The Beginning
It is now 11:30 A.M. Eastern Time and we are winging our way from
Chicago to Vancouver. At the moment we are flying over a nice bank of
clouds (a, b,
c) Our flight from
Boston to Chicago was very good. That means it was uneventful and
arrived on time. One can expect no more nowadays. We even had an
extra seat in our row. We have one on this flight also and it would
be great except the jerk in front of me insists on putting his seat
all the way back. Ah well, it could be worse. So far, no drunk
passengers and no screaming babies. The movie on board is Miracle
which is the movie about the USA Hockey team that won the Olympic
title. Nancy is watching the movie and I am writing this drivel to
keep myself busy. But, I seem to have run out of drivel so I will
continue my narrative after we have been in Vancouver for awhile.
Day Two - Saturday - June 19
It is 2:07 P.M. and radio free Zoller is back on the air. Our flight into Vancouver was uneventful and I've already related how I feel about that. We got through Customs quickly, got a taxi, and were at the Sandman Hotel in downtown Vancouver in about forty-five minutes. The Sandman is a rather small Hotel but it is quite modern, the rooms are very nice, and the price is about one-third of that of the more major Hotels in the city. We stowed our stuff in the room and went out to see the city.
We did have an advantage since I have been here before. We headed down to a rather touristy set of streets known as Gastown. It is famous for a steam powered clock that blows out tunes on a regular basis. It has a bunch of touristy shops and places to eat. We walked around a bit took a picture or two next to the clock (a, b, c) and a picture or two next to a few other characters (a).
From there we went down to the waterfront and found where we will be departing on the boat on Sunday (a). Which, by happenstance, is adjacent to a beautiful hotel called the Pan Pacific Hotel. I had seen it before when I was in Vancouver for the ADEA meeting. By this time we were a bit tired and a bit hot. Leave it to us to be in Vancouver during a heat wave. One of the better aspects of this beautiful hotel is the wall to ceiling windows that overlook the harbor. By the way, the ceiling is at least two floors high so it is quite a view (a, b, c). The only comparable view I have seen was in the Regent Hotel in Hong Kong where there were also windows of comparable size but in that case you actually were perched over the water into the harbor. We sat in the hotel, had a glass a wine, and enjoyed the view. The next two pictures are panoramic views of North Vancouver as seen from the Pan Pacific Hotel. They will not fit totally on one screen so you will have to scroll as you look at them (a, b). The spit of land that juts out to the left is Stanley Park.
On the way back to the Hotel we noticed something rather odd as we passed the Vancouver Library. There were three people hanging from the top in harnesses and hurling themselves from the side (a). This apparently was a sanctioned (???!!!) rehearsal for an aerial interpretative dance (a) to be given at a latter time. Now, because of our system of laws and suits, that is certainly something you would not see in the US nowadays. So, back in the hotel we relaxed and then headed to Queen Elizabeth's Park. It would be difficult to express the beauty of this park so I will truly let these pictures speak a thousand words (a, b, c, d,e, f, g, h). As you can see one of the picture is of a set of statues with one individual taking a picture of three individuals as they make good use of the view. Wow, I do like people with a sense of humor. But, we had gone to the park because of a Gourmet Restaurant known as Seasons. Seasons is perched on one of the mounts in the park and the restaurant itself and the views are spectacular (a). We ate on the enclosed balcony with the breeze wafting around us. As we were about to eat we noted that a portion of the balcony had been closed off. So, without telling you why, I'll give you a hint. Aside from the fact that British Columbia and Massachusetts are both beautiful, what else do they share in common that no other place in the United States shares? Give up yet? There can be a legal wedding of two women in both places and that is exactly what we were watching and to a certain extent, participating in (a). Before I get to the food there was something else that occurred that was quite singular. As we were eating, a hawk swooped within feet of our table as it was being chased by three crows. Apparently they are in a territorial dispute.
Before I detail a list of a the food I have a picture of Nancy and myself on the terrace (a). For an appetizer we shared barbeque duck rolls with Asian spiced sweet chili and plum dip. For dinner Nancy had Dungeness crab cakes with sweet chili aioli and pineapple relish and I had wild salmon with shrimp risotto in a saffron sauce. The tastes were wonderful. We had wine and for dessert had a mascarpone cheese cake with apricot. We sat for almost two hours, ate, and enjoyed the view. If you ever get to Vancouver this restaurant is a real find.
Awoke this morning and headed down to an area of town known as Yaletown. This is a very upscale area along the water (a, b). It is simply amazing how much building is going on in Vancouver with this building primarily being high rise residential buildings (a). There seem to be a gazillion of these buildings with more cropping up almost as you watch. And these are not inexpensive places to live either. The amount of accumulated wealth in these buildings must be mind boggling.
While in Yaletown we stopped at a little place for breakfast (the building in back of the black car is where the little breakfast place was located [a]), made friends with the local inhabitants (a) and then hopped on the water shuttle (a, b) to head to Granville Island. Granville Island (a), aside from the more normal things going on and a huge cement plant, has a market place, tourist shops, a very large artist community, and some very expensive places to live. Some of these places are houseboats that are permanently anchored to the docks (a, b, c, d). The food market is one of the best I have ever seen (a, b, c, d, e, f, g). It beats the heck out of the market at Haymarket in Boston and is even better than the market in Seattle. There are shops for flowers, and meats, and fish, and spices, and condiments, and baked goods and, well you get the point. The market is right on the water so you can shop, get something to eat, and watch the world go As we ate I took in the view of all of the high rise residential buildings (a, b). And, after doing a bit of shopping, that is exactly what we did. We got a little something to drink and watched the boats on the water.
A trip back to Yaletown on the water shuttle and then some more walking, actually a lot of it, through Vancouver. Eventually we ended back up at the Pan Pacific for the view and lunch. Lunch was a Caesar salad and a cheese plate. This is a suggestion worthy of the show $40.00 a Day. This is a show in which you are shown how to eat three meals in a given city for $40.00 a day. The cheese plate was only about $12.00 and it was more than enough for lunch. So, for that amount, you can have a great lunch and one of the most amazing views possible. Well, almost. Today, as opposed to yesterday, a giant cruise ship was obscuring part of the view.
We again did a bit of walking to view the area around the hotel and then returned to the hotel to relax. At about 4:30 we headed over to Stanley Park using the bus. This park is one of the biggest arboretum type parks in the northern hemisphere. It is very nice with a lot of greenery but no match for Queen Elizabeth Park. One thing it did have was a very good view of the city and once again you can see all of the high rises, most of which in this area are used both for business and for homes (a). While at the park we stopped at a very nice fish restaurant which was unfortunately not air conditioned. So, we walked into the restaurant and quickly out. We hopped right back onto the bus and headed into the Gastown district where we found the Steamworks Brewing Company restaurant. It was right on the water so it had a great view and it was air conditioned. We had a dinner of garlic fries, a salad with chicken and Chinese peanut sauce, and a chicken and chorizo quesadilla. It provided a good break. After returning to the Hotel and resting awhile we traveled out for dessert and ended our day. Tomorrow, we will spend the morning just bopping about town and then 1:00 P.M. it is ship time.
