Cruising For Awhile

CRUSING FOR AWHILE

So I am starting to write while on board a cruise ship with nothing but leisure time on my hands.  I had thought of returning to the real world and do some work left undone before we left, but I thought it worthwhile for me to write about my thoughts and feelings while they are still fresh. 



Ann & I about to board in Seattle



I had looked forward to having this experience for many years, considering myself deprived of it as I have considered myself deprived of many experiences in my life.  (I take responsibility for not having had more than I have).  I had been envious of Ann's two crusing experiences and I wanted to take advantage of this opportunity while my daughter was still employed by a cruise line.  So we ponied up the money and set sail for Alaska's Inland Passage.  Everything in my routine work day came to a screeching halt and I had to downshift to the leisure life.



Chocolate Eiffel Tower



It has been day after day of not having to anything except "what I want."  It has been what feels to be an hedonistic life of spending money and indulging.  It has been watching people around me who seem comfortable in this lifestyle (does that statement infer that I haven't been comfortable? Probably.) and who likely see the cruise as just another of the numerous self-indulgent things they do in life.  Perhaps for me, this crusing experience has more importantly been a "sensual" experience; that is, an experience of constant input to my senses.

 

Waiters from Indonesia



It has been a time to listen to a worldwide panoply of languages being spoken in the dining rooms, of seeing all different shades of skin and varying types and colors of clothing.  It has been a time to taste wonderful and delightful foods prepared to please both the palate and the eye.  It has been an opportunity to touch rocks, leaves, flowers, fish, and Ann's soft face.  It has been a time to smell the sea, the wonderful aromas of food I could eat whenever I wanted. 

 

Two lobster tails and steak...each!

 



Yes, it's a watermelon!

Focusing on the past few days both on and off the ship, they likewise are filled with memorable sensual experiences.  I remember the biting wind as I walked around the ship in the morning hours, observing the cold-looking mountains and nameless glaciers in the distance.

 

A nameless glacier.  Brrrrrrrrr...



 



Waterfall approaching Juneau



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I remember the deep verdant green of the mountains and the whiteness of the snow on them as we approached Juneau.












I think of the thrill of setting foot on soil that thousands of years ago had been covered by thousands of feet of ice (approximately 4000 feet we were told).  I remember in my mind's eye the white and blue of Mendenhall Glacier and the waterfall to its left.  I hear the loud voice of our tour guide as he led us on a hike through the lushly green forest near the Glacier, and the roar of the waterfall as we passed near its top.  The smell of the trees and bushes and soil was fresh and clean and potent.  I listened to water as it trickled in a small brook and listened to the rushing of the river that eventually poured over the waterfall.  It felt wonderful to feel my heart beating fast as I climbed and walked in this lush paradise.
  

Mendenhall Glacier from our hiking vantage point

 

Above the waterfall on the hike

 

Hiking in the beauty



It was breathtaking to get a top down perspective on the beautiful town of Juneau.  We rode the tram to a place on Mt. Roberts that rises 1800 feet right from the downtown.  For the expense, we were treated to fantastic views of the surrounding tree covered, green mountains covered with splotches of white snow. 



 

Breathtakingly majestic and beautiful



We could see the channel in which we had come in the ship and we could look in the other direction and see the sun's intermittent reflection on the water as it played hide and seek with the clouds.  I had thought we would experience a lot of rain, but this first day I was treated to plenty of sunshine and t-shirt weather.  I will fondly remember this visually stunning area, and Juneau will ever hold a special place for me.

Looking up the channel from our Mt. Roberts perch



Hiking on Mt. Roberts.  Stunning.



Looking down at the bits of ice "calved" off of the Hubbard Glacier in the icy, green-tinted water is a recollection of standing on the deck the following day.  The enormous, expanding Glacier looked cold and formidable (and white) in the distance as the shop very slowly pushed away the chunks of ice as we approached it.  The wind blew chilly but not oppressively and I felt grateful to be close to the warmth of the ship.  We listened a presentation of a couple of men from the village of Yukatat who had been ferried about the ship as they talked about their history and heritage and lives in this remote northern point of North America.



