Alaska Cruise

Well, the trip went by quickly and now it is time to get back to reality. I must say it is good to be home.

I sincerely hope that you all enjoyed the blog entries and the pictures. It really is a cool way to share your experiences and I would recommend it to anyone.

Thanks for traveling along virtually and be sure to have fun and enjoy life wherever you may be spending your time.

We made a quick stop at the home of our friends Britte and Stu in Park City, Utah.

Although the visit was super short, we had a wonderful time as always! Cocktails on the deck overlooking the mountains and a fabulous dinner.

Thanks guys for putting us up for the night and your generous hospitality.

Enjoy the fuzzies and you're the best!!!

The last port of call was Victoria. We arrived at 6 p.m. and decided to take a tour of the Butchart Gardens. Talk about high maintenance! I can not imagine keeping the grounds in this shape - it would be constant care.

The gardens are made up of a multitude of flowering trees and plants. There is a theme for the different sections of the gardens (i.e. Sunken Garden, Italian Garden, Japanese Garden, etc.)

The gardens are lit up at night and they have special events during different times of the year.

We also had a short bus tour of the city. At night certain government buildings are lit up with small white lights.

On our way to Britte and Stu's.

Our ship docked in Ketchikan around 7 a.m. Dad walked around the city while I went on a Rain Forest Canopy & Zipline Challenge.

At the beginning of my adventure, we were geared up with helmets and safety harnesses. Attached to high tension cables, we were presented with obstacles, such as, climbing up to platforms located in the tall spruce, hemlock, and cedar trees. Once on these platforms we used our clips to navigate from cable to cable.

Obstacles that we encountered were walking over a log between 2 platforms, stepping on suspended ropes used as a ladder, navigating between platforms using 2 parallel horizontal ropes. We were approximately 135 feet above the forest floor (cool!!). Overall, there were 6 Ziplines that we flew to and from via the cables.

In the evening, we were invited to a special Captains Farwell Cocktail Hour. Of course we attended!!

When we arrived in Sitka, our ship was kept in position by using her engines and the anchor. We used tender boats to get to and from the shore.

Dad found the American Legion and we made a quick visit. They gave him a Sitka Post sign to display at his local post in Ohio.

While in town, we took a Sea Life Discovery by Semi-Sub excursion. This allowed us to learn about and see eel grass beds, giant kelp forests, jellyfish, crabs, rock fish, & shellfish.

The day was a little cool (57 degrees) with cloudy skies. The majority of wildlife in this Alaska town is Eagles and Sea Lions.