Our first day on the cruise was spent at sea. A lot of the passengers were very experienced cruisers, so they knew how all of this worked (and most of them were retired,) but we were inexperienced, so it took us some time to wind down and figure out how to spend our time. There was no lack of things to do - shows to attend, delicious food to eat, movies, live music, a spa, and our favorite was the solarium. It was a big, grownups-only, indoor pool area with a couple of hot tubs and lots of comfy chairs and chaise lounges facing the ocean. We did lots of reading, dozing, and sipping fancy drinks here. Jeff liked the hot tub a lot, but I think I only did that once. We met a LOT of interesting people thanks to Jeff's outgoing personality. Also, someone asked, so I should mention: yes, the ship felt very clean. The staff was very kind and conscientious, and you could always see people diligently cleaning…or offering hand sanitizer.
Here we are around dinnertime our first night. I worried about not having formal things to wear on the fancy nights, both because I don't own anything formal and I didn't have much room to pack that type of thing, but it all turned out OK.
Our first morning, in Alaska, we woke up to these views outside our balcony. We were in Ketchikan, and the town was just waking up. I was really excited about this stop for a non-sightseeing reason: We were going to visit my college friend, Sally, and her family.
Here's more of Ketchikan.
First thing in the morning, we went on a float plane trip. I have to brag on Jeff a bit - he spent lots of time researching which excursions we should go on, and he booked them all separately from the cruise line, which meant that we got a much more personal experience each time, but spent a lot less money. It was great. There were six passengers on our little plane, and it's one of those experiences that can't be captured with words or photographs. The takeoff and landing on the water were so smooth, and I wondered if I would be nervous (or sick) in that little plane, but I wasn't. I should mention that Ketchikan gets rain on about 228 days per year, so of course it rained most of the day. We didn't mind at all. Our view was still amazing, but the pictures aren't so clear.
We flew over the Misty Fjords and saw one gorgeous panorama after another. Of course, the pictures don't capture it, but we loved it.
The pilot landed in the water partway through our flight and let us get out of the plane and walk on the plane's pontoons. Jeff did, of course, but I did not. I took this picture from inside the plane. Then I took a picture of him with his phone, and after I handed it back to him, as he went to put it in his pocket, he hit it on the step, and…plop! It dropped into the water, never to be seen again. Aside from one naughty word, Jeff was a very good sport about it. We weren't planning on the expense, but it was nice that his word couldn't reach him when we were in ports and had cell service.
Here we are, back in the plane, sans cell phone. See? Good sport. (We still had my dinosaur phone to keep us in emergency contact with the kids. But, no face time for the times in port that we had cell service.)
And here we are after our ride, in front of our plane.
The latter part of our day is something I had been excited about for a long time! It just so happens that a good friend of mine from college, Sally, lives in Ketchikan with her husband and kids. We made arrangements to get together, so Sally picked us up after our plane ride and brought us to church where we joined (and met) her husband and kids. Sally and I met on RA staff 20 years ago, and hadn't seen each other since graduation just over 18 years ago. Still, it was wonderful to pick up where we left off with no trouble at all! (The farther I get from college, the more thankful I am for that experience that provided me with so many friendships that are standing the test of time.) Our visit with Sally's family was a really rich part of our trip, and we figured this was the most authentic look at the life of a real Alaskan family that we would see while we were on our vacation. We had lunch (fresh halibut!) and a nice visit (although I wish it had been longer) and then it was time to go back to the ship and push on to our next destination.
20 years after meeting…I'm sure we've only improved…right?
Sally and her wonderful family: Eric, Ella, and Marcus. I do have to brag on them - they didn't know any of us, but were all so kind and welcoming, and the kids were friendly and helped us to feel at home. I'm sure our kids and their kids would have gotten along well…and their kids could have taught our kids a thing or two!
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