A few last thoughts before tomorrow.
One -
I don't remember the name of the movie but there was one where no one
is allowed to live past the age of 30. Well, that describes Yaletown.
The only people who appear to be older than 30 are visitors. Yaletown
truly puts the "Yup" into "Yuppie" and the "din" into "dink" (double
income, no kids). Well, that is overstating it a bit. There are quite
a few people below the age of 30 with kids. Oh, and there are a huge
amount of dogs.
Two -
It was abnormally warm in Vancouver. If this is a result of global
warming then we are in for some bad times ahead.
Three -
In Boston we have a lot of ethnic groups and a lot of accents. We
have Irish, Scottish, English, Australian, French, Thai, Cambodian,
Chinese, Iranian, Lebanese, Israeli, Iraqi, Brazilian, Mexican,
Canadian, any number from the Caribbean etc. etc. etc. But, the one
accent I have never (to my memory) heard, either from people living
in the area, or from tourists, is German. Yet, in Vancouver, there
are numerous Germans who live in the area and many, many German
tourists. This information we learned from our waitress at the Pan
Pacific, who was German. There are so many German tourists that there
is a special session on the Norwegian Sun for Germans. In our area on
the East Coast this special session would be for various Asian Groups
and in Spanish.
Four -
There is a huge amount of traffic on the bay. Not in boats per se,
but in seaplanes (a). I
would say one lands and/or takes off every ten minutes at a minimum.
These planes take tourists to Nainamo and Victoria and shuttle people
to who knows where. It is really quite impressive.
Day Three - Sunday - June 20th (Song of the Sailor)
So, in the morning we went back to Yaletown for breakfast and to spend some leisure time reading the paper and talking to the inhabitants. We walked around a bit more and then at 1:00 P.M. boarded the Norwegian Sun. Boarding was no problem what so ever. My first impression of the inside of the ship was that it was Las Vegas without the whores, smoke and the drunks (a, b). But, being that there is a casino area, and many places to drink, it is possible that the drunks might appear later. You may not smoke in main gathering areas on the ship. With respect to the ladies of ill repute I just won't comment further. There is background music playing incessantly whenever you are not in the room. It is sort of 70's - 80's semi rock in an easy listening format. So, basically, it is the type of music that would never darken my radio for any reason whatsoever.
Out of the choices for lunch we decided to sit down in one of the restaurants rather than going to the pig out, whoops, sorry, buffet. Nancy had orichette with shrimp and I had a Chinese marinated duck salad. We were going to take a guided tour of the ship but even though the guide was irrepressibly cheerful she spoke so softly as to make it impossible to hear her. We took our own self-guided tour and located the important sites for eating and some entertainment. Unfortunately, being it is post 9/11, no tours are given of the galley. That is something I really wanted to do but it will not occur. As you walk around the outside deck you are bombarded by individuals who want to "give" you a drink. It should be mentioned that each drink costs a minimum of five bucks.
There is a large area for Internet use but I really do not want to get onto the Internet because I might be tempted to check on work and no good can come of that. At 5:00 P.M. we must be at certain areas so we can learn what to do if the ship starts to sink. This reminds me of the sagely advice of what to do in case of a nuclear attack. "Bend over and kiss your ass goodbye."
Our room and balcony are really quite nice (a, b, c, d). You can also, of course, sit out on the deck and enjoy the view (a, b, c). Sitting out on the balcony can be a very pleasant experience because it is shaded and the temperature, even with the heat, is quite pleasant. I am sure that when we get more North we will need sweaters or jackets on the balcony. But, we have a rather noisy kid in the room next to us so use of the balcony might be somewhat restricted. The good news is that we had coffee delivered to our room via room service. The bad news is that it was rather wretched. All in all this is not an auspicious start to our journey. But hey, the journey has not even started yet. There is more than enough time for improvement.
It is a little later and improve it has. We are presently leaving Vancouver harbor (a, b, c). We passed a pile of some sort of mineral that was astounding yellow (a). The ship passed under a bridge (a, b, c, d), past some sort of lighthouse (a) and out to sea. We have met the neighbors with the noisy child and they are attempting to control their little pipkin (a). We have wandered about a little and started to get the lay of the land --- whoops --- ship. It is now close to 7:00 P.M. and so it is time for dinner. There are many places in which to eat on the ship. But, as I have indicated before, we are choosing to eschew the trough method of eating. One of the restaurants in which you can eat is the Pacific Heights. This is a restaurant that features lighter fare for those who are both health conscious and calorie conscious. The room is well done with white tablecloths and napkins, silverware and a good selection of wine. When we arrived there were all of four tables taken out of about thirty available. This compares to the all you can eat buffet which was a pulsating mass of humanity.
This concept is really good but the taste, at least for the main courses, does not live up to the potential. It is a well known precept that when trying to replace creams and other fattening, but tasty ingredients, one should add spices and textures. This restaurant adds some, but not much, of either.
The appetizers were actually quite good. One was mussels in a tomato based sauce with just a hint of hot pepper. It was very tasty without being overly spicy. The other was salad with new greens, walnuts and gorgonzola cheese. The salad was good but there was an excess of vinegar that pooled in the bottom of the bowl. The salad would have benefited from a little bit of extra virgin olive oil.
The main courses were rather bland and not cooked extremely well. One order was two very thin pork chops with applesauce. There were green beans, a carrot wrap around them, and a cabbage roll. The beans and carrots were good. They were crisp and warm. The pork chops however were overdone and tough. I would guess it is because they were attempting to cut down on the portions. However, this could have been accomplished, and to a better effect, if there was a single thicker pork medallion rather than two very thin chops. The other dish was perch with vegetables cooked en papillotte (sp?) in a paper sack. This is the dish that would have been well served by a bouquet garnii or other spices such as thyme, cilantro, rosemary, garlic etc. etc. Rather than a rather bland dish this could have been, with a little imagination, quite extraordinary.
The menu does not change from night to night. It was also strange that in a restaurant that promises low calorie fare, it starts the meal with a bread bowl offering. This could have been substituted with low fat crackers or pita.
In conclusion, this restaurant is certainly many steps above a buffet that is made to fit everyone. But, it does not live up to the quality that would be expected in a restaurant of its type in Boston.
After dinner we headed back to the room for a little constructive relaxing. At about 9:15 P.M. out we went to the foredeck to watch the sun go down (a, b, c). As you can see, it was spectacular. This was the perfect day to do it because in two days, the sun will be going down at 10:30 P.M. and rising at 3:00 A.M. At 10:30 P.M. we used some of the calories we had not consumed at dinner and had a small desert and coffee and hit the sack.
Day Four - Monday - June21 (Bounding, Bounding over the Sailing Main)
It is morning and we have left the inlet and are heading out into open water. It is still quite smooth and I have not yet needed to take any extraordinary chemical measures for my aversion to the sea. We hopped out of bed and went to the fifth floor which essentially is the lobby. From there we headed to the 11th floor and out onto the deck to watch the sea roll on.
Breakfast was taken in the Four Seas restaurant. Once again we chose lighter fare as Nancy had some buckwheat pancakes and I had a small frittata.
