OaktownTraveler

Day 5:

The coach drive north from Vancouver to Port Hardy was lovely. The flowers, yachts and towns were beautiful. The 236(km) coach ride was nice.
I arrived in Port Hardy late in the afternoon.
I had reservations at The Glen Lyon Inn and Suites. This was a clean "walk-up" and the staff/owners were very nice people. They picked me and my three large bags up from the coach station. They gave me the 5 minute tour of the town.

My room had a balcony that overlooked the harbour. No one was out and about which struck me as strange. I wondered where they got those people in the brochure...

I had dinner at Alexanderos. Their efforts at making Greek Cuisine was strong and came out ok for this leg of my journey.

Tired from the day long bus ride and not seeing any signs of life I turned in early.
I had an early morning Ferry to catch...

Day 6:

Very early this morning I was taken to the Ferry Terminal of Port Hardy to board the QUEEN OF THE NORTH. The Queen of the North is the Flagship of The British Columbia Ferries Fleet.

My 15 hour journey through the spectacular INSIDE PASSAGE of BC's rugged west coast began aboard this beautiful vessel.

I had reserved a private seat in a private section of the ship. You needed a card key to gain entry. The service and staff were top notch.

We went through numerous points of interest. The visible wildlife: WHALES!!! and sealife were exciting.

I love lighthouses and was able to photograph a couple. The waterfalls and opportunities to simply relax in the calm quiet of it all was great. I felt at times as if I were floating in paradise.

The educational program on board was informative. Learning about black bears and brown bears...oh my!

The various decks and lounges were filled with interesting folks. The Inside Passage was actually quite warm. The intermitten fog and bouts of overcast added to the mystique of the Inside Passage...

The choice of movies offered was also pretty good.

I had also purchased a meal plan. This was a good idea. I had reserved tables for all three meals which were delicious!

The Queen of the North arrived in Prince Rupert at 10:30 pm.

What an awesome introduction to the Inside Passage...

I had made reservations at The Moby Dick Inn in Prince Rupert. This was a major mistake.
My assisned room had a filthy bathroom. The management did bend over backwards to move me and make this right. This is also not an "Inn". It is a one asterick hotel.

After they moved me the hotel had some guests that they noisily evicted between 1:00am and 3:00am! All that cussing and yelling was terrifying. Police cars and all that drama on my vacation had me steamed.
The immediate surroundings were also the stomping grounds for the town alcholics...I was mortified.

Kicking myself for having The Moby Dick Inn be my budget hotel spot I sucked it up and somehow fell asleep with two chairs and all of my heavy luggage up against my hotel door.

Day 7

This morning I woke up wanting my "pound of flesh" from the hotel folks. You know how the "day staff" is in no way "related" to the night staff? That was how it was here.

This morning I was greeted and handled like royalty. "They" had no details about last night and with a huge and sincere smile encouraged me and provided me with maps, suggestions and coffee to go and see the beautiful town of Prince Rupert.

Suspicious, but with coffee in hand, I went out and DID find the beauty of Prince Rupert!

I made my way to Cow Bay which has a lot of interesting history...and real tourist. I have never been so happy to see real tourist. Such a shame. It took a night in "travelhell" to make me appreciate the silly, giddy and safeness of tourist!

I had a delicious lunch at Smiles Seafood Cafe which had a neat view of the mountains. I lavished an Oyster Club Sandwich!
I shopped, met people, laughed, went to The most impressive Northern British Columbia Museum, toured the Sunken Garden,watched the Crab Boats and walked the Harbour.

The weather was beautiful and The Moby Dick Inn was the furthest thing from my mind!

That evening I headed to The famed Waterfront Restaurant for a late dinner. It did not get dark until 11:30pm!

The Waterfront Restaurant is "all that" but,a large group of "very-self-important" people were having dinner near me.

I did my best to tune them out but what can I say? They were arguing and carrying on something terrible.
I was writing in my journal during dinner and sadly prounced Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada as a big travel "no-no".

While writing and reflecting and eating some real tasty food, a family near me started screaming(!)...They strated screaming at the above mentioned people telling them how rude they were and that they had ruined their family vacation dinner and that they should be ashamed! I quietly agreeded.

