Down to the Sea in Ships

After a lovely coffee and scone from Starbucks, we roused ourselves to pack and to catch our little Vancouver tour bus for a jaunt through Stanley Park (Correction: it's BIGGER than Central Park) and several downtown points of interest. Finally, we and countless others lined up Friday afternoon for the 2 hour process of getting aboard the Radiance of the Seas, bound for Alaska's inside passage. Once aboard, we lost no time settling in to our well-appointed stateroom containing all the comforts of home. The best is the sliding glass door with an unobstructed view that opens onto our private balcony complete with deck chairs and small table. Too cold to lounge but really fun to see the ocean, islands, snow-capped mountains and occasional and really cool marine life. I am SO hoping to see whales. Larry and Jackie showed us all around the ship, we had lunch and dinner (but of course) and headed to the theater for live entertainment featuring 2 fine young singers. We sailed through the night and all day Saturday when we continued exploring the ship, playing cards, and feeding the slot machine. Jackie won. There was a really great live show after the formal dinner - okay we stopped short of tuxedos and ball gowns but we did look nice - after which we needed to gamble some more. Up early Sunday morning to see the ship dock at Ketchikan and to be on the dock a bit after 7 A.M. to begin a short bus ride to our little harbor boat. We saw totems, lighthouses and many bald eagles and the eagles' nests. The birds are majestic and wonderful. Did I mention that when the wind whipped, it was damn cold on that boat? I had to break out my Yellowstone in Winter hat and neck tube and still had to seek refuge inside the boat a few times. It has yet to hit 60 degrees, but maybe tomorrow. It was more temperate when we returned to Ketchikan (with a population of 8 thousand it's the third largest city in Alaska) for a little walking tour. We avoided the cruise line-owned tourist shops and hiked to a fast-flowing river, a city park and a fish hatchery. Back on the ship through metal detectors and wands with the resultant human bottleneck. Heavy sigh. Back on board, for too much lunch and the obligatory mile stint around the walking track to make room for dinner. What?? I've taken to eating a lot of vegetarian Indian food in hopes of continuing to be able to zip my pants. We saw "the Diamonds" after dinner this evening. Remember "Silhouettes on the Shade"? I LOVED that song in 8th grade. Those guys still have it going on with wonderful tight harmonies, on pitch, and on the beat. And so to bed for a good night's sleep.