The Hubbard Glacier--the largest in the world...and bits of it



Kent, Kathie and Ann with the Hubbard Glacier behind

When the ship approached the town of Sitka, the sheer beauty of the town and its surroundings was incredible, highlighted by that some sun playing hide and seek with the clouds.  This little town nestled at the base of tree-covered mountains was stunning and even though the clouds finally won the day and rain began to fall, I felt comfortable and pleased.  I saw all kinds of totems in a park in the town.  I saw interesting leafy fauna at my feet all pointed one direction toward me as if to salute my presence in their world. 

Sitka Bay with our ship at anchor.  What a beautiful setting!

Beautiful, scenic, Russian-influenced Sitka--not a tourist town

All kinds of charming little islands greeted us as we approached Sitka



Totems show native heritage

















Lush, incredibly green foilage everywhere

I saw beautiful bald eagles both in the trees, and within touching distance at the Sitka Raptor Center.  And while there were a handful of tourist shops in the modest downtown, I did not feel overwhelmed by them.  I wondered whay my life and that of my family would have been had we accepted the invitation extended to us so long ago by a Sitkan to relocate to this far-flung, beautiful town and opened a music store, a town that still lacks a music store as it did 30 years ago!



I never tired of seeing these majestic and dignified bald eagles

Even though the time in Ketchikan was short, I enjoyed the adreneline of fishing and reeling in a nice-sized King Salmon that I had prepared and shipped home.  I felt cool rain on my face as I looked backward on the fishing boat, looking for movement of the fishing lines that indicated the presence of the migrating, large, majestic fish.  I was the first person to catch one!  The sky was overcast and the clouds hung low over the mountains that dropped precipitously into the water, but I very much enjoyed the experience and enjoyed looking around the touristy town.  I ended up buying funky black knitted shirt depicting the famous Northern Lights and which printing and illustrations change from white to show colors when exposed to UV rays.


Cloudy, rainy, touristy, salmon town of Ketchikan

What a thrill! What an adrenaline rush!

The skies cleared as we travelled southward toward Victoria, BC.  We arrived an hour or so later than we were supposed to and by the time we arrived at Bouchart Gardens by bus, the sun was very low in the summer sky.  Even so, the flowers, bushes and trees were visually stunning!  It was difficult for me to go for more than a minute or two without wanting to take another picture of the Edenic setting.  The Gardens are simply breathtaking and worth seeing once again (at least).  It was pleasing to watch Ann ride the Carousel, completely relaxed and enjoying this unecumbered brief time with no worries.




Bouchart Gardens--stunningly beautiful, even as the sun is low in the sky





It was difficult not taking pictures constantly



Rainbows of colors beautifully displayed



Carousel Ann


When we finally disembarked for good from the Westerdam, the skies were blue and Mt. Ranier loomed majestically in the distance, covered as it always is with brilliant while snow.  Ever since living in Tacoma for couple of months in the early 90s, I have always maintained that there are few cities more beautiful than Seatlle on a clear day. 




The beauty and majesty of Mt. Rainer

 After renting a car near the airport, we headed to Oak Harbon on Whidbey Island, northwest of Seattle, to visit Debbie Sue, Ann's childhood friend, and her husband John.  Their residence there looks out on a bay, with a small peninsula jutting into it and snow-covered San Juan and Cascade Mountains in the distance.  It was just beautiful, and because skies were clear and it was sunny and warm, it made it even more so.  The four of us were able to hike in a forested area near Anacortes, about a half-hour drive from their home.  There were treated to vistas of forested small islands and sunlight sparkling on the water. 



Looking from John and Debbie Sue's lovely home




The San Juan Mountains of Olympic Nat'l Park in the distance






















The last hours of our 48 hours there were spent leisurely walking along the rock-strewn beach almost in front of our guests' home looking for smooth rocks, shells, and driftwood--a completely relaxing end to a completely relaxing, sensual time in Alaska and Washington. 




A relaxing end to our magical vacation

 Thanks to Kent and Kathie Lee who were our travelling companions on the Cruise, to Debbie Sue and John, and to Rebecca for setting this up, alllowing us to crash at her place and show us Pike's Place and environs before taking us to the ship, and allowing us to use her car.  :)




All smiles on our cruise to Alaska and Victoria, B.C.!