It is now about one hour past breakfast and we are entering into an intense area of fog (a, b). Within a few moments we went from open sky to being totally enshrouded.
Well, today we are on ship all day and it is a good thing I brought stuff to do. (NOTE TO PAUL - MY SUGGESTION IS YOU ABSOLUTELY BRING YOUR COMPUTER). Activities on board this morning consist of talks about where we are going and the trinkets one can buy, how to keep healthy, exercise classes for the crazy and for the infirmed, bingo, other methods of gambling and other absolutely stimulating events of this sort. There is also a cooking demonstrating at 10:00 A.M. It is now 10:30 A.M. and I did go. It was amazingly basic so I left. Oh, the view is still nonexistent since we are still in a dewy fog, or is that a foggy dew? Ah well, it is the same for all intents and porpoises. At 11:00 A.M. there is a sushi demonstration. I am hoping it will be better than the cooking extravaganza.
I just got back from the Internet area. I wanted to be able to print something out on a printer but it is just not possible unless you go via email. They only have Internet capability. They do not have Word, Excel or anything else like that. So, if you want to do anything else on a computer you must bring your own.
In so far as staying in touch with the outside world there is a T.V. in the room where you can get CNN news. You can also get various newspapers for $3.75 a paper. Myself, staying out of touch is something I would like to do.
So, I am at the Sushi demonstration. Again it is pretty standard and actually they are making Sushi rolls that are not really Japanese. However, they are also making some authentic sushi and sashimi. But, they are doing it so quickly that it is really not helpful as a learning tool. Also, they guy who is speaking is running a constant advertisement for the Sushi restaurants and other high end restaurants. Oh, did I not mention that all of these high end restaurants charge an additional fee on top of what you paid for the cruise? At the end of it all it is worth it. Why you ask? Because I am getting free samples of some Sushi grade tuna and some sashimi. So, sitting through the bilge was worth the product at the end.
It is now 12:15 P.M. and we are still carving our way through fog. The sun every once in awhile makes a valiant attempt to come out. So far, it is losing.
They make a huge point on board that they want our opinion. So, who am I to refuse them? What I was trying to print out was the restaurant evaluation included above. Through some constructive begging and Internet legerdemain I was able to accomplish it. I gave it to one of the people at the registration desk who thanked me profusely and said it would be given to the head chef at the Pacific Heights who would be in touch with me. So, I am taking bets. At this point of this journal dear readers, who thinks I will get that call? My bet is that they will avoid me like the proverbial plague. And, before Mom and Dad think it, I will say what they are probably thinking. "And who could blame them?" Ah, I am sorry. I am sure this thought crossed Paul's brain also.
It is 1:30 P.M. I already had my Sushi lunch and Nancy went to the cooking demonstration and stayed so she had "lunch" there. We are still plowing our way through the fog. The sun burns its way through intermittently. When it is foggy it is rather cool. I like it. When the sun comes through it zooms up to the high seventies. As you can well guess, that I don't like.
I thought we would be the youngest people on the cruise. Thankfully that is not the case. The ages range from children to older individuals. Met a nice guy from the Midwest. He and I discussed sushi and computers. I spent some time just looking out the back of the ship at the wake that was made by the ship (a).
They claim to be very serious on this ship about preventing spread of sickness. At all of the large venues for massive amounts of food (read Buffet), in order to enter you must place disinfectant lotion on your hands. This was also true when we initially entered the ship. No such precautions are taken in the non-buffet restaurants. They even have a sign suggesting that you not shake the hand of anyone on board. Also, sneezing and coughing is absolutely prohibited and punishable by eviction.
It is now about 4:00 P.M. and the fog is breaking in a spectacular fashion (a, b). You can see the fog bank. You can see where it begins and where it ends. It is literally breaking up before our eyes.
Tonight is the only night that people are encouraged to dress formally and attend the Captains mess. And to encourage the participation of the assembled multitude bribery is involved. Anyone who attends receives hors deorves and a glass of free champagne. As a result of this the entire lobby is packed to the gills. And, considering we are on a ship, how appropriate that is. Being the smart individuals we are, we are avoiding this scene like the proverbial plague. Instead, we chose this night to go to one of the high end restaurants where you have to pay a small amount ($15.00 per person) above what you pay for the cruise. This restaurant is East-Meets-West that is called an Asian fusion restaurant. To explain what fusion cooking is let me bring it to a logical level. From the high and snooty, fusion cooking is where you mix one type of cuisine with another. But, from my perspective, although I do love it, many of us have been doing it for years. It is called, making do with what you have. You have the makings of some Chinese chicken. You look in the cupboard and lo and behold, you have no rice. But, you have some left over vermicelli. You make the chicken with a little extra sauce, ladle it over the vermicelli, and ta dah. You are now a fusion cook.
Having said that it should be noted that the meal was simply amazing. It was a fine example of the saying --- "you get what you pay for". Actually, in this case we got more. Again, as last night, the room was impeccable with fine linens etc. We had numerous people to serve us. They were there when we needed but did not hover. The maitre D came over and engaged us in conversation. So, the atmosphere was great.
But atmosphere does not make a meal. Food makes the meal. For appetizers Nancy had a Dim Sum composed of steamed pot stickers, fried egg rolls, curry puff and sui mei. I had a teriyake duck salad with candied pecans and papaya in raspberry vinaigrette. As opposed to the previous evening where the salad was not done well, this salad was prepared perfectly. One main course was a sizzling Szechuan encrusted beef tenderloin steak with gingered shitake mushrooms and stir-fried bell peppers. The beef was drizzled with a hoisin glaze. The other was a Moroccan spiced 5-rib lamb rack with a Tajine of Thai eggplant, cherry tomatoes and three onion cous-cous. Because these dishes were so good there would be only two ways to eat them. Either wolf them down or dawdle over them in the hopes that this would increase the enjoyment. We chose the latter.
We had wisely not eaten any bread which left us room for desert. This consisted of a tempura chocolate cake with caramel fudge sauce (Nancy) and a red wine poached pear with mascarpone and pistachio nuts. I am running out of superlatives so I won't bore you with any more.
A little aside here. Most of the staff is from foreign countries and many are from the Phillipines. I am sure you have been present when Happy Birthday is sung at table side. But, this evening it was the anniversary of a couple two tables down from us. As a cake was brought and and placed in front of the woman, five of the staff, all foreign, sang in a distinct accent, Let Me Call You Sweetheart. It was so cute. It was definitely something to remember.
Eating dinner rather late, we left the dining room and headed to the foredeck to again watch the sun go down (a, b). There was a cloud cover so although it was nice it was not up to par compared to the previous evening.
Day Five - Tuesday - June 22 (Bet you can Ketchikan)
Did you know that according to many natives of Alaska the:
Do you know how Ketchikan got its name? Many think it is an Indian name. That is not quite correct. After trade had been established between the natives and some English settlers, the natives realized that these first "tourists" could be taken for large amounts of goods. So, in their rough English they said, "catch them for everything you can". The English thought that they had said, Ketchikan, and thus the name stuck.
