What is your favorite Alaska port of call????

[Host Caroline]

It's time to start thinking about Alaska 2005!!! So let the newbies know what your favorite port of call is and why????

[alpal1993]

My favorite Alaska port would have to be Icy Straits. We loved the people,actually got to meet Howard and Lisa.The people were down to earth and were so happy to show us their way of life.I am very greatful to have gotten the opportunity to view Hoonah with my own eyes and open heart.

[FloridaSue]

My husband and I both absolutely loved the quiet change of pace at Icy Strait. The locals made you feel so welcome, and the beauty of the forest and the beach was outstanding. The views go on forever. And if you stop for a few minutes the wild life comes alive. From the birds to the wales swimming right past you on the beach!!! It really helped us to find what we were looking for on our Alaska cruise....beauty and calmness. The other ports were very interesting but so much the same in so many ways...one shop after another. Ice Strait gaves us opportunity to take a deep breath and soak in what Alaska is truly about for a few hours. It may not be the same for everyone, but we highly recomend it to anyone looking for that some place special to hold in your heart after you return home. We have both found ourselves going back in our minds to that beautiful forest. I loved it so much I even have a beautiful picture of it as my screen saver!!! I have a feeling if we ever go back to Alaska it will be so that we can return to Icy Strait. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

[alpal1993]

FloridaSue You are so right!!I am waiting for the Infinity to pick up Icy Straits as a stop .I will book again and do the Canadian Rockies pretour this time.

[shuttle-c]

Sitka ws the best - the Park with the Totum Poles and the boat tours with whale watching.

[wcal]

So glad to hear the good remarks about Icy Straits. We are booked on the Celebrity Summit next August and one of the deciding factors was Icy Straits. We were thinking of Princess or Celebrity and Icy Straits decided it for us.

[Chookenshaa]

So glad that our island home made such a deep impression in your memories...I am so proud and in love with our home and to hear other people express it also means a great deal to me.

[Thoth]

It's hard to pick one being the best becouse let's face it Juneau, Ketchikan, Skagway, and Sitka are ALL nothing short of wonderful. I don't think one could go wrong with an Alaska cruise.

[DougH]

Tough choice. I like Skagway as a gateway into the Yukon, Juneau for all its options. Personally I don't find Ketchican very interesting. Not really a port of call but my favorite would actually be Seward.

 

Friends have raved about Icy Straits and would like to try that.

 

Doug

[LoneStar72]

My favorite Alaska port would have to be Icy Straits. We loved the people,actually got to meet Howard and Lisa.The people were down to earth and were so happy to show us their way of life.I am very greatful to have gotten the opportunity to view Hoonah with my own eyes and open heart.

Ditto!

My husband and I both absolutely loved the quiet change of pace at Icy Strait. The locals made you feel so welcome, and the beauty of the forest and the beach was outstanding. The views go on forever. And if you stop for a few minutes the wild life comes alive. From the birds to the wales swimming right past you on the beach!!! It really helped us to find what we were looking for on our Alaska cruise....beauty and calmness. The other ports were very interesting but so much the same in so many ways...one shop after another. Ice Strait gaves us opportunity to take a deep breath and soak in what Alaska is truly about for a few hours. It may not be the same for everyone, but we highly recomend it to anyone looking for that some place special to hold in your heart after you return home. We have both found ourselves going back in our minds to that beautiful forest. I loved it so much I even have a beautiful picture of it as my screen saver!!! I have a feeling if we ever go back to Alaska it will be so that we can return to Icy Strait. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.

Ditto!

 

John

[jrask]

Juneau, for the sheer breadth and depth of available excursions. But, I clearly need to go to Icy Straits.

[Chookenshaa]

Yes you definitely do.........

[jrask]

Thanks for the personal invite. What will we be having for dinner?

