Day 20: GLACIER BAY, GUSTAVAS, ALASKA

At 4:00am I could hear my "Inn-Mates" getting ready for their fishing trip.

My "guys" were going to be fishing every day for a week.
The cost of even a one day trip of fishing left me speechless...

I slept for another hour because I had an all day excursion myself.
I would be spending my day on The Four Seasons Marine seeing all of GLACIER BAY NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE!

My shuttle picked me up and whisked me off to breakfast at the larger property.

At 5:45am it was still dark as night which was strange because of all of the day light that I had experienced in the other parts of Alaska.

Breakfast was good and fast. Everything this morning was rushed and a little strange. I am sure it was the lack of any signs of day light...any.

The shuttle had to rush to get us to our boat. As I was stepping onto the boat the shuttle driver hands me a slip of paper and dashes off.

The slip of paper said that my husband had called and wanted to me please call him back!

Here I was in the middle of no
where with no phone and no MONEY and they wait until I am about to be on a boat ALL DAY to hand me this message...

Grinding my teeth and taking deep cleansing breaths I found a seat on board The Four Seasons Marine!

The Naturalist and Captain and all of the folks on board were excellent.
I learned alllll about Glacier Bay.

In all this early morning rushing around I forgot my eyeglasses and my binoculars...

Despite that I willed myself to see all that I could and by golly I did!

I saw Puffins fly, seals playing and I saw Glacier Margerie and The Grand Glacier which was filthy...

I saw Bartlett Cove and folks camping all along the "beaches" of Glacier Bay.

I saw bears and all things Glacier Bay!

I was super sleepy so it was a wonder that I saw anything. I took "power naps" and was told by my cruise-mates that I did not miss much because you really could not see much as we were in fog so thick you could not see a thing.

It was a beautiful day. Any vacation day is a beautiful day on my planet. Smile...

This beautiful day sailing the lovely Glacier Bay was a very very rainy day.
This day was also freezing cold.

We had bag lunches on board and like I said the whole crew and Naturalist were tops!

On our journey back to Gustavas the sun came out! Glacier Bay is actually quite green and I got to see the glaciers that were fogged in earlier.
We passed some luxury cruise ships and to top it off I saw my first ORCA WHALES!

I was one happy traveler! I wound up taking lots of photos.

This was a very good excursion.

Upon return I spent time at The Visitors Center getting information and the like.

I had just enough time to take a hot bath and to dress for dinner.
My "Inn-Mates" were already at the larger lodge so the shuttle driver and I had a nice talk on my ride over.

Dinner was divine. We feasted on the Halibut that the guys had caught. We ate and drank like there would be no tomorrow.
We decided to hang out here talking and getting to know a little more about each other.
I did contact my hubby who assured me that he had put money in the "right" places.
I told him how totally remote Glacier Bay was.
When he told me that he and our teen son were going to go have dinner it hit me...
I WAS HOMESICK!!!!!!

After my call I quietly hung out some more listening and talking to my "new" best friends.

This evening was dark like last night.
I resolved that I would up the "slimming" process during the remainder of my vacation by cutting back on everything and by doing more exercising.

At 10:30pm I hit the sack!

Oaktown Traveler

Day 21: GUSTAVAS, GLACIER BAY, ALASKA

This morning when I woke up the sun was where it was suppose to be...outside my windows shining brightly!

Breakfast was at my Inn today so I could just step right outside my bedroom door and eat, read and relax!

My "guys" were gone for the day but I could hear voices so I got dressed for the day.
Turns out that my Inn is also a popular place for breakfast with the handful of Gustavas residents.
Well all 5 of us enjoyed our mushroom and tomato omletts served with the most delicious melon and raspberry fruit cups!
We talked and talked and talked.
I finally tore myself away because I had some bike riding to do today.

Before heading out the Inn-Keeper Assistant said "Oh, your friends left you something".
My "guys" had left me two bottles of Opus One and left me a note telling me that they were shipping 4 halibuts cut cleaned and all... to my home for me and my husband to enjoy!!!
The jesture alone is invaluable. The cost for them to do so was a small fortune...on my planet.

I was beyond elated...