O.K., we did hear the first three statements. If you believe the last one I have some land for you and you are just the person to buy it. Actually, Tongass and Cape Fox Indians fished from this area and called it "Kitchk-him" with the meaning being somewhat obscured but thought to mean "eagle winged river". Ketchikan is on an Island and comprises about 2% of it. There are about 14,000 year round residents. It is about 8 miles long and two miles wide. Here is the ship at the dock in Ketchikan (a). The primary businesses in Ketchikan ßused to be logging, mining, and fishing. It still has Salmon hatcheries and some mining and logging but its primary industry is tourism. But, the reason I dreamed up my little story is that as soon as you arrive in Ketchikan you immediately see the dozens, and I do mean dozens, of tourist shops (a). There are the normal crud shops. But, surprisingly, at least to us, Ketchikan has at least a dozen fine jewelry and diamond shops. I simply can not imagine coming to a city such as this and buying such expensive items. But, they must make a profit or else they would not exist. Here is a panoramic view of Ketchikan from the ship looking out over the dock (a, b).
However, in spite of the tourists, it lately has suffered a calamity. I learned about this calamity from a fellow who was minding a bookstore. Both Nancy and I love to go into independent bookstores and this one was great. I had a long discussion with the guy at the counter. The discussion ranged from music, to art, to baseball and to coffee.
Part of this discussion was about the calamity that is called Walmart. Since Walmart has graced the presence of this area an entire mall of independent stores has closed and 12 stores in town have closed. You might wonder how Walmart, which is 4 miles from the center of town, might have such an effect on the center. It is because as you approach the dock, there are shuttles from the Walmart to take you there and apparently many people do just that. Pardon this little editorial but in my opinion Walmart is a carrion that eats away at the flesh of communities. I applaud Vermont for having the foresight in saying that Walmart must keep away.
Another large chain has "invaded" this town and Juneau but the effect has been very different. First, it was greeted with what can almost be called hysterical applause. Second, when it opened in Juneau, 17,000 people out of a population of 60,000 went to it the first day. Lines were almost half a mile long. And, drum roll please, that chain is McDonalds. The people up here are absolutely bonkers for McDonalds. People flew in from outlying villages so that they could pick up burgers, eat some, and bring the rest back with them. By the way, this is McDonalds specific. When a Burger King opened in Ketchikan it closed almost as quickly. The Burger King was situated near the water. The problem was that when the placed the Burger King they did not account for the ferocious winds in this area (I can personally attest to that and will expand upon that later). They placed the drive through so that it was essentially one big wind tunnel. As meals were handed to people the meals just blew away down the street. As our tour guide said, this gives a whole new meaning to fast food.
While walking through the city we posed with a few friends (a, b). Ketchikan is beautiful and literally flows from the mountains into the sea (a, b). We exited the ship and as we went down the gangplank we saw two people dressed as eagles perched at the bottom. They were attempting to get us to pose with them and then we would be charged money to get the picture. We could not avoid them but made it clear their efforts were in vain. We walked across the street along the dock and up into a business district.
In this business district and in this town, and others in Alaska, there is an interesting deviation from the normal. There are a lot of places on the streets where very tall flights of stairs take you from one area to the other. Matter of fact, some people get to their homes via these passageways and not via the paved byways. What is interesting is that these flights of stairs are called streets (a, b). Not only are they called streets, they are treated as such. The city clears them of snow so that they can be traveled.
We also found a large tree which seemed to have peas growing from it (a). These are not peas but are the beginnings of flowers. The tree is called the Golden Rain since the flowers resemble that color. They must be spectacular in bloom.
The only downer in visiting now is that the salmon are not running. Here is a picture of one of these streams in which there will be salmon at a latter time (a). Since there are many streams in which the salmon do travel when they run we would have been able to see it in late July or early August. But, it would have been hot and it would have been prime mosquito season.
If you ever want to travel and not worry about being cold you should travel with us. It seems in almost all of our travels we are at a destination when they are having record heat. This occurred in Great Britain, in Montreal, in Vancouver and now in Alaska. It was almost 80 today. In speaking with a gentleman on the boat about this he said that we must be one hot couple. O.K., I'll buy that. Now it has cooled off and it is great.
One thing we did not get was rain. And, this is rather incredible since it rains in Ketchikan 300 days out of 360.
There are some beautiful houses along the waterfront. Like in any other area these houses are quite pricey.
The ship docked in Ketchikan at about 6:00 A.M. We awoke at about 6:30, ate a light breakfast, and ventured forth about 8:00 A.M. We did a quick reconnoiter of the area (as indicated above) and then decided to take a duck tour. Although it was not cheap it was worth it. The young fellow (Josh) who was our guide had the necessary whacko sense of humor and a typical topical patter. First we took a loop around the town as he pointed to some landmarks. We actually knew of these since we had purchased a book for self-guided walking tours. Then, onto the water we went. We passed one of the boatyards and got some great pictures of the boats in the harbor (a, b, c, d). The highlight of this little cruise was boating right past a salmon cannery. This cannery tosses out little bits of excess critter into the water. Because of this, and the many pilings in the area, it is a place for bald eagles to gather and there were about a dozen in plain view (a, b, c, d, e, g, f). The tour took about 90 minutes.
Finishing the tour we headed up to the salmon hatchery and museum of totem poles. Each of them charged a fee so we decided not to use our funds in such a manner. We were able to see the totems from the outside and had learned about them from the guide and read about them in books (a, b, >c, d).
I was able to get Josh aside for a second and asked what he, a 20 year old guy, does on the weekend. You see, there is only one movie theater in town and it was playing Shrek 2 and another PG film. There are a few bars but that would be out of reach for someone his age. He told me that he and his friends head over to the adjacent islands where the "restrictions" of being in Ketchikan do not apply. You can fill in the rest from there.
Hiking back to the boat we had a light salad for lunch and then headed back into Ketchikan for some shopping. I got a souvenir cap for all of $3.00 at one of the crud shops. We then went to a sort of tourist shop on the bottom floor and a hardware store and clothing store on the top floor. The tourists primarily stay on the bottom floor. We headed to the top floor because it was suggested in one of the books. Amazingly enough Nancy found a beautiful sweater for a very good price and I bought a pair of pants. Now, that is excitement. Whoops, left out the fact that Nancy also bought some underwear.
In town there is a museum of Ketchikan and an adjacent book shop (a). Nancy found five books which she will be able to use in school and because she is an educator she received an educational discount. I found a book of old pictures of the area. Much of the area is built on land fill. This is because it had to be raised for if it wasn't it would be covered by water during high tide. There is a great picture of a baseball field (a). There are other pictures from Ketchikan in its earlier days (a, b). We were told about the baseball field on our duck tour and I found the picture on a wall. When you played on this field you had to understand that sometimes the game would be called due to high tide and the field being completely covered by water. Who ever was ahead at that time won. The bookshop in which we purchased the books was actually in the area of the ball field. Since the time of the ball field, through the use of landfill, about one quarter to one half of a mile of land had been added, pushing the sea back the equivalent distance.
We are now on our way to Juneau and just passed a logging area. It looks like someone took an electric razor and cleared away tall stubble from part of a heavily bearded face (a).
