“Live” – Alaska – Radiance of the Seas August 19, 2016 – Indecision Cruise

[springaussie]

Thanks for bringing me along also!

[Bette And Bill]

This is gonna be a nice Alaska Cruise blog. We only have one excursion booked for our next August Alaskan Cruise and it's w/ our small group of 6 w/ Harv & Marv. :) Looking forward to seeing some more ideas.

 

We just did Harv & Marv in July. You will enjoy. Hope your luck is as good as ours with a Humpback whale doing a full breach (totally out of the water) and several bubble feeding groups.

[Bette And Bill]

Welcome to Alaska. Off to find the luggage and the car.

 

 

 

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Glad you made it in safely. waiting for the next update.

[hapster85]

We did this cruise last summer (has it been a year already?), following a 3 night land tour, and absolutely loved it. Maybe after this, you'll change your mind about it being your one and only trip to Alaska. It was our second trip, and we'd love to go back again. Just so much to see.

 

Enjoy!

[PCWalton1]

The wifi in the motel is extremely slow but I will have a few pictures posted from our drive as soon as I can.

 

Once we got here to Seward we stopped at the Gold Rush for lunch. Halibut tacos for Marie, halibut and fries for me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[dd likes to cruise]

Take care of the ship, as we board on Aug 26th when you get off!

[PCWalton1]

Well it only took 2 1/2 hours but I managed to upload my meager 25 pictures.

 

We did get the opportunity to see much today as the weather did not cooperate. From Girdwood to Seward we had continual rain.

 

Our first stop was at Potte's Marsh Bird Sanctuary. The marsh is a rest area for migratory birds including trumpeter swans, rednecked grebes, golden eyes, and pintails. We mostly saw people but we did enjoy the walk on the boardwalk.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I got a little camera envy with this setup

[PCWalton1]

We also made a stop at Beluga Point. The wind rolling down the sound was really strong here.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[PCWalton1]

The last place we stopped at before the rains set in was Bird Creek. We had not planned to stop here but as we passed we saw a lot of people fishing so we made a stop in hopes that some were catching along with fishing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was one of the anglers doing the catching.

 

 

This one did some catching too.

 

 

At least the morning was nice.

[PCWalton1]

 

 

 

 

[Coralc]

Interesting Bill! Salmon flyfishing. That would be fun! :D We've only fished for salmon from boats.

[PCWalton1]

The place I picked for dinner was Thorn's Showcase Lounge, borderline dive but a great dive. Warning, you better like buttoned vinyl.

 

This is the home of the "bucket of butts". That's 30 pieces of halibut. Since Marie was having some other seafood dish I just got the conservative basket of butts.

Good food, good beer and early Pink Floyd on the sound system. Life is good.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Goodtime Cruizin]

I'm booked on that cruise too. Guessing with the same TA since I was on the Indy last year too :)

 

Sounds like it. :D

[PCWalton1]

We just did Harv & Marv in July. You will enjoy. Hope your luck is as good as ours with a Humpback whale doing a full breach (totally out of the water) and several bubble feeding groups.

 

It would be great if we are that lucky to see one breaching. :)

[Bette And Bill]

Hope you have good weather when you do your the Resurrection Bay tour.

[PCWalton1]

Good morning. Took back the rental car and walked back to the room. Nice morning, not raining

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[telecruiser]

Following along. Great start. We did same itinerary on Vision in 2005 and stayed two nights at Murphy's. Have Radiance booked for same itinerary next June. I really enjoyed your Panama Canal live report. We were on the eastbound after your trip. Your report gave us some good preparation hints. Have a wonderful time. I promise this is not your last Alaska cruise.

[PCWalton1]

Heading out to Resurrection Bay

 

 

 

 

 

 

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[Thetrail]

Books

 

When we cruise I like to bring books that in some way pertain to the locations we are going to. For our west coast cruises I had Armistead Maupin’s Tales of the City series about San Francisco. For the Panama Canal I had The Path Between the Seas by David McCullough and for Hawaii I read about the overthrow of the Hawaiian monarchy in The Last Aloha by Gaellen Quinn.

 

This time I went fictional with my choices. The first is called The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey.

 

 

 

Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart--he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm; she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season's first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. The next morning the snow child is gone--but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees.

 

This little girl, who calls herself Faina, seems to be a child of the woods. She hunts with a red fox at her side, skims lightly across the snow, and somehow survives alone in the Alaskan wilderness. As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who could have stepped from the pages of a fairy tale, they come to love her as their own daughter. But in this beautiful, violent place things are rarely as they appear, and what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them.

I started reading this one already and am about half way done. A bit strange but entertaining.

 

 

The second is titled Shadows on the Koyukuk: An Alaskan Native's Life Along the River, written by Jim Rearden.

 

 

“I owe Alaska. It gave me everything I have.” Says Sidney Huntington, son of an Athapaskan mother and white trader/trapper father. Growing up on the Koyukuk River in Alaska’s harsh Interior, that “everything” spans 78 years of tragedies and adventures. When his mother died suddenly, 5-year-old Huntington protected and cared for his younger brother and sister during two weeks of isolation. Later, as a teenager, he plied the wilderness traplines with his father, nearly freezing to death several times. One spring, he watched an ice-filled breakup flood sweep his family’s cabin and belongings away. These and many other episodes are the compelling background for the story of a man who learned the lessons of a land and culture, lessons that enabled him to prosper as trapper, boat builder, and fisherman.

This is more than one man's incredible tale of hardship and success in Alaska. It is also a tribute to the Athapaskan traditions and spiritual beliefs that enabled him and his ancestors to survive. His story, simply told, is a testament to the durability of Alaska's wild lands and to the strength of the people who inhabit them.

The Snow Child was a wonderful read IMHO....K.O.....Enjoy!:)

[Marylandteachergirl]

i LOVE that you choose literature to go along with your cruise journeys! I thought I was the only one who did that. I have several Alaska mysteries and am contemplating Michener's Alaska. But it's really long! I have a year before we sail, so I just may be able to accomplish it. I am adding your selections to my list.

 

Following along and already looking forward to reading more of your adventures!

[Dunfer]

I ate at Thorns when I was in Seward last year. Just a snack of white beans and ham soup, but it was excellent and reasonable. I liked the local place across the street, Tony's.

[PCWalton1]

The Snow Child was a wonderful read IMHO....K.O.....Enjoy!:)

 

i LOVE that you choose literature to go along with your cruise journeys! I thought I was the only one who did that. I have several Alaska mysteries and am contemplating Michener's Alaska. But it's really long! I have a year before we sail, so I just may be able to accomplish it. I am adding your selections to my list.

 

Following along and already looking forward to reading more of your adventures!

About 80 % done with the Snow Child and finding I am really enjoying it.

 

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[Helabama]

I haven't read "Shadows on the Koyukuk" yet but I have read "On the Edge of Nowhere" by Sydney's brother, Jim Huntington. Great Book! I highly recommend it.

[Ron Don]

What a great blog to follow along. Thanks for letting us enjoy your trip with you:D.

[PCWalton1]

Sorry for the lack of postings. The Wifi is terrible here at the motel. I should have some pictures from our boat trip yesterday uploaded in an hour or do.

 

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