I went on a very long bike ride covering as much as my body could push. There are small art galleries, gardens and a small country store.
I spenttime on the dock with the fishermen who were now left to cut and clean the catches of the day.

I had a lovely time in this unique solitude called Gustavas, Glacier Bay, Alaska.

Late this afternoon I headed to the Gustavas Airport.
I was headed to ANCHORAGE, ALASKA!!!!!

The flight to Juneau was absolutely smoothe and nothing short of beautiful.
We were able to actually see the INSIDE PASSAGE, the lakes, mountains, boats and islands were all clearly visible...

I even got an aerial view of The Mendenhall Glacier. Just when I thought I had seen enough of this glacier I get a view beyond comparison...

Our plan did not land as scheduled so we circled a few time too many an saw the Mendenhall Glacier a few more times too many and finally we landed...

I continued on to ANCHORAGE, ALASKA...

Anchorage is a big city. Eventhough I saw more police cars in 10 minutes than I had seen in 21 days I found it to be kinda pretty in places...until I got to my hotel...

My jaw dropped to the ground, eyes started to water and my breath got short!

I had made a reservation at The Caribou Inn in Anchorage, Alaska. My hotel looked nothing short of an urban crack house...

Problem, nothing else was available. Not one room, nowhere, period, dot!

My assigned room was on the bottom floor, facing a parking lot, had no shade and a totally see through curtain.

The sign directly above my parking lot window said: NO DRUGS, NO ALCOHOL, NO LOITERING and NO SOLICITING..........

I spoke to the people on duty and they told me that that was the best room that they had even though I had made specific reservations (top floor, water view, etc...) months ago.

They said that after I had dinner they would see what they could do.

I had a nice dinner at Kincades which is a chain restaurant.
It was touted as one of the best retaurant in Anchorage and it was right across the street.

I instantly recognized the menu and asked if they were a part of this particular chain...they were.

I tried to stay here for forever...

I finally walked back across the street to my hotel and they could not get me a better room.
I was quite upset and said that I would not come back as scheduled if they could not do something to rectify the situation.

They did a little something. The main thing was that I only had 3.5 hours to sleep here anyway...I sucked it up and slept with one eye open...again!

Gotta go for now!

Oaktown Traveler

Hi OT,

I've been lurking on your thread since it started and am enjoying every word.
Great writing style! I really appreciate the details... and that your buddies left you the wine and sent halibut home to your DH brought a tear to my eye. What a grand trip.
Looking forward to the rest. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Oh no, don't leave us hanging!! What happened?

Makai1 and Deborah:

Thanks so much for your feedback.

About two hours ago I was going to post the next installment when the lights went out in The Greater Bay Area!

It has been raining like crazy all day today.

We have not had a black out in years!

My DH JUST made it home...traffic was the worst.

Now with the power back on for now we gotta re-set clocks and what not,check on relatives...blow out candles etc...

Back later!

Oaktown Traveler

What a trip!

I am going to have to get organized and do a trip on the inside passage via the ferries sometime. It has been on my list for years.

...Hubby was standing in my office door way, soaking wet. He just asked me in the most irritated tone:

"I KNOW that you are not trying to POST on that internet right now...ARE YOU????"

Silently ROFLMAO...so pathetic...me.
Gotta go...bye!

WHAT A RIDE!!!! Thank you Oaktown, it was fun, interesting and a great ending.

MORE, I beg you! More! You are my hero, a solo woman on a 30-day adventure in my favorite state. Thank you for sharing your stories.

Thanks for the good time too!!!

I have to take care of some stuff but I am ready to continue right after that!

My Best,
Oaktown Traveler

Day 22:

It never really got dark that night in ANCHORAGE, ALASKA so, the 3.5 hours of laying down in my unacceptable hotel and the early morning was all one very unusual travel piece.

At 6:00am I was dropped off at The ALASKA RAILROAD to board my train for SEWARD, ALASKA!!!

Again, I love trains so this was a great day no matter what.

I checked in all of my luggage because I did not want to leave any at that hotel. Luggage check in was a breeze.

I waited for the ticket booth to open because even if you have a ticket you have to check in for your seat assignment.

