We have a day at sea today on our way back to Vancouver where our cruise ends. It’s been a wonderful time. The past two evenings were highlighted by the dinners - both were amazing and some of our favorite moments from the cruise but they couldn’t have been more different. But first some of the beautiful views. We saw so many waterfalls - hard to capture them in a photo - but very cool.
Yesterday we spent the day in Ketchikan Alaska and were able to experience something close to the ‘real’ Alaska. Our afternoon was spent on a small fishing boat with our Captain Enrique and a family of three originally from Japan and now living in Houston. We went trawling for salmon in an inlet off of the Pacific Ocean. We had the full gear with wading boots, overalls and a rain jacket. Enrique was fabulous and seemed to know how to find the fish. He even told a few 'Uncle Carl' jokes (that's what we call the jokes that make you laugh and groan at the same time :)) - which seemed so appropriate for a fishing trip. Four poles were out and we each took turns landing the salmon. Craig and I both successfully brought in 2 salmon each. Craig was the only one to catch a King Salmon but it wasn’t quite at the 28 inch requirement and had to be released. The other family landed two but lost a bunch when they were able to slip off the hook.
After several hours of fishing we headed to a campsite on a small island. There we met up with 5 other fishing boats and were treated to a wonderful dinner. They had multiple campfires under a tent with wood benches set up for us to eat our meal. Each boat ate the fish they caught - which was so cool - and fresh! Enrique filleted and cleaned our salmon and the cooks grilled along with some yummy veggies. Dessert was blueberry bread pudding with freshly whipped cream and caramel sauce - not exactly roughing it!
In the small world category we met a couple at dinner from another boat, Gil and Arlene, who also live is Sarasota! A very nice couple. Gil heads up volunteering at the Mote Aquarium that we recently visited with my sister Kris and her family. Craig has thought about getting involved there as a volunteer - so that sealed the ‘small world’. They exchanged contact info for when we are back home. After dinner we took the boat back to the ship and said goodbye to Ketchikan.
The night before was another wonderful dinner. For a special treat we signed up for a night in the ship’s Vintage Room. They host a seven course (yep - not a typo) dinner paired with special wines for up to 12 guests. We were so lucky to be joined by 5 other guests for the dinner - Tom, Amy and Tony, Tim and Jill. We were a little nervous it might be ‘stuffy’ - ha! - no need to worry. When we showed up it was just us and Tom - and they handed us each a glass of Dom Perignon. Next to join were Tim and Jill - Tim walked in with a Mich Ultra - which was awesome! Double fisting with Mich and Dom - we knew we were in for some fun. The last couple to join were Amy and Tony - who we had actually met that morning. They were supposed to go on the Heli Hike with us - and we had hit it off over coffee. Before the first course was served we were all laughing and telling stories. Boris, their head sommelier, was our host and he said it normally takes 3-4 courses + wine to get folks talking. Needless to say it was a phenomenal night - dinner lasted over 3 hours - and a ton of fun. By the end of dinner Craig was again ‘the guy’, we felt like old friends and we were talking about a reunion in the future :)
That’s all for now. Back to chilling and watching this beautiful world go by.
Enjoy the Ride!
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