Alaska Cruise: Skagway

July 27

Third stop, Skagway. This stop was probably by far my favorite place in Alaska. It might be just because the weather was perfect, not too cold and there was no rain at all. We went on our excursion to Jewell Gardens. It was so beautiful and incredible. All the glass figurines were hand-crafted. I learned a little more about Alaska along the way too. The Forget-Me-Not is the state flower (photographed below). The Sitka Spruce is the state tree. Our tour guide was awesome and gave us background information on Alaska and Jewell Gardens. It was gorgeous. All the glass figures and creations people made. Then we got to see two people do glass blowing in person. It was awesome. To see it in action and know what techniques and steps are involved to made glass creations is an art in itself. The hard work and dedication put into each and every glass piece requires lots of love and passion. After eating lunch on the ship, we headed to Skagway and walked around the city to do some sightseeing and shopping. Truly love this city. It is quiet and peaceful. Plus the weather is amazing.

Shape as a leaf from up above 

The Forget-Me-Not state flower 

Originally posted on September 23, 2017.

Alaska Cruise: Juneau

July 26

Second stop, Juneau. This was the day full of pandemonium. We as passengers were stuck on the ship for practically the whole day due to an incident on board. A male has killed his wife and FBI was to be on board and investigate the crime. Some of the passengers were interviewed to see if they knew anything or heard anything related to the crime. Many passengers' excursions were cancelled and refunded due to the investigation taking the majority of the time when excursions were to be begin. My family was lucky as we were able to salvage an excursion to the famous Mendenhall Glacier. It was breathtaking. The glacier looked beautiful even from afar. The air was great, just a little drizzling later on, on the trip. We traveled down the Nugget Falls Trail after taking pictures at the photo-taking point for the glacier. Everything was exquisite. The nature, the greens, and the smell of wildlife. Gorgeous.

Seeing the time, we walked probably half of the Nugget Falls Trail (missing the waterfall unfortunately) and headed down another route to see some salmon jumping out of the river water. We did see some salmons as we were very lucky to see a bear catching fish to eat. It started to drizzle heavily, so we headed to the bookstore. The bookstore had a mini museum feel as it depicted a few, small exhibits for the visitors to read and learn more about the Mendenhall Glacier.

My family was very fortunate to be able to get to see the Mendenhall Glacier. There was great weather during the our excursion time. The sky was pretty clear for visitors like ourselves to see the glacier vividly and take great pictures for memories. Right when it was about time for the bus driver to pick us up, it started to pour heavily. There was a huge fog covering the glacier, not allowing visitors to see the glacier clearly. We were very fortunate and even more fortunate that we got back to the ship and made it in time for fine dining. That night was King Crab legs. They were delicious. Very grateful how the day's adventure paned out after everything that happened.

(Excuse me, this was the second stop, not Skagway. Also I will be editing the published times of my previous Alaska Cruise posts to keep them together.)

Alaska Cruise: Ketchikan

July 25, 2017

First stop in Alaska was Ketchikan. It was so beautiful with lovely greens and incredible stories of totem poles. The forest was pretty and saw a tree that fell and it continues to grow. It is amazing. The Clan House was another amazing site to explore. I couldn't believe how many people can fit in that house. It was huge, but if there is a fire burning, it must have been a little stuffy with so many people, even with a space in the ceiling for the smoke to escape. A cool thing I thought was interesting was that the people living in the house would put their belongings in the compartments of the floor. If you see the pictures, those sectioned woods can be lifted and a person can place items there. Very cool. 

Originally posted on September 9, 2017.