I met a real nice couple who told me all about their trip to Alaska. I shared some of my trip too.

I eagerly boarded this great train and took my seat and spread out in my semi-private compartment. I was seated on the left side which was per all the advice of those who had gone before me.

The Alaska Railroad was/is rated as the third best train in North America. This full-service railroad is fabulous.

Every section has its own dome car and the vistas are spectacular!
The glaciers that I saw were phenomenal!
The other scenery was incredible. I was so happy with this train ride to SEWARD.

My car was quiet enough to allow me to start a new novel when I was not snaping photos and taking it all in!

We traveled through the Chugach Mountains with points of interest(glaciers) or stops at Potter, Rainbow, Indian, Girdwood, Turnagain Arm and Portage.

We went through a very long and very dark tunnel before we went into Grandview, Bartlett Glacier, Trail Glacier, Spencer Clacier, Moose Pass, Divide and the Ressurrection River...all truly relaxing and truly beautiful...

I arrived in SEWARD, ALASKA at 11:00am.
The hotel van came and picked me up.

I had made hotel reservations at The Breeze Inn. I had to wait for the room that I had requested so I had them store my things and I went off to take a tour of the town.

I walked to the "new" Alaska Sealife Center: Windows to the Sea.

The facility and exhibits were excellent. I spent a bit of time here taking in the educational talks and tours and the like.

On my way back to the hotel I decided to go ahead and stop in the various stores and was able to pick up some things to take home.

I also walked along the harbour looking at the small boats and birds. This was an excellent stop.

To my surprise my bank had a branch in Seward. With much trepeditation I went inside to check on my accounts... especially the one with the $10,000 dollar VISA mistake.

All was well! I was glad to close this chapter of my travels. WHEW!

Once back at the hotel they were still doing the: "your-room-is-not-ready-yet-would-you-like-to-take-a-room-that-is?"

Tired, cold and hungry I did not understand how it could be close to 4:00pm and that they could still be offering me this lame line.

I finally got the third floor harbour view room that I requested.
What was in the harbour had me laughing so hard.
Carnaval had this raggedy ole ship in the harbour! No other ships were in the dock. I am sure Carnaval wanted it that way...

I un-packed and tried to get all of my Seward excursions straight. The Alaska Railroad Corporation had some of my excursions booked so I went to the train station to make my final excursion arrangements.

Glad that the excursions were as planned, I went across the street from my hotel to have an early dinner at the famous Ray's Waterfront Restaurant which was overlooking the harbor too!

Ray's is the hub for Seward. The restaurant was very good, very crowded and very expensive. I lavished the champagne, sourdough bread and king crab legs anyway!

I enjoyed my window seat and journaled and watched all of the folks coming in from their various excursions.

It started to rain big time so I orderd some coffee and decided to stay until the rain let up.

After my time at Ray's I went into the shops along the harbor and shopped.

Tonight I caught up on my postcards and reading. I turned in early to catch up on my sleep so that I could be ready for tomorrow...

Oaktown Traveler

Day 23:

SEWARD, ALASKA

This morning I slept in as much as I could! I then took a long hot bubble bath and headed to the train station, the meeting place for my REAL ALASKA TOUR!

The Real Alaska Tour was a full day of fun. We started out with a detailed tour and history of Seward. Seward is also mile zero of the famous Iditarod Trail.

We were told the tale of Mount Marathon which holds the second oldest foot race in the United States.

We then made our way to lunch at the delicious Resurrection Roadhouse at the
Seward Lodge. My lunch of French Onion Soup and Duck Salad were to die for.

The folks on this tour with me were loads of fun. They were on the cruise ships that had come in today. We laughed at the Carnaval ship. They even had the nerve to put a waterslide on that ole boat!

After lunch we headed to the walk-up glacier properly called Exit Glacier. Exit Glacier is one of the top attractions of the Kenai Fjords National Park.

You hike in, nothing too difficult, and then you take picture after picture after picture. It was rainy and nothing short of freezing cold but that did not matter!

The glacier is a beautiful white and blue. It had a little calving action that caused some excitement...nice touch.