The table of folks were sooooo drunk they started laughing and making fun of the lady and her family.
The family walked out and chastised the management. I was actually stuck in the corner. Well, it was my requested corner table with a beautiful view...
The management came over to me and begin to apologize. The drunks said that "I" was ok.
I remained silent while the drunks and the management got into it about me being "ok"....surreal to say the least.

Turns out this table of drunks were high ranking "Officials" with the BCFERRIES...
They did not leave but told "the restaurant" that all meals and drinks were on them!
I could take no more so I got up to leave too. I told the drunks that I was going to the powder room...

Management called me a cab and offered to have me as their guest for breakfast and for dinner the next day. I said yes to breakfast and off I went...back to The Moby Dick Inn...I should have asked them if I could just stay at their expensive hotel and then we could call it even!

After more journaling, postcards and travel reading,I willed myself to sleep and be ready to vacate the Moby Dick Inn premises first thing in the morning!

Whew! More to come...

Oaktown Traveler

OaktownTraveler

Ok, I will keep the rest of this trip on this thread...makes sense!

SMILE

I am off to my weekly lunch with my girlfriends. We are going to South America this year for a few weeks. I am the lead planner.(surprised?)

The preliminary seeds for that journey are found on the Latin American threads under DREAM TRIP TO SOUTH AMERICA.

Bye for now!

Oaktown Traveler

traveler24

I LOVE your narrative--
I can just picture you sitting in your room with your luggage piled against the door!!!!
I travel solo a lot and I have felt the same need to barricade the door...
Keep the travel-log going...

gyppielou

thanks for the memories~!~~~~~~~~~~~

Scarlett

This is so entertaining!! More more!!
and could I please either borrow your mom or go with you next trip

ellen_griswold

Please, continue! I love your style of writing!

Plus, Alaska is one of our dream destinations someday when we finally have an empty nest....as there is NO WAY our two will EVER join us there for a summer vacation adventure. I received a similar response when i suggested it, "Are you on drugs mom?!!? We have winter here over 3 months a year - why would i wanna vacation THERE?!"

Our july '02 vacation that included snowy banff and jasper must still be fresh in their minds....

Looking forward to your next installment, OaktownTraveler!

OaktownTraveler

Back!
Was on a road trip...excuse my delay

Day 8:

Up early I loaded all of my luggage on the buggy and proceeded to check out of The Moby Dick Inn.

A "new" day person was working the desk this morning. He informed me that management had comped my first night and was extending their apologies for the condition of the bathroom.
I thanked him and asked if I could store my bags until time to board my Cruise/Ferry to the INSIDE PASSAGE!

This guy led me to the storage area and watched as I threaded my motorcycle cable lock through my bags.
He asked if I needed a ride to the ferry. I said yes,I plan to get a cab. He said "I would be glad to drive you." I drew back, started to move out of the storage room and politely asked if the manager was available.

With a real uncomfortable grin he announced that he was the manager!!!!!

For some reason I had a strong urge to take another shower. I wanted to call the police but thought more of it as they probably had their hands full with the local folks.

I thanked him and said that I would be fine without his "ride"...

I made my way back to the infamous Waterfront Restaurant for my "free" breakfast. The breakfast was delicious and quiet!
After buying a few postcards I stopped at The Museum of The Firefighters which was pretty neat.

I returned to the Moby Dick Inn and the girl from the day before was on duty. She apologized to me for the sleazy manager and said in general how sorry she was for what I had experienced during my stay.

As I drove away I got happy and excited because I was once agian on my way!

Luggage Check, Customs and Immigration from Prince Rupert, British Columbia to ALASKA was tough!
I was glad because if their toughness would work to keep the kooks away from me and my wonderful trip then so be it!
I had one bag too many but the deal was if they could do a complete search of all the contents then I could proceed.

Deal!

They did not lay hands on everything packed but felt that I was "ok" to proceed back into AMERICA!

I had decided to try the Alaska Marine Highway System. This is aslo known as "The Poor Man's Cruise" or The Big Blue Fleet etc.

The price, flexibility and itinery choices were perfect for seeing all of the INSIDE PASSAGE and the Ports of Call.
I boarded the Marine Vessel TAKU.
The TAKU holds 370 passengers and has many of the amenities of a cruise ship.
The one thing I missed was the formal night.
The service and staff were excellent. They even said that if I wanted to dress formally for dinner that I surely could!

