Inside Ford’s Terror to Outside Ford’s Terror

So I woke up this morning to sunshine… amazing. And too funny because 2 years ago when I was here and my Step-Bro came with me, the same thing happened. We entered Ford’s Terror to a downpour and woke up the next day to sunshine. And I felt a little queasy when I woke up this morning, but 90% better than last night. We watched eagles fly around as we had cream of wheat for breakfast, and some chamomile tea for myself. Easy on the stomach. By mid-day the sun started to go away, but still warmer here at 63 degrees than it has been. We decided to take the dinghy down and go over to this gorgeous waterfall we saw on the way in. I just have to go get my warm clothes on. We also had to plan our itinerary for the next few days. Tonight will be our second to last night anchoring, and then 2 nights back in Juneau. Booo!!! We are on the downswing of the trip. Today we will play around in here, then pass Ford’s Terror passage between 4-5pm at high tide, then weather depending, go kayaking on the other side by the waterfalls. Then tomorrow start our day around 7am and head to Dawes Glacier. See that and then head back to Tracy Arm Cove for our last night anchoring out tomorrow. There was this sailboat in the bay when we exited Ford’s Terror and it looked like they were debating entering Ford’s Terror because of the way they were going around the bay. My Aunt and I hopped in the kayaks and were heading to this waterfall in the cove, which was past their boat. So we yelled Hello and asked if they were entering, but they said they couldn’t find the entrance and it was too late now because of the tide. So we continued along our way and headed toward the waterfall, but the tides were iffy so we turned around. Then there were some icebergs in the bay, so we paddled over to a few of them to get up close and personal and take pictures. We also saw a seal or 2 that kept popping up all over. After about an hour and 15 mins we headed back to the boat. When we got there, the couple from the sailboat had come on board and they were all visiting. They are from Switzerland and originally sailed from Europe, across the Atlantic and made their way to Hawaii, Canada and Alaska. Now they leave their boat here, and fly home every winter to work. They were telling the story about entering Alaska one time, and the humorous hassle with customs. And they said “Well I guess Canada is pretty lenient about people growing pot, and apparently they smuggle it on Swiss sailboats.” They were joking and it was pretty funny. The also told of their 19 day trip last year from New Zealand to the South Pacific. Interesting stuff. Then tonight was leftover night, and let’s just say that I won’t be eating last night’s leftovers in fear of getting sick again. After dinner we watched ‘Bedtime Stories’ which was cute. And we are anchored right next to a waterfall so I am listening to that as I type. I just went outside a few minutes ago and actually saw stars for the first time this trip, cool! Now tomorrow we leave at 7am, although I doubt I’ll be up that early.

Tracy Arm Cove to Ford’s Terror, Endicott Arm

We left a bit later today because be had to hit Ford’s Terror at high tide, which was around 4:15pm. You can not get through the passage at low tide because of the rocks. So we listened to ‘Twilight’ (in the cove with us again last night) hailing a boat in the channel about the weather. Apparently they are waiting on a sea plane to land in the channel (either picking up passengers or dropping off), well La Di Da ;-) So we made it by the swirling tides to get out of the cove, then on the way we went. 53 degrees out today, which is warm for out here. My Aunt and I sat on the bow for quite a while in a white out. So that meant we were on iceberg duty. It was hard to spot them up ahead as our visibility distance wasn’t so hot. It was pretty much just the misting fog for the most part. But then it started raining so we went inside for some fresh baked chocolate chip cookies my Mom made… as my Aunt snuck a spoonful of cookie dough and then licked the bowl. We had an hour to kill outside the Ford’s Terror narrows before high tide, so we took that time to anchor by the waterfalls and have egg salad sandwiches for lunch. And yes, I realize I mention food a lot in this blog, since we seemed to have yummy things to eat every time we turn around. So around 4:15pm at high tide we could finally get through Ford’s Terror. So we slowly made our way through. It was beautiful and pretty foggy, but we were just getting misted on and not rained on. The fjords around here are awesome, even in the rain. The tops are pretty obstructed by the fog but you still know how tall they are. I just had my Mom check on a map and as we came into Endicott Arm, the rock walls on one side were 5,200’ and on the other 5,700’. Amazing. And as we came into our cove past another dozen waterfalls, we ended up in a punchbowl of fog. There is a waterfall at one end of the cove, near where we anchor, that is pretty loud. Reminds me of the sound you enjoy in Hawaii of the waves crashing as you go to sleep. So we sit here and watch the fog roll in and out. Sometimes you can see the shore, and sometimes we’re in complete whiteness. Dinner tonight is crab linguini. About a pound of fresh crab they just got last week with some onion, butter and spices over linguini. Spells pretty good from where I sit…. OK, well it was delicious, but… I seemed to be the only one of the 4 of us that seemed to get a bout of food poisoning. OK, technically it couldn’t have been, unless they were immune, but that’s what it felt like and I was SO sick the rest of the night. Not fun, and could not fall asleep until super late because of it.

