Well, thanks to the generosity of my sister, I'm off to Seattle tomorrow morning, taking a cruise to Alaska for a week. Gonna spend a week at sea and visiting the ports/sites. Then I'll spend one night in Seattle on the 17th and come back home and straight to work on the 18th.

Wish me bon voyage!!!

Hey, I looked..I am in Seattle.

I am gone thou from the 15th to the 24th to Edmonton CA. Where is that? anybody near there.

I'm taking a cruise next month out of Vancouver, to Ketchikan, Juneau, Seward. Then on to Denali Park and Fairbanks by rail. Are you doing any excursions? If you do let me know, looking for recommendations.

got your stuffs for joo when you get back carlos
have fun kid

Have fun!

Enjoy...............

Don't get

Thanks guys. See you in a week.

C.

Enjoy! I can't wait for my next cruise.

Seward is small and has a really nice marine museum and a really cool Man Mountain Marathon on the 4th of July. Yer too late for the race.

Go to 4th avenue in Anchorage, its a tourisy strip and interesting. Get a reindeer hotdog from the street vendors. Really good......Museum is within walking distance and last time had a Russian Exhibit.

My sister lives in Anchorage and refuses to do the Denali park trip. She says 6 hours in and 6 back on a school bus is a pain. Talkeetna is on the rail line and just across from Mt McKinley. If you are stoppping there, take a flightseeing trip. We flew around Mt. McKinley and landed on a glacier at the base camp. Flightseeing is about 150 bucks and worth every dime. A blind man can get drop dead beautiful pics by setting the focus on infinity and snapping shots out the window at random.... Think I shot 6 rolls on that flight.....

Flightseeing anywhere is worth it. Go gold panning if you can. The tourist goldpan stops actually have gold in the sample they sell you.

Have a safe trip, wear your bear bells. Bears need to know when dinner is coming.......

Ken

my mom did one of the cruises last fall with a friend and her friend's grandsons. the mendonhall(sp) glacier was a big hit with the boys.

k

I hope aaron and I didnt scare you off last week

have fun carlos

cool...have fun, I'll be doing the Alaska cruise in Sept.

I have this crazy idea that I am going to leave here and drive the whole Alcan highway some day, then maybe take a ferry back... Sounds like a real adventure. I'd love to take some time off and go see the sights up there.

Oh yeah,

Fergot to remind you. Ask for Ice Axe Beer. They brew it local in Talkeetna and is about 9 -11? % alcohol

Come to think of it, the Alaskan barbecue in Talkeetna brews it. It's one of about 3 places to eat.

I ordered one (they're BIG) , drank it, then my sister ordered me another ....

Later that night, I woke up with this feeling that someting sharp was sticking into my skull... Ouch! felt like an Ice Axe!

I heard they are brewing copy beers in other places in Alaska. Ask for Ice Axe, they know what you mean.

And, do an Alaskan Barbecue. Its a tall ornate fence with plastic on it to act as a windscreen. There is a BBQ grill, tables and they offer burgers, reindeer, elk, salmon, hallibut, steaks, local brews, etc.

And, don't be afraid of the size and appearance of the restaurant in the boonies. I have found many gormet chef's in small out of the way places with some of the best food I've ever had.

Drove 60 miles on an abandoned railroad track to the McCarthy Ghost town (and Kennicott mines) to find 2 gormet restaurants and a hot dog stand.

Ken

Hey Carlitos.... how did the Alaska cruise go? I'm leaving for Alaska tomorrow for 2 weeks

An Alaskan cruise is the next trip I wanna take.... I just can't decide whats the best combination of events and excursions ...

I know, it's hard deciding what to do. On the cruise part of the trip, we're going to do this, this and this. Then on to Denali Park by rail.

For whatever reason, those links don't always load properly.

If any of you traveling north find yourself in Homer or around the Kenai Peninsula let me know, we'll take a cruise on Skyline drive in the 914.

I also have a nice little boat for fishing on the bay.

The rail trip to Denali might stop in Talkeetna. I think it's the closest town. They have a huge Princess Cruise line lodge up on the hill. Walk into town. Get the Ice Axe beer. Better yet, mail it to me!

Cruises are the sissy tours. You get ceramic toilets, and hot water.

Real Alaska tours involve your own roll of toilet paper, a bedroll, a tent, a rope to hang food in the tree, a 1 quart can of pepper spray for the bears, bear bells, and gourmet chefs cooking over campfires. Oh yeah, real tourists think nothing of paying $10.00 for a hot shower in the back country and carrying a gold pan. Outhouses are the norm.

By hte way, bears like bear bells, it tells them dinner is coming, and as for the pepper spray, they actually prefer fresh meat flavored with the spray!

Ken

Ken, knowing how my wife is I think we'll have to stick with the sissy tour. Thanks for the beer tip, I'm writing that one down Rhodes, if we had some more time in the Seward/Anchorage area I'd sure take you up on the offer.