With two nights of CRUISING I booked a cabin...ok, a Berth. My room was private with a private bathroom. The room was a nice size with, two beds, a desk, chair, and large closet that fit my luggage. To top it off I had a large window that looked out onto the Seaboard side!
The TAKU did not have a promenade deck that went around the sleeping quarters.
How lucky was that!
This seclusion allowed for the time in my cabin to be "pin-drop" quiet!!!
This "Cruise Line" provided you with all the fresh towels you wanted. The sheets were changed both days.

Once un-packed I threw on a white sundress and hit the Sun Deck! It was nearly 80 Degrees on the INSIDE PASSAGE.
I was barefoot and so glad to be back in the USA!
I enjoyed the Naturalist who told us all about The Tongas National Forrest.
I also learned about the languages of Alaska.

Over the next two days I would spend time in KETCHIKAN, WRANGELL, PETERSBERG and SITKA. On average this sailing gave you 5 hours at each of the above.

I understand that this was unusual. I had enough time to see the things that I wanted to see. Shop for things that I wanted to buy and so on... You did not need 5 hours in some but, that was ok too.

I truly enjoyed all of the highlights of these ports. On this Cruise you could get off and stay longer if you wished. You simply caught the next vessel...wow!

There was some fog along the INSIDE PASSAGE. It was hot for the days and cold at night.

I saw more whales, lighthouses, birds, waterfalls, the lush forests and tranquil fjords. I had more educational nature talks and films than I could have wished for.

The people were nice. Their was a range from back-packers to those like me who wanted an "optional-cruise".

The Boat Deck was lively with its cocktail lounge, dining rooms and large Forward Observation Lounge.

I can say that the INSIDE PASSAGE is beautiful. My last night was kinda sad but I was kinda anxious to get on dry land for time in JUNEA, ALASKA...

My sleep was excellent and the food was tasty. I was ready for day 10 of my journey.

Gotta go for now.

Oaktown Traveler

OaktownTraveler

Day 10:

WOW! Early this morning I arrived in JUNEAU, ALASKA!

I was a bit concerned because I did have all those bags(3) of luggage. No worries...the folks of Alaska are very helpful.

I really hated leaving my "cruise ship/ferry". The INSIDE PASSAGE sailing was simply magical...

I arrived at my hotel, The Westmark Baranof Hotel, in Juneau right around breakfast time. My room was not ready so I went into the restaurant for breakfast. I had a really expensive crab benedict that did not taste that good...no worries. I decided to listen to the business men who were chatting about Alaska politics...

The hotel staff was top notch! They got my room ready as quickly as they could. They had a large group leaving and a large group checking in. Both groups were a part of a "real" cruise line.

My room was good. I had a view of the Harbour and the hotel windows opened right into the sunrise...

The Harbour view allowed me to see all of the large and expensive cruise ships. This particular day their were five cruise ships in the Harbour.
Later I would find out the good news about this and the not so good news about this.

Once settled I hopped on a city bus and headed straight to my: FIRST GLACIER of many.
The MENDENHALL GLACIER was magnificent!!!!
What a fabulous sight! The educational exhibit at the glacier was excellent. The movie that was provided was informative.
Because I was traveling independently I was able to stay, enjoy and play for as long as I wanted at the MENDENHALL GLACIER.

I did tear myself away and took a bus back to Downtown Juneau.
Here is the part about the cruise ships...

With so many ships the sidewalks were sooooo crowded. I enjoyed this for a few hours but after a while you could hardly walk two steps without stopping to let others by.

The line for the Mt. Roberts Tram was long so I window shopped instead.
Magically, maybe a few ships were leaving, the lines dissolved and the widewalks cleared up...yes!
Another thing happened that left my jaw hanging...the stores...all of them closed, shut tight, just like that!

I was informed that the shops in JUNEAU opened and closed pretty much around the cruise ship dockings and departings...

I cheerfully got on the now empty Mt. Roberts Tram. The view and the vista were something special.

I saw my first Bald Eagle! He/she was in the trees just looking at me with the same intensity that I was looking at him/her.
I finally remembered to take his/her picture...a few times!
Breathtaking experience. I was grinning like a fool when I reached the top of the Tram ride.

