2017-9-5 Homer

We have arrived in Homer and this announcement just came over the PA system:

“For your own safety and the safety of other guests, I ask you AGAIN not to congregate near the gangway or on the stairs. Remember, I can see you all.”
(This was the third announcement about not congregating.)

Homer is not a very big place but we were planning to take the shuttle in, anyway. Bill went down to check on whether there is a lift on the shuttle and there is not. However, the person he talked to said we can ride in on our scooters. It would be better to do it right away because it is going to rain this afternoon.

So, we went into the Spit area about a mile and a half looking for the general store. We bought some peanut M & M’s.

Lots of eagles and seagulls in Homer. We saw this eagle being chased by a seagull. 

This is a pic of Bill with two of our waiters. They are dressed like lumberjacks. 

2017-9-5 On the Way To Homer

“Living on earth may be expensive, but it includes an annual free trip around the sun.” Anonymous

For those of you who are concerned with how we are sleeping:
Bill says he is sleeping okay in the bed--after a fashion. He falls asleep on his side. When it hurts too much, he sits up for a while until it eases up. Then he can go back to sleep again.

I fall asleep with the rolled up sleeping bag under my legs. I break my Ambien in half and take half when I go to sleep and take the second half when I wake up about 3. I am in pretty serious pain by then so I also take one of my morning gabapentin pills early.

2017-9-4 Visiting Anchorage

As soon as the Amsterdam turned into the shelter of the islands around Anchorage, all the violent motions of the ship ceased and we sailed smoothly into port. This morning, we took the shuttle into the city proper. Since it is Labor Day in the U.S., there was not much traffic. The bus driver told us a little about Anchorage. We crossed a small river where men were fishing for salmon. The driver said Beluga whales sometimes chase the salmon part way into the mouth of the river.

The ship had docked and started off-loading passengers at 8 a.m. We waited for an hour so we would not be in the way. There is an extreme differential for the tides in Alaska. When I looked over the rail at 8:00, the off ramp looked almost flat. When we showed up to leave at 9:00, they shut the door and said they were moving the ramp up to the third floor because the tide had risen. So, we went up there to wait.

After we got off, we had to wait for a bus that was equipped to handle us. We were manually hoisted on and off of the shuttle bus which took about twenty minutes. There was a 15 minute drive each way into town. We got a map and made our way to the Anchorage Museum. Out of a four hour visit, we were actually only in the museum for an hour. We didn’t have time to see much of anything. We left the harbor at 9:30 and came back on board at 1:30. We needed to get back to the ship so Bill could have the low sodium lunch.

We had a new waiter today. He had an unusual name. He said his father gave him a Japanese name hoping that he would one day be admitted to a Japanese university. That didn’t work out for him so he is working for Holland America. We tried to encourage him with our stories of graduating college when we were older. 

2017-9-3 On the Way to Anchorage

Stormy weather today. The captain told us to batten down the hatches. By that he meant that we should remove things that might fall off our shelves, etc. Last night, all the deck chairs were removed and stowed so they don’t bang around on the deck.

And…we were upstairs an hour ago when we went into a very big roll to port and everything fell off the counters at the coffee bar and off the desk of the cruise consultant. Flowers, vases, files, brochures, cups, trays—they all came tumbling down and spread out across the rug.

The captain told us that he is using the stablilizers as much as possible to smooth out the gyrations of the ship. I haven’t heard of any bad falls yet so that’s good. The passengers are just a step above the clientele of your average rest home. He doesn’t want anyone to get hurt.

A few years ago, I met a woman in the elevator who said she had fallen on that very ship and broke her hip just six months before. She was back on another cruise but using a cane.

We have had very mild weather thus far and could hardly detect any motion of the ocean. Bill and I haven’t had even a hint of seasickness.

Yesterday, we went to an Adaggio performance. I saw people looking out the window so I asked what they were looking at. I hoped there were some more whales spouting. But they were just looking at the mountains. I said,

"Pshaw. I wouldn't turn around to look at the mountains. We see them every day at home." 

It turned out they weren't really looking at mountains. They were looking at enormous glaciers at the foot of the mountains. I took a couple of pics but they aren't great because the windows were streaked. 

2017-9-2 Juneau and Icy Point Strait

I enjoyed our stop at Icy Strait Point much more than I thought I would. 

Icy Strait Point is the only man-made destination in Alaska (so far) so I wasn’t expecting much but it was worth a stop. It is the brainchild of the Huna Tlinglit tribe. They have a zip line as high as the Empire State building going over a primordial forest. People said it was great.

There is a short nature trail through the forest that goes uphill behind the building and then down by the shoreline. Bill said he couldn’t make it up in his scooter. My chair has larger wheels and it goes like the wind. So, I said I would be back in fifteen minutes. When I got around to the shore part of the trail, I was afraid it was too steep to go down in my chair so I turned back.

As it happened, a man walking ahead of me on the shore side slipped and fell. He either broke or dislocated his hip. We are waiting for a helicopter to evacuate him right now. One day, you are the one on the zip line and a few short years later, you are the one being taken to the hospital for a simple fall.

The Huna Tlinglit are the ones who were driven out of Glacier Bay by the very rapid advance of a glacier in the mid-1700’s. A representative from the group came on board the ship the last time we were here and told that amazing story. In 1944, their village was destroyed in a fire. Then, they had a cannery here that went out of business in the 1950’s. So they have had their troubles but I think their new business model will be a winner for them.

The last pic is Bill cleaning the crud off my tires with a broom. He didn't want to drag it into our cabin. 

We went up to the Lido to get some ice cream about 3 pm. The captain said we were passing by Glacier Bay on the starboard side and we should keep an eye out for whales. We moved over there and Bill saw one come up for air some distance away. So, we stationed ourselves next to the window and saw a small one breach twice. We wondered if it was really a whale but then we saw the fluke. We all clapped. 

Yesterday, in Juneau, we took the tram up to the top of the ridge and took some pictures. The ship and the brochure definitely over-promised on the tram trip. Supposedly, there is an eagle nesting there but we didn’t see it. There is a natural history museum but it was inaccessible to us.

2017-8-31 Tracy Arm

We are traveling up the Tracy Arm. I missed the lecture about it this morning but it’s the inlet to a glacier that is quickly receding. It’s pretty spectacular. We went outside on the Lido deck to watch the waterfalls and blue ice floes float by.

Bill said, “Ho hum. Another spectacular waterfall.”

I heard that some people saw a whale but we didn’t see it. We have seen whales in Mexico so it’s not going to kill me. But, hopefully, some will show up before we go home.

They are serving hot chocolate and salmon chowder out on deck. It’s really cold and rainy out there. There was a hat/shirt/outerwear sale earlier so I bought some a cute hat with braids and a very warm shirt. Good marketing.

2017-8-30 Ketchikan

We waited until after lunch today to go into Ketchikan. It stopped raining so we visited the touristy area, took a few pictures then got back on the ship.

The tides in Alaska rise and fall much more than anywhere else we have traveled. The angle of the ramps to get on and off the ship can quickly change from a gentle rise into a truly hazardous endeavor. The people who help us on and off get pretty excited if we try to do it by ourselves. So, we let them help us.

Tomorrow is supposed to be a good day to watch whales. I asked our waiters in the Lido which side of the ship would be the best to see the whales. They got a big laugh out of that. They said they would contact the whales and let me know.

Have I mentioned the food yet? It’s really good. Also, the dining staff in the Lido offered to cook special meals for Bill! One of the staff printed out the menu and asked him how he wanted it moderated. On the Maasdam, they told us they would only cook him a low sodium meal if we ate in the dining room. To make it easier for everyone, Bill told the cook he wants grilled salmon with vegetables and a baked potato for lunch and the same except with steak at dinner.

I like to eat in the dining room in order to meet people but my back kills me if I sit in a regular chair. Also, meals last about 90 minutes in the dining room and the time passes slowly if you are uncomfortable either physically or socially.

It’s currently very easy to strike up a conversation with most people. Everyone wants to talk about the floods in Texas. They talk about the latest news and who they know in Texas. There is plenty of political news but no one is talking about it.

There are computer classes about learning different aspects of Windows 10 and also one on how to use a digital camera. The Windows 10 classes are full but I haven’t seen anyone using a camera.

We didn't bring a camera but we brought a small laptop computer because it's easy to type on it. I have not seen anyone using a personal computer or typing on the computers in the library area. Everyone seems to have switched over to their phones for those purposes but there are still people reading the well-worn books in the library and doing puzzles.