Sailing with Satch 2.0

Hubbard Glacier- July 1st Not a whole lot happened today as we sailed up close to the Hubbard glacier. We couldn’t get super close like we did in the Tracy Arm 20 years ago but we sailed the rough some of the ice flow. The ship even opened up the bow section so we couldn’t get a better view. Sadly no one stood up and yelled “I’m king of the world!!!” Had dinner in Savory, Cajun shrimp over mashed potatoes. Shrimp were good but would’ve gone better over some jalapeno grits. The mango coconut cake for dessert was surprisingly good, almost refreshing even.  Found a promenade on our deck that goes around…about 75% of the ship that seemingly no one really knows about. Which is great since the teenagers on board tend to hang out and goof around up on the pool deck and walking track. Icy Strait Point(Hoonah)- July 2nd Last time we came here 19 years ago there wasn’t much here except the historical cannery for a company called Corsair salmon, and we had to be tendered to the shore...

 Didn’t realize I hadn’t posted about Skagway. Sorry about that.  I only THOUGHT I knew what mountains looked like until we got into Skagway this morning. These big boys tower over what we saw in Juneau. Makes me wonder if they get any bigger heading north… We docked maybe a quarter mile outside of the town but they won’t let anyone go to town on foot. Apparently 2 or 3 years ago they had a huge landslide by the dock and apparently it’s still active so they had these huge chain link fences at increasing altitudes up the side of the mountain. So you have to take a very quick and seemingly pointless shuttle ride just past the landslide and you walk the rest of the way into town, which wasn’t much more than 200 yards.  Like a lot of these small towns in Alaska, they have huge ties to the gold rush. Walking the streets almost feels like a step back in time, at least until you see shuttle buses drive by and tour helicopters buzz by. Also a lot of old timey trains cutting throu...

I don’t know if it’s just really dark in the cabin at night and with the shades pulled but the sun seems extra bright up here. Still it was nice to see mountains going by as we peeked out, once our eyes adjusted to the light.  I forgot how mesmerizing the mountains were up here, coated in trees, a stream and/or waterfall cutting through from time to time, the peaks hiding up in the low rising clouds. Kinda gives you a spooky vibe at some points. Saw several houses/cabins dotting the coast as we sailed by going into Juneau. Hate to think what they cost. Saw an eagle fly by, tried getting a few shots while  it went by, didn’t get much. Stupid birds just can’t stand still for a picture. I can’t remember what Juneau looked like back in 2006, but it definitely seems to have built up over the past 19 years. After getting in line to disembark, which ran from deck seven and snaked all the way down to deck 4, we first stopped by the Alaskan Brewing Public House (Pub) and grabbed a drin...

One thing you need to know about traveling to Alaska is how daylight works. Sun comes up super early, goes down way later. For instance, Sunday reports a sunrise at 3:55AM, and sunset at 10:06pm.  While I remembered the late sunset, I totally forgot the early sunrises. So imagine my surprise when I woke a little bit before 5am to bright light creeping around the curtain to our balcony… Bright as it was we were both able to go back to sleep until 9am, or if we’re still thinking of Texas time, noon. Hey, VACATION!!! We grabbed breakfast at “The Local”, a bar/grill just down one floor from our room. Had French toast and a very generous side of bacon, Nicole had Corn Beef Hash and eggs. Both were tasty. Played onboard bingo, didn’t win anything Another thing you need to know about cruising: Get ready to eat. Like seriously it’s almost as much an activity as it is a necessity. If you remember that scene in LOTR where Pippin talks about “What about second breakfast??” and he proceeds to ...

 Woke up this morning around 9:30am after having a panicky dream where both Nicole and I woke up at 10:45. The context of the panic is my folks said meet them downstairs at 10:30. Imaginary crisis averted we got to the pier via another well done Uber. One thing I kinda like about Seattle is how the old buildings mingle among the modern ones, not nearly as tall yet still prominent in the skyline. Kinda reminds me of San Antonio  in a way.  We set a land speed record getting on board, which was weird not only because it usually takes 30 minutes to an hour to board (or at least it did on the last two cruises) but we walked right thru and I think, from walking in the building to setting foot on the boat, maybe 15 minutes max.  However, we quickly discovered the trade off. You’re on the boat super quick, but you’ve got at least 2-3 hours of waiting around before your stateroom is read. Like the saying goes, hurry up and wait. So after lunch, and a drink or two from the ba...

 Good evening from the Pacific Northwest!!! We finished the first part of our journey, flying out of Dallas up to Seattle. One thing my family has learned over the past few years, is that air travel is SOOO much easier when you get someone to drive you to and from the airport. Anyone that’s had drive out of DFW airport knows how much of a pain in the ass it is. Dad found a guy a few years ago that, for a few bucks will drive you straight to your gate, and even pick you up when you get back. Worth. Every. Penny. Getting thru DFW TSA security checks was surprisingly easy, must be lighter on the weekdays. Only waited about an hour and a half to board, folks got us their premium economy section, which is basically economy with 4 extra inches of leg room. Would rather have had a four inch wider seat. Got stuck in the middle seat for a four hour flight. Slept on and off and we got in to SeaTsc around 5:30 local time.  If I could change two things about all airports in the world: 1. ...