I was hungry. Remember breakfast was not the best. I got a neat corner table with a sweeping view for my lunch.
I could see the sea planes, cruise ships, other boats, colorful houses and others coming up the Tram.

Lunch was nirvana! I had a corn clam and seafood chowder that was off the charts good.
I also had 1/2 of a fresh crab and a Summer Ale!
Over the next few hours I ate, drank and caught up on my journalling and post cards and mapped out the other things that I wanted to do in Juneau.

I finally took the Tram down the mountain and decided to walk to my hotel.
I took a short but much needed nap. I decided that I was going to mail home a box of clothes so I began sorting things.
When I travel I pack two outfits per day so I had 20 sets of clothing that I could easily mail home.
I also mailed home all of my purchases and things that I had collected within these first 10 days of my 30 day journey.
After all this "travel-work" I took a long hot soak in a very large tub I got dressed up for My Salmon Bake Excursion.

The Salmon Bake Bus comes and picks you up at your hotel or cruise ship as part of your reservation. I was not that hungry but wanted to experience my first Salmon Bake anyway.
The Salmon Bake was about thirty minutes away from downtown Juneau so I got to see more of the Alaska scenery and other points of interest that the bus driver pointed out.
Other folks got on board so we talked about Juneau and our respective travel plans for the near future.
The Salmon Bake was fun and delicious.
We had live "Alaskan" music and a storyteller.
The Salmon was made with a yummy brown sugar sauce. The cook made mine pink in the middle(lightly cooked) so I was very happy. There was tons of other food.
Our Salmon Bake site had a nice nature trail and a stream with a lovely waterfall at the end.

We were warned about the bears who had been coming real close to animals and people all summer long.
This reminder curtailed my walk somewhat. I did not want to deal with Mr. Bear so soon in my journey...

For dessert we roasted marshmallows and this party of 6 that I happened to be seated with, they bought another round of beer for everyone.

On our way back to Juneau these folks convinced the driver to take us to The MENDENHALL GLACIER. I was fine with seeing it again. He did just that.
We all wound up taking pictures and fishing for ice and just having a really fun time.

Once back in Juneau this group invited me to join them for another nightcap. I politely declined and so off they went to the TERRIBLE Red Dog Salon(more about this later).

I absolutely forgot that it does not get dark or dust in Juneau until around 2:00am or something bizarre like that!

I pulled my "blackout" curtains tightly across my hotel window and tried in vain to sleep for the night.
I kept looking at all of the beautiful cruise ship lights. My morning their were 7 ships in the Harbour!

Bye for now!

Oaktown Traveler

OaktownTraveler

Day 11:

JUNEAU, ALASKA...

I was up very early this morning. I was on the sidewalk by 6:30am. I was trying to find something light to eat for breakfast before my day long cruise to...TRACY ARM!!!!

I only found one place open and I got a cinnamon roll and some Chai Tea.

Nervous, because I would be on a small boat (holds 40 folks) for nearly 11 hours, I took my sea sick medicine and went to the small harbour to locate my vessel.

I had decided to take The Adventure Bound to Tracy Arm. The decision making criteria had been massaged months ago on this and another travel board.

I secured a window seat next to a grandmother and her teenage grand daughter. They were nice and friendly.
The grand daughter it turns out was being home schooled. She was actually working on her math during this incredibly journey...

TRACY ARM is outstanding! That one word just does not even begin to explain the experience.
The huge glaciers were very active. They were popping and calving and creating waves so large that our boat played "keep-away" for hours. We would then sail back inward toward the glacier...hear loud popping like gun shots, scream (men too), scan the entire face of the glacier, point our camera's and TRY to shoot the picture of the massive falling ice!!
We would then cheer, laugh, give each other high-five's and wait for the next pop and do this whole thing all over again!

We saw all of the various birds, flowers, waterfalls, ice bergs, some with beautiful natural sculpture forming...
This excursion was brilliant!
Much of what I saw ws indescribable...

The Adventure Bound folks served us lunch that I think I paid for. We had drinks provided and the staff was topps!
They narrated at the right times and educated us when we were willing to stop hooting and hollering at the massive and beautiful glaciers...

When I got back to Juneau it was close to 7:00pm. I hit a few shops that were open...thank goodness for the cruise ships.