[Hoonah_Tlingit_Boy]

HI CRUISERS! I know I've had a long-time abscence, but this Tlingit boy has been coaching the High School Varsity Volleyball team for the first time, and I'm proud to say that we've gone undefeated in Region play!!!!! GO HOONAH BRAVES! I hope everyone is well, and carefully planning their first experience here to Hoonah and Icy Strait Point.

 

I've lived in Hoonah all of my life, and would never be able to give you an accurate depiction of what it would be like to experience Xunaa for the very first time. It is in my blood, my breath and my soul......it defines everything that is Koo Hook. For those of you wishing to hear what it's truly like when you first arrive here, you may want to ask Chookenshaa, who moved here recently I believe from Missouri. Lisa, what was it like when you very first arrived to the Xunaa Kaawu Hit and what brought you to the beautiful home of the Xunaa Tlingit? I think your most valuable comments will prove to be priceless to others who will get to experience Hoonah for the first time just as you did.

 

The Aurora Borealis was out last night in full bloom, as the skies lit up with greens/blues and violets.....I sat in the livingroom lying on the couch, watching through the windows that encompass the room and fell to a dreamy state while watching the dancing past warriors of the Tlingit. It was great....I was almost near a depressing state as I was hit with the flu and immobile for the past three days and winter approaching rapidly, then, suddenly, I was reminded of the wonders that keep me in this magnificent, powerful place. AHHHHH....Alaaqsaq......

 

GUNALCHEESH!

[robbinsca]

We enjoyed all the ports, but ISP was a great change. It felt like real Alaska, not just the tourist areas with 101 different jewelry shops lining the docks. Skagway was 2nd, and Ketchikan, but Juneau (other than Mendenhall) was last on the list.

[alpal1993]

What a great promo for Celebrity and Royal since these are the only cruise lines to go to Icy Straits.We should all get a hugh discount from either line when we book our next cruise.LOL Don't worry Howard and Lisa I would send you both a kick back.LOL

[Chookenshaa]

DInner time is never the same around here, believe it or not we are truly busy people. Being involved with the school, EMS, the Fire Department, the clinic. Practicing subsistence living as much as possible, so I frequently get side tracked on meal time. But I can gurantee you that it will well worth the wait!!!

[Chookenshaa]

The first time I arrived here was in August of 95, I was working a high demand job in a part of Kansas City that was definitely not in the best of areas. For example:we had to have an escort in the evenings to walk us to our vehicles. I was totally burnt out from working 60 hours a week for a couple years getting the new businesses set up, staff trained, etc. I was getting sick all the time, and had lost a lot of weight, I was down to 88 pounds. A couple of my close friends they said that was enough that I was actually going to take a vacation and I was going to Alaska with them and learn how to live again.

 

I took three weeks off and 6 of us flew up here. We stayed off and on the entire time either on the large fishing boat or at a secluded little cabin tucked away in one of the bays. It was there that I truly fell in love with the scenery, the people the culture. We fished every day, pulled crab pots, shrimp pots and I ate and ate and ate. I truly believe there is something in the air up here that stirs the appetite. I went home almost 20 pounds heavier, and soooo much healthier in mind, body and soul.

 

After that first trip up here, I could not get Xunaa out of my mind. I felt like I had truly left something precious behind and had to have it back. I did make it a point to come up every late summer for a repeat visit, just to restore my spirit.

 

Finally in 2000 I decided that I couldn't live without Xunaa being in my life for just a few weeks a year, I decided to make it permanent. I had a 15 year old daughter, that was starting to run with a not so good crowd, her grades were starting to slip and I explained to her that we were about to embark on a journey that will make us much better human beings. So I sold my beautiful home that had been in the family for a very long time, quit my job, packed everything we owned and put it in a u-haul. 4282 miles later we were in Xunaa via land and sea.

 

I stayed home the first year and was taken under the wing of some very wise Chookaaneidi women who started to teach me about the culture and history of the clans. I truly felt that this way of life was meant for me and still do to this day. I then got recertified in Alaska to practice emergency medicine and decide that I was going to do my part in giving back to the community since they had so generously given me.

