The End of Our Great Adventure: Part 5

Written by Nicki Sooter Wilcoxson



Orca Pod Near Crab Ship







Eagle looking for food. Note
the wing span






Photos taken by Vince Migliaccio
off the Sea Crab Fishermen's
Tour

Humpback Whale




Kim, Vince, and Cole
on the Sea Crab Tour









Wow, What a catch!!! Crab legs for dinner.

Following a very long day yesterday, Sunday, June 21, Jim and I returned home 8 days after leaving for our trip to Alaska. In my last post I talked about our trip to Juneau and about seeing my whales which was a big thrill for me. When we got back to the ship, ate, and worked a bit on the computer, we decided to fore go the planned excursion that we had planned for Friday which was to be another look at the misty fjords and glaciers. Our ship would be in port in Ketchikan and I really wanted to spend time exploring the village; taking the excursion would leave us with little time to spend there. In the meantime, we found another excursion for Kim, Vince, Cole, and friend Kelly to participate in. It was billed a Bering Sea Crab Fishermen's Tour. To make it short, we totally misread and misunderstand what would take place, but we thought it was definitely something Cole would enjoy doing, and the rest of us not so much. Sometimes we make good decisions and sometimes not so good decisions. The decision that Jim and I made not to go was a BAD decision. Everyone came back raving about the excursion. They saw pods of 8-10 Orca whales close by that really put on a show, a humpback whale that swam to the ship, and flocks of bald eagles drawn to the ship by raw fish the kids got to throw out to them. Several other species of wildlife were nearby, too. The kids and the adults loved it. Boo Hoo for us and we will know better next time.





The Eagle makes the catch.










An Orca breeches the water.

Waking up to Ketchikan outside our windows was awesome, too. (actually we didn't get there until 2:00 P.M.) Ketchikan is really one of those quaint villages built into a mountain side with rivers and streams running through the neighborhoods. The houses are painted bright colors and despite being old and for the most part a bit dilapidated the atmosphere is reminiscent of the old times of miners, adventurers, and fishermen, so picturesque that you want to capture every scene on film. Lots of shops are all around the docking area. Ketchikan is also the home of a lot of totem poles and a nearby native village that has worked to retrieve totem poles from all around Alaska in order to preserve them in one place. I have always been somewhat fascinated by totem poles so for a couple of hours Jim and I walked around Ketchikan in a light rain (bless our waterproof jackets and hoods) admiring the wonderful flowers, inhaling the woodsy, piney smells, and staring in awe at the rivers and streams running behind the homes as part of the landscape. We even saw a water ladder for salmon to assist them in their quest to get to their spawning grounds. By the way there is an obvious warfare going on between the fish farm hatcheries and the wildlife natural spawning of the salmon. Everyone is urged to avoid the farms and buy wild for better taste and so on. I don't know all of the issues. We found ourselves in a totem pole museum and saw totem poles from the 18Th century--very, very, old worn and weathered. We also learned about chum or gift giving and how it related to the status of the native families. I wish we had been able to go out to the native village for more, but the stay in Ketchikan was one of the shortest ports of call. We ended up in a cafe on the top floor of an old building, eating fish and chips (halibut) one more time--Oh so yummy. So despite having missed out on the wildlife excursion, we still had a good, relaxed, time and soaked up some of the Ketchikan culture.

Saturday was an at sea day when we sailed from Ketchikan to Vancouver through the very narrow Strait at Georgia past Vancouver Island. Wonderful mountains filled with pine trees, a few homes, fish boats, cruise ships, and even a whirlpool. A great deal of this was during the night. Victoria is on the tip of the island and very near Seattle. In my opinion, it would be a place that bears more investigating. Most of our day was spent packing to disembark, attending festivities planned by the ship's staff, and visiting. Sunday morning, disembarkation was meticulously planned and went smoothly. No, they wouldn't let us take our stewards home with us. They told us now we would have cook our own meals, clean our own houses, make our own beds, and no more room service. Several women even offered to leave their husbands behind on the ship in exchange for a steward. Most of all I will miss the view outside my bedroom window and I can't imagine wanting an inside room with no window.

The worst part of the day was getting through the Vancouver airport which is an international airport. Showing, passports several times, doing declarations for both Canada and the U.S., waiting in long security lines, and meeting the most arrogant, horse's rear of a Canadian Security Officer who searched my carry on bag with a fine toothed comb and a contemptible attitude really ruined a bit of my day. I am all for security and very patient, but this man was not a nice man. It was only a 4 hour flight home to DFW and then to Amarillo after a couple of hours layover.

Last Thoughts:

Coming home was/is a bitter sweet experience. I am so glad I got to go on this "bucket list" event. It all far exceeded my expectations and it was wonderful to share the time with family, too. Alaska transcends any attempt that I make to describe what we saw and did. It is the kind of place that no matter where you look, no matter what direction, you see the most beautiful bit of nature that you can ever imagine seeing--mountains, oceans, stream, rivers, glaciers, volcanoes, wildlife, gulches, canyons, and people who are beautiful inside and out, people who love their land and have to put up with so much inconvenience to live there, but do it anyway. Alaska is the kind of place that makes you want to take pictures of everything you see-wildlife, mountains, clouds, glaciers, ice chunks, people, shops, cars, trains, lakes, flowers, trees, food, and oceans. I think there is a fear that if you don't record it all you won't be able to make anyone understand what you have seen or done. There is also a fear that you will forget it yourself and won't be able to hold it in your minds eye forever. I know my son-in-law who was our designated photographer took between 400-500 photos (I intend to share them ALL with you) LOL. The danger that lies in trying to take too many photos of everything is that you will be so busy taking pictures you will forget to "live" in the moment.

The other side of the bitter/sweet is that despite the beauty, the fun and all the rest, I am glad to be home. I am so glad that I took a cruise--my first and maybe my only. I have tried to make a good/not so good list of taking a cruise, but I haven't articulated it yet. I loved Alaska and the idea that in all likelihood, I won't be going there again, makes me very sad. Hopefully there will be many other adventures to be explored and shared in our lifetime. We are happy we had this one and we have the photos to prove it!
Really Dorkie person enjoying the Napkin Dance performed by the Dining Staff at the end of the cruise.

Most photos were taken by Vince Migliaccio. Thanks, Vince