Foosa's 5th Cruise!

Ah, Alaska. #9 on the ‘We Must Travel To’ list. I always do better at this when I write my trip logs as we travel, but I was far too tired every night to even type a single thought. So here I am, the weekend after our return, trying to remember everything. As I said our last trip, cruising with a kid gets more difficult each time. G3 actually has opinions and gets bored now. I miss the days of hauling him around like an extra piece of luggage. Please add, ‘and G3 fussed’ to just about all my commentary. It’s just easier for me to have you do that than to have to mention all acts of fussing - because man, there was a lot. Facebook friends viewing the album that accompanies this entry will note that he was 100% unimpressed with all we saw and did. Okay, maybe 99%. I think we have a few pictures of him smiling.  And now begins the tale of our Alaska Extravaganza!

[[Hi!  This is G2.  I’ll also be chiming in from time to time in these lovely brackets. (G3 fussed and was unimpressed)]]

Thursday, May 29th - We work all day, then fly from Chicago to Seattle and stay overnight at the Holiday Inn right by the airport. [[I didn’t get puked on this time!]]

Friday, May 30th - Left hotel early (about 5:45AM). Took the Light Rail from airport to the Amtrak station. Four hour train ride to Vancouver. Took Skytrain to cruise pier. Boarded ship. Logistical dream. Everything worked out perfectly. (T1 pats self on back.) Pleased to discover a note in our stateroom from the Diamond Lounge Concierge (yay status!) stating that children were permitted in the lounge during cocktail hour. (Not standard policy.) Didn’t make it up there on night one due to extreme exhaustion, but did visit every night the rest of the week - the concierge, JJ, was super sweet and welcoming. A few nights there was another small child for G3 to stare at while T1 and G2 enjoyed their comped cocktails and delightful little hors d'oeuvres. [[T1 really planned everything impeccably.  The train ride was nice.  I’d love to travel more by rail.  We had a four seats for the three of us and enjoyed a nice breakfast while watching the scenery.]]

Saturday, May 31st - At Sea - Allegedly scenic Inside Passage cruising - we honestly didn’t see much more than a lot of water. Maybe we just weren’t looking at the right time. Lots of eating. Lots. G2 had a crushing first world problem that still makes T1 laugh to think. He went up to the buffet to visit one of his favorite spots, the soft serve ice cream machine, and returned to the room absolutely dejected looking. When asked what on earth was wrong, he replied in a downright pitiful tone, ‘I pressed the button for swirl, but only chocolate came out.’ T1 received the bad wife award for laughing at his plight. [[It was terrible.]]

Sunday, June 1st - Ketchikan - Up bright and early for the Great American Lumberjack Show! Lots of fun. Then a quick trip back to the ship to join our Alaska Rainforest Sanctuary & Crab Feast tour. There was a bit of delay between the Sanctuary and the Feast (apparently Alaskans aren’t as good with the logistics as T1) but all in all a nice time. Saw lots of eagles and the crab was yummy. [[I had a great time with all of the activities.  The crab was fantastic.  G3 loved it, too.]]  Next, G2 had wanted to see totems, so T1 put together a totem walking tour around town. We lucked out because Ketchikan is supposedly the rainiest city in Alaska. It usually rains every day. Not a cloud in the sky while we were there though.  [[We really couldn’t have asked for nicer weather.  We got to see a good number of totems and walked through the old red light district.  Lots of history there.]]

Monday, June 2nd - Icy Straight Point - This is a manufactured town with not a heck of a lot to do. It was literally built by the cruise line circa 2007. We had to tender in, but because we had a whale watching tour booked we got priority. We did see several whales, but the were far away, nothing like the ‘Extreme Whale Watching’ we did in Cabo some years back. Then we strolled to the nearest town (Hoonah) on a very nice seaside path. Saw some more whales and eagles. G3 slept. He woke for some lunch and then we headed out on the forest and nature tram. It didn’t have the best reviews, but was relatively low priced and we decided to give it a try for lack of anything else to do. (If G3 hadn’t been with us we probably would have done the world’s longest zip line, which looked both awesome and terrifying.) And it was a very nice time. Would recommend. The driver, Cookie, was very knowledgable.  [[Once again, we had nice weather.  The walk to town was nice and very picturesque.  G3 also found and pet a local cat.]]