I was pretty hungry and had wanted to dine at The Hangar Restaurant.
I had been erroneously told that since I was a party of one that I did not need a reservation.
I bathed and changed into another lovely and bright sundress as the weather was an unusual 77 degrees at this hour.
Juneau was experiencing an unusual heat wave and no one was complaining.

I got to The Hangar Restaurant and oh boy this had to be vacation central because everybody was here.
I made my way to the Hostess...a very young teen who seemed to be quite focused on her pals in the bar.
She told me that I would be seated in 2 hours...I drew back and asked why? She said well, we try and get all of our couples seated first and then if something opens up and we do not get a larger party that has to make their cruise ship then we can seat you...

OK, I hit my PAUSE button, pressed my REWIND button and with my squinted eye I pressed my internal PLAY button and said...Yup! May I please speak to the manager?
She said sure...ten minutes later the manager arrived...she was maybe a few months older that the hostess which is also very relevant.
I reviewed the above dialogue with her and she said: "Yes, that is correct."
I literally scratched my neatly combed head and tried to inform "them" about how this discriminates against single people, single travelers and so on so forth.
They continued to seat couples and parties while I stood there talking to the "wind".
Finally, they said: "We are sorry but, doesn't your hotel have room service?"
See, now that is where the "youth" thing was relevant.
Now upset and beyound hungry I asked for the owner.
The owner happened to be upstairs and not at his other restaurant(more on that later).
Exasperated and now the focus of attention... I explained all of the above.
He apologized for being "so busy" but said that I could sit at the bar OR in the bar and order if I wanted.
Well 30 full minutes had elapsed since I stepped in the door and this offer at this time was not what I had in mind.

I said that I did not mind waiting in the bar but agian, when could I get a table?
The owner said let me check...He actually came back with a CRUISE SAILING TIME LIST!!!
He seriously proceeded to tell me when the Crystal, Holland and Princess ships would be sailing out and why that was relevant to me...:A table or two would be opening up for sure when those ships were ready to go!

Yes, I could have left and yes, I forgot that I was on vacation and that I was suppose to keep having fun...guilty.

At 9:40pm (!) I was seated for dinner.
I know cause I was writing like a mad woman in my journal. The food was delicious. I ordered a crab and artichoke dip and a spinich salad.
I had two large glasses of red wine while I waited and thought it best I stop or else me and the owner were really going to "talk".

My table did afford me a view of the beautiful cruise ships and I could see all the people rushing to meet their deadlines to be on board their lovely vessels...

I sat and wrote for while. Before I left only the bar was in full swing.
The owner actually came to my table.
He apologized for my incredibly long wait. We talked about my travels. I was sure to not tell him my whole plan.
Turns out he owned or had influence at another top Restaurant in Juneau called The Twisted Fish. He told me that whenever I returned to Juneau that I could eat there "on him".

I easily walked back to my hotel. Two of the staff had invited me earlier to go out dancing with them. I decided to go. You can still smoke inside the bars and clubs in Alaska. I really enjoyed myself but was having a hard time inhaling all that smoke after an hour or so.
I was also watching my alcohol intake and had accidentaly left my drink unattended so I quietly called it a night.
The staff stayed after I told them I was fine walking back to the hotel.
Being solo I took all the necessary precautions and walked back to the hotel. It was still kinda light outside despite the late hour.

Safetly in my hotel room, I thanked God for his gifts and mercy and then I crashed into my first real deep slumber in 11 days...

Bye for now!

Oaktown Traveler

gyppielou

wonderful!!! your story is a great break in the day!

OaktownTraveler

Dear gyppielou

Thank You! I thought I had lost ya!

I am multitasking but, anticipate another installment soon.

Your enjoyment and encouragement are appreciated.

Oaktown Traveler

Ani

Ya-great so far! Looking forward to the next installment!

traveler24

Enjoying your trip--keep the narrative going....

OaktownTraveler

Day 12:

I had a brilliant sleep!

The weather in JUNEAU was very hot. I pulled out the short pants and headed toward The Salmon Hatchery, The Brewery and to The Glacier Gardens Rainforest Adventure!

It was a lovely Sunday morning and folks were out and about. I had decided to take the city bus to the above sights so I headed to the bus stop.

