A day at sea with the Hobbits

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 run off all these other meals that hobbits partake of during the day. That kinda sums up the meal cycle on a cruise ship : Breakfast, second breakfast, elevensies snack, afternoon tea, lunch, second lunch, post lunch lunch, dinner, coffee, drinks and second dessert, 11pm snack, and finally midnight breakfast lol

Had second breakfast AND lunch up at the buffet, went to the casino while Nicole took a nap. Played a little blackjack. Did well. Won’t say what I won but I came back with more than I sat down with. 

Met parents and one of the other main dining rooms for dinner

App- Clam chowder. Good, creamy lots of bacon and potatoes but not many clams. 

Main- Broiled Boston Bluefish. Also good; flaky buttery and good flavor. Came with some mashed potatoes and some arugula. 

Dessert- Apple Strudel. Not bad but I’m not a fan of the thinly sliced apples. I prefer them thick and chunky like in an Apple pie/cobbler. 

Went up to the observation deck afterwards. Had no idea it was there until my parents told me about it. We played scrabble for a while. Not sure who won since we didn’t keep score but it was fun. Tried a sidecar for the first time. Good stuff. 

Time to sleep. Tomorrow we make our first stop, Juneau, the Alaskan state capital. We will be taking a gondola up the side of one of the mountains where we can look out over the city and surrounding waters. 

See you then, 

Satch