June 29

Sunday June 29: Seattle Lakes Cruise

The LAST Day

Sooooo, the bottom line is we had a wonderful day - BUT, the day did NOT start off that way. Take a look at Sue and Dan waiting, waiting above.....yes, that's how the day started. We were scheduled to go on an all-day cruise to Friday Harbor which included whale watching and wildlife "hunting" on the boat. When I'd first seen the excursion it described as leaving at 7:45 am and not returning until 7:15 pm. But when I had called and made the reservation from Sue and Dan's the day before we left they sent us a voucher we were required to print out and present when we left for the tour and it said the departure time was 11:30 am. I thought that was unusual, but there it was in black and white. So today we had all the transportation arranged and about 9:30 Kim called to ask about what to wear and the girl was stunned we were NOT ON THE BOAT! The boat had left at 7:45 (like I had originally thought); when Kim asked about the voucher, she said, well that's what you present when you are ready to return! Well, nobody told us that! So here we are without an excursion and the girl was qute rude telling Kim there were no refunds! (over $400!). But later when we called back the gentleman was so nice and sent us a refund form, so it looks like we will get our money back. 

So I started looking for alternatives and we settled on a 1:15 lake cruise. I made reservations - the girl told me it was within easy walking distance from us....and the GPS confirmed this. So we went to lunch and had over an hour to walk a half a mile. We started walking and the road was blocked with construction. We asked some construction workers and they were like, "oh no, you've got such a LONG walk ahead!" So we called our taxi guy, and warned him of all the traffic due to a Gay Day parade downtown. We still had an hour to get there. He called when there was ten minutes to get there (still plenty of time by the GPS) that he was running late....stuck in traffic. Finally he arrived and then we couldn't find it AND had traffic. We got there just as the boat was leaving.....sigh. So we walked across the parking lot and had cocktails for two hours (see above).

We were booked on the 3:30 cruise and it was fabulous. So relaxing and if anything, the weather was hot. We could not have asked for better Seattle weather - it rains for over 260 days out of the year, and had rained every day while we were on the cruise! But today was perfect. We cruised up and down Lake Union, into Portage Bay, and then into Lake Washington. We saw the University of Washington Huskies' football stadium (boo - GO COUGS!); the home from "Sleepless In Seattle," Bill & Melinda Gates estate (wow!); the home of the owner of Starbucks; and one of the coolest things, a big boat of college kids with nearly all of the coeds topless, and enjoying showing us what they had! Somehow the camera-guy (that would be me) was so stunned he missed both the still shot and the video shot.....wow.  When we returned we walked around the bend of the lake and had dinner right on the water at a nice local restaurant and it was also a fabulous spot to eat. We had the best luck all weekend with the food and weather!

June 28

We had booked a full 6 1/2 hour tour of the greater Seattle area for today before we left Georgia. One of the highlights of the tour promised to be a tour of the iconic Seattle Space Needle; and included in our package were tickets to the observation deck. Our ride picked us up a little after 10:30 a.m. and we were taken to a centrally located hotel to join nearly twenty other visitors and transfer onto a bigger bus to start our day. 

