Monthly Archives: September 2011

On Wednesday, August 24th we docked in Juneau. We had some pretty incredible excursions planned, including a tram ride up Mount Roberts, dog sledding, and a two-hour glacier trek, so we were totally pumped and ready to go! We scarfed a quick breakfast on board and were the first people off the ship at 7 a.m. when we pulled into port. Unfortunately the atmosphere was teeming with an impenetrable layer of low, heavy cloud cover and it was rainy, not exactly ideal weather for, well, anything. But this kind of weather is just part of Alaska and we knew that, so we came prepared to have an amazing time regardless of the weather. One of the tour guides told us that this was the third straight week of rain in Juneau, so they were pretty ready for the skies to clear too!

While we had a stockpile of adventurous excursions on our agenda, many of the people on our cruise had one thing and one thing only planned for Juneau: diamond shopping. Alaska, and Juneau in particular, is known for their quality diamond and gemstone jewelry for a mere fraction of the price that you’ll find them in the lower 48 states. Without exaggerating there is literally a solid line of at least twenty + large jewelry shops on the main drag of Juneau, waiting for your business immediately after you step foot off the ship. To a whole heck of a lot of people on the cruise, this was thrilling. To us, not so much. We came to see Alaska, not the insides of thirty jewelry stores. I’d done some research on our ports of call ahead of time, so I sort of knew what to expect. That being said, we made sure to book excursions that would get us out of the touristy drag of Juneau and into the great outdoors to do something truly unique. Still, despite our great line-up of activities, Ted and I both agreed that Juneau was our least favorite port of call, but only because it was so geared toward tourists and shopping. If you make a concerted effort to look past that and check out some areas a little further out, it’s a really nice place to visit and offers a lot of neat things to see and do. We walked the town, got a traditional Russian dumpling carryout dish at Pel’Meni for lunch, (Alaska has a rich Russian heritage), picked up some dry smoked salmon to take home, and enjoyed a celebratory dinner of delicious Alaskan seafood for Ted’s birthday.

As always, click to enlarge….the details are pretty tremendous! And if you’re only going to enlarge one set of pictures, make it the glacier ones because they are insanely cool!

Our first excursion was dog sledding in the rainforest. There was an actual on-snow Iditarod-style dog sledding excursion, but I’d read that the on-snow dog sledding excursions have a tendency to get cancelled often due to inclement weather on the glaciers. Sledding through the rainforest was far less expensive (allowing us to put the money toward our glacier excursion!) and still gave us the opportunity to learn about the dog sled culture, the supplies and equipment they use, and it still gave us time to spend with the pups. If we go back to Alaska, we’ll definitely try the snow sledding one next time though! When we first arrived at the sledding camp the dogs were so excited to see people because they know it means that they’ll get to run soon – they bark like crazy and howl and jump up and down like little whirling dervishes. Our sled was pulled by 15 dogs capable of hauling up to 3,000 lbs. We went for a ride through the rainforest while the musher stood on the back of the cart giving directional commands and signals to the dogs. By this time it was raining steadily so we were absolutely soaked and pretty chilled. But it was a lot of fun to go sledding, meet each of the dogs and experience their individual personalities (the troublemaker, the shy guy, the easily distracted pup, the leader of the pack, etc.), learn about the real snow sleds, the Iditarod, and all the balms, harnesses, foods, blankets and medications they use on the dogs out on the sled routes, cuddle up with the new puppies who will soon be trained to pull sleds of their very own, and cross a 300 ft. suspension bridge over the rushing Fish Creek (a Door County reference – we were thrilled!). All in all, we had fun, but I’d recommend saving up your cash and shelling out for the on-snow glacier sledding if you possibly make it happen. For us doing both the glacier trek and the glacier dog sledding was a financial impossibility so we chose the glacier trek over the snow sledding since we’ve both seen/lived in snow before but hadn’t walked on a glacier. It’s a tough call, but they’re both expensive excursions so you kind of have to pick and choose. And either way you get to experience dog sledding!

Next we went up the Mount Roberts tramway that carries you from the base of Mount Roberts, near the docks, to the top of the mountain which is a nature preserve overlooking Juneau. It’s a really steep tram ride and, on a clear day, I imagine it’s an incredible view! But we were stuck in a thick cloud pretty much all day, so we were able to see very little. We did get to see a bald eagle who’d been injured and is now under the care of the raptor center and we did take a quick hike through some of the trails at the top of the mountain, but otherwise it was too cold, rainy, and cloudy to do much else. On the way down we spotted an eagle in the wild and, with the help of our trusty monocular and a camera, we got to observe him up close!

