Things we did on our cruise (a very long blog)

ALong with being totally spoiled by the food and the service on the ship, we also did some other fun things on our cruise. We saw some spectacular scenery and visited 3 different towns in Alaska. At Juneau we saw Mendenhall Glacier and visited a fish hatchery and aquarium. I got to pet a star fish and a spider crab and saw an 8 foot eel come out of hiding to eat.
From Sitka we went on a sea otter tour where we saw lots of sea otters floating on their backs with their pups sitting on their stomachs. It was really cute but I couldn't
get good pictures of them. To the surprise of the tour guide, we also saw lots of hump back whales and several gray whales. He did not expect to see any and had told us so, but we saw dozens of them. We saw several mother and babies together (at left). We could find them very easily because they were spouting water all around us (below) and often would flip up their flukes after they spouted. Even knowing this, it was hard to get a good photo. They are up
for only a second. Dad took over 200
photos on this excursion!
I took these last two!




Also in Sitka we visited a raptor rehabilitation center and met "Sitka" the eagle - their mascot. Because of an injury he can never be released back into the wild.

In Ketchikan we visited Saxman
village, a native Alaskan village. We saw their lodges and totems and learned about their culture. We watched them dance and visited with a carver as he carved a new totem.
When we were there 6 years ago, David danced with them. This year he refused, so Laurel Willis danced with them. It was great! We also went to a real fun Lumberjack Show in Ketchikan. We were on the Canadian team - and we won!! Gay and Laurel were on the American team. A little friendly competition spices things up!
While in Alaska, we were also in the Juneau newspaper. This is the beginning of the news article about our ship.
Holland America's cruise ship Westerdam sustained non-critical hull damage after striking ice near Yakutat Bay on Tuesday. The Coast Guard is investigating the incident. Sector Juneau's public affairs office Lt.j.g.James Dooley said the hull was mildly indented about 15 feet below the waterline while maneuvering through ice during high winds while sailing near Hubbard Glacier. There was no reported hull breach and so the ship proceeded to its Sitka destination where it was met by investigators. "They reported the incident and what was happening on scene, so the Coast Guard here in Juneau coordinated and decided there wasn't a reason to prevent them from moving on to Sitka," Dooley said. He said the next move was for divers to conduct an underwater inspection in Ketchikan Thursday. He said there were no injuries or pollution reported. So, you see, we are famous!