City of Seattle Tour Highlights

The tour driver was named Kim :) and she told us our first stop would be at the Space Needle where we'd have an hour to explore. At first this seemed like a long time for a stop, but we quickly found that this spot was obviously not only a tourist favorite, but also was very popular with the locals as the line to get to the top was a nice wait. As we approached the elevators we noticed that they were taking photos.....well, of course I was going to buy one! But when it was our turn we were told that the photo was FREE! We all remarked that no one just gave away things, especially a nice photo like this, for free. The hostess smiled and said that they did! They took the shot and gave us a receipt; once at the top there was a computer where you scanned the receipt and picked the photo you wanted, then had it emailed to you. Easy-peasy-pie! You see the results at the top of the page!  I had wondered how I would feel at the top of the over 600 foot tall needle, and especially about going out on the observation deck; and I also was concerned with how Kim would react to being up so high and on the observation deck. When we got onto the elevator I was right up against the window, and a bit anxious..... But the elevator ride up was no problem and when we arrived at the top it was such a great view that I quickly knew that I'd have no problems with the height. Everyone else, including Kim felt the same and we moved right to the observation deck for better views and photo opportunities. I will say that the way the outdoor observation deck was slanted down did make me a little uneasy, especially with my still feeling like we were on the ship (as was Dan). The views were great as you can tell from the panoramic shots I took as I walked around the perimeter of the Space Needle (below).  It's probably hard to believe that our tour lasted until nearly 5 pm by looking at the photos that are posted here (and watching the three minute highlights video), but we saw nearly everything there was to see in the city on the tour. And while not much of it is documented here in pictures, it was interesting.....it seemed more to me of just interesting local city color, and not anything truly "wow-like" that I'd take a photo or a video of. But a few of the highlights worth documenting in the pics.  Below you see Kim and I posing near a waterfall. This story has two parts - the first of which is that this site was where the original UPS company was founded and it is a park right in the middle of downtown Seattle. That would have been interesting enough, but the real story was that the bus stopped here for a nearly thirty-minute break. To see the waterfall was a less-than five minute event and it was surrounded by this huge park that was filled, and I mean FILLED with homeless characters! Everyone on the bus was buzzing about how uncomfortable they felt in the area and we were glad to get going again. And yet, just two blocks earlier there had been many things pointed out (like underground Seattle in Pioneer Square where the city was rebuilt following a fire ON TOP of the old city, and you could walk down to the old city remnants) but we did not stop there. We all felt it was an "unusual" stop, especially for thirty minutes. 

At our first stop we were given two hours at Pike's Market - that was interesting, especially the Salmon market where the fish are thrown (see the video). But it was much like the Swap Shop in Ft. Lauderdale and once we'd seen some of it, we'd seen enough so we stopped for lunch - the view was great (see photo of the ladies in the foreground). Back to the bus and there was, as Sue said, "the best ice cream" store (pic of Kim). We stopped in the neighborhood of Freemont to see the "Freemont troll" (at left). This area under a bridge had become a hang-out for drug dealers and so to solve that officials built this art structure....promoted it as a tourist spot and now so many people stop and visit that the drug problem has been eliminated! Finally, we drove through the VERY wealthy neighborhood of Magnolia and came to Carey Park. This spot is where nearly all the best professional photos of the Seattle area are taken (see below). The interesting story was that the site had been a private home for the Carey family. In their wills they left the property to the city on the condition that it be turned into a park so everyone could enjoy the view they had enjoyed while living in Seattle!

We did not have any dinner plans for tonight, but shortly after the tour started the couple sitting behind us mentioned they had eaten at a great restaurant which was right on the waterfront of Puget Sound (across the inlet from downtown) and that if you called them they would come pick you up at your hotel and take you back. When we stopped for lunch in the market we all agreed this sounded like a good idea, so I called them. Indeed that all was true, but the arrangements had to be made by your hotel, so I called them (at Dan's suggestion, rather than waiting until the tour was over - which proved to be a great idea!). Within minutes we were booked.....and we thought that sounded like a nice plan. 

WOW WERE WE SURPRISED!

We went outside the hotel lobby at 6:30 and up pulls a STRETCH LIMO! Our driver introduced himself as "James" and he told us he'd take us to the restaurant and get us a good table with a magnificent view of the city. The trip out to the restaurant was about twenty minutes and it could have served as our city tour - he was as much if not more informative - and it was a private tour, IN A STRETCH LIMO to boot! When we arrived he took us inside and said there was a great table on the deck with a great view. We all agreed, and said as long as it was shaded. We were told it had a big umbrella, so we went out. Well, "shaded" is a term that I guess means different things to different people and I think both Sue and Dan would have been very uncomfortable, though they said it was ok. But within minutes James appeared and said there was a great table inside and he thought we'd be better off inside! So appreciative! The food was magnificent, and the views were spectacular. Mt. Ranier was visible in the background, see Dan's photo, and this was made even more special by the fact that James told us it was a very rare treat for even the locals to see the mountain through the clouds!

We had been at our new table inside for less than ten minutes when the general manager, Chris came up and looked right at me and said, "Is that Miami of Ohio?" pointing to my polo shirt. What are the odds of that Seattle? I said it was indeed, and he told us he was a Redskin alumni and had noticed my shirt and had to say something. We saw him later going around to check on everyone's meal, and he came back another time to check on our meal. But as I noted to Sue and Dan, everytime I wear a Miami shirt I get a comment at some point from someone - that was pretty cool for me! 