After time here we got on board our van and headed to visit Seavy's Iditarod Racing Team...the dog sleds!

We spent a great deal of time with the sled dogs. I had fun. I learned about how they lived and so much more. We got time with the puppies and they showed us a good video about the 1200 mile race in March that starts in Anchorage and ends in Nome, Alaska.

I had a really fun ride with the dogs.
This ride was voted the best dog sled ride in Alaska.
I bought things in the gift shop and tried my best to brave the very cold weather.

This was an excellent way to spend a day in Alaska.

Being a member of the SPCA and all I did have some significant reservations about how these valuable and precious dogs "live". I know for sure that here in California...let's just say, no way, no how...

They spend lots of time letting you know how much they love and care for the dogs. I just think a little more money spent on their living quarters would be more convincing...

Back at the hotel I prepared for dinner. I went to Ray's again. They had all you could peel and eat shrimp so I could not miss this low-cal event!
The chowder was also delicious.

Tonight I took in the music and conversation of the travelers in Seward...

I went back to my hotel just as it was getting dark which had to be well after 11:00pm.

My Best,
Oaktown Traveler

Day 24 of 30:

SEWARD, ALASKA:

Today I checked out of my hotel in Seward and headed out for another exciting day long excursion.

I was ready for my RESURRECTION BAY and KENAI FJORDS NATIONAL PARK CRUISE TOUR!

This fabulous excursion afforded me the incredible sightings of Humback Whales, pods of Orca Whales,Bald Eagles, Puffins, auklets, kittiwakes, cormorants, murres, black oystercatchers and so much more...

The Bear, Pederson, Holgate and awesome Aiaalik Glaciers were WOW!
They were beautiful and active, popping and calving and just giving us a great natural "show".

Turning The Cape was a major hurdle and even that went well. The whole voyage was good. Our Captain was excellent and the staff was fun and friendly.

We had a delicious lunch of BBQ Halibut.

I took loads of photos and was glad that I had taken this journey. It was a little rainy but that did not stop us from having a good time seeing it all.

The Fjords were absolutely divine...

Once back on dock, I magically, I got my bags from the hotel and made it to the train station on time.

At 5:45pm I was seated on the right side of the Alaska Railroad train headed to ANCHORAGE, ALASKA.

I journaled wrote out some more post cards and caught more of the beautiful sights from the Dome Car of my train.

I was fortunate and got a table in the dining Car for 7:00pm dinner. I could not be happier. Their is something magical about having a special three course sit down meal with a white linen table cloth while riding the train...

My train arrived in ANCHORAGE, ALASKA around 10:30pm. I was picked up by the folks at The Caribou Hotel. I had kept my reservations and they kept their word.

I got put in a much better room and the manager had written me a really nice note.

I was feeling much better about Anchorage and The Caribou and was now fairly comfortable with my new arrangements.

Tired, I went to sleep without a care in the world!

Oaktown Traveler

What an absolutely delightful post!! I'm not getting anything done, but sure am having fun reading it.

OT,
Mrs Kal has been trying to drag my sorry moose carcass up there for years. She's been 2x and loved it.

You are making it easier to give in.

BTW, thx for using paragraphs in your TR! Saves these tired old eyes. ;;)

I'm loving this - here's a question for you - if you only had 2 weeks - what would you have done and what would you have left out?

Excellent report, Oaktown, and I'm adding it to my Alaska folder ... your words make me want to catch the next inside strait boat heading up, but that's going to have to wait until next year, unfortunately. Thanks again.

Thanks everybody!

Kal: Toooo funny!

cmeter54: Let me give that some thought. Great question...

More to come...

Oaktown Traveler

Day 25 of 30:

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA

I was able to sleep in this morning so I did just that!

I was so pleased that I could finally articulate the difference between SEWARD,SITKA and SKAGWAY!

Before I stepped on my first train of my journey I tell you I was so confused about these three Alaska "S's" so at this point on this day I was smiling that I had finally "got it"...

I almost cut my "sleep-in" too close so I found myself running to the lovely Captain Cook Hotel to board my motorcoach to:
WHITTIER for my 26 GLACIER CRUISE of Alaska's PRINCE WILLIAM SOUND!!!!