Another interesting fact is that the island is composed of almost all granite. Although as you saw from the pictures there is a lot of growth on the island, this growth occurs even though there is only six feet of top soil. This means roots of tree spread horizontally rather than vertically. It also means these trees are notoriously unstable and in strong winds can fall without warning.
It is now almost 4:00 P.M. We left Ketchikan at about 3:00 P.M. and are now enroute to Juneau. A thought at this point. We are presently sitting on our balcony watching the world go by. Getting the cabin with a balcony was worth every penny.
At 7:00 P.M. we went to the Four Seasons restaurant for dinner. You need not pay extra for this dinner. It is a sit down dinner in an elegant setting.
A little aside here if you will. Tonight I was reminded of what a smart move we made to book a cruise where we have free style dining. That means that we can eat by ourselves, in any of the restaurants we choose, and can move around as we wish. Again I realized that if I had been stuck with some loud, obnoxious jerks during dinner, I might have resorted to violence or leapt off the ship. We arrived at the restaurant and were seated at a table adjacent to where the wait staff was assembling the silverware settings and plates. There were constant clanking sounds. So, we got up and asked to be reseated. As we waited for a table a patron of the restaurant was in a heated discussion with the Maitre D. The staff, in its attempt to please everyone, seated a large, loud, and obnoxious party next to the table of this patron. He was, let us say, less than pleased. If there is any problem associated with this wait staff is that they do try to please everyone but do not keep track of what they have done. Thus, to rearrange a very famous quote from Star Trek, "The needs of the few subjugate the needs of the many".
When we arrived at our second table we faced the same problem. People at two separate tables adjacent to us were screaming across the intervening space to each other. One of them was threatening to heave a roll from one table to the other. So, somewhat exasperated, we went to the front and politely told them we would go to another restaurant. They asked why and we told them. They immediately said that they would reseat us and the third time was the charm. We sat in a section of tables where each table seated only two individuals. It was quite pleasant.
Now, onto the dinner itself. Nancy had sliced Cantonese beef on lettuce with a Chinese marinade followed by Salmon with a light tomato sauce on pasta. I had a tuna tartare for the appetizer followed by lamb with spring vegetables, roasted corn on the cob, and mashed potatoes. We shared a mixed green salad. For dessert I had their low calorie selection that was almond mocha parfait and Nancy had a poached pear with ice cream and chocolate sauce. The dinner was good. Not up to the standards of last night, but that would be terribly difficult to accomplish.
We spent two hours eating our dinner. This was because we wished to do such and not because of rotten service. I can't remember the last time we dined in such an unhurried fashion.
It is now 9:10 P.M. and although sunset is not for another 35 minutes the sun has ducked behind a large range of mountains. We have entered into another fog bank (a, b). Because of the fog the sundown is quite spectacular (a, b). Tomorrow is Juneau.
Day Six - Wednesday - June 23 (Do you know about Juneau?)
This day, alone, was worth the price of the trip. We saw things we will never see again and really cannot be adequately described either in words or pictures. But, although I will not be equal to the task, I will do my best.
We docked in Juneau early in the morning. In these pictures you can see a view of the moutains that directly abut the city (a), a panoramic view of a portion of the city (a) and the three boats and us that were docked (a). and after a quick and light breakfast we disembarked straight onto the dock which abuts the main street. Juneau is the capitol of Alaska but this was not always the case. How it became such is interesting and funny but rather than boring you with it I suggest if you are interested you find it on the Internet. I am sure it is there.
As with Ketchikan and Vancouver there are many seaplanes that are constantly taking off and landing. Here is a picture of Nancy next to one (a) and two other pictures of the seaplanes alone (a, b).
One of my missions once I left the boat was that I wanted to call Paul. Paul and I share what is probably not a very good trait. Once we get a burr under our saddle that burr must be removed before we can move on. In my case, the burr appeared at breakfast and although I got it somewhat removed, we were in an area in which I could use my cell phone, I knew Paul would want to hear about it. [Information for Mom and Dad - as you know, for more than a couple of years I was working on OSHA education for Boston University. Paul was, and is, in charge of regulations dealing with various foods and drugs].
As I think I explained previously, the people on the boat express a deep desire for sanitation. When you go to the buffet, prior to entrance on the buffet line you must use sterilizing soap and then you are only allowed to handle your own silverware and plates. So, far, this is so good.
But, I noticed, that in all of the higher end restaurants, when you sat at the table you were greeted with a full table setting. Then, when they ascertained what you were eating, some of the silverware was removed. And, get this, at least in some cases, it was being reused without washing. I thought this was absolutely insane. At least with respect to their stated aims of not spreading infection. So, I reported it. Now, when you report a complaint they know how to handle it. They are polite to the point of sometimes being over the top, and then, as far as I can see, your complaint is totally ignored.
So, I called Paul just to bitch and moan and have someone with whom to commiserate. He agreed with me that this method of infection control was crazy. But, I did what I could.
After calling Paul, Nancy and I took a little tour of Juneau. We went to city hall, up a few, and down a few streets. In doing such we passed one of the many centers for people to recover from drug addictions. Drug use in this area is rampant. We tried to go to a couple of stores where I might find old photographs of the area but it was too early in the morning. Juneau is proud that they grind some of their own coffee and the advertisements for that coffee are quite colorful (a). We stopped at the Heritage coffee shop and got a couple of cups of coffee. Did hit one bookstore where Nancy tried, in vain, to pick up some films about native Indians that would be appropriate for 2nd graders.
This brings me to another subject. We have had some difficulty sleeping. It gets to be 10:00 P.M. and half of you says you are tired but the other half says it is still light outside so why sleep. Yes, the sun does "go down" at 10:00 P.M. But, it is still quite light outside throughout most of the night. So, even after you close the shades the two halves of you are still battling.
But, back to our day in Juneau. We walked along the dock and saw a statue of a very famous dog (a, b). Apparently this dog, for years, would saunter down to the docks and greet the people coming in from the ships. In her honor they erected this statue.
At 9:30 A.M. we caught our tour to go to the Mendenhall glacier. It is everything it is cracked up to be (thank you for those enjoyed my pun) and more. [Note to Paul --- I would not have missed this for the world. But, do not take the expensive tour like we did. When you arrive in Juneau you can get a taxi that will take you there for a much, much, cheaper price. Actually, Nancy says it is a blue bus. But, you get the point.
Our tour bus brought us to the area that has the observation building, deck, and beach. I believe it is actually a state park but don't quote me on that. You can clearly see the glacier. In the pictures that follow are some close up views (a, b, c,d) and some panoramic views (a, b, c). and the many bits of small glacier chunks that have come from it (a, b, c). You know it is a glacier because portions of it are bright blue. It is really quite remarkable. By the way, the act of small bits of ice breaking away from the large glacier is called "calving". One of the guides told us that the "nickname" for the smaller bits is "burger bits".
It is actually quite sad. Glaciers enlarge and decrease as a result of a normal cycle. But then again, we are not in normal times. The global warming, that our government claims does not exist, has resulted in the glacier receding at 160 feet per year. Here is a couple of photos showing how much the glacier has receded in the past couple of hundred of years (a, b).
