This is an update from Mom and Dad. They couldn't get the blog to work so they asked me to post this to their blog for them. It sounds like they're having a great time.
Angie
"We had a great cruise, but we're glad we'll get a break from it before we get back on Carnival. It will be interesting to compare the two. We saw absolutely spectacular scenery. Alaska has more glaciers than "Carter's has little liver pills." (I know all my children will love that analogy.) We've also seen tons of eagles. They are about as plentiful as magpies are in Colorado if you can believe it.
We've been blessed with great weather-no rain and we've seen the sun quite a bit, but I was not prepared for how cold it is on the ship near glaciers and in the towns we've stopped. Today in Anchorage has been the only day we've been able to go without a jacket. They said today in Whittier that it's always foggy, but we had great weather. I hope it keeps on on our next cruise.
We went to Juneau one day to see Sarah. We saw where her office is and she was supposedly in but that's about as far as that got. We also saw the mansion where she resides. It's high on a hill and very pretty, but not in a very nice area of town. We got a little way from there and we were in the slums.
Speaking of slums we saw the most poverty we've ever seen in Vancouver, B.C. if you can believe it. It looked like you were on the streets of India. It looked worse than Mexico. We were glad we were in a bus looking down on all this. We took every mode of public transportation available in Vancouver. The sky bus (which is kind of a monorail put in for Expo.) Angie, do you and Craig remember when we went to Vancouver for Expo and stayed in a home? We also took a Sea Bus which is an actual ferry that takes you from North Vancouver into town. That was neat and it didn't cost much.
Dad just came in and he thinks he could figure out the blog and he probably could, but I'm on a roll now so I think I just finish this way. We'll be back way too late tomorrow night from the Seward train to do anything probably. I don't think we get back until quite late.
Craig, today I asked at the Visitor's Center where the jade factory was and they showed me. I remember when we were here that\'s the only place we went. Today when we came from Whiittier we went along the same path on the bus that we had gone on to go to the factory 30 years or so ago. It was mud flats now. When we went I think it was winter and there was ice in it as I recall.
We had a unique experience today coming out of Whittier--one I've never had before and never expect to ever have again. We went on a bus through a railroad tunnel 2 1/2 miles long that cars can also go through. We had to wait about an hour to get clearance because the trains have priority. This was NOT a tunnel with a road beside it for cars, but instead you went ride town the track. It had been modified a few years ago so that cars could use it too. It was very strange! When we go back to Whittier we will take the train and go through the tunnel on the tracks--much more normal I would think. Alaska is wild country. I guess you can expect most anything here.
I'm not any more impressed with Anchorage this time than I was 30 years ago. It's still not much of a city in my opinion. They do have a few tall buildings now which they didn't before. Today I think we found out why they have no tall buildings. They had an earthquake that measured 9.2, apparently the worst in North America, in 1964 that quite devastationg and was even felt in California and caused some damage and deaths there.
So far we don't think the food on Princess is as good as Holland America. But I must say the lobster a couple of nights ago was great. I didn't want to order it because I didn't want to crack it, but when it came the waiters took the meat out for everyone, so I said if I would have known that I would have ordered it. Sure enough the waiter brought me some and I let Dad taste it. We both thought it was great. Next time maybe we'll take a chance and order it. We still ate too much even if it wasn't the best. They have ice cream cones about anytime you want them. One day I was in the hot tub and then sat in one on the deck chairs and they brought me a WARM cookie and milk. I was shocked. It sure was good. I was trying to figure out what time of the day they did that, but couldn't quite figure it out and never got one again. The one thing we didn't like about the cruise was the fact that they were also trying to sell us something. It was crazy. We'd sit down to dinner and they'd come around with wine that was very expensive. We were never at a table where anyone ordered it. I don't think they did very well of that promo. The final straw was last night when we had a little comedy show put on by the food staff and then we got a tour of the kitchen. When we came out of the kitchen they had a room full of things to sell from other cruises that they were apparently trying to unload. I did buy a nice Panama Princess sweatshirt. I thought it might be cool for everyone to think I'd been to Panama. Ha!
We did a really neat thing in Ketichan. When we were in Vancouver a lady who had just taken the cruise told us to go on the Bering Sea Crab deal as a shore excursion. It was expensive but we did it anyway and it was great. I guess they were on the Discovery Channel, the deadliest catch. They have bouys all around with traps down in the water and they bring up lots of differeent kind of crab and let you touch they and hold them. At first I didn't want anything to do with them, but I saw little kids doing it and I didn't want to be shown up by them, so I did it too. At the end he brought out an octopus and held it above his head. We didn't get to touch it. Probably the neatest thing was the eagles. We were near an Island inhabited by native Alaskans and they were able to feed the eagles small fish which they did by the hundreds. We got to see the eagles kind of divebomb down to pick up the eagles. We also saw huge nests of eagles in the trees along the shore. We even saw some baby eagles peeking out. Spectacular!!!