What I saw next stopped me right in my tracks. The United States Post Office was open and staffed...It was SUNDAY!!
I detoured inside and asked: "Are you really open?"
The guy laughed and said: "If you want me to close I will..."
I told him that I would be right back and he said take your time, I have nowhere to be...

Remember I had selected things to be mailed back home? By now I had a total of 22 outfits and quite a few purchases to mail back home.

With my arms full of three very large and overstuffed bags I made my way back to the Post Office.
This guy got me boxes, at no cost,tape and great conversation. We mailed two large boxes home. I felt pounds lighter and gave a little thought to my aversion to "packing light".

With this very important detour out of the way I only had time for the Rainforest Gardens.
The bus ride to these lovely gardens was enjoyable. The Glacier Gardens are quite colorful.
I signed up for the tour via golf cart.
My driver was fun, funny and provided relevant facts.
The tour actually takes a while so I am glad that I had decided to do this instead of all the other things at this time.
I met some real neat folks from...some of the cruise ships. It was funny listening to them rag and brag about their cruise. They seemed impressed that I was on a solo journey for 30 days.

Hungry, I had skipped breakfast, I took the city bus back into Juneau and made my way to the Red Dog Saloon...

The Red Dog Saloon was initially a good choice for lunch. I waded through the sawdust and found a semi clean table.
Service was deplorably s-l-o-w. People were actually standing up with their checks in hand trying to get someone to take their credit card etc.

I eventually got served. Another woman came in by herself. Tables were hard to come by so of course I invited her to share a table with me and she did.

It was great to dine with someone. We were both trying to figure out what it was about The RDS that had some guide books,travel boards and some travelers calling this a "do-not-miss"...

Turns out her husband was in Juneau on business and she came along. He was a very high ranking US Government official. We talked about Alaska and figured out that she and I were both going on the afternoon excursion with CAPTAIN LARRY to WATCH WHALES!!!!

We were having a ball. I told her that I had to run to my hotel and get on some long pants etc. She said go ahead and I will wait here for you.

I got up and this waitress, who came out of nowhere, actually placed her hand on my elbow and said: "Hey, did you pay your bill?"
Taken a back I said "yes, my friend is going to give you a credit card and we have actually been waiting for you to come by."
I had given my new friend my cash. My new friend waved me on, pointed to her watch...we did not want to miss our sail with CAPTAIN LARRY so off I went.

When I returned to the RDS my friend was standing, crying and a policeman was there!!!!!

Shocked, I ran to her and asked her what happened? Through her tears and with the help of the really uncomfortable police officer she explained that the waitress had accused her of credit card fraud!

She further explained that in her attempt to protect her credit card that she had signed the already computer generated and approved sales slip and lined out the numbers and expiration date for her credit card that was on the slip.

This terrible waitress started screaming at her and telling her that she could not do that and that she was going to call the police on her.
The few remaining patrons were leaving slowly with their heads down.
One tourist said to my new friend that she too had witnessed the whole thing and that if she needed her in the future to contact her. This tourist then turned to the waitress and gave her a stern earfull about how wrongly she had treated this woman.

The alleged "owner" arrived on the premises. He totally defended the waitress even though the police officer, myself and this lady were telling him that they were wrong about this. WRONG!

This went nowhere. One guy at the bar got up and said that he would tell his cruise buddies to not patronize the RDS because he KNEW that the incident was racially motivated. He added other conversation that I can not put here.

I was devasted for her and for me. I had not thought the incident to be anything but outrageous. My new friend did happen to be a really beautiful African American woman.
The attitude, actions and behavior of the waitress and alleged "owner" did seem well off the charts and before we left the TERRIBLE RDS I too sadly concluded that this was indeed rascism.

The Police Officer was sad , mad and helpful. He did share that Alaska simply did not get very many people of color("blacks") and that the RDS had other similar complaints filed against them. He said sadly, people are here on vacation so they move on and the complaints are not evaluated beyond that.

My new best friend's husband also happens to be powerful beyond belief!
The embarassment, humilation and shame that was put on her did not get dropped by them.

She wrote me over the holidays and told me that ten of the patrons who were there on that awful day totally
cooperated with the large investigation that her spouse started.

Some of those cruise folks, happened to be retired judges, lawyers, civil rights activist and just good ole USA citizens. Turns out they had nothing to do but help!
My friend also wrote that "things" worked out really well for them...really well.