We stayed at the glacier for about one hour and then were driven to a salmon bake. It was rather hokey, and over priced, but the salmon was absolutely superb. Probably the best I have ever had. It was actually quite funny. As I approached the salmon pit I was asked by the cook and server, just as everyone else was asked, how I wanted my salmon cooked. With emphasis I said - rare. The server gave me a big smile and said, "you eat like a native".
We returned to Juneau and Nancy tried to get a sweater and I tried to get some prints. We both failed in our attempts. Walked a little while through the shops and got something cold to drink.
As we walked we saw a man eating in a bar/lunch place with his dog in the adjacent seat (a, b). Apparently they do this all of the time. Here is a shot of a house juxtaposed against the scenery in the background. It gives a very good perspective of how close the mountains are to the people who live in Juneau (a).
Back on the ship we prepared for what we assumed would be, quoting the great Bard, "sound and fury signifying nothing." However, the scenery as we were sailing along with spectacular.
We were scheduled to leave Juneau and then about 4:00 P.M. take a side trip up the Tracy Arm Fjord so that we could see Sawyer glacier. I figured that after Mendenhall what could this possibly hold for us. Also, I previously mentioned the fierce winds. By this time standing on the top deck required acrobatic skill and a lot of strength. The winds were sufficiently strong so that at times I had to brace myself against the wall or against the railing. But there were many hardy souls who persevered and the reason is that the captain of this ship is a wizard.
As we started traveling up the fjord larger and larger chunks of glacial ice started floating past the ship (a, b, c, d). The mountains around us which initially were covered with trees began to lose those trees being replaced by smaller foliage. This group of ten pictures is in temporal order and you can see you the amount of foliage on the mountains decreases (a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j). There were innumerable small waterfalls formed from runoff from snow and ice (>a, b, c). All the while the ship was being piloted so that it avoided the larger chunks although every once in awhile we would hit a smaller chunk. We then saw what I assumed was the glacier and it was impressive enough. But, I was wrong for just around the bend, and to the right, was a sight so magnificent that it made the Mendenhall glacier pale in comparison. We took a gazillion pictures. What follows is a bunch of pictures that again are in temporal sequence so you can get an idea of what we saw as we saw it (a, b, c, d, e). And now the glacier in full view (a, b, c, d). Literally a field of blue with snow and ice and chunks. I took many, many pictures of it but only here include a few. Nancy, being the intelligent individual she is, took some pictures of it through the protective glass of another part of the ship (a, b).
In and of itself it was absolutely breathtaking. Of course, almost being blown over by the wind did not help. We spent almost three hours at this glacier alone. We were able to see it from the deck, when we at dinner, and then from our room as we sat on the balcony (a, b, >c). It was absolutely unbelievable and unforgettable.
Returning from the glacier we saw more incredible scenes. One of them I include now shows a fishing vessel next to one of the icebergs. It gives a good perspective of the both of them (a, b, c).
As I was madly running back and forth across the boat and taking pictures I was joined by a cadre of people who were equally insane. I teamed up with this really nice fellow from Virginia. He lives about 2 hours north of where Sarah goes to school. He also has been in Boston a few times. He had been in the sun and wind so long that his face was burning red. I had some lotion for that eventuality so I went to the room and got him some.
For dinner we decided to give the lo-cal restaurant, Pacific Heights, another try. It did better this time. Once again Nancy had the mussels for an appetizer and I had Southwestern chowder. Nancy had a calzone for her main course and I had meatloaf. Yup, indeed it was meatloaf and it was somewhat tasty. For dessert Nancy had Mocha pudding cake and I had an apple cider pie. The nice thing about these dinners is that for each of us, the combined calories was about 1200.
Once again I got some incredible pictures of sundown. What I have done is made a panoramic view of them in temporal order starting from the top of the page to the bottom (a). You know, I might even be becoming blasé about these sundown pictures. Nope, I take that back.
Day Seven - Thursday - June 24 (I did it ---- Skagway)
Once again the scenery approaching Skagway was mind boggling. As we were entering into Skagway there was a slight mist hovering over the water (a). There are only 800 year round residents in Skagway. Yet, there is a potential that each day in the summer, seven cruise ships can dock at once. Thus, aside from the people who are imported each year to help service the tourists, the population of Skagway during the tourist months can swell by 12,000 people per day.
There were "only" four large ships docked today and we were docked the furthest from the center of town. In these three pictures you can see the four boats (Nancy is in the foreground (a, b) and you can see the large gangplank and walkway we took so me could disembark (a, b). It was about a half-mile walk to the center. They had a shuttle for those who needed it. We disembarked and began the walk towards the center of town. The town looked like a movie set for an old west town and I was therefore set to disregard it since I am not a fan of tourist fakery. But, as we were to learn in a bit, the reason it looks like an old west town is because it is actually a historic district and many of the buildings must be maintained in that fashion. In other words, the look is authentic. With that little bit of knowledge, I took some pictures of the city to keep for the future (a, b, c). I was surprised when I saw that Skagway, a town of 800, actually had a Starbucks (a).
The reason my mind was changed about the city is we took the advice of some knowledgeable individuals and upon entering the city immediately went to the U.S. Park Rangers Station for advice. We got more than advice. We got a 50 minute tour led by a Ranger (a). She brought us around the town, pointed out various historical buildings, and told us many stories of those who helped settle the town. This included an entire monologue about Soapy Smith. He was the local, well for lack of a better term, mob boss. He was killed in a shootout by the sheriff who died himself, twelve days later, from a shot from the gun of Soapy Smith. It would be difficult and space consuming to tell you more about this character. But, it might be fun for you to look it up on the Internet.
A fellow by the name of Moore (last name) actually thought of starting the city. The house in which he and his family lived is still in the city as are many other original edifices. We took many pictures of the historic site and views within the house. I present some of them here. If you are interested in historical pictures click on them. If not, then skip this area of the webpage (a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l, m, n, o. )The city grew because people thought they were going to find gold. The city essentially went from nothing to a thriving and thieving community in a period of two years. Within one year after that a railroad of more than 100 miles was built from virtually nothing. Within a few years after that the tenor of the city was starting to change from a lawless place of fear to a somewhat regular community where families actually wanted to live.
But it was the Skagway harbor and the Skagway railway that compelled the growth. When people quickly realized that getting rich via mining gold was not possible the methods of earning money changed to others types of mining and fishing. The city continued to grow and today its main method of earning money is through us tourists who descend upon it.
NOTE TO PAUL: As we were given the advice to find the Park Ranger station I give you the same advice (a). The 50 minute tour is very good and really places the history of the area into context. It is something not to be missed.
After the tour we walked around the town a bit and picked up some film I had dropped off to be developed. There is a curio shop, Kirmse's curios, that has been in town for many years. In the not too distant past the shops advertised by painting their logos on the side of the mountain. Most of the logos are obscured by trees but the one for Kirmes's remains (a, b). I don't know how many pictures I have taken on this trip. And that is not including video files and audio files. I think the pictures are now more than 250 but they could be even more than that. Don't worry, I will not put all of them into this report.