Tracy Arm Cove to Tracy Arm and back

Today I got up at 8:30am as usual, but was tired so went back to sleep until 10am when they started the motors. We were heading into Tracy Arm today to see if we could make it as far as the N and S Sawyer Glaciers. Two years ago when I was here, I think we made it half way, or maybe ¾ of the way there but ran into an ice field and decided to turn around before getting there. Today the icebergs were broken up pretty good and we made it all the way. I sat on the bow in my Coleman rain suit (wish I had that 2 years ago) and was bundled up pretty good. We passed probably 50 waterfalls from the tiny to the amazing. We ended up seeing the N Sawyer Glacier in the distance to the left first. But it was barricaded by an ice field and huge icebergs that our boat could not penetrate. So we headed off to the right to see S Sawyer Glacier. And as it became visible around the corner, it was awe inspiring. It was several hundred feet tall and the brightest blue. We’ll see if my pictures do it justice. It is the prettiest glacier I have seen so far in Alaska (yet only my 3rd or 4th). It was awesome. We turned off the boat just to look at it and take some pictures. Then we headed back the other direction (another 3-4 hours back) stopping to get up close to a few waterfalls along the way. We also saw the boat ‘Captain Cook’ in the arm with us, who 2 years ago pissed us off to no end. The boat was in the harbor in Juneau with us, when the captain or mechanic, decided at 1:30am to start trying to get his prop off with a metal mallet or sledgehammer. Oh, we were irritated. So when I saw him today, I was like, “Look, there is that asshole from 2 years ago!”. ‘Twilight’ also passed us in there as well. I decided to take a shower while underway, so that once we got back to our cove and anchored, we could have dinner. Got to love looking at waterfalls and beautiful scenery through the porthole in the shower. My Mom made some homemade chili and cornbread that I have smelled cooking all day. YUM!!! By the time 6:30pm rolled around, we were ready for bed. Although logic said we couldn’t crash that early. So my Step-Dad went to bed to read and crash and my Mom, Aunt and I watched ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button’ and ended up crashing around 10:30pm. No reading tonight, I was out light a light.

Taku Harbor to Tracy Arm Cove

Up at 8:30am again to the sound of Merlin’s collar while playing and Kingston Trio on the iPod speakers. I did my ‘3 point turn’ to toss and turn a few times, then just got my butt up. It was definitely low tide as the pilings were raised far out of the water showing their barnacles. Then we headed out around 9am to a small craft advisory (we’re larger than a small craft), so it was a bit wavy. My Aunt and I sat on the bow for quite a while in the very rainy and freezing 39 degree weather. Luckily as we approached the cove, the rain stopped. Sundum glacier was off to the left and as cool as I remembered. As we got closer, the fog gobbled it up. There were also many icebergs at the entrance to Tracy Arm that we had to go check out. 2 of them are the largest I have ever seen… one the size of a two story house. We then anchored inside the cove around 1:30pm. We took the dinghy out to get up close and personal with about 3 icebergs, which we quite awesome. After a nice little ride we came back for some cheese, salami and crackers with a fresh fruit salad. Then some quiet time for everyone as we just look out at the beautiful large snow capped mountains, and watched the fog roll in. We also watched 2 large yachts (both probably 55’-65’) come into the harbor later in the evening. The larger of the 2 was named ‘Twilight’. We had kielbasa, rice and spinach salad for dinner. Then watched a Dean Martin Variety Show hour on DVD. Nice flashback to the 70’s while watching Dom DeLuise, Crystal Gayle, Dionne Warwick, Jonathan Winters, Shirley Jones and a few others sing and stuff. Then after chatting about our possible itinerary for the rest of the trip, we crashed. I bought Tori Spelling’s new book ‘Mommywood’ before leaving so I have been reading that before bed each night. Almost halfway done already.