I guess that's about enough for now. It's time to relax and take it easy. 5:45 in the morning will come mighty early. Dad has to go pick up the tickets for our train then and I told him to wake me up then. Love you all, Mom"
Angie
"We had a great cruise, but we're glad we'll get a break from it before we get back on Carnival. It will be interesting to compare the two. We saw absolutely spectacular scenery. Alaska has more glaciers than "Carter's has little liver pills." (I know all my children will love that analogy.) We've also seen tons of eagles. They are about as plentiful as magpies are in Colorado if you can believe it.
We've been blessed with great weather-no rain and we've seen the sun quite a bit, but I was not prepared for how cold it is on the ship near glaciers and in the towns we've stopped. Today in Anchorage has been the only day we've been able to go without a jacket. They said today in Whittier that it's always foggy, but we had great weather. I hope it keeps on on our next cruise.
We went to Juneau one day to see Sarah. We saw where her office is and she was supposedly in but that's about as far as that got. We also saw the mansion where she resides. It's high on a hill and very pretty, but not in a very nice area of town. We got a little way from there and we were in the slums.
Speaking of slums we saw the most poverty we've ever seen in Vancouver, B.C. if you can believe it. It looked like you were on the streets of India. It looked worse than Mexico. We were glad we were in a bus looking down on all this. We took every mode of public transportation available in Vancouver. The sky bus (which is kind of a monorail put in for Expo.) Angie, do you and Craig remember when we went to Vancouver for Expo and stayed in a home? We also took a Sea Bus which is an actual ferry that takes you from North Vancouver into town. That was neat and it didn't cost much.
Dad just came in and he thinks he could figure out the blog and he probably could, but I'm on a roll now so I think I just finish this way. We'll be back way too late tomorrow night from the Seward train to do anything probably. I don't think we get back until quite late.
Craig, today I asked at the Visitor's Center where the jade factory was and they showed me. I remember when we were here that\'s the only place we went. Today when we came from Whiittier we went along the same path on the bus that we had gone on to go to the factory 30 years or so ago. It was mud flats now. When we went I think it was winter and there was ice in it as I recall.
We had a unique experience today coming out of Whittier--one I've never had before and never expect to ever have again. We went on a bus through a railroad tunnel 2 1/2 miles long that cars can also go through. We had to wait about an hour to get clearance because the trains have priority. This was NOT a tunnel with a road beside it for cars, but instead you went ride town the track. It had been modified a few years ago so that cars could use it too. It was very strange! When we go back to Whittier we will take the train and go through the tunnel on the tracks--much more normal I would think. Alaska is wild country. I guess you can expect most anything here.
I'm not any more impressed with Anchorage this time than I was 30 years ago. It's still not much of a city in my opinion. They do have a few tall buildings now which they didn't before. Today I think we found out why they have no tall buildings. They had an earthquake that measured 9.2, apparently the worst in North America, in 1964 that quite devastationg and was even felt in California and caused some damage and deaths there.
So far we don't think the food on Princess is as good as Holland America. But I must say the lobster a couple of nights ago was great. I didn't want to order it because I didn't want to crack it, but when it came the waiters took the meat out for everyone, so I said if I would have known that I would have ordered it. Sure enough the waiter brought me some and I let Dad taste it. We both thought it was great. Next time maybe we'll take a chance and order it. We still ate too much even if it wasn't the best. They have ice cream cones about anytime you want them. One day I was in the hot tub and then sat in one on the deck chairs and they brought me a WARM cookie and milk. I was shocked. It sure was good. I was trying to figure out what time of the day they did that, but couldn't quite figure it out and never got one again. The one thing we didn't like about the cruise was the fact that they were also trying to sell us something. It was crazy. We'd sit down to dinner and they'd come around with wine that was very expensive. We were never at a table where anyone ordered it. I don't think they did very well of that promo. The final straw was last night when we had a little comedy show put on by the food staff and then we got a tour of the kitchen. When we came out of the kitchen they had a room full of things to sell from other cruises that they were apparently trying to unload. I did buy a nice Panama Princess sweatshirt. I thought it might be cool for everyone to think I'd been to Panama. Ha!
We did a really neat thing in Ketichan. When we were in Vancouver a lady who had just taken the cruise told us to go on the Bering Sea Crab deal as a shore excursion. It was expensive but we did it anyway and it was great. I guess they were on the Discovery Channel, the deadliest catch. They have bouys all around with traps down in the water and they bring up lots of differeent kind of crab and let you touch they and hold them. At first I didn't want anything to do with them, but I saw little kids doing it and I didn't want to be shown up by them, so I did it too. At the end he brought out an octopus and held it above his head. We didn't get to touch it. Probably the neatest thing was the eagles. We were near an Island inhabited by native Alaskans and they were able to feed the eagles small fish which they did by the hundreds. We got to see the eagles kind of divebomb down to pick up the eagles. We also saw huge nests of eagles in the trees along the shore. We even saw some baby eagles peeking out. Spectacular!!!
I guess that's about enough for now. It's time to relax and take it easy. 5:45 in the morning will come mighty early. Dad has to go pick up the tickets for our train then and I told him to wake me up then. Love you all, Mom"
cool momma! thanks for the update. Sounds like you guys are having a good time.
ReplyDeleteHave fun! Give the penguins a hug from me:) Love you guys!
ReplyDelete