I asked the others if anyone had a problem with me asking James for a photo in front of the limo, and everyone thought that was a good idea, so when I did he said he would, but "....let's go out on the deck so I can take a photo of you with the city in the background...." You can see that great shot above, and then the limo shot below. What a spectacular dinner experience!

June 26 - 27

June 26 - Day at Sea / Formal Night 2

Today appeared to be a very laid back day, but all of us agreed at the end of the day that it had been a very busy and full day. After breakfast (later than usual as the clocks moved up an hour last night) Kim and I met Sue in the Solstice Theatre for a hypnosis show, put on by the previous night's entertainer, magician Ryan David, that had been promised to "pack the house!" Sue was coming from a hot glass blowing demonstration where she and Dan had sat outside (in ultra-cold temps!) to watch the demonstration....they were rewarded for their patience by winning a drawing which earned them a glass-blown plate. The three of us were in a perfect spot to watch as about a dozen brave souls volunteered to be hyptotized.....knowing full well that they would be do things under suggestion that were "entertaining." I commend them for willing to BE the show :)   The first portion had all of them believing they were on a beach. David first suggested how pleasant it was and they "put on" suntan lotion - first themselves and then their neighbors.....then he suggested they had a bird, whom they admired and then it began crawling up inside their clothes....fun stuff. He then singled out three of them for individual "performances." The one gal believed she was a diva singer anytime the music came on - and she really played the part; another lady believed she was being pinched on the rear end anytime David mentioned the word "celebrity." She was most offended at her neighbors, who were dumbfounded when accused of being the "attacker!" The third guy believed he had the MOST comfortable t-shirt EVER when he heard the phrase "car keys" and would switch it from front to back to make it even more comfortable.  The highlight - for me at least - was the finale. One older gentlemen was led to believe he was the captain of the ship, and he KNEW that laughing was dangerous, so he was to announce that laughing was now outlawed onboard! Three other men believed they were security guards to enforce the new law. The "captain" sounded just like our captain (accent and all!) and he was most sympathetic, but insistent there would be no more laughing.....of course it just frustrated him when everyone laughed out loud. One "security officer" in particular pointed to a lady and said, "SHE is laughing - she won't stop!" and was most indignant :) And finally, the first lady who'd been believing she had her rear end pinched was now told that when she was thanked for being part of the show, she would start off stage and then realize she'd seen multiple Big Foots come on board who had been eating guests! She would rush up to the microphone and tell everyone to protect their children......but to do so in Mandarin Chinese! True to the suggestion she was in near panic mode speaking what she believed was Chinese, pleading with everyone to save their children. And the guy with the t-shirt - well he was told that once he got back to his seat he would realize he had no pants on! He would take the comfortable t-shirt off, "cover himself" and dash back up on stage to hide behind Ryan David, knowing it was the only "safe place" where he would not be "exposed." We all laughed so hard, nearly bringing tears to our eyes!

It was past 1:30 pm by the time the show ended so we all met for lunch. At 3:00, shortly after lunch, was another presentation by Brent Davis. Today his top was the Orca Whales. The first third of his presentation was a lot about his wife, his cd's, etc. and to be honest I was so tired I nodded off for a minute or two more than once! But the last 40 minutes his discussion, videos, and photos of the Orca were fascinating! Some of the highlights........

• One of the best places to see the Orca - off the coast of San Juan Islands near Seattle, where we are going on Sunday!  
• They are one of the most intelligent mammals on the planet, using more than 80% of their brain (we use less than 15%). They cannot fully sleep, so they shut down one half of their brain while "sleeping" and swim against the current in an "auto-mode" in a group. Studies have shown that one of the orca is awake and here's the most fascinating thing.....when the "leader" has a thought, within seconds ALL the others' brain waves show that THEY HAVE THE SAME THOUGHT! So the leader is guiding them by mental telepathy! WOW!  
• Finally....when the orca are being watched by a group of powerboats - the propellers being very dangerous, obviously - they will swim right up beside a boat, using it for protection and then dive down to disappear. One will resurface about a mile away in one direction, following by another surfacing a mile away in the other direction. The boats typically separate to go "see the show." Meanwhile all of the orca re-group underwater back in the middle and swim off, undisturbed!

