First - my dental surgery went fine yesterday. My husband brought me home about 11:30 am - and I slept until 6:45 pm. That is crazy!! And I went to bed and slept all night. I'm hoping to get some sewing done today, but I'll have to stay awake to do that.
Back to the quilting cruise to Alaska - Our first port of call on the cruise was Juneau. We've been here before so we tried to choose different things to do in each port.
In Juneau we did a culinary walking tour - stopping for tastes of local products at 7 places. We tasted smoked salmon, crab cakes & crab bisque, fudge, fish tacos, salmon ceviche, blue tea, a locally brewed adult beverage, and finished with a blueberry mojito. The walking tour guide also pointed out the Changing Tides quilt shop, and it was on our way back to the ship. How convenient. I must admit that my husband was "humoring me" on this excursion because he is a picky eater and really didn't taste everything. But the art and history portion was so interesting. He enjoyed that.
The other part of the walking tour was learning about the amazing art all over the city of Juneau. We might have found the different shops and restaurants on our own, but would most likely NOT have learned about the art installations.
Hubbard Glacier was spectacular of course. We sat our balcony, wrapped in blankets, sipping Mudslides, and enjoyed the view. I'm glad we had binoculars with us.
In Sitka we had a little time to wander around the town a bit before our excursions left for a bear sanctuary, and then onto a boat for aquatic animal sighting. It rained and was cold the whole time we spent there, but we were dressed appropriately so it was OK.
The bear sanctuary (Fortress of the Bear) was interesting, and because they were feeding them with parts of a deer that had been hit by a car, the bears were very active. The bald eagles were active too, swooping in to steal whatever they could.
On the boat we cruised around the tiny wooded islands, and spotted sea lions hanging out on this harbor buoy. We also saw lots of sea otters with pups, more bald eagles, and whales.
Ketchikan is another place we had been before, and we decided to explore the town this time rather than do a shore excursion. It rained off and on, but didn't stop our exploration.
We took the opportunity for some shopping - because there is a law that says grandparents MUST bring home souvenirs for the grandkids, right? I also made a stop in a local quilt shop called Whale's Tail. It was small but very friendly.
The final evening of the cruise was a very brief stop in Victoria BC, but I don't have any pictures. And that is because we decided to stay on the ship rather than ride a bus around for 2 hours. That was pretty much the option for excursions there.
My friends and I had such a good time. We began talking about doing this again of course. Where to next time?
4 comments:
did you stop in Skagway also - we had an excursion there where we rode on a old train for a couple hours on a tour. It sounds like you had all the stops that we did some 20 years ago. In Sitka I loved going through the shops with the nesting dolls I think I found a quilt shop there too or that might have been Skagway -- mine wasn't a quilting cruise
Rest up! I know it took me a few days to get over my last Oral Surgery. Your trip sounds wonderful!
Thanks for the memories! We stayed in Juneau for a week some years ago with my quilting penfriend, we were not on a cruise but flew in on the way to UK. I remember the glacier quite close to town, the bald eagles everywhere, after the salmon on their way to spawn. Everything was so different to home and so spectacular.
Glad your procedure went fine. Never having been to Alaska I really enjoyed hearing your story and seeing the photos.
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