And finally, our favorite part of the day that almost wasn’t….glacier trekking! Because the clouds were so low and the rain was making the glaciers slick, the two-hour glacier trek we were so looking forward to was cancelled….twice. I was bummed beyond belief when I learned that we wouldn’t be getting to slip on those trekking suits and ice boots, grab our ice poles, and helicopter up to the top of a glacier to the blue ice caves, dip my fingers in a glacial pond, or learn how to ice climb. This was probably the one excursion I was looking forward to the most. Miraculously, as only sheer dumb luck would have it, there was another company who did helicopter flights out onto the glaciers but this company went to a different glacier that was further south (or north, or something…) that wasn’t under such a severe weather advisory, so they were still running flights. Since our initial excursion was cancelled and the cost fully refunded because of the weather, we quickly booked a last-minute tour with the other company, Era. The new excursion only gave us a 30-minute walkabout on the glacier instead of a two hour extensive trek, but we thought 30-minutes was just right with the poor weather and we still had a completely amazing experience that we were lucky to have at all! On the bus ride back into Juneau we learned that our group of six was the last group to get to go on the glacier because right after we arrived back to the helicopter hanger the weather on all the glaciers became too treacherous with the rain and clouds so the helicopters could no longer land on them and the rest of the flights for the time being were cancelled.

The experience was just incredible – both the helicopter ride and the glacier! First they gear you up with boots to help you get traction on the glacier, then they make sure everyone has a life vest on. They walk you out to the windy tarmac and, based on weights and balances, assign you a seat in the helicopter. After all six passengers are safely packed in like sardines you get a briefing on how to operate some of the crucial buttons, levers, doors, etc. of the helicopter, learn how to use the headsets, and meet your pilot. We had a great pilot! He had a lot of knowledge and was able to answer any question we threw at him, but he also had a lot of cool stories. He said that the previous week he and another pilot were helicoptering above the glaciers to check the weather conditions for passenger flights and he saw a brown bear hanging out on one of the glaciers! Can you even imagine how beautiful that must’ve been?

The helicopter lifts off the ground and gives you a really neat birds-eye view of Juneau, the mountains, the ocean, and the glaciers. The flight is about 30 minutes or so each way and flies you over several key glaciers before the pilot decides which one will be the best to land on. Once you’re on ground and the propeller has stopped spinning you’re free to get out and explore! We walked a part of the glacier, took in the awesome landscape, learned a lot about the glaciers from our pilot and tasted glacial water. The ice chunk the pilot gave me was so dense and tight that if I took it back with me I could have left it out on my dresser on the cruise ship for the rest of the week and it still wouldn’t have melted, he said. If we go back to Alaska, I’d totally want to do this again! It’s just so surreal to be standing on something that literally shaped the world we live on but may no longer be there one day.

Up next: Adventures in Sitka!

On our third day honeymoonin’ we cruised into Glacier Bay National Park. What a treat! This place is just phenomenally gorgeous! Our cruise ship inched, just barely moving, past three amazing glaciers. Our captain was able to get us really close to them and we stood out on deck in the blistering wind (apparently we entered a wind tunnel along the way!), frigid temperatures, and icy drizzle to soak in the majesty and beauty of the glaciers. The captain turned the ship several times so we could all have the best view possible and bask in the presence of their awesomeness for a few hours. We even got to see them calve! The whole Glacier Bay route of the cruise is eerily silent and very still so when the glacier calves and breaks off into the water, the long rumbling sound is thunderous and absolutely roars as it echos across all the mountains. It’s totally otherworldly and everyone stands quietly, hardly breathing and utterly captivated, waiting to see where the ice will break off from when it crashes into the icy water with a mighty splash. The sound is so epic my description cannot do it any respect or justice. And the glaciers have so many beautiful cuts and unique shades of blue in them. They are truly awesome. Glacier Bay alone was worth the entire cruise.

As always, click to enlarge (and to see all the wonderful detail, I’d suggest that you do). The black covering some of them is volcanic ash.

Incredible, no?

We spent the first day and a half aboard the Oosterdam at sea, traversing across the Puget Sound and into the Pacific Ocean en route to Glacier Bay National Park. At Puget Sound the seas were still calm and relaxing. But the further out from land we cruised the choppier the waters got. We left Seattle at 4 p.m. on a sunny Sunday afternoon, but by nightfall the ship was already beginning to toss and turn. Monday was even rougher – a steady roll sent the Deck 9 pools sloshing back and forth. By the time evening approached, the barf bags had made their debut by the staircases. It was a little rocky, but those first two days at sea gave us time to get to get to know our wonderful ship.

