Reminiscing: Alaska 2018

Our third time up to Alaska came about by happenstance … we had some “play money” from Celebrity Cruises and we were going to be in the Seattle area, the jumping off point for at least some Alaska cruises.

This trip just took us to the Inside Passage to Alaska’s Panhandle … on Celebrity Solstice … roundtrip out of Seattle … and only one week length. Too short really for our travel-taste, but since we were using a future cruise credit issued by the cruise line for inconveniences we had experienced on a previous cruise, we weren’t about to complain too much.

Despite the shortness of the cruise, we had a wonderful time. I mean, we were visiting Alaska. How could we not enjoy ourselves?

And the weather cooperated beautifully. Sure it was cool … still, not bad for June. Sure we had to layer-up for fickle weather. But we had a lot of blue skies and sunshine ... and no appreciable rain along the way … not even in Ketchikan, which often gets 140-160 inches of “liquid sunshine” annually … and where we got soaked to the skin in 2001.

We made fond and everlasting memories galore in Ketchikan. Majestic bald eagles flying and resting in large numbers near the cannery; hiking in Tongass Forest … with the entire path to ourselves as we explored the enchanting land that presented us with every shade of green; taking advantage of photo ops with the totems at Fox Lodge before eating a meal of most-tasty halibut fish & chips.

We made fond and everlasting memories galore in Juneau. Cruising up Endicott Arm on Solstice … with Dawes Glacier slowly appearing out of the mist; boarding a small boat from the ship’s gangway to get closer to the amazing blue snout of the river of ice … close enough to hear the snap, crackle, and pop of the pressure release; sighting eagles, whales, and a mama seal with her newborn on an ice floe; checking out Tahku breaching … OK, yeah, that’s a fountain; wrapping up another delicious halibut fish and chips dinner with an unusual spruce-tip ice cream … a local specialty.

We made fond and everlasting memories galore in Skagway … though we didn’t actually stay in town, but went for a drive up into Canada’s Yukon Territory. Enjoying amazing scenery along the Klondike Highway … stopping and going because not stopping simply was not an option … the overlook at Bove Island an especially favorite one; viewing the breathtaking colors of Emerald Lake … such dramatic beauty; being surprised by the sand dunes at the Carcross Desert ... who knew there was a desert there!

This cruise also took us to Victoria, BC, Canada. It was merely a service call … no time to explore too far afield due to our late arrival. We missed wandering around the Inner Harbor … a favorite place of ours. But we had something better to do … meet up with friends who hosted us for dinner at their home. Definitely more fond and everlasting memories.

Though our final port of call was in Canada, as Solstice turned its bow to Seattle, I couldn’t help but think of the words of a poet laureate of Alaska. I paraphrase, “Once you’ve been this far north, you never leave it completely.

So true. Once again, we had left bits of our heart in Alaska. We knew we would have to return someday to explore more of the 49th state.

Who knew then that it would take us only three years to do so this time. And that we would get to realize our dream of RV’ing around the state. Fingers crossed, in a couple of weeks we’ll be doing exactly that.

(I wrote a summary of this cruise ... with a number of photos. Link: http://2totravel.blogspot.com/2018/06/tracy-arm….)Read more