Tuesday, June 3rd - Juneau - Was a little nervous because our first excursion of the day ‘Whales, Glaciers, and Rainforest Trails’ did not have an age restriction when we booked it, but upon receiving the tickets it listed a minimum age of 6. Turned out not to be a problem, G3 was welcome to attend as long as he was carried during the hiking as to not slow down the group. We hiked to Mendenhall Glacier and the cloudy skies were actually a benefit because it made the blue color of the glacier pop a lot more. After the hike we reboarded our tour bus and snacks were distributed. T1 was munching away and happened to look over and saw G3 start choking on whatever it was he was snacking on [[It was a cashew.]]. This has happened before, and both T1 and G2 knew what was next. When the little guy chokes, even once the obstruction is cleared, he is so scared he feels the need to empty his entire stomach. Fortunately, G2 had the situation under control and offered G3 his brown bag. Crisis averted. However, as far as G2 was concerned, a far larger problem had presented itself. With sad eyes, reminiscent of the ice cream incident, he stated with a sigh ‘My snack was still in there.’ Fortunately, T1 was able to request a new snack bag, and all was right with the world. Saw some more whales on the boat tour, but again, nothing like we had seen in Mexico.

It was a damp and chilly day, so a nice hot bowl of crab bisque was in order, so we stopped at Tracy’s Crab Shack right next the ship. Then quickly back on board for T1 to add another layer of clothes (only time the whole trip an extra layer was required) before meeting our next tour - Dogsled Mushers Camp! This was a schedule change made only a week or so before - originally the timing didn’t seem like it was going to work out but we arranged some things to make it possible. Good thing too, because it was definitely a highlight. No snow in June, so the team of dogs pulled us around in a wheeled cart. So much fun! At least for T1 and G2. G3 was, as usual, unimpressed.

After the dog sled camp, we returned to downtown Juneau and despite the rain went up the Mt Roberts Tramway. We had a 2 for 1 coupon, which was the only reason we bothered. There was an eagle in a cage on top of the mountain with a sign that said something along the lines of ‘please don’t make clicking noises towards the eagle.’ What did G3 start doing immediately? Making clicking noises towards the eagle. We quickly left. Kids! Once back at the foot of the mountain we decided to cancel our planned hike of the Perseverance Trail, since the weather was showing no signs of clearing up. Instead we went with our backup plan, which was to take a shuttle to the Alaskan Brewing Company for a tour and tasting. Good thing T1 doesn’t like beer, because G3 didn’t just fuss, he had a meltdown. So T1 removed him from the premises, kicking and screaming. Tried to go back in when he calmed down - nope, started right back up again when we went back inside. Lather, rinse, repeat. Sigh. Not a great end to an otherwise fun day in Juneau.   [[Aside from the puking incident and the fussiness at the end of the day, this day was awesome.  The hike was a lot of fun and T1 got to touch a piece of ice from the glacier.  The boat ride was fun, but chilly.  And the sled dog experience was not something to miss.  T1 was hesitant about it due to my allergies, but I knew I would be fine since everything was outdoors.  I even got to hold a puppy.  And then beer.  There was a delightful smoked porter.  Now I need to track down other smoked beers to try.]]

Wednesday, June 4th - Skagway - Drama Day! T1 strongly dislikes ship tours. Perhaps I’ve mentioned this before. Overpriced and often cancelled. Avoid whenever possible. However, perhaps due to Alaska’s short tour season, private options are either very limited or priced just as high or higher than the ship tours. So every tour we did this cruise was through the ship, except in Skagway. The ship tour did not go all the way to Emerald Lake, and T1 was determined to get there, no matter the cost. The first tour company contacted did not want our money. Or something. They claimed that our ship was not in port long enough and customs delays would cause us to miss our ship. Fortunately T1 was able to find company that promised to have us back in plenty of time. Dyea Dave Tours. In addition to getting to Emerald Lake (which is in the Yukon, woo!) a popular touristy thing to do is take the White Pass Railway. This was an optional add on for our tour, and G2 wanted to do. The company was very prompt in their replies to my questions, so we booked the tour through them and were instructed to buy our train tickets separately, which we did, in advance. We were told to meet someone with a Dyea Dave sign in the tour vendor area who would then take us to the train station, put us on the train, and then meet us in Fraser where the train would drop us off. We have met many a private vendor before and never had a problem. This time? Yup. Problem. First of all, the pier was forever long and our ship was at the very end of it. It took a long time to walk to private vendor area. Finally got there and couldn’t find anyone. Asked some other people, they all said he should be around somewhere, but no one had seen him recently. So we are running all over creation (G3 strapped to G2, a rare time of non-fussing) and couldn’t find anyone. G2 pulls out his so called smart phone. No service. (More on this when we get to Anchorage.) So then T1 spotted a pay phone(!) and had the 800 number for the train depot, and called them. They gave directions to get to the train station, but said we had better hurry. (At this point, since we were standing right next to a train, we assumed we would have to come all the way back to where we were with the tickets once the tickets had been collected, so T1 left her bag with the G’s and took off running. And ran. And ran. And still didn’t see the station. And gave up. Exhausted and dejected, T1 headed back, only to suddenly see a Dyea Dave van approaching. Almost got hit crossing the street to get to it, and jumped on to discover the G’s had already been collected. Excellent! The tour driver motored to the train station, which was just a few blocks past where T1 had given up. Ran in, claimed our tickets, and raced to the train. Whew! [[Even made it with a few minutes to spare.  But wow was that hectic.]]