After our jaunt around town we went back to the boat and had a light lunch as we sat on the back deck. The next scheduled event was the Skagway railroad trip up the pass that many of the miners took. This is a 3 hour trip up and back as you look at the scenery and listen to a guide describe some of the high points of the trip. On a normal day the trip would have been superb. It is insanely expensive, $99.00 per person. But, as opposed to the Mendenhall excursion that was not worth it, this was worth it. Once again we took six kabillion pictures. I am including just a few. Amongst the pictures you can see that we were not the only train traveling up the mount. You can see the other trains that followed us. You can also see as we turned around and passed the train behind us. This is a tricky operation since for most of the trip there is only one track. You can only turn around at the top where there are two tracks and the engines are pulled from the train and then placed at the other end. Then one train very carefully passes the other and then passes it. Another picture of the group included shows a wooden bridge which very thankfully trains no longer ride upon. There are also various pictures showing the scenery (a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h, i, j, k, l).
The views are wonderful and the running commentary was fun. And, on a normal day the trip would be a lot of fun and very comfortable. But, this was not a normal day.The outside temperature was around 80 degrees and the railway coaches had no windows. It was as if you took a 3 hour sauna. It was fortunate that every once in awhile we were able to stand on the platforms between cars. Also, since we did not stop (except to move the engines from the back of the train to the front and vice versa) it was very difficult to take good pictures. We had a few individuals who hogged the available areas on the platforms to take pictures. And, because of their girth, hogging the available space is a very appropriate term. But, having said all of that, the positives of the trip far outweighed the negatives. It just would have been more pleasant if we could have made a few stops and if the temperature had been more moderate.
From the train we walked back into town and got something cold to drink. Then, back to the ship to relax and the off to dinner.
Went back to the Four Seasons restaurant for dinner. For an appetizer I had beef carpaccio on arugula with aioli sauce and parmesan. Nancy did not have an appetizer. For the main course Nancy had grilled swordfish with lemon-caper sauce, garlic-marjoram fried potatoes and grilled vegetables. She had a salad with greens and walnut oil with a marsala wine vinagrette. I had a Caesar salad. My main course started out being ravioli that contained pacini mushrooms, pork and cheese in a basil and saffron broth. The ravioli were very thick and tough and if the broth contained either basil or saffron it was microscopic. So, I was able to switch to a sautéed veal chop with portabello mushrooms and sage grilled polenta and vegetables. Nancy for dessert had a chocolate soufflé with warm Bailey's sauce and I had the low-fat Italian cream cake. Each night they have things labeled as low-fat. Whether they are or not is debatable but at least you feel a little less guilty.
By the time we got back to the room it was about 9:00 P.M. We watched the tube for a bit, wandered about for a bit, and then hit the sack at about 11:00. I actually fell asleep quickly. Great --- I've finally adjusted. This is just in time so that I can return to the East Coast and be messed up again. Ah well
Day Eight - Friday - June 25 (Wrangell - sorry, no pun)
Wrangell is that the least adulterated, by tourism, of all of the towns we have visited. I don't know how big it is but I do know that the year round population of Wrangell is greater than that of Skagway. This is in spite of the fact that Skagway is bigger in area that Wrangell.
We sailed past more mountains (a, b) and into the harbor of Wrangell (a, b). Upon approaching Wrangell it was clear that this town, like many others along the coast, had literally been carved out of the woods. It was also clear that as opposed to Ketchikan, Juneau and Skagway, there were relatively few tourist shops and the town was just what it was (a). It is a small town in Alaska. I think it remains such because the Norwegian Sun visits it once a week and another boat visits it once every ten days. And that is it. The town does not depend upon tourism. Its major industries are still fishing, canning and mining.
Having said that there are many poor people in Wrangell. We went to the library and spoke with the librarian. She was effusive in praise about the Head Start program and all of the children who are doing so well because of it. On the way back from the Petroglyph Beach (more about that later) we met a little girl who actually thanked us for coming. I hung around for awhile and spoke with her. She was waiting for her mother to come home and told us about the meals she was getting because of Head Start.
Unless you go on some of the more expensive planned tours, none of which interested us, what you mainly do is walk around the town and to some of the parks. And the town is sufficiently small so that you can easily do it in the six hours you are in it. Again, on the subject of the lack of commercialism, rather than being greeted by a row of junk shops on the peer, you are greeted by students who are selling bowls, various stones and little trinkets they have made. These students hung out in the covered small structure in the left portion of this picture that is marked by the asterisk (a). In the right of the picture is a building in which they cell camping equipment and coffee. This is also marked by an asterisk. Very different than the others cities we visited. In a way it is cute. In another way it really is a little sad.
We arrived at 11:00 A.M., disembarked, and headed to the city park that was about ---- well, I really don't know how far it was. Depending on whatever resource you used it was either 1.5 miles, 2.0 miles or 3.0 miles from the center of town. Thinking it was 3.0 miles we took a taxi there. The taxi driver was a hoot and a great source of entertainment. We went to the park because we had been told there were numerous bald eagles around it. We left disappointed for we only saw two and only briefly.
So, it was time to walk back to town. And, to our surprise, we saw a bald eagle sitting in the top of a tree. Still, it was somewhat far away but it allowed us a better view. We then walked to Chief Shakes Island. It is a very small island. I would say less than a quarter mile in diameter. You gain access to it via a boardwalk from the mainland. On the island is a native American building and some authentic totem poles (a, b, c, d, e, f, g, h). We looked at the totem poles and building and left. On our way back to the ship we saw other totem poles (a, b, c).
On the way back to the ship for lunch we saw a building absolutely budding with the Alaska state flower (a) and an Elks Hall. A chalk board on the front of the hall invited the crew of the Norwegian Sun to join them in the hall (a, b).
With aching limbs and empty tummies were returned to the ship and had a quick lunch. From the boat you can see the entire town (a). The next stop was petroglyph beach. We were traveling to it for two reasons. One, to view the petroglyphs and two, because this was another area which was supposed to be home for bald eagles. It was on the way to the beach that we stopped at the library and saw a totem pole in front of city hall. We also were able to see some of the homes (a).
While walking to the beach we saw this bed and breakfast with a clever sign on the outside of it (a, b). The walk to the beach was basically all up hill and once again we arrived with aching muscles. I think the constant walking over the past few days had begun to take its toll. Descending to the beach we saw a few petroglyphs on the rocks (a, b, c, d, e, f) but only a few solitary eagles and all of them were far in the distance. And then, as if a thunderstorm had struck, the eagles started appearing. One, then two, then three, then six. They flew around us and over us. They alighted in front of us for mere seconds and then once again flew around. It was like they were performing for us. I took many, many pictures .The eagles were flying so fast and coming in at such extreme angles that I was frantically clicking and focusing and adjusting. The eagles were still small in the pictures to you can see the actual picture and a blow up of the picture (a, b, c, d, e, f). The eagles are a little fuzzy, especially when they are in flight, but it is till worth it.
Walked back to the ship and stopped at a little coffee shop (a). Spent some time talking with the young lady who served us (a). Returned to the ship and watched as we left the dock. As we watched we talked with four people from Great Britain. They had traveled across Canada on the Trans Canadian Railway and then taken this cruise. Now - that is a vacation. We then indulged ourselves, for the first time, in having a really decadent and fattening desert. We both had bananas foster.
