I got up at 5:00 a.m., to see our approach into Skagway. I’m naturally an early bird and like the tranquility in the early mornings. The scheduled wake-up call was at 6:15 a.m., with breakfast starting at 6:30 a.m.
Well, seeing was not going to be in the cards. our approach into Skagway was socked in by fog. So that very shot of the lighthouse earlier in the morning would have definitely been a wash.
We arrived to the dining room as soon as it opened around 6:30 a.m. I had the Alaskan Joe, an omelette with smoked salmon, capers and fresh sour cream on top. Carol had a Denver-like omelette with roasted potatoes, sausage links and an english muffin. Carol discovered that the sausage links were oddly spicy and had a almost spongy texture, and set them aside. Everything else was good though. The orange juice, for whatever reason was excellent, with lots of pulp.
We arrived in Skagway, along side the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry Halaspina. The Carnival Spirit and Seven Seas Mariner we left in Juneau were also docked along the railroad dock, where the White Pass excursion train pulls up right along side the ships.
At 7:30 a.m., we disembarked for our included tour; a city tour aboard the famous yellow taxi buses of Skagway. The drivers are women dressed in period clothing. During the tour, which simply heads up & down Broadway Street, the main shopping and attractions, very slowly, as the driver explains some of the history and value in the attractions. It lasted only about 20 mins. We were dropped off on Second Avenue, near the White Pass & Yukon Route Broadway Depot. As it was only near 8:30 a.m. and most of the shops were not open yet (they open for the big ships), we started by checking out the WP&YR deport, then strolled up & down Broadway.
We went into one of the few open stores, Lynch & Kennedy, which featured various native Alaskan crafts. We struck up a leisurely conversation with the store owner, who invited us to take a look at “Charlie.” Charlie in fact was a 20 lb soapstone carving of a brown bear. Simply beautiful, and a price tag to boot. We did purchase a couple things, then moved on.
We also spent time inside The Mascot Saloon, originally built in 1898, now operated by the National Park Service. They restored the interior to depict a typical bar scene during the gold rush period.
We continued our path back towards the ship taking pictures. We’d been to Skagway three times before and understood it’s retail purpose. The town was starting to fill up with people now (therefore, the big ships must have finally allowed people off their ships). Before heading back to our ship, we stopped at the local Starbucks … uh, well, it used to be a Starbucks. Now, it was just a coffee house that served Starbucks. So no Chai Frappacino for me.
Once we got back to the ship pier, I took several pictures of our ship and the larger mega liners. To get some elements in the foreground, I stepped over the guardrail to position myself. When I retreated back over the guardrail, my foot caught the top and my 200+ lb body went crashing down to the pavement. Carol let out a shrill I’ve never heard before. I was ok; the palm of my hand was scrapped up and I bruised my inner thigh, but I survived my wild Alaskan adventure (oy).
We returned to the ship and after washing up and tending to my cuts, we went to the lounge, where they were serving a lighter lunch fare. You could get one of their prepared sandwiches, like a BLT, or make your own. We both opted to make our own. Turkey and salami on rye with stone ground mustard and swiss cheese. They also offered a wonderful soup. It was perfectly satisfying to enjoy a nice, quiet lunch, while most other passengers were still in town.
During our transit down the Lynn Canal to Haines, the expedition leaders held a shore excursion briefing meeting in the lounge. As we already decided against any optional shore excursions, we merely listened out of curiosity. The one pattern I noted through several of these sessions was that people wanted to take more than one excursion, or the desired optional excursion conflicted with the included excursion. Many group were splitting up to take multiple excursions.
Our visit to Haines was going to be special. Now I’m not a big reader of books, especially fiction. I tend to enjoy instructional material, like computer manuals or photography how-to guides. I even enjoy real life accounts, such as biographies and topical history. So to tell you that I was excited to meet an author in Haines sounds a bit odd. Let me explain.
I am a frequent National Public Radio (NPR) listener and have been for almost 10 years. If it’s not the live local broadcasts, I listen via their podcasts. A little over a year ago, I heard a story from a resident of Haines Alaska, who told over everyday stories in the little town in Alaska. I was drawn into the stories she told. I then learned that the author, Heather Lende, had written a book titled “If You Lived Here, I’d Know Your Name.” I immediately went to me local library and read their copy. I was drawn in to the stories of the people in Haines through Heather’s interactions while writing the obituaries for the Chilkat Valley News. As odd as it sounds, it all makes sense when you read the book. Not morbid one bit, the stories range from humorous, heart-warming to heart breaking.
I had contacted Heather via email a month in advance to see if see would be game for a brief meet & greet. In her email response, she gladly accepted, even providing me with her cell phone number to contact her with once in Haines.
