Planes, Trains & Antitussives, Alaksan Wonder Cruise - All done! Complete 11/21

[Steppesister]

You posted so many pretty pictures it was hard to pick a favorite, but of the ones that weren't gorgeous valleys and falls, this one turned out really nice. Glad you had a fun excursion and got to see some of that very beautiful country.

 

[Dis_Yoda]

That flight looks really awesome! Such great shots you got of the Misty Fjords! Awesome you got to ride shotgun (the nerd in me geeked out at that but remember I have parts on literally every plane in the air)

That does look like a very tight fit!

 

[bcwife76]

How cool that you got to sit up front with the pilot, you got some amazing shots!! It seems like such a unique perspective to be able to see the area that way.

What was that jelly type thing I wonder? lol

 

[rndmr2]

Really cool excursion! I love all the pics of the beautiful scenery.

Cool that you were able to get out of the plane on the water, was that scary? Was it rocking at all? I think I would be nervous.

The Jelly thing was weird and cool, was it a Jellyfish? Don't they sting?

 

[Pinkocto]

What an awesome excursion, wow! Hpw long was it?

I would have been a little nervous that I was forgotten at the beginning.

Looks like it was for the best Fran cancelled.

 

[Flossbolna]

The excursion pictures area absolute amazing! What a shame that Fran had to miss it, but it looked like it would have been a bit much for her. And I guess being a single flyer was what got you the great front row view!

Did I understand this correctly that you did the same excursion on your previous Alaskan cruise? I guess you really liked it then if you wanted to repeat it? Did you repeat many experiences or did you mainly go for new ones?

 

[dhorner233]

Wow! You were so brave to go up in that little plane!! But beautiful scenery!

 

[dolphingirl47]

It was even harder to get into this plane than the plane the day before.

That looks very tight.

I got to ride shotgun.

I would have loved this. I am fascinated by everything that flies.

What a neat photo.

The scenery looks really stunning. What a shame that it was cloudy, but it does not look like this detracted from the experience too much.

Well he just reached in a grabbed one to give me a closer look! It kind of creeped me out, but it was him touching it and not me!

That would creep me out, too. I don't do jellyfish.

Corinna

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Finally we got underway. This dock was much more friendly than the previous day.

Yeah, that looks a lot easier!

I got to ride shotgun.

Cool.

Another textbook example of a glacially cut valley.

So gorgeous!

This is my favorite shot and I remember it from our previous fly over that we did in 1998. It is Glacier lake and Waterfall.

The scenery is stunning. I could stare at this all day.

Look at all these waterfalls!

I am, I am!

So beautiful. I love this.

Then we landed on this small body of water. We all got out on the side of the plane and the pilot was kind enough to take this picture of me. I tried a few selfies, but they didn’t come out so good.

Nice! I just think it's cool that you actually got to take off/land on the water. That must be a neat experience!

As the Wonder came into view, our pilot told us little fun facts like: these planes do not only carry passengers for sightseeing, but they deliver mail to the very remote rural areas, they perform a passenger transportation service, and all kinds of other things for the local economy. Flight planes are one of the most used forms of transport in this part of the state.

I imagine that's really the only way to get around. Amazing how little infrastructure there is.

Another great shot!

 

[pkondz]

On a quick break at work. Still catching up!

It's starting to be some of the only time I get to respond to folks anymore. I am having an extra luxurious couple days where I've been able to DIS on my computer without getting chewed out!

Nice.

Let me guess, it never gets light.

Oh, no. It does. But in winter, the sun pops up suddenly for just a few hours before its gone.
At that latitude, if memory serves, it comes up around 9am and is dark by 4pm or so.

Cruise ships are very long. Think about that walk you mentioned at ASMu, ours was one of the smaller cruise ships in port that day and the one in the #1 Berth was the one I showed you from the Taku Air place. The pharmacy was literally about 2-5 minutes from there. I'm not sure you could have even walked on the road from the ship to the ticket area.

It's the scale that always gets me.

I think it had something to do with the fact that the print out could have been forged. I don't know what she told them on the phone that made it OK cause it worked.

I know!
"Listen. Fill out the stupid prescription, or do I have to come down there and perform unnecessary elective surgery on you?"

We pay about the price of Luna's surgery, per person, each year to have 24 hour concierge service medicine.

Whoa.

This means that we can call her at any time of the day and she "promises" to get back to us in less than 2 hours.

Sounds worth it, though.

Plus she knew I was going to be heading to the pharmacy first thing in the morning, so she was probably prepared for any potential difficulty.

Probably. Still... impressive.

I think that like the airplane location, the platform at the base of the gangway was flexible with the tide.