It is now 6:35 P.M. and the weather is overcast with the temperature being about 60 degrees. The clouds are hanging low over the trees and mountains (a, b, c). I find the temperature to be quite pleasant and this is what we had been told to expect for most of the trip. But, it is clear that if this type we would have experienced, our views and pictures would have been far inferior to what we were lucky to have had. All in all, in spite of the heat, we were very fortunate.
We just returned from going to the sports bar and having a drink after dinner. Dinner, at least in part, was at the Four Seasons. We both had an appetizer of sesame seed crusted loin of lamb with taboulleh salad, and a chili oil drizzle. Nancy, who tasted it first, noted that the meat was "a little tough". I found it to be inedible and so did not eat it. For our main course Nancy had a beef tenderloin and she said it was good. I decided to have two other items from the appetizer menu. One was a lobster mousse and the other was a lobster bisque. The lobster bisque was thin and mediocre. The lobster mousse was unremarkable and so I did not finish it. A maitre D came to the table and asked, as they always do, whether we enjoyed the meal. I asked if he really wanted to know and he indicated he did so I told him.
When we finished I was still hungry and so we went up to the buffet to check out the offerings. The meat offerings consisted of a mass of warmed over chicken, fish and shrimp. As an example of their cooking expertise, we noticed that they had key lime pie. Of course the "key lime pie" was tinted the most exquisite shade of green. Really, with respect to the food that is not served in the high end restaurants, that is the ones for which you must pay extra, the best I have found is they serve a very good peanut butter cookie filled with peanuts.
So, for the rest of my dinner we went to their other sit in restaurant in which you don't have to pay extra, the Seven Seas. They were serving virtually the same food as in the Four Seasons so I ordered the beef tenderloin to go. I figured they could not ruin something so basic and I was correct.
Tomorrow we are on ship the entire day as we sail to Vancouver. The only thing we really should do is attend a session at about 10:00 where disembarkation procedures will be discussed. Aside from that we are free to do as we wish. So, my penultimate entry will be late tomorrow.
Day Nine - Saturday - June 26 (Still ship shape)
We received an entire pamphlet on how to get off the ship so we skipped the disembarkation talk. It is now 10:45 A.M. We are sitting in the sports lounge with a great view of the open sea. Two large cruise ships are sailing off in the distance on the port side. One is sailing in the same direction as us and the other is traveling north. The assistant cruise director just got on the intercom to tell us that the free cruise bingo game is about to start in fifteen minutes. As hard as it will be for us I do believe we will skip it. The day is overcast and cool.
It is now 5:45 P.M. and we will be going to dinner at about 7:00 P.M. The first day we were on the ship we hit no ports and the day dragged. Today we were on the ship all day and it flew by. "And they spend their time trying to slow the circles down". We are sailing extremely close to land at the moment. You can see the individual trees and a logging area (a, b, c). You can also see a logging boat (a). The sea actually has a light chop to it. This is the roughest, if indeed you can use that term, the sea has been.
At the moment I am feeling rather melancholy. It seems that only yesterday we flew into Vancouver. But, I guess that is an indication of how much I enjoyed the trip. I would like to come back to some of these areas again. But, I would not want to do it by cruise ship. It was a good experience to be on the ship. But, there are many other things that I wish to do in the next few years.
The phone just rang and my blood pressure elevated to new levels. All I could think of, well, you know the thoughts that went through my mind. But, it was not a call from someone off of the ship, it was a call from someone on the ship. It was a call from the concierge. Get ready for this one troops. The executive chef had indeed read my comments and wishes to meet with me at 8:30 this evening. I am thrilled. Stay tuned on this one.
It is now 9:20 P.M. and we have finished what, for many reasons, was a memorable dinner. We again went to East Meets West Restaurant. This is the high end restaurant (requires an extra charge) to which we had gone previously. They seated us and the staff claimed to remember us. This is vaguely possible. This restaurant is not heavily booked (more on that later). However, I do think, and this got increased credence later, that they have your room numbers in a computer system and so are able to track who comes to the restaurant. Nonetheless, it is nice to be welcomed.
We were seated at a table by the window but the water was somewhat choppy tonight and there was a bit of a bounce. We moved to one of the tables situated on the inside wall where there was little or no bounce. Two waitresses came to serve us and the assistant Maitre D came over to assure that we were happy. For her appetizer Nancy had a warm vichyssoise with smoked salmon and poached quail egg. I had a tuna tartare with two types of caviar. Simply amazing.
As we were finishing our appetizer the assistant Maitre D (Roger) again came over and this time presented us with a small bottle of warm sake. We gladly accepted. At this time we didn't know whether we expected to pay or not. After all, we had already ordered wine. But, this was complimentary. I thanked him in Japanese - Domo Arrigato. We then got into a discussion of Japanese culture and phrases and he taught me how to say you are welcome - doitashimashite (Doi tashi mashi te (pronounced tay)). He said an easy way to remember it was, "don't touch my mustache".
For the salad we had the marinated sliced duck on assorted greens. For our main courses Nancy once again had the Szechuan beef (see full description earlier in this tome). I had the Sansho peppered veal T-Bone marinated in sake, along with buckwheat and Thai basil risotto with a garlic chive jus. These were wonderful with layers of tastes and incredibly tender.
As we were eating the chef who was in charge of all of the specialty restaurants was touring the room. His name, appropriately enough, was chef Daniel. He stopped over to the table. We spoke about the cooking demonstrations that had occurred, some cooking techniques, some of the dishes that were cooked, and how his staff worked in the restaurants. He must have spoken with us for ten to fifteen minutes. We got into some nice technical and gastronomic stuff.
But, now comes the part that gives me the feeling that our room number had been noted and passed along. Within a few moments of chef Daniel leaving, the executive chef of the entire boat, the fellow who we were scheduled to meet at 8:30 P.M., came over and sat down next to us. He is chef Jason Drysdale and is from South Africa. He said he had read my comments and actually agreed with some of them. But, the "Cooking Lite" menus they use are not just a theme, they are a registered trademark. The staff must use the exact menus given to them by the corporation. He cannot change the menus without agreement from the senior people on the line. I certainly understand his dilemma. From there we just started talking about the higher end restaurants and we were effusive in our praise of East Meets West. He said it was his favorite of the restaurants because of the innovation in the menus. We also noted that it was rarely full or even close to full. He ruefully agreed and said that some people on the boat were put off by that same spirit of innovation. They would go to the high end French and Italian restaurants because they could immediately identify with the food. He also said, in a somewhat rueful tone, that they also would go to the "banquet restaurants" as he put it. We continued speaking about different cuisines and food preparations. He also stayed at our table for about 10 minutes. We concluded our discussion with a hearty handshake. Now, that is a memorable end to a trip.
For dessert we had two cappuccinos and a millefeusse with coconut cream sauce. Ah, what the hell, every once in awhile you must forget the diet.
So, it is now 10:05 P.M. and I am still sitting out on the deck typing. The sun has gone down but it is still light enough for me to type and the sun is going down (a, b). I was able to get a great picture of the moon and mountains (a).
A few closing thoughts on the trip as a whole and the cities we
visited: