Jackie's Blog

We had to wake up early to escape the ship for our first tour of the cruise. The obligatory photos before we left followed by meeting the coach. The drivers tend to be seasonal workers as most people only stay up there during the cruise ship season. This time our guy was a local and told us more about the very small town and its history. Ketchikan is a very wet place getting over 13.5 feet of rain a year! Yes it is measured in feet rather than inches because it is in the Tongass National Park and Rainforest. Unfortunately it was one of the rainy days. Luckily is was dry to start. Dick and I were paired up in a twin kayak with him driving from the back ( he had the rudder controls). We kayaked out to a small island and saw an eagles nest as well as lots of salmon jumping but at times the rain was so hard you could barely see.   Luckily we did stay largely dry inside our waterproofs and had dry jackets to put on after. I'm still glad we went. Kayaks drying out After ...

We  left home at 5 AM on Sunday and dropped the car off at work and took a cab at the airport.  The day just got better and better. We got front seats on Southwest with loads of leg room for a flight of just over  an hour and a half and landed early in Seattle. After a cab ride to where the cruise ship was docked, we left our luggage and walked into downtown Seattle. It was a beautiful day and almost too warm. We ate an early  lunch at a seafront hotel recommended to us and just relaxed.  After a walk to Pike place market which was heaving due to three cruise ships being in port we decided to cut our losses and head back to the ship.  Queues were long but not unexpected and everyone was happy to be going onboard. Our cabin is like a small hotel room with a queen sized bed, a TV and a ensuite shower, sink and loo. We also have a balcony which is lovely. Most other people headed off to get food but as we'd eaten we went off exploring. We are ...