Juneau to Taku Harbor

I woke up around 8:30am and we started up the engines around 9:30am to head out. It was a gloomy day but not very rainy. We puttered past Juneau and the 5 cruise ships in dock this morning (A Princess, Celebrity, NCL, Holland America and one liner we didn’t recognize). We had some cereal, fresh fruit and a homemade blueberry scone (with some homemade kiwi jam my Aunt made) for breakfast en route. My Aunt and I sat on I the bow for most of the trip in the 36 degree weather. We bundled up and looked quite silly. Once we got here, we saw spots of sun but still very overcast for the most part. As we sat here chatting we saw an iceberg float into the bay we were in. That is pretty unusual since we are a bit North of the glaciers, and we weren’t expecting to see any icebergs until tomorrow. So we put the dinghy down and went over to it to take pics and touch it. It was my Aunt’s first iceberg. Then after sandwiches for lunch, I took a late afternoon nap. I’m so tired up here for some reason. Fresh air and a rocking boat will you do that to you. We chilled a bit more and then BBQ’d fresh salmon they were given by a local fisherman the other day. After dinner we all watched ‘Knowing’ which was entertaining, yet thoroughly predictable. It’s almost dark out at 9:45pm and there are about 8 boats on this dock and about another 15 or more (mostly fishing boats) anchored out in this bay. And just after I typed that, one of the fishing boats shot off a couple of fireworks at the end of the bay. Tomorrow we are heading one bay (about 5 hours away) closer to the glaciers. Hopefully we catch some whales and icebergs along the way.

1st Morning in Juneau

Yesterday's flights were uneventful for the most part. Had lunch at this Alaska Tavern place at Sea-Tac for a cheeseburger and an Alaskan Ale. Then our second flight to Juneau. Rainy when we arrived, but still got to see a little of the pretty descent into Juneau's airport. We got out bags, then I called for a cab. We got down to the marina, dropped our bags, then took a walk up to the store for some last min food items. Back to the boat to have my Mom's chicken broccoli casserole and spinach salad. YUM!! We also saw a harbor seal in the marina swimming around. Then we chatted until 10pm, but not sure how I lasted that long, I was a zombie! I tossed and turned a little bit as the mattresses aren't the quality of ones you have at home, but slept well for the most part. Then woke up at 8am (9am California time) after I had been laying there for a while. We just turned on the boat engines for the first time about 5 mins ago. So I am off to make myself a cup of tea, and watch the city of Juneau and the cruise ships as we pass by. Hoping to see my first iceberg today. I'll write more when I have WiFi again in a week. See ya.

Gotta love vacation adrenaline

Do you wake up on the morning your vacation starts, at some awful hour, just wide awake and ready to go? Well that's me. I once had a 7:00am flight to Maui, and because of the distance I was to the airport at the time I had to be picked up by the shuttle service at 3:30am, after 2 hours of sleep. But since I was so excited for the trip, I hopped out of bed and was ready to go.

Well, that's the same thing for this morning. I am a night owl by nature, so didn't go to bed last night until after 2am. I had set my alarm for 6:15am so I could be out of here by 7am. Well to my surprise, I woke up around 4:40am, and after staring at the dark ceiling for about 5 mins I just got out of bed. Let's just say that I'm sure I'll crash around 8pm tonight, about 6+ hours earlier than the norm. But at least I don't have to worry about being late. I cracked open an Amp energy drink (since I'm up, but not fully awake) and have been playing on the web. Something I would likely have done when I got up at the original 6:15am wake-up call time. But this time I won't make myself late.

Anyway... in 6 hours I will be enjoying some clam chowder maybe (at a favorite place at Sea-Tac) or something else just as delicious. And in about 11 hours I will be touching down in Juneau. Which happens to be the most beautiful decent into an airport I have ever experienced. I can't wait to see it again. And it will be good to see my Mom and Step-Dad after they have been gone for 2 1/2 months now.

My Mom cracks me up

So, my Mom had been meaning to send my Aunt and I a list of the toiletry, etc items that she had on the boat, and that we wouldn't need to pack. The boat isn't all that big with 4 adults and a dog on it, so the less you bring the better. This e-mail arrived in my inbox yesterday evening and I cracked up. Besides the obvious, it's meant as a joke :-)
__________

Dear Cruise Passenger;
We are delighted that you have chosen the mv AQUILA for your 2009 Alaskan Glacier Adventure. We want you to enjoy your trip. Following is a list of items which we carry that are available to you at no additional fee. Remember, this a casual cruise. Formal nights have been eliminated due to lack of interest.

