Alaska 10
  Final day aboard the Zaandam, at sea, headed towards Vancouver.  My one shot of a whale, a lot lf sleep, a wonderful wine tasting with Sam.  Wines tasted were a Villa Maria Sauvignon Blanc,New Zealand: Willamette Valley Pinot Noir, Oregon; Chateau Ste Michelle Canoe Ridge Merlot, Washington;  Umkhulu Akira Cabernet-Pinotate, South Africa,  and finally a Peter Lehmann Shiraz, all worth looking for back in MA. We reserved the bottle of Unkhulu for dinner, and met our friends from Mars Hill, Ken and Joan Castelloe, and David and Elaine Thomas, and of course Boyd and Natalie Morgan from Oregon, and also ran into Mirriam and Esther from the Netherlands.  A wonderful meal, Don had the flaming Baked Alaska, and we promised to meet in Mars Hill, at least for the hoped for brass festival in the Spring.

  Alaska was everything I could have hope for,  It has to be seen to be appreciated, the enormity and scope is beyond imagining.  To have seen it in it's fall colors, to have had the sunshine at the right moments, all make for a trip of a life time.
 

Alaska 9

This was our day in Ketchikan, and Don and I decided to get out and be on our own. so we rented a car, and drove the coast road, discovering the Totem Bite, and collection of remarkable totem poles, waterfall in a rain forest, salmon trying to spawn, and a doggie wainting in our cabin.

Alaska Blog 9

   Into Juneau, shopping capitol of Alaska, more jewelry shops per mile that Florence.  Mostly I was too sick to do much, but there was cable car to the top of a summit, and on a sunny day, the view must have been glorious.  There was a eagle exhibit, and wonderful rain forest environment.  But cold and wet, very wet. The streward had another towel sculpture waiting for us.

Alaska Blog 8

   I unfortunately came down with serious illness, mostly from getting chilled on the Kenai Fjord outing, and was pretty much confined to the ship for several days.  Coughs, chills, sore throat, and unrelieved wet cold weather.  Howerver, I did enjoy the ship, and a few wine tastings, and several steaks (bone -in rib eye) that were the equal of any I've had.  AND, this eagle felt sorry for me and displayed his fishing skills right outside my balcony.   All this in Haines.

Blog Alaska 6
   Somehow, I lost the writeup on the Kenai Fjord trip, one glorious sun-filled day on a 200 passenger boat, that took us into a galcier-filled bay, with my first Tufted Penguins, Hornbilled pengjuins, and glaciers filled with light.  See the previous blog!

  Finally we joined the Zaandam, very elegant, very roomy cabin, balcony to view, and wonderful food availabe at all times. The first stop was Glacier Bay, and this enormous ship came very close to the galciers.