The weather today was absolutely lovely.
Our small coach that would take us along the scenic TURNAGAIN ARM towards Whittier was called The Magic Bus.

The folks on my bus were really nice. This excursion had many women traveling together so our bus ride was loud and filled with laughter and funny "women" travel tales from Alaska!

We saw some mountain goats and just enjoyed the ride.

We went through this long dark tunnel/toll road. We saw the massive Portage Glacier too.

When we got to The Port of Whittier we got some bad "travel" news...

An engine on our lovely cruise tour vessel had gone on the blink hence, no way, no how would we be seeing 1,2 or 3 glaciers let alone 26!

A third of us (me too) took this in stride as the cruise company said that we could come back tomorrow...

Clearly two thirds of the folks could not and were after their "pound of flesh" from whoever would give it to them...

I did what one should do when all "travelhell" is breaking out around you...I went shopping and eating!

Our bus driver was asked to wait in Whittier for those who needed to get back to Anchorage so after about an hour or so we were all ready to go.

Squished from putting others on our bus the tone of our ride changed for some.
They demanded to be let off the bus and said that they would take the train back at the expense of the cruise folks...

Our driver who held it together as best he could took the rest of us back towards Anchorage.

He asked us if we wanted to detour to the Great Alaskan Tourist Trap/Big Game Park.

This Alaska Wildlife Center is located on the shores of Turnagain Arm. It has a large mission to rehabilitate orphaned and injured animals.

We said sure and off we went to see all the moose, bear, bison, caribou, Sitka black-tailed deer and elk that you could imagine.
We took photos and laughed at how easy seeing all these animals of Alaska in one place was!

The baby cub won us all over as we swooned and took way too many pictures of the "baby"...

Upon return to Anchorage I decided that I would do the things today that I had planned for tomorrow.

I went to and enjoyed one of the best museums on my journey.

The Anchorage Museum of Art and History was a real gem. The permanet exhibits were remarkable and the special exhibits were delightful.

Their was a special Toys and Games in Art exhibit that was colorful and fun.
The Eskimo Drawings special exhibit was excellent.

I could have spent more time here but they were closing early for a wedding.
The preparations for the wedding were also impressive.

I then went to the ONLY major department store in the entire state of Alaska. I went to Nordstroms. They were having a sale but I found nothing that I needed or wanted.
"Fashion" per se in Alaska is very very different than fashion in America...I mean the lower 48!

I then hit the other downtown shops and took photographs of the beautiful flowers of Anchorage.

Later this evening I went out dancing per the advice of this nice girl who worked at my hotel.

Let's just say that Anchorage, Alaska is at least 20 years behind the club scene in the lower 48.

You can chain smoke inside the clubs and about 85% of the clubbers do just that.

Now, not everbody or even a whole state can lack fashion sense for an evening out dancing right? Wrong.

I think the thing that turned me off the most was the excessive and chain drinking that is a "sport" in Anchorage.

Glad to be out with the young set I knew that I had made a significant mistake when not one but three very bloody fights broke out at this large dancing establishment.

I finally got out of here which was difficult because two of the fights were completely blocking the ONE way out of this club.

Back at my hotel I shampooed my hair and took a long hot soak. I then poured myself a nice glass of California Wine: My Opus One(wink) and read more of my novel...

A very good day of travel in Alaska!

Oaktown Traveler

Day 26 of 30:

ANCHORAGE, ALASKA

OK, today was the second day to try and see the beauty and awe of Alaska's Prince William Sound!

I went back to The Captain Cook Hotel and re-boarded The Magic Bus.

To my surprise several of the folks from yesterday were on board. They said that eventhough they were angry that they saw no reson to come this far and miss this awesome excursion...

On our road to Whittier we saw the most unusual sight. We saw many BELUGA WHALES! These whales are hard to spot because they are white. We saw pods of them. I was speechless...snapping photos until I could snap no more...

We understood later that there had been no reported sightings of the Beluga's until today.

Once in Whittier we had no bad news.
We were all glad to be boarding our beautiful vessel.

Obviously we were late because their were no seats left anywhere!