- Shampoo (Pantene)
- Conditioner
- Shower gel
- Body lotion
- Sunblock (#8, #15, #30 and #45)
- Insect repellent (yes, there are mosquitoes in Alaska)
- Curling iron
- Hair dryer (can only be used when we are in port)
- All linens
- Laptop
Cd's for storing and/or sharing photos
- First Aid supplies including:
Ibuprofen, Excedrin, Benadryl, Tums, and various ointments
Seasick medications (holistic as well as Dramamine)
- Numerous paperback books in the library
- Binoculars

Some items that will be necessary for you to bring: (the temperature in the fjords near the glacier is often in the 20's F) One does not need to spend much time outside. One can stay in the heated salon. However, most of our guests prefer to look at icebergs from the outside deck.

- Warm coat (or layer lighter ones)
- Rain slicker or umbrella if it rains in Juneau while you want to
site-see
- Cap (we have a few available to borrow)
- Gloves
- Good walking shoes for site seeing in Juneau
- Shoes that can get wet (it may rain either while we are in Juneau
or while we out of port)
- Personal medication
- Camera

Some items that are not necessary to bring:

- A hard sided suitcase. Storage space is at a premium and a duffel that
folds will work best.
- High heel shoes

Miscellaneous information:

- The cruise line has a small dog as a mascot. Dog lovers only are encouraged to take this cruise.
- We are a "no smoking" cruise line
- There will only be cell service while in Juneau.
- There will only be internet service while in Juneau.
- Email service will be available on Aquila's satellite system while away from
port.
- Kayaks are available at no additional fee
- In order to keep the capt. on an even keel, please feed him chocolate at
regular intervals
- BYOB or beer, etc. Alcohol may be consumed both in port and during cruise,
however it is not provided by the management
- Please feel free to bring to spare boat parts
- A limited number of DVD movies are available. Feel free to bring your own. They will be a wonderful addition to our "Popcorn at the Movies" evenings
- Earplugs may eliminate equipment and other miscellaneous noises

We hope this helps with your trip planning. We are anxious to meet you and begin the adventure. Remember, gratuities are gratefully accepted.

Sincerely,
Phred - Captain, Maintenance Engineer, and Entertainment
Joan - Admiral, Chef and Cabin Steward.

The countdown begins...

In 5 days I'll be leaving for Alaska for 10 days. I can't wait. Although I'm psyching myself out and already started thinking about the trip being over. Time just goes way too fast when you are having fun. But I think I have that mentality too because my Step-Bro and his girlfriend fly up for a week a few days after I get back. So I'll be back home with my trip being over knowing they are up there having fun. Blah! But it will be so nice to escape these heat waves and head to the land of icebergs.

I was in Juneau 2 summers ago, so I have kind of done almost everything there is to do there in town. That doesn't cost over $200 at least. But one day I will splurge and do the zip-line and helicopter/dogsled/glacier tours. But since my Aunt (who is going with me) hasn't been before, we'll probably take the tram up Mt Roberts and the City and Mendenhall Glacier tour. According to weather.com's 10 day forecast, we will have "showers" next Mon-Fri (that's as far out as it forecasts). However, I never trust weather.com, as they are consistently wrong. So about 3 other weather sites I checked said "cloudy with a chance of rain". But it is what it is. I will have just as much fun getting drenched outside on the boat (see below from 2 years ago), watching beautiful scenery go by, as I would in the sun. And I can't wait to go kayaking around icebergs again. YAY!


So I just have to start packing and getting organized. I have my packing and to do list already, just have to gather the stuff. And that includes the boat parts, magazines, books, medications, stuff for Merlin, etc to bring up to my parents. Just hope it doesn't take up my whole duffel bag ;-)

Nala and her funny habits...

This is just a follow up to the blog I wrote on March 6th about Nala sitting in the window still all day long. At the time, she wouldn't perform for the camera and only got her part way into the windowsill. But tonight she was sitting there as usual, and I actually thought to grab my camera this time. So here are a few shots of her in her favorite place.