We met for before-dinner drinks at "our bar" - later we had our group photo taken right near the bar (see above) in our Formal Attire Part 2. We listened to the quartet of singers whom we'd enjoyed the first night on board and then headed to dinner. For some reason we were seated in the lower dining area, which is usually reserved for those dining on a fixed schedule. This seemed like a great deal, until we got to our table which was far, far back in the corner. While this was a good location to have a more quiet dinner, and three of us did not have to look out the windowns - which are like looking through coke bottles - most disturbing! - it was probably the very worst location for the traditional waiter march. We all waved our napkins like the rest of the crowd, but never spotted a single dinner staff person marching or singing. Disappointing. 

After dinner we wanted (me in particular) to have our group photo taken in front of the "ship" background. We found it and got in line. But as soon as the group in front of us was ready for pictures, the captain of the ship appeared and they had their photo taken with him. Kim asked the photographer could we have our photo not only with the captain, but without......and we were told that if we wanted to do that we would have to come back around 9:45 pm. So we got out of line (pretty sure the captain did NOT see us!) and headed off the the theatre for the last "big show" - one we'd been promised we did NOT want to miss. It had been billed as a "Cirque de Soleil-like" show. We all had agreed that the ship's talent had been entertaining, but was far from "broadway-caliber" in the previous shows. So we had our doubts about their ability to pull off such a show - with the exception of two performers who were OBVIOUSLY talented in these kinds of performances. As soon as the show started however it was clear that this would indeed be an exceptional show. I have to say, being a veteran of many cirque-like shows, that this performance was as good as most of the cirque shows I've seen. The acrobatics, juggling, and other unusual things they did on stage, and in the air, were exceptionally well done!

When the show was over we headed back to the "ship background" to have our photo taken, only to discover the background was rolled up and the photographer gone for the night. Sue and Dan headed to the casino for about twenty minutes while Kim and I went upstairs to read befoere turning in. We asked Sue to bang on our door if she won big again. About twenty minutes after we were settled into our pajamas there was a banging at the door! "Did you win big again?" we asked......no she said, but she told us that she had to tell us that as they went to leave, the "ship background" and photographer had re-opened! At least they got their photo taken with the background I wanted :)

The final day of our cruise was an ultra-cool and foggy day. The ship's blast horn sounded several times throughout the day because it was so much thicker than portrayed in the photo below. We had received information about packing and disembarking for tomorrow's landing in Seattle and had to spend a good bit of time getting all of our things packed so they could be outside our room by 11 pm at the latest. The four of us met at breakfast and made a final decision about today......we decided it really wasn't worth the money to get off the ship and tour the city of Victoria. And we also decided that since we would be spending the next three nights in Seattle that we'd rather spend our meal money on a good restaurant there than to eat in one of the specialty restaurants on our last night on board. We re-grouped about 1 pm for an afternoon drink, did a little shopping, got some photos, and then headed into the theatre to hear Brent Nixon's last speech - this one on seals and otters. About fifteen minutes after his presentation it was the final show of the cruise - early because of the evening docking in Victoria. It was a highllight of the musical acts and was good. We headed back to our cabins to get "cleaned up" for dinner and then met at "our bar" for a couple of pre-dinner cocktails. The dinner was very good - a veal cordon-bleu and all of us had the french onion soup one last time - it was without a doubt the best thing prepared in the dining room! After dinner we had a final drink and laughed about some of the photo poses that the photographers (who were sub-par by any standard of measurement) had required. The girls just had to strike one last pose - see at right! And then out the window we saw one last amazing sight......the mountains ABOVE the clouds.....really a cool final vista to capture in our last on-board photograph. Tomorrow we begin our Seattle adventure!

