopter there taking photo and video of this part of the trip for advertising purposes. Then, we noticed we were no longer sitting still. The captain literally spun the ship from a sitting position completely around. It was utterly amazing. Like a little toy boat in the water, we were spun and on our way. Of course, the ship had to go slower than normal in this task, as they didn't want to harm any of the surroundings, or hit any icebergs. LOL.
We were on our way again, weaving through the inlet out to the pass. Next stop... Skagway, Alaska.
Skagway is known as the gateway to the Klondike due to its proximity to the Yukon and Klondike Pass. It was originally the home to the Chilkoots and Chilkats Native American tribes and part of the setting of Jack London's "Call of the Wild". It was also the setting of the Klondike Gold Rush of the 1890s.
We chose to take the White Pass and Yukon Route Railroad excursion on this leg of the trip. The railroad is a narrow-gauge train built in 1898. The charming railway takes guests on a 3.5 hour journey following the Klondike Trail used by miners during the gold rush. During our trip, we were given a great history of the area... and learned quite a bit. Our charming historian let us know that, as young children, they begin training for the wildlife. Bears are a big issue in the area, so, in order to pass kindergarten, children must spend a night out in the wild with a caretaker. First graders also have a similar ritual, for a longer period of time. There is no hospital nearby, so births are done in the home with a group of local women that come to celebrate and help. They haven't lost anyone in some 50 or 60 years. No medications here, ladies... just natural birth. *shudders* Anyway... education is a very important topic in the area. Kids are required to go to college... and if they don't complete college, they are not welcome to return to the community. That being said, over 90% complete their education and return. They also have to be pretty reliant on their surroundings for food stuffs, as most of their produce comes via ship sent up from Seattle. The barges arrive every 2 weeks and items are often very ripe to past due on their freshness. So, as you can see, we learned a lot on the train ride that took us up to the border of Alaska and Canada. We were not able to go further on the railway because border patrol was closed... as the station was under feet of snow. Yes... feet. As a matter of fact, there were times that the snow was higher than the train itself. (Please folks, no loud noises.)
Next on our itinerary was Juneau... which can only mean one thing.. Whale Watching!!!! We took a whale spotting excursion early on the day in Juneau... which included a bus tour. Juneau is the capital city of Alaska... and the only US capital that is only accessible by air or ship. It's nestled among a rain forest.... (shut the front door, did you say rain forest? Yes... I did. A rain forest. As we were cruising around, we kept seeing gorgeous tropical flowers... and the tour guide actually confirmed this. Didn't think it was warm enough... I stand corrected.) Anyway... Juneau is nestled among a rain forest and Mt. Juneau.
Part of this tour took us to a whale watching excursion. We were in Alaska during the winter months, when Humpback whales are in the area. We actually caught a few glimpses of Humpback whales as they curiously played near the vessel and dove deep for food. They feed on krill which is near the shore line. (The area is also known for Killer Whales, but they are more prominent in the summer months, when Humpbacks migrate to Hawaiian waters for mating.) The tour concluded with a trip to Mendenhall Glacier. Mendenhall is half a mile wide, and boasts an 1800 foot deep ice field. It's the most accessible glacier in Alaska. When we returned to town, we went shopping for a bit and made the "1-mile" hike that seemed like 8 miles, uphill, in the heat... back to the ship. I was one tired mama to be when we got back to our cabin.
The final stop in Alaska was Ketchikan. The town of Ketchikan is named for Ketchikan Creek which runs through town. We chose to go spot eagles and see the Saxman Totem Park. Eagles are my favorite bird. They are so majestic. We went pretty far out in the water and saw more sea wildlife.. including Harbor Seals, Sea Lions and more Humpback whales. The Saxman Totem Park includes about 26 sculpted and painted totem poles, along with a tribal house that hosts traditional tribal dance performances along with other activities.
All in all, we missed the Caribbean climate we were accustomed to on our Disney journeys... as well as the stop at Castaway Cay. However, Alaska was such a breathtaking adventure. It was a magical and enjoyable Baby Moon.
