Hard to Believe

It's impossible to believe that we've been on the Pacific Ocean for
almost a week. We've posted some pictures at
http://picasaweb.google.com/margaret.stimson

Thursday

Our ship approached the Hubbard Glacier early in the morning on 

August 18th. We were early enough to find port side seats with a 

good view in the Horizon Room, a spot with many windows and 

comfy chairs on Deck 10.  Just as we were getting settled, an argument 

erupted amongst the passengers along the front windows on the bow. 

Seems someone was saving three seats which would remain unoccupied 

for the half hour prior to our arrival in the bay nearest the huge tidewater 

glacier. A tall robust woman with a long cane seated behind the saved seats 

took issue with the male passenger's effort to save good empty seats and 

in the end she got her way. Drama!  I saw a couple of other passengers 

cheering her on.

The Hubbard Glacier has been a highlight of this trip so far. As we 

circled the bay about a mile and a half from the glacier, one of two 

resident experts, Dr. Paula Smith, who has been lecturing in the theatre 

each day, gave a commentary on glaciers, global warming and Alaskan 

geography.  Within three hours or so, the captain steered us past the ice 

floes and bergie bits back into open waters. We headed south toward 

Juneau.

After his large lunch and breakfast, Harry skipped supper. Mum and 

I didn't. We thoroughly enjoyed a visit with a couple from Columbus, 

Ohio, once again underlining the fact that it is easier to engage with others
when you are a couple, not a family. Another delicious supper past, we went 

to the Movie Night show where ship's musicians matched music to movie 

clips and slides of popular movies, ranging from the silent films to recent 

musicals. 

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Friday

Juneau, the capital of Alaska, was shrouded in fog and rain when we 

arrived this morning. I heard a rumour that the sun did shine here earlier 

this month.

We dressed in our rain gear and headed into the part of town nearest the 

pier. Around the pier of Juneau there is the usual cluster of souvenir and 

jewelry stores dressed to look like 19th century shops complete with a 

(cement) boardwalk.  Luckily the boardwalk/sidewalks were handicap-friendly 

so we were able to move the wheelchair past them with no problem. Our outing 

included a trip to one of the Juneau bookstores for Harry who wanted to buy 

The American by Martin Booth.

In the afternoon, back in our stateroom, Mum and I tried to watch a 

dvd of the BBC version of Jane Austen's Mansfield Park but the 

production quality was so poor we enjoyed Jane Austen's Emma (2004) 

instead . They have a collection of 300 dvds on board giving us lots to 

choose from. 

Dinner in the Polo Grill was fabulous, especially because of the combination 

of exceptional service, fine view and one double martini. These perfectly 

prepared foods landed on our table -- crab cakes, escargot, Cobb salad, 

French onion soup, filet mignon, grilled asparagus, grilled tomatoes, creamed 

spinach, baked potato, potato au gratin, key lime pie. Neighbouring diners 

were celebrating an anniversary. The dining crew assembled around their 

table and sang, then two Filipino crew members and her husband serenaded 

the wife with a love song. That was fun. 

Mum and I went to the show in the Regatta... Maestro, a musical revue that

featured the music of Cole Porter, Ira Gershwin, Irving Berlin and Fats Waller.

Just before dark, the captain came on the public announcement system to tell 

us that the ship is being diverted to Wrangell instead of Sitka due to rough 

weather conditions. In the late night, we experienced a bouncy ride before 

we reached the sheltering islands of the Inside Passage and the pier at 

Wrangell, Alaska.