I am going on a Mexican cruise for a week with all of the women in the family. It should be fun.

Hiedi

I wouldn't feel right if I didn't say this - try to get away from the herd mentality of the cruise excursions. One of the times you have a choice get away from the group and do something on your own, you may come away with a more fulfilling experience.

Just MHO.

I agree with Rhodes..

If I hadn't gone to my Nephews wedding in McCarthy, I never would have realized there is a hell of a nice lodge in Kennicott, and gormet food at the lodge and in McCarthy.

Something awe inspiring when you listen to the glacier groaning next to you. Not gonna get that on a cruise.

Support the local economy- the cruises don't do that. They only stop at select places that pay them. Flight seeing rocks. Pay the money ($150.00) it's worth every penny. You will not see views like this in a cruise. That's the Bagley ice field near McCarthy and Valdez. It's 20 miles to those mountains, it's 60 miles long and 5000 feet thick. Glaciers pour like rivers off of it.....

Ken

Go visit Rhodes...

Here is the view from his town Homer looking across Kechemak bay.

I go visit a friend on the mountainous side of the bay. He is a commercial oyster farmer and has a cabin on a cliff. Nothing like sitting in a hot tub dropped in through the trees, sipping on a Homer Homebrew, eating FRESH oysters from the bay and watching a bald eagle fish......

Not gonna get that on a cruise either. They usta have a bed and breakfast in Petersons Bay.



Ken

disregard the weather you are experiencing in what you think is seattle. it is all an illusion. you are really in san diego. you will receive a sedative when you board the ship, that will last until the southern tip of vancouver island. the weather in western washington is horrible. the sun rarely shines and it rains every day. washington is very primitive, just like on the old televsion show "here come the brides". spinsters are brought in by sailing vessels so the lumberjacks have female companionship. we travel around on horseback or in drawn buggies. outhouses are a luxury. carrying buckets down to the river for water is very tiresome.

k

Just returned from our two week vacation in Alaska. Weather was fantastic the whole duration. Actually it was hot! I was looking forward to cool temps. The Inside Passage and Glacier Park were great. Those glaciers are amazing to hear and see them 'calving'. Fairbanks and Denali were nice too, but the smoke from the forest fires spoiled the views. Well, now back to reality and work on Monday

Here's the view from our balcony of one of the glaciers we stopped at in Prince William Sound. They maneuvered our ship in for a close view. The smaller falling ice sounds like gunshots, the larger pieces sound like thunder. You can hear the roar of water gushing from several openings. Fascinating.

cool...I'm going in a few weeks, I think it's time to buy a decent camera

our ports are:
Juneau, Alaska
Skagway, Alaska
Ketchikan, Alaska
and Vixtoria, Canada

any recommendations of what to do and see while there??

Yep,

Got an old 35 mm Minolta with a 55-210mm zoom. I shoot about 10-12 rolls per trip. A digital would be nice, but it's gonna take a pretty high end camera to replace the quality system I have.

Use infinity and the zoom. Run to the airport on one of your stops. Go on a flightseeing tour. I'm tellin ya, you will never forget it.....

Never been to the panhandle stops you are going to. Neither has my sister and she's been there 30 years.


Ken

It's prolly too late for you to do this but....

You can rent a camper or motorhome at Skagway and drive to Anchorage to fly out. Soem people fly to Anchorage, pick up the camper and drive to Skagway and meet the ship.

It's supposed to be a heck of a drive up through Yellowknife and Tok.

Mom and dad tried it but blew a tire and turned around. You break down and you are on your own until somebody comes by. Not a lotta places to stop and get it fixed either.

Matter of fact, my Avatar is a postcard entitled "On the road to Tok"...

Ken

QUOTE (Mueller @ Aug 19 2005, 10:39 PM)

cool...I'm going in a few weeks, I think it's time to buy a decent camera our ports are: Juneau, Alaska Skagway, Alaska Ketchikan, Alaska and Vixtoria, Canada any recommendations of what to do and see while there??

In Juneau I highly recommend taking a jet boat tour north into Auke Bay. Lots of humpbacks in those waters, and eagles, otters, and seals along the coastlines. Visit Mendenhall Glacier. I did not have time but heard the heli-hike was great. Do the salmon bake for dinner. Food is outstanding. In Skagway, take the White Pass railroad to Fraser, BC. I did the 16 mile bike ride back to town from the top of the pass. Beautiful scenery, but the 20-25 mph speed prevents doing a lot of looking. In Ketchikan, you can do some off-roading (VW air-cooled motor karts) on a logging road into Gravina island. Takes you back into some awesome country. You can take a high-speed jet boat ride back to town from the other side of the island. I did not have time to visit Victoria even though I was in Vancouver for two days. You need a full day minimum, I heard the gardens are beautiful. Vancouver is great town to walk around or take a double-decker bus all over town and to Stanley Park. They were filming a movie while we were there. My wife spotted Robin Williams walking Robson street where all the upscale shops and restaurants are. Have a great time!