Believe it or not I was so upset I almost cancelled my eagerly awaited trip with CAPTAIN LARRY...

My new best friend apologized and said that she simply could not go. I understood. She was great though. She insisted that I go and would not hear of me missing this whale watching excursion of a lifetime...

We exchanged numbers, hugs and said a prayer. A little weapy and mad I went back to my hotel and waited for my coach to pick me up to take me to CAPTAIN LARRY'S WHALE WATCHING EXCURSION.

Our lively coach was filled with folks who were very excited to see Captain Larry and the whales. I begin to get my excitement back because of all of them.
Once we got to the dock I was still trying to push the incident out of my head.
I got on board and shook Captain Larry's hand. He looked a little like his picture but had shed a good 75 pounds. He was the epitome of cool. He is also cute!

He asked where I was from and when I told him he said: Oh, I remember you.
(I had talked with him when I made my reservation.) Your the lady on the 30 day journey. How has it been so far?"

Ok, you know how the one bad thing can overshadow your whole trip? un, huh...
I tearily blurted out the RDS incident.
He patted me and said now don't take this the wrong way but, what the "L" were you doing in their in the first place? NOBODY goes in their from Alaska! He shared other RDS tales of horror and said how sorry he was. Captain Larry also knew my new best friend and her husband. He radioed back to his office and asked them to call her to reschedule her trip with him.
He laughed and said they have no idea who they "messed" with. We laughed and he said now, lets go see some whales!!!!!!

Did we see whales or did we see whales!!
We saw group after group after group of whales. They were blowing, chasing, flipping, jumping, showing tails, humps, fins and doing everything you could imagine.
I was elated. I shot a roll and a half of film. The folks on my boat were great. We were wet as all get out by the time Captain Larry finished with us!

INCREDIBLE and worth every single penny!

On dock some fishermen were gutting and cutting their catch for the day so I got pictures of them and with them and their fish.

Once back at my hotel I took a long hot soak in the tub. I had made plans to dine at The Twisted Fish tonight.
It was a little drizzlie but I walked anyway.
The Twisted Fish is the restaurant that I was promised a complimentary meal so I was ready to eat up Alaska!

The Twisted Fish was crowded but remember, I had clout!!!
Well, I still had to wait but not like last night.
I was given a great table with a view opposite the beautiful cruise ships.

I boldly ordered a delicious bottle of Penfolds, Semillion, Chardonay.
My salmon pizza and spinich salad were very good. I had a yummy dessert that I can not remember...oops!

This evening I took a nice and slow walk back to my hotel.
I had much to think about tonight...

Oaktown Traveler

Deborah

Glad to hear you enjoyed Captain Larry & Adventure Bound. I'm going back up in May to do both those trips, so I am glad to hear that they both met your expectations! More, more!

Ani

Awesome! Although I am very curious to know just what your friend meant by things turning out "really well" for them!

stormygirl

I'm really enjoying your travel tales. Thanks for keeping it all together so I know I'm not missing any!

gyppielou

OK Oaktown,

I'm responding before I even read your report because I just can't get past that first sentence....its right up there with "it was the best of times....." etc...

Folks, if you don't want to backtrack, it began, "I had a brilliant sleep!" A simply fantastic opening line to any novel.

gyppielou

Darling Oaktown,

You must be a troll since your adventure is larger than life.....kidding, I too have had larger than life experiences. Seems when you allow yourself to open up to the possiblities, anything can happen. That's why we mostly eat at restaurant bars while adventuring, you never know where that human contact will take you......FUN!!!!

OaktownTraveler

Whew Gyppielou...you had me going there for a few seconds!
So glad you are joking and having some fun with me.
Back in the "Fodors Olden Days" before registration I was called a troll by trolls so you got me! LOL

Whenever those REAL "human contact" moments occured during my travels(restaurant bar type things...)
I would say "WHY?, WHY? WHY?...ME!"
Finally caught a clue...it ain't about me.GRIN

DEBORAH:
You will be pleased with both. I tell you making those decisions was hard work! BUDGET QUEEN and other Alaska experts were sooo helpful.

ANI: I am sworn to secrecy...

STORMY GIRL: Glad to help you not miss a thing! I am also glad that you are enjoying the trip report.

My Best,
Oaktown Traveler