http://abderian.net/bj Sun, 17 Sep 2006 07:35:25 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en (Author’s Note: We lucked out again. Weather both days in Juneau was sunny and warm. Shirt sleeves or a light jacket were all you needed during the day. Evenings it cooled off fast.) Up a bit earlier than usual today as we are in the "white coded" group scheduled for an ... http://abderian.net/bj/archives/24 Woke up feeling pretty much as good as ever (no comments on that, okay?) and ready for our last two days of our cruise. We were scheduled to sail up Tracy Arm (a 20 mile long fjord) this morning to South Sawyer Glacier, but reports on the ice pack still ... http://abderian.net/bj/archives/23 Hard to believe we are almost at the end of this amazing trip. Today is Skagway, "Home of the North Wind" according to local Tlingit lore. Winds can be hurricane force here during the winter when the wind blows down off the Canadian ice fields. Temperatures stay well below zero ... http://abderian.net/bj/archives/22 Our captain had announced during his presentation earlier in the trip that this was the first year American West was granted permits (a total of six, I think) to take the Empress into Glacier Bay. Usually they have to off-load all of us onto smaller sightseeing craft. So glad this ... http://abderian.net/bj/archives/21 Well, what I hoped would be another great day exploring Alaska suddenly took a turn and went into the toilet. Literally! I haven’t been that sick in a very, very long time—and hope to never be again. Won’t go into details, but let’s just say lying curled up on the ... http://abderian.net/bj/archives/20 Got have a lazy morning today watching the Empress navigate the often one-way Wrangell Narrows. Literature says we will make 46 course corrections and pass about 70 navigation aids during this 22 mile passage. Didn’t arrive in Petersburg until around 10 AM. Then the Liekarring Norwegian Folk Dancers came on ... http://abderian.net/bj/archives/19 Time zone change as we head into Alaskan waters (set clocks back an hour), but everyone seems to be adjusting okay. Arrived in Ketchikan, our first Alaskan stop, early this morning and will stay until about 2:00 PM. Hubby and I were signed up for an optional shore excursion here: ... http://abderian.net/bj/archives/18 Today was another quiet, shipboard day of relaxing and visiting. Slept in until 8 AM and finally got up and around 30-45 minutes later. Hubby and I are usually night owls at home, staying up until at least midnight or 1 AM and sleeping until 8 or 8:30 AM, so ... http://abderian.net/bj/archives/17 Narrow channels and tree covered mountains. Spent the morning after breakfast on deck spotting eagles (look for the golf balls in the trees, those are the eagles’ white heads) and visiting with a group of fellow passengers, primarily the couples from Australia (R and L) and New Hampshire (B and ... http://abderian.net/bj/archives/16 Hurry up and wait again—this time for Canadian customs to arrive to check and make sure none of us were vacationing terrorists. My passport picture probably left them wondering. Customs was in a huge hangar size building built for the 1986 World Expo. You basically walk form one end to the ... http://abderian.net/bj/archives/15 Hurry up and wait again—this time for Canadian customs to arrive to check and make sure none of us were vacationing terrorists. My passport picture probably left them wondering. We docked at Sidney for customs, then boarded buses for a tour of Butchart Gardens and the Victoria area. What a beautiful ... http://abderian.net/bj/archives/14 Made it to the hotel yesterday with only a minor detour or two when we missed the turn to the hotel. Luckily, it’s big and we spotted it from a distance as we looped through the airport. Today, after a short walk to loosen stiff travel legs, we are now ... http://abderian.net/bj/archives/13