Our First Cruise to Alaska
Shelly and I took our first cruise to Alaska in May of 2007. We flew into Vancouver and walked around the city and markets before departing on our cruise. We also went to a botanical garden. It rained the whole time, but it was still beautiful.
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We cruised the Inside Passage to Hoonah where we toured Icy Strait Point and went river rafting. We saw an incredible number of bald eagles. We also shopped at the Warehouse Shops.
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In Juneau, we went to see Mendenhall Glacier. We did not hike it, but walked near it. It's an incredible site, especially when I think about the fact that much of the upper United States was covered in glaciers only 15,000 years ago. There are so few glaciers left in the U.S.
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Our last stop was Skagway and we walked around town. We went to the Red Onion Saloon Brothel Museum.
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We returned to Vancouver, and Shelly and I took a day trip to Whistler where the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games took place. We met some Canadian Olympians and tried on their Olympic medals. Ken played basketball in a wheelchair with some Paralympic athletes. It was incredibly difficult to shoot baskets when you can't use your legs.
Vancouver - The Day before the Cruise
We had one day in Vancouver before our cruise. We went to an outdoor market and walked a bit of the city. We also spent two days in and around Vancouver after our cruise.
Our Departure - The Inside Passage
Our cruise departed Vancouver and headed up the Inside Passage to Hoonah. It was such a magnificent journey! We had a nice size cabin with a balcony, and enjoyed seeing the mountains and marine life as we cruised to our first port-of-call.
Our First Port-of-call - Icy Strait Point in Hoonah
Our highlights included seeing dozens of American Bald Eagles, and salmon fishing. Shelly caught a nice 11 pound salmon, and we had it filleted and shipped home.
A few photos of magnificent American Bald Eagles on shore and inflight. There were dozens of them on the shore line of our first port-of-call.
Some beautiful photos of mountains and glaciers on our way to our second port-of-call.
Some photos of Shelly and Ken onboard the cruise ship.
A Riverboat Trip from Skagway to Mendenhall Glacier
We took a riverboat ride to see Mendenhall Glacier. The scenes were epic. Here are some photos of the sites and the glacier.
Cruise Friends
las we have forgotten their names, but we met a wonderful couple from Germany and had a fabulous time with them. Here are some photos.
The After-cruise - Visits to a Botanical Garden in Vancouver and Whistler
We had a wonderful cruise, and now we had two days in Vancouver before we flew home. The first day we spent at a botanical garden near Vancouver. It rained all day, but the grounds were beautiful.
The second day we went to Whistler, British Columbia, where the Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games took place. Here's some photos.
We had a wonderful cruise and visit to British Columbia. We could not wait until we did another cruise to Alaska. Goodbye American Bald Eagles!