The train ride was beautiful, but the motorcoach was even better. We had only been driving a for a few minutes when we spotted a black bear eating dandelions along the side of the road. Fabulous. The drive into the Yukon was incredible. Lakes as still as glass reflecting the mountains...no pictures could possibly do it justice. This tour was probably the highlight of our cruise. However, as usual, G3 was unimpressed. But the day tired him out so much that for the second night in a row he fell asleep in the dining room, which was adorable.  [[I’d travel everywhere by train if I could.  Lots of great views.]]

Thursday, June 5th - At Sea - Scenic Hubbard Glacier cruising - Finally, a day to relax! Lots of eating. (Though we did have to leave lunch early due to fussing!) Some crew members set out on a zodiac boat and brought back a chunk of the glacier to be carved on the pool deck. We watched the carving while enjoying cappuccinos in the diamond lounge, which was completely empty. [[T1 touched it!]]

Friday, June 6th - Seward - Our cruise was over, but many activities still lay ahead. After disembarking, we took a shuttle to the Kenai Fjords tour office. They took care of sending our luggage straight to our hotel.We were on the 8.5 hour tour that included lunch on the boat and dinner at Fox Island. G2 added the optional ½ lb of King Crab to complete his experience, which already included salmon and prime rib. The boat ride was rough. Very rough. And T1 forgot her seabands. It was touch and go for awhile, but she managed to hold it together. Saw a variety of wildlife and glaciers too. After the tour we stopped at the Alaska Sea Life Center, which was across the street from our hotel, before calling it a night.  [[At times, the boat trip was like a roller coaster ride.  I enjoyed it but can definitely understand how it could make T1 queasy.  This time the crab was cooked but then chilled with ice.  I was a bit apprehensive about cold seafood, but it was extremely tasty.  Glad I ate it.  G3 didn’t share my opinion.]]

Saturday, June 7th - Seward and beyond - T1 got up early and took a peaceful 2 mile walk to the Hertz rental lot, where she picked up a car for the day at 7am. Had requested a compact...received a Jeep. :) Returned to the hotel, collected the G’s and the luggage and drove to Exit Glacier. Well, as close as we could get, then hiked to the glacier itself. We had to leave by 9:10, but had plenty of time, as the hike was only about a mile each way. Didn’t get quite as close to the glacier as we would have liked, but it was a safety issue. The glacier is receding very quickly, and it was amazing to see the markers of where it used to be. [[As much as I would have liked to lick the glacier, I’d rather not fall to my death.]]  We then drove to Whittier. Timing was critical because the only way into or out Whittier is through a one lane tunnel that is also shared by the railroad, so it is only open for 15 minutes every hour. Miss the opening, miss our tour. As it turns out, since traffic in Alaska means you see more than three cars in an hour we made excellent time, and actually made it an hour earlier than we planned. That was quite a relief. It was nice to not be rushing. We had brought food from the hotel and decided to eat it before the tour. G3 choked on his english muffin, and we had another vomit situation to deal with. Fortunately, G2’s snack was not in the bag this time. We had booked the 26 Glacier Cruise with Phillips cruises. Due to fog, we did not see anywhere near 26, which seemed to be a bit of false advertising, which we put on the comment card. True, the weather could not be controlled, but the previous day when it was determined the water was going to be rough, Kenai Tours warned us ahead of time that the tour may need to be altered, and if so we would receive a partial refund. Phillips did not offer any compensation. However, they did come through on their no seasickness guarantee. Prince William Sound was very protected and calm. And we got really close to the glacier we did see.

Back through the tunnel and on to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. G3 fell asleep in the car, but that’s okay because it is a drive through center. Saw our only brown bear of the trip there. [[There was an owl on exhibit.  We made G3 point it out and say ‘Owl.’]]  Then drove to Girdwood to the Alyeska Resort to take the tram. (Another 2 for 1 deal.) Again foggy, and a bit rainy, but it was still nice. Next the plan was to return the car at the Anchorage airport and then catch a shuttle to the hotel. We decided it would be easier to go to the hotel first, drop off our luggage, and then return the car. Problem was we had directions the airport but not the hotel. And we hadn’t eaten real food since lunch on the glacier tour. Not a big problem though, as everywhere has a McDonald’s, and all McDonald’s have free wifi. (‘Smart Phone’ still not working, and T1’s dumb phone was not charged.) Got some food, got directions, and were on our way. At the hotel, T1 charged her phone, which was key because the shuttle back to the hotel had to be called for. After dropping off the car, G2 pulled out the smart phone yet again. Now in Anchorage, a legitimate city, he must have service, right? Nope. None. None at all. T1’s dumb phone? Six bars! Full strength. Better signal than she gets at home. Cue the ‘2007 flip phone for the win’ dance. :P Called the shuttle and went back to the hotel.