 

Four years later, my daughter has graduated, she was on the honor roll every quarter until she graduated. Can outfish and outhunt many people I know and has a great appreciation for her home, life, and traditional values and has become quite a little artist to boot. I do send her back to Missouri every summer and she usually calls within a few days that she is ready to come back home. I finally left last year and went down south for the first time since we moved. I realize more than ever that this is the place for me, I just do not feel comfortable 'down home' anymore.

 

I understand now that everything comes full circle and this was the type of lifestyle I was destined for. I finally started delving into my father's ancestry, he died when I was very young and have traced my roots to the Saginaw Chippewa tribes. My blood quantum is not much, almost 1/4 but I know this is what makes me feel such kinship with the people, the land, the sea and the animals. I am truly home and finally at peace and healed in mind, body, and soul....You know as Dorothy would say, "there's no place like home"

I think I may have written a book and I could go on and on forever about the magic that I feel is in my life. I try to make it a point to talk to as many guests as I can and help them to see my life as it is through their eyes..so I have said my piece for the evening and will get off my soap box now.

 

A good Tlingit wife in training

Chookenshaa

[alpal1993]

Chookenshaa you are definately a beautiful woman.Your love of land and life is felt by all that meet you.You are a true inspiration.Have a safe healthy winter.Untill we meet again.Peace!Ann

[Chookenshaa]

Anne,

 

Hope you also have a wonderful end to the year and enjoy your holidays..If the days get to much for you, just think back to the peace and tranquility that you felt here on our island. These thoughts will bring you peace.

[Hoonah_Tlingit_Boy]

Chookenshaa - Lisa, I must say that I was very humbled by your descriptions in the last post, and the stories of your first arrivals to beautiful Xunaa Kaawu Hit. To understand the rigors and strain on so many lives of the American citizens in the lower 48 ultimately can only be comprehended by the experienced themsleves, and I am most definatly not one of those. The serenity and cultural connection you've grown so very fond of is exactly why I am on the constant mission to promote, perpetuate and support my community and it's people - in any way that I can. I don't think I would be returning year after year if I didn't have the pride and spirit that comes with being Tlingit.

 

I look back into my teenage years, and recall absolutely "hating" Hoonah and once I departed for college, vowing NEVER to return to live...BOY WAS I naive and selfish. I find great comfort in revisiting the thoughts and feelings of my childhood here, and continue to prosper and learn from them now as a young adult growing in Hoonah. I WILL NOT allow our culture and heritage to continue to be dilluted at the rate it is, nor will I stand by to watch my people question their integrity and identities due to growing up torn between two worlds. The world will continue to turn, and my Tlingit people must learn to evolve with the continuance of western ideals while maintaining and perpetuating ALL that makes us Tlingit. WHEW......sorry for the blurts of beliefs....pride overtakes me sometimes......

 

Well, again Lisa, it's nice to know there are people within Hoonah who appreciate it for ALL that it is, rather than look for the inconsistencies that will drive them crazy. I don't think I'll quite look at you the same anymore....Gunalcheesh for sharing.

 

GUNALCHEESH.....

 

 

Koo Hook

[JohnQ]

Howard,

I wonder why Host Caroline forgot to put ISP/Hoonah on the favorite port survey? I would have to second the many on here already, as we have discussed many times. I need to come back and see more.

[badger71]

to wcal have you registered for the celebrity critics on summit 8-5 this will be our first alaska trip we are doing a 5 day pre cruise tour go badgers

[capeboy96]

My vote is for Haines. Small, quaint, and very scenic. Also enjoy Juneau as well. Used to live in Alaska and miss it lots. The whole state is beautiful.

[Chookenshaa]

yes, I wonder why she didn't put Huna on the list?? Maybe next time she starts a new post on it.