The first surprise was our stateroom. We’d booked an interior room, the most-budget friendly of the lot. Interior rooms are often a great selection for some because they tend to cut down on the motion sickness since they’re generally located as mid-ship as you can get, and the lack of windows provides a darker night’s sleep, especially in Alaska where the sun rises very early. But I secretly hoped we’d be upgraded to an ocean view room since this was a celebratory cruise and I’d been sure to note the occasions – two birthdays and a honeymoon – when we booked. When we opened our stateroom door we were excited to see that we had indeed been upgraded to an ocean view room!…with a breathtaking view of a lifeboat and all its mechanics. Yup, we got our ocean view room, just with a minimal view of the actual ocean and the occasional surprise appearance of a mechanic directly outside our window, serving the lifeboats. But the window provided the room with some natural light, which was a welcome upgrade and Ted appreciated observing the mechanics of the lifeboats.

Travel Tip # 3: With eleven floors on the cruise ship it can be temping to take the elevators. Take the stairs. With all the eating you’re going to be doing, running up and down those stairs fourteen times a day and exercising your ever-expanding rear end is likely a good idea. 

We used the stairs almost exclusively, as I did with my last cruise to the Caribbean. This action is highly recommended! We toured the ship from top to bottom discovering the spa, pools and hot tubs, restaurants, library, coffee shop, bars, casino,  dance club, piano bar, art gallery, movie theatre, computer room, photo gallery, lounges, gym, entertainment halls, basketball court, on board shops, decks, and more.

We discovered that Happy Hour occurred daily from 4-5 pm in the Crow’s Nest on deck 10 and the Ocean Bar on deck 3. Happy Hour consisted of a plate of tasty hor’dourves delivered to your window-view table and a buy one drink and get the second for $1 deal. All food aboard the cruise ship, including room service, is covered in the cost of the cruise but alcoholic beverages are an additional charge. What we didn’t realize is that instead of bringing you out your first drink and then waiting for you to order your second drink (perhaps of a different flavor), they bring you two of the exact same drink at the same time. It was a little weird, but mostly funny. We eventually wised up, ordered one happy hour special of a drink we both wanted to try, and split it.

Entertainment wise we enjoyed a funny late night adult comic, a really entertaining illusionist (who was also a great comedian!), ice carving, a string quartet, the marriage and battle of the sexes gameshows, a creme brulee cooking classes with one of the chefs, a kitchen tour, a backstage tour of the theatre with the actors and teach crew, a free-throw basketball contest, a few movies in the movie theatre, and the fun Indonesian crew’s show. We did watch a few of the shows featuring the actors and actresses, but sadly their scenes & songs were so cheesy and so poorly written that the talent of these wonderful dancers (and they were pretty good!) was wasted on sub-par material. We ate in the Vista dining room a few times, had delicious breakfasts with amazing waffles and some lunches in the lido, stocked up on the taco bar (Ted’s dream come true!), and really enjoyed dinner at the Canaletto – the butler served four-course Italian meal with a pre-dessert surprise of a giant plate of fresh cotton candy! I relaxed in the deck 10 hot tub with a serene view of the pine trees and snow-topped mountains, and steamed myself toasty in the sauna. We whipped out our monoculars, wrapped ourselves in wool blankets, and stood on deck to spy on nature, wildlife, and distant islands. And while enjoying a happy hour drink outside on deck we even got an impromptu whale show!

Up next: Glacier Bay!! (and some pretty phenomenal pictures)

Our cruise embarked out of the Port of Seattle on an unusually toasty (by Seattle standards) Sunday afternoon. To be on the safe side we flew from Cincinnati to Seattle on Saturday to avoid any possible travel mishaps.  We shared our flight to Detroit with pseudo-Celebrity Mike Wolfe, who’s on History Channel’s American Pickers. He was on his way to Detroit to film a promo with Chevy but was generous with his hand shakes, autographs, and smile to all the adoring fans on our flight. We hung out in my old monthly stomping grounds, the Detroit airport, for a few hours and survived the 5-hour flight to Seattle with a viewing of Water for Elephants, our in-flight movie.  Upon our arrival in Seattle we were picked up by the shuttle car we’d scheduled to drive us downtown to the hotel. The driver informed us that it was a blistering 87 degrees, which is positively boiling if you live in Seattle and are accustomed to cool, breezy summers. Indeed, I’d been reading all about how Seattle was enjoying one of the coolest summers on record and I was psyched to partake in it. Coolest summers on record with the exception, of course, of the one day we were in town, that is. We arrived at the Mediterranean Inn on Queen Anne Avenue, the hotel I’d carefully selected for its charm and excellent location within convenient walking distance of everything we wanted to see in Seattle. I’d done my research, perused their website diligently, and had meticulously selected the nicest budget-conscious hotel in Seattle. And it was a very nice hotel with one of the best rooftop decks in the city, offering phenomenal views of downtown, the Space Needle, the upper-crust residential district, and the Puget Sound! The view didn’t disappoint. Furnished with gargantuan pots brimming with bold and fragrant blooms, cozy chairs for sightseeing, reading, chatting, and relaxing, and stunning 360 views of the city, the rooftop deck was a great place to be at sun up, midday, and midnight. However…

Travel Tip #1: When visiting Seattle you just might want to check to be sure that your chosen accommodations do, in fact, feature “air conditioning” in their list of amenities.

