Day 09 - 07/31- Anchorage

 It was a relatively slow day today in Anchorage.  Our city tour didn't start until 1:15 so Jakob had some pool time after being able to sleep in.  The tour was nice (especially the part where we drove by and through the Lake Hood seaplane area) and concluded with a visit to the Anchorage museum which Jakob really enjoyed for the large number of hands on exhibits. We walked back to the hotel, enjoyed a group buffet dinner, and Jakob got some more pool time in.

A bubble experiment 

Since we have to be up early tomorrow to catch the train to Denali, we packed our suitcases and put them inside by the door for a 6am pickup, and were in bed by 9pm ish.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Day 07 - 07/29 - At sea in the Gulf of Alaska

Image
 Today was only our second sea day of this voyage.  Before noon we attended a multi-media presentation on the World Stage about what goes on behind the scenes on the ship.  The point of the presentation was that there are many people needed behind the scenes for us to have a successful cruise.  Erin, Cruise and Travel Director indicated that we have just over 1900 guests and around 700 crew. Surprisingly a good number of the senior staff are now from India including the Hotel General Manager, Head Chef, & Food & Beverage Head.  Afterwards, we attended a Mariner recognition ceremony in the Pinnacle Bar. After the few awards were presented, we got our picture taken with the Captain and Hotel GM. Following lunch and after dropping Jakob off at Club HAL, I spent the next few hours updating my blog and studying for an upcoming sermon I'll be preaching when we get back home. We ate a Lido dinner with Jakob (at least when he wasn't in the pool). We then spent t...
Read more

Day 08 - 07/30 - Whittier to Anchorage

Image
 We arrived in Whittier before midnight last night on glass smooth seas.  This morning's disembarkations started at 6:20am and continued every 10-15 minute until 10am.  During that time several Alaska Rail Car tourist trains and a number of buses departed.  Finally at 10:05 our group of about 160 was called and we made our way down to deck A and scanned off the Noordam one last time.  We found our coach, C in our case) and took a tour of Whittier (5 minutes), and then waited in line for the 11am tunnel opening.  Traveling from Whittier is on the hour and to Whittier is on the hour.   Whittier was a secret military port constructed during WWII.  One can only get here by boat, light plane, or through the 2.5 mile long tunnel.  When our time came we passed through the tunnel and a few minutes later we were at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center.  The Center is used to provide a rehabilitation home for injured animals and they participat...
Read more

Day 12 - 08/03 - Denali to Fairbanks

Image
Today we transitioned by motorcoach from the McKinley Chalet to the Westmark Hotel in Fairbanks.  Fortunately, we did not have to get up terribly early and left at 9:45am as the 3rd bus in a group of 4 busses. The first hour was clear and we saw a moose and two calves which thrilled everyone. We then did a rest stop at a cool little campground and gift shop.  I forgot to take a picture of the name, but I'll try to find it.  They had some cool & unique vintage machinery and a stuffed polar bear.  After the brief stop we did a drive through Nenana. (Last year southbound we stopped there).  As we crossed the bridge we began to encounter more and more wildfire smoke and observed lots of fire equipment.  The smoke lessened a bit as we approached Fairbanks. Brian, our driver, gave excellent commentary along the way. Food cache Fish Weir Alaskan improvision Nice green house  We skirted Fairbanks and headed north to the Silver Gulch Brewing Company where t...
Read more