Sunday, June 8th - Anchorage to Denali - Up bright and early to catch the train to Denali! The train station was practically across the street from the hotel, but due to not wanting to haul our luggage we took the hotel shuttle. Ah, laziness. Initially we thought we had two options for the train. Regular train car or fancy glass domed train car. Obviously the latter was a lot more expensive. A lot. But not know if we would ever be back, we decided to do it right. :) But then, right before booking the tickets. A third option presented itself. The Wilderness Express!  Same train cars used by Royal Caribbean and Celebrity for their cruise tours. Glass domed, but at a lower price tag. Yay! Had a wonderful ride. Enjoyed both breakfast and lunch aboard the train. And Moose Kisses (yummy coffee based alcoholic beverages). [[Once again, fantastic scenery.  Trains are awesome!]]  The staff was amazing. We arrived at Denali at about 4. We had tickets for the last ‘tour’ of the day into the park that left at 5, so we had just enough time to go to the hotel and check in and drop off our luggage. We asked the hotel shuttle driver how we would go about getting back the hotel when we returned to the park entrance at 11:30pm. He told us to call the hotel and security would come get us. On the tour, we were only about 9 miles into the park when we saw a momma moose and her baby cross right behind our bus, following a creek. There were more wildlife sightings as we made our way to Toklat, the turnaround point. Many people have said if you can’t go as far as Eielsen, you shouldn’t bother, but we very much enjoyed our trip. On the way back, T1 called the hotel as the shuttle driver had told her. The front desk said, ‘Sure, we’ll send someone, but we are going to wait about ten minutes - we are getting reports of moose near the entrance, and you’ll surely stop for them.’ And the second she hung up the phone, there they were, two huge moose, only 2 miles from the visitor center! The shuttle came for us shortly after we got back to the visitors center, and another long day was over. (G3 remained awake for almost the entire tour!) [[Another great time was had by all.]]

Monday, June 9th - Denali to Fairbanks - Up early for our last day. We took the hotel shuttle to the park, and it stopped at their sister property on the way. The drive up from the Bluffs to the Grande had some hilarious signs on the way. T1 regret not having the camera ready to take picture of them all, however, upon returning home she found this article on CNN, http://www.cnn.com/2014/06/08/travel/denali-road/, which was published the day we arrived in Denali! The weather was beautiful for our day in the park, though for the second day in a row Denali (Mt. McKinley) herself was obscured by clouds. G2 had enjoyed the sled dogs so much in Juneau we decided to go to the parks Sled Dog Demonstration before taking the free shuttle to Savage River. Not a lot of wildlife, but gorgeous scenery. We hiked a loop trail before returning to the park entrance to await our train to Fairbanks. There was hardly anyone on the train, which was good, because G3 was especially fussy. We arrived in Fairbanks at around 8pm, and our flight was not until almost 2am. T1 had tried to find something to fill the time, but given the time of day had come up empty. Earlier in the day we had a conversation about how if we lived in Fairbanks we would camp out at the train station and try to sell evening tours, because a lot of flights don’t leave until very late. When we arrived there was not a soul around - but there was rack of tourist brochures and a courtesy phone. While browsing the brochures, we found an ad for an airport shuttle, with an optional city tour. By this point it was 8:30, but G2 called them anyway - and they said they would pick us up in 10 minutes. Tour was only supposed to be about an hour and fifteen minutes, but because it was with a shared ride shuttle company the driver kept getting calls to pick up other people, and we hung out for the ride, since we didn’t have anything else to do. Ended up being a bit over two hours - well worth it. Worn out from the fussing, G3 slept most of the time. He woke up at the the airport and wasn’t a very happy camper, but things actually got better as the evening wore on.  [[We also got to see the Alaska oil pipeline.  Because ‘Murica.]]

Tuesday, June 10th - Fairbanks to Chicago - Flight departed at a little after 2am. 10 hours later, with a layover in Denver, we were home! G3 slept most of the way to Denver, which was very nice.

Check another trip off the list!  [[But we need to go back!  At this point I’d like to thank the lovely T1 for planning such a wonderful and fun trip.  As was mentioned, G3 was less than impressed.  However, he did come away from the trip with a new obsession.  In an effort to curb fussiness, he was permitted at times to use my old iPhone preloaded with some games and Sesame Street videos (with cell services disabled because I don’t want him calling China).  A bunch of the games were Angry Birds and its spinoffs.  Now, any time a phone comes out, it is ‘Birds!’ or he’ll try to rummage through my pockets and find my new phone.  Because ‘Birds!’  I have created a monster.]]