Apparently Seattle is located in neither Texas nor Ohio. Though it seems almost insane to me nowadays and, therefore, something I certainly didn’t think to call ahead or even consider, not all buildings are air conditioned. Our hotel room was not. Needless to say, it was a toasty night of sleeping on top of the covers with the windows flung wide open and the ceiling fan whirling on top speed. Even funnier was that the hotel building was built into a square with an outside courtyard in the middle, making it irresistibly temping to screech “cock-a-doodle-doo!” at the top of our lungs at 5 a.m. out our open window and directly into everyone else’s open windows. We didn’t, but I’m not going to say the thought didn’t cross our minds when we woke up, jetlagged, at a sunny 5:30 a.m.

After we got settled in the hotel we set out on foot to explore a bit of Seattle. We hit up the Seattle Center, which was the site of the 1962 World’s Fair and hosts the Space Needle, Seattle Children’s Theatre, Seattle Rep Theatre, a monorail, skate park, the International Fountain, the Pacific Science Center, the Children’s Museum, the Science Fiction Museum, and some stellar modern art sculptures and architecture. We walked around for a few hours, took in the sights, hit up Saturday evening mass in a contemporary, completely beautiful (and completely un-airconditioned) church, and went for dinner at Toulouse Petite, a fancy yet hip European meet New Orleans style restaurant down the street from our hotel with an incredible and eclectic menu, great open-air atmosphere, and a $1,600 bottle of wine that we gawked at but definitely did not request. I had a difficult time selecting an entree because there were so many things I wanted to try – braised rabbit pasta with fava beans, Dungeness crab and grapefruit salad, creamy corn girts with crayfish, and artichoke and wild mushroom gnocchi. The next morning we awoke bright and early (cock-a-doodle-doo!) and walked a mile and a half through the sea-side of downtown to Pike’s Market – an exceptionally peaceful walk on a quiet Sunday morning. We walked the market past stalls of gorgeous bunches of flowers, fish stands, farm fresh produce, pastries, pastas, sweets, cheeses, meats and more. We saw the famous fish throwing display and splurged on little treats. Pike’s Market really is an incredible place to visit if you’re in Seattle! I tasted the most amazing mac n’ cheese from Beecher’s, hot old fashioned doughnuts, the nation’s best clam chowder, sweet peaches, white truffle oil, chocolate pasta, sweet orange almonds, and amaretto cherry chocolates. We walked another mile and a half back to the hotel, gathered our luggage, checked out, and began one of the most adventurous, memorable, and (in hind sight) dumb parts of our entire vacation – a nearly 2 mile walk from our hotel to the cruise ship terminal with five pieces of luggage. Do I recommend this? Hahahaha….

Travel Tip #2: Just because you can walk somewhere, doesn’t mean you should.

Two miles really isn’t all that far. We’d already walked four miles that day and we were feeling fine! The GoogleMaps view didn’t appear too treacherous and we printed the walking directions which, to me at least, means roads with sidewalks. Now, add two heavy rolling suitcases (a.k.a – “the beast”), two carry-on bags, and a purse. Not complicated enough yet? Add hills (Seattle is nearly as hilly as Cincinnati), take away the sidewalks at the intersection to a very busy multi-lane street, add an uphill gravel hiking path that the luggage must be carried up (not rolled), and a sidewalkless highway bridge that GoogleMaps seems to think is an appropriate walking path. Three separate people stopped us to ask if we were alright, needed directions, or wanted a ride. One woman drove off the side of the road, parked her car, and chased after us wearing heels carrying a Starbucks drink to ask if we needed help. Seattleites are nothing if not friendly folk! But if you’re going to the Pier 91, just call a damn taxi. The kicker was when were finally safely on cruise terminal property, about 0.2 miles from the cruise ship itself, a shuttle bus pulled up and asked if we wanted a ride. HA! No, I don’t want a damn ride!! I walked it this far so I’m going to walk the whole way. I’m not pansying out at the last minute so don’t rob me of my glory! Looking back it was fun, and it was definitely adventurous, and we got great exercise, and we felt totally triumphant as we collapsed on the bed in the our stateroom, but walking to the cruise ship with luggage was about the dumbest idea ever. At least we can say we accomplished it! It was a fun ending to our wonderful mini vacation in Seattle.

Seattle is beautiful city and a pedestrian’s paradise. We had a lovely time and would love to go back!

And then it was time to board the ms Oosterdam and sail away with celebratory drink in hand!

Bon Voyage Seattle!