Our Alaskan Cruise to Glaciers, Gold and Glorious Scenery

My Alaskan adventure begins with flying to Seattle for a few days to catch our Royal Caribbean cruise to Skagway,  Juneau and Victoria, British Columbia,  in Canada.  Seattle is a beautiful city built high up on hills that cascade down to the water.  With its proximity to Canada and Alaska.  cruise ships originate from here.  We see many fellow travelers from Hawaii, Japan and points east.

Our hotel,  the Pensionne Nichols is situated right up the steep hill from the colorful and versatile Pike's Market.  The only drawback is the lofty two flights of stairs KO has to heave our fifty pound suitcase up and down.  The hotel is part of an historic building and provides a continental breakfast and an affordable price for being right in the heart of town.  We can walk down the hill to the market to see the myriad of flowers that sell for a mere $10 dollars for an enormous bouquet.  I am jealous that I am not going home to spread cheer all over my house with these blooms.  We see colossal fish hoisted in the air by the proprietors every time someone purchases a fish.  Local crafters, chocolatiers, aromatic bakers, and ethnic chefs peddle their wares to the hordes passing by.

  

Seattle also boasts the Space Needle for a panoramic view of the city, an Aquarium, Gardens 

with its many horticultural wonders, and adorable boutiques.  I can not resist purchasing some fashionable, three inch heeled sandals that remind me of the fifties with their ankle straps.

We have fun going to Veggie Grill and Plum Bistro.  The vegan food is scrumptious and I enjoy a mock chicken dinner and a Mushroom steak.  We make time to meet KO's first cousins.  They have not seen each other since KO was a toddler so it is a wonderful reunion with many reminiscences and picture taking.

 Finally the big day arrives and we set sail fro Alaska.  The Jewel of the Seas is a smaller older ship of the Royal Caribbean's fleet.  I like the smaller ships because the individualized excellent service can not be beat.  I will not be talking about the food here as I covered it in my last blog.  The cabin steward on this ship is Jason from St. Vincent, is a joy to behold daily.  Cheerful and friendly, he greets us several times a day with lively conversation and  fanciful creatures he invents out of our towels.

Jason is a key element toward our enjoyment of our journey.  He works seven months straight and then only gets to go home to see his two little children for two months a year!  Its a difficult life with an achy back and eleven hour days.  He shares with us the experiences he enjoys below our decks with friends he has among the crew of over fifty nationalities.  Its sounds like summer camp on the seas.  The entertainment on this cruise is stellar.  Broadway quality shows, a social director who is channeling Neil Diamond and puts on an amazing show of his life's songs,  a piano pro who dazzles us with a history of piano music from the rock stars of yesteryear right up to today, trivia games, cooking classes, art shows and more.  Never a dull moment on this ship and the dance parties take place right in the center of the ship where the several story atrium with glass elevators lives.  The Fourth of July red, white and blue party, complete with colorful balloons dropping from the ceiling and rocking live music for hours is a ball.

Now a word about the ports and scenery.  The ship sails through the placid, glasslike seas to our destinations.  The water is so calm it is hard to tell we are even moving until I look outside!  The windows are filled with green mountains, topped by snow covered peaks.  In the water we can see frisky seals climbing on tiny bits of bluish ice and some people see black and white whales.

In Juneau we opt for an excursion to some gardens, the Mendenhall Glacier and a cooking demonstration.  The gardens are amazing.  The owner cleared the grounds years ago and decided to create upside down trees with hanging flowers cascading down from the tops.

Every year he fashions these 45 arrangements by hand and they are original and lovely.  He also set up a nanny cam high in a tree so we are able to spy on baby eagles as their parents bring them sustenance.  The Mendenhall Glacier is like something you have never seen.  Ice has compacted into this enormous ice field.   This glacier has retreated 1.75 miles since the 1970s and forms a large lake and some waterfalls nearby.With global warming more and more ice melts each year.  Our cooking class is in a nearby cooking school.  The teacher is a local caterer and we enjoy a lesson about glazes and sauces.  We learn about the types of salmon including King, Coho and Sockeye and the main differences, where they are found and how to cook them.  We finish off with a yummy dessert,  Strawberry Blueberry parfait made with Chocolate Wine.

Our next stop is Skagway, a leftover town from the Klondike Gold Rush.  It is here that people rushed by the thousands to stake their claims and hopefully make their fortunes.  Actually very few did.  These people had to traipse over snow covered mountains and travel by water to even arrive here to pan for scarce gold.  We eat lunch in an old brothel.  It was here that men came to "relax" and as few women made this rough journey, these lovely ladies fulfilled an important "need".  The furniture is original and the hotel still remains as a bed and breakfast.  The restaurant is organic and has a garden outside that grows the rhubarb we enjoy in our dessert.  The town itself is pretty commercial with places you can buy fake gold nuggets, Daniel Boone type fur tailed hats and model trains to mimic the train we could have taken up into the mountains.  It is pretty amazing that this train was built through these mountains, without modern technology, back in the early 1900s to take the prospectors to the gold.  The scenery is spectacular as we are in a little valley surrounded by craggy snow covered peaks.

Our last stop is the flower ladened Victoria, British Columbia with its Victorian Empress Hotel and sparkling harbor.  Last time I was here I discovered Green Cuisine, run by fellow macrobiotic chef, Andy Cunningham.  We make a beeline to Market Square and have the best meal of the trip.  There is a buffet filled with healthy food including carrot and pea soup, brown rice, seaweed and pressed salad, tempeh stroganoff, "meatloaf," steamed kale,  black bean stew, four kinds of sauerkraut and other goodies.  I realize my non macro readers are thinking, "Big Deal", and "Is she Nuts?" but once you develop a taste for healthy, clean food, there is nothing like discovering it on a vacation!  The desserts are plentiful and only made with brown rice syrup for a sweetener.  We sample blueberry crumble, caramel chocolate brownies, mock cheesecake and some others and I take food back to the ship for the next few meals.

We took a tour that showed us the Chinatown, complete with an ornate gate of yore.  Chinese came here to help build the railroads.  The highlight was a visit to Craigdarroch Castle with its 187 steps.  Built in early 1900 by a millionaire Robert Dunsmuir, the richest man in British Columbia at that time,  it boasts exquisite woodwork, Victorian furnishings and ornate stained glass windows.  Unfortunately Dunsmuir died before the home was finished, but his wife and children lived on to fight out the future disposition of his home and fortune.

Things never really change in families, do they?  Back in town we visit the Empress Hotel where the Queen of England and many other members of the rich and famous have laid their heads to rest.  Afternoon tea at this establishment costs 60 dollars a person, so we just opt for a walking tour.  My favorite part of Victoria are the baskets of hanging flowers on every street corner and the quaint Victorian homes dotting the lanes.

The trip back to Seattle is exciting as we voyage down Endicott Arm, a 30 mile fjord with a glacier at the end.  This is a narrow passageway the large cruise ship gently negotiates toward this glacier that blocks any further passage.  We get close up and personal with this mound of frozen ice and it is fun to take pictures of all its grand beauty.  Along the way we see three story high chunks of ice. Sometimes we can spy mountain goats on the mountain and seals on the ice.

 As the trip comes to an end, we are filled with memories of stories of the Klondike Gold Rush, the natural beauty of this earth, people we have met on our voyage, the excitement of winning in the casino, the fabulous shows on the cruise and days spent on the sea.  We are ready to plan our next adventure!