June 25

June 25 - Skagway: Helicopter Ride and Meade Glacier Adventure

A few years ago Kim and I took a helicopter ride to the Mendenhall Glacier and it was an amazing experience to be hiking and exploring on a glacier.....and the helicopter ride to get there had been a thrill as well. We considered repeating that adventure with Sue and Dan, but the one thing Sue had said she really wanted to do was to go whale watching....and the only way to do BOTH a whale watching tour and a helicopter/glacier expedition was to do the Juneau Evening Whale Watching experience and then do the helicopter/glacier here in Skagway. Well, as you have seen, the whale watching excursion was S-P-E-C-T-A-C-U-L-A-R!  So, I was curious how this would compare to the Mendenhall Glacier experience. I had looked at videos online because none of the information indicated what kind of gear they provided (unlike the Mendenhall Glacier). The initial glimpses I had seen did not appear as though this was as picturesque a glacier. But I could not have been more wrong! While much of the glacier (see above) appears on the whole to look like a dirt road, as you walked on it it was clearly a sheet of ice with a lot of stones and dirt trapped within it. And some parts of the glacier were as spectacularly blue as what I had remembered from our last trip. 

Meade Glacer Adventure Highlights

We had found out before we left that we did get special boots to put over our shoes and a vest. Would the vest be warm enough? We all took coats and gloves, but it was very comfortably warm in town without them. When we arrived at the helicopter station the girl told us that it would be about 10-15 degrees cooler on the glacier.

Dan and I both decided to leave our warmest jackets behind, and Kim left her one thermal shirt behind. Sue, as it turned out, was the smartest of the bunch! We were given our vests and boots and then sorted by weight with another couple (for a total of six passengers) for the helicopter trip. There were four helicopters in all heading up to the glacier and we followed one-after-another in single file, with our helicopter being the "caboose to the train." It was pretty unique to see the others flying ahead of us :) The take-off and initial flight quickly matched my expectations that this would indeed be an "E-Ticket" ride (reference to old Walt Disney World Magic Kingdom tickets for those of you too young to remember such a thing!). We climbed up the mountain side and flew through magnificent valleys - saw other glaciers in the distance, so cool. We flew right up to the top of one mountain and over before beginning to bend around the mountain and then down to the Meade Glacier. It was a GREAT ride.....oh so smooth! My only "issue" during the ride was the same as on my previous two helicopter trips (and the bi-plane to the top of another glacier in Denali National Park on our last Alaskan trip) - that is, while I very much wanted and enjoyed the window seat, my knee was resting on the release handle which would spring the door open in mid-flight. That thought flashed through my mind MANY times today, just as it had on the previous trips. I guess it's just part of the overall thrill! :)  When we arrived on the glacier I won't swear about the actual temperature, but if you watch the video (and you can tell from several photos) it was REALLY windy. And it was a very, very cold wind! We exited the chopper and met up with our guides who gave us a few safety tips, offered us walking poles, and then headed out on a 45 minute hike over the glacier.  We stopped at a huge boulder first and the guide explained this boulder, like all the others were being carried down the mountain by the glacier. He pointed out to us that the glacier had been several miles farther down the mountain just a few years ago but was a "retreating glacier" and was receeding at several hundred feet every year. You could also see the treelines on the mountains surrounding the glacier a very distinct break between large, tall trees and small shrub-like growth (visible in some of the video shots). Right above the shrubs marked the level that the glacier had at one time been; so not only was it receeding but was sinking as well. Pretty remarkable geological stuff was presented to us from start to finish. We hiked around quite a distance - and throughout the expedition the wind was really stiff and cold! But, like the others, I would have been disappointed had it NOT been so cold! I mean, after all, we were ON A GLACIER, duh!

Some patches of free-flowing water and crevices in the glacier were a spectacular blue. Amazing stuff. We were encouraged to taste some of the purest water on the planet Earth (I did, and it was water.....I don't know what else it might have tasted like!). At one point (which I captured on the video) the group was gathered around a crevice that we were told was some 75-to-100 feet deep - with water at the bottom going another several hundred feet down. The geologist guide tossed a big boulder into the crevice and it was a significant number of seconds before you heard it hit near the bottom and splash. What was truly amazing was that they told us just a few weeks ago this large hole in the glacier had been the size of a tennis ball! When you see the pics and video you will easily see why this was so interesting!

We eventually headed back to the "base" as our helicopter rides were on their way back to pick us up (and drop off the next group). Our guide was so nice to take a nice shot of us with the helicopter and mountains in the background - just the shot I had envisioned months ago for today's adventure! And while it's true the expedition and excursion was over, the flight back on the helicopter was equally as spectacular as had been the flight to the glacier. I wish we'd been able to go for a longer time as the two hours just flew by!