As we docked in Haines, I contacted Heather to see what time would be best for her after our included walking tour of Haines. Her response on the phone was of someone who didn’t quiet know who was calling her or what I wanted. I was nervous and embarrassed. However, she agreed to meet with us as 5:30 p.m.
We disembarked at 3:00 p.m. and joined our guide, Barb, a resident of Haines, on a walking tour of Ft. Seward, the last of a series of military posts established in Alaska during the gold rush era. Barb had a slightly unusual tuft of hair in the front that was rainbow colored. The tour was primarily uphill and we wondered how some of the cruise passengers would be able to complete the tour. One, in particular, had suffered a recent stroke and seemed to labor throughout the walk. Another sat on anything, benches, rocks, etc., as often as possible. As we proceeded with the tour, we were reminded (again) of the fantastic growing conditions, though brief, that plants have here in Alaska. Here it was in August, and a cherry tree was full of cherries.
Another point of interest was the Alaska Indian Arts Center, where totem poles were being either restored or carved.
Our guide then gave us the option to either go all the way to the top of the hill, where the various fort houses were, or take a different route, where a native clan house with totem poles were on display, We made a group vote for the alternative route. We found our later from other passengers that they wished they had taken our alternative route too. The gentleman that suffered the resent stroke could not continue and was escorted by a fellow passenger back to the ship. Once the tour ended, the other guest followed the guide back to the ship. As we had time to kill before meeting Heather, we decided to go on our own, retracing our steps and taking additional pictures.
Once back to the harbor, we walked to the end of the ferry pier, where there were benches. We took pictures of our ship and relaxed in the unscheduled sun bath.
We walked back for our meeting with Heather Lende. While we waited, the captain of the Spirit of Yorktown stopped by and chatted. He mentioned that he loves the quaintness and solitude of Haines, in comparison to the tourist Skagway. We agreed. We started discussing the famous milkshakes that were mentioned to us by our travel agent in Sitka. The captain agreed, touting that the Harry Race Pharmacy had the best milkshakes and malts around (we later learned that our travel agent was referring to Lane 7 in Sitka, a shack featuring hamburgers and milkshakes that was once part of a bigger building housing a bowling alley (ergo the name) across the harbor).
Around 5:30 p.m. a 4 wheel-drive vehicle drove up. Heather approach both of us with greetings, though slightly awkward. I felt like some star-crazed fan of some celebrity, when she was just a person like you or me who took the initiative to write about her life experiences. I asked her to sign my copy of her book, as well as take pictures with the both of us. She happily agreed to each request. We then spent the next 20 minutes just talking. Simply talking about the book, and her new book, similar in nature, but more about faith (not religion). She asked us what we had seen so far on our trip and where else we were headed. She simply seemed enthused about our travels. Our discussion ran the gamut, even drifting into politics. Both Carol & I are very non-political. We have our beliefs, we vote based on those beliefs, and that is it. However, through our trip, I couldn’t help noticing the influx of “Obama” posters in windows. We discussed Obama and his appeal in Alaska. It was just an interesting meetup with a charming individual.
We got back on board ship and freshened up a bit. Then we headed to the lounge. At the buffet, h’orderves were being served; chicken wings with a tangy sweet & sour chili sauce. The passengers went nuts over these, paying 2-4 visits to the buffet for more.
As soon as the ship departed Haines at 7:00 p.m., dinner was served. The offerings were wonderful; Lamb for Carol, Halibut for Dennis. Accompanying the entrees was a ginger soup that was wonderful as well. For dessert, the featured item was a lemon tart, which was nice. Our waiter, though, was a different matter. He seemed absent-minded and sloppy, compared to the professional waiter from our first night (we purposely sat at a different part of the dining room to promote meeting new people). The couple was dined with, an older couple of females, were fun and interesting. They too noticed the noticeably bizarre behavior of our waiter.
During dinner, I was approached by Jeff, our expedition leader. He told me that we’d likely be passing the Eldred Rock Lighthouse around 8:30 p.m. I was impressed that Jeff actually followed up on this inquiry from the night before (kudos Jeff!).
Right around 8:30 p.m., the four of us (myself, Carol, and our two dinner partners scrambled to the promenade deck. We could see the lighthouse in the distance, but it was so chilly and the winds felt like 30 miles an hour. So we staged ourselves in the hallway, with an eye out the window. After about 10 minutes, the lighthouse was close enough. We scrambled out on deck and started shooting away. The two ladies were having difficulty in timing their shot when the light was on. It was hilarious; 4 people huddled together, three all bundled up, one (me) in just shirt & jeans, shooting away, battling the winds. The couple thanks us repeatedly for telling them about this great attraction.
Instead of heading to the lounge for the evenings presentation on glaciers, we retired early after a very long day. We listened to the audio of the presentation via channel C of the cabin’s intercom system. Shortly thereafter, we both drifted to sleep.