Folks from yesterday and those scheduled for today were boarded and seated.

Today's "bad" part was that the people on board thought that we were "last minute" folks so noses were turned up and people were not scooting over to share tables, booths or nothing!

It was also the coldest day of my 26 days of travel so "hanging" out on the outer decks was simply not an option for any of us.

I called this day: Bitter Cold & Wicked Wet!

The very good natured Captain and owner of the vessel was not happy to find about a dozen of us standing around.
He was effective although not diplomatic in getting all of us seated.

I wound up with three others who were nice to me but upset with The Captain.
Our booth was right next to his so he could hear all of their loud criticism of how this voyage had started.

We finally were moving along in our fast moving catamaran covering our 135 miles of glacier, marine wildlife and beautiful Alaska scenery of Port Wells, College Fjords and Harriman Fjords...

There was only one problem...you could not see a thing. The rain and fog were the worse. I could not even put a spin on this. This was pretty bad.

The Captain was doing his best to rally the troops. He is an educator and thought this was a good time to tell us everything Prince William Sound that he had learned in his 40 plus years of doing this.

People were very rude to him and were talking and laughing, amongst
themselves, which got him a little peeved...I was listening to him because I found what he had to say interesting. I was here to see the glaciers and since I could not see them I thought the least I could do was listen to him try and tell me about them.

My table mates and those around me were being really rude and so I took a walk to the upper-upper deck.

The winds were very strong but I needed to "change the station". Well on the upper-upper deck was the best kept secret.

David Straub, the 2002 Iditarod Red Lantern Winner was up there with one of the sled dogs!!!!
I got private time with both of them. I took photos and had a good time.

I had to go back inside because I did not want to get blown into PWS...

I told my booth-mates about the "secret"
so off they went with their toxic energy.

The Captain came over to my now empty booth and we became "new" best friends.
He was feeling a little down because of "everything".

We had a nice lunch on board and the sun tried desperately to come out.

As we headed back toward Whitter which was also our "second chance" to see Bryn Mar, Smith, Harvard, Downer, Yale, Dartmouth, Vassar, Wellesley and the other fabulous glaciers the "light" came out. The "light" is the distant cousin of the sun and folks on board were glad to see her!

People actually got off there disgruntled butts, went out on the decks and took photos and started having fun!

I saw more wildlife and some lovely waterfalls. I had a good and enjoyable time.

The Captain actually sails into California and docks close to where I live.
The Captain was very kind to me and thanked me for taking two days of my vacation to try and sail with him.

He gave me a 26 Glacier video which is awesome, shot on the sunniest days on earth!
He also gave me as much wine and food that I wanted and he gave me the shirt of my choice...

I got a little embarassed and my nosy and rude booth-mates gave me some "looks" and then they started speaking in some european language! Very Rude...

I did not let it get to me. I actually asked them if they would please take pictures of me with the Captain and they gladly did just that.

Our bus ride back was toasty and warm. People on the Magic Bus to Anchorage were sharing their 26 Glacier Cruise experience.
Turns out that my booth-mates were the better behaved of them all.

Several of my bus mates were involved in heated arguments and mild shoving matches with their booth-mates.
Many of them found the Captain to be a "chatter-box" who had no regard for what some of them had suffered.

I slowly and quietly stuffed my brand new 26 Glacier shirt, 26 Glacier video and 26 Glacier commerative wine glass deep in my travel bag while taking in the beautiful scenery of Turnagain Arm...Alaska...

Tired, I went to my hotel and prepared for a really nice dinner.

I had selected The Club Paris which was billed as Alaska's Premier Steakhouse.

Upon arrival I noticed three other ladies from the cruise at the restaurant. They asked me if they could join me so I said of course.

We had a nice dinner and talked about travel in Alaska. While we enjoyed our meal we were all at a loss as for how the restaurant got top billing.

I had decided that after dinner that I was going to take in some jazz and they wanted to come along so off we went to catch some Anchorage jazz.

That was enjoyable.

I had an early train to catch tomorrow morning so I went back to my hotel and completed my packing for the next leg of my Alaskan Journey...

I considered this to be yet another great day of travel in Alaska!

Oaktown Traveler