Oh of course! The tide. I keep forgetting. Stupid of me.

I'm not sure she enjoyed it all that much. Half the time I caught her almost snoozing and not even looking out the window.

No!

Except if you're lucky enough to see them calve.....there's a spoiler alert in there, but I won't say it! Not for my TR, but for something in the parks.

Hmmm.... nope. no idea.

Isn't it cool when the stuff you had to learn in school actually turns up in real life?

She came up with the strangest things that plagued us, but in each case they were DEAD ON. She supposedly "removed" things from us and something she "removed" from me was "swords" in that knee.

And how was the knee afterwards?

I don't know if there was really anything to what she did, but I had more energy yesterday than I have had in a long time. She said I would have more energy because I was spilling so much of mine into useless places.

Please don't take offense, but.... that sounds weird.
But what do I know? If it works... great!

 

[pkondz]

My parents eventually left our stateroom so that Fran could get up and take a shower and get dressed.

And the two of you screaming at them "Get out!!" had nothing to do with it.

While she was doing that, I took pictures

Hey now!

There is that escort that I’m used to seeing, but where are all the huge guns that they have in California and Florida?

There's only Canadians around. One crewman has a slingshot.

It's enough.

There were so many waterfalls as we sailed out of the channel.

This sounds like the lead in to a joke.
"How many were there?"

What is our fascination with waterfalls? Everyone (including moi) loves them.

My parents had no interest in photos, especially character ones.

Ditto. I'll do it occasionally for a TR, but otherwise........

I think this is the first time I can recall seeing Fran solo in a character shot.

And what a smile!

Fran is really having a great time! Those meds must be really working!

Apparently!

Whoa, Alison. What are you doing with your hand.... there?

Fran went to the port adventures desk to see about canceling her participation in the excursion the next day. It was just too hard to get into the plane for her. She got a refund

She did! Good!

and some strawberries for our hassle in Skagway, along with a note of apology.

Huh! Not bad.

Love that napkin fold.
We bought a book on fancy napkin folds years ago.
You know where it is now? Neither do I.

Dad and I got the venison.

Was it local?

I was so tired that I went back to the room before everyone else, but when I got there and wanted to take a picture of our towel animal, I realized that I didn't have my point and shoot camera, so I went back only to find the family on their way back to the room, and yes Fran had my camera.

Phew! Moment of absolute panic?

Picture of the towel animal taken, I fell fast asleep immediately.

One of the nicer towel animals I've seen.

 

[pkondz]

I did wake up just before the sunrise, but I decided against taking any pictures. It was 3:30AM

Go back to bed! It's too early!

Around 6:30AM I woke up

Glad you listened to me.

Want that waffle.
But no matter how much I scratch at the monitor, I can't get it.


Next time, do your TR in 3D.

Fran just loaded up period.

My parents had actually arrived before us and saw us walk in, but let us eat in peace until they left and then my mom came by to say “hello”.

Nice of them. Or did you feel it was unnecessary?

This is the main part of the town.

Like it. Nice size.

A couple weeks before our cruise a Celebrity Ship crashed into the berth that used to be right here. It completely mangled the dock and did some minor damage to the ship itself.

I think I saw a video for that.

Ahhhh, the Tongass Trading Company. Fran does some damage here later this day.

Good for her!

Although actually not nearly as much as I did at the jewelry store that you can’t see at the far end of the street on the right of the trading company.

And good for you too!

Jenny @rentayenta was crying for an update on the WDW TR

You just can't leave us for that long.

We disembarked from Mid ship deck 3 and I was a tad bit dicey for Fran getting down the ramp with her scooter, but she managed.

Steepness again?

My knee still hurt, on the one hand, walking helped to stretch it out some, but it also made it hurt a little worse.

Sorry to hear that.

plus some smoked salmon

How was the price on that, there?

"Hey lady, we got a free gift for Wonder guests!"

"Come inside for your free freshwater pearl earrings!"

I don't remember all the ploys as I tried to avoid them.

There ain't no such thing as a free lunch.

they were Alaskan owned and did not have annoying barkers.

Two plusses right there.

mmm.... looks good.

 

[franandaj]

You posted so many pretty pictures it was hard to pick a favorite, but of the ones that weren't gorgeous valleys and falls, this one turned out really nice. Glad you had a fun excursion and got to see some of that very beautiful country.

There were just so many beautiful views on that trip, I loved being up in the plane to see it all. My shots of the ships were just dumb luck.

That flight looks really awesome! Such great shots you got of the Misty Fjords! Awesome you got to ride shotgun (the nerd in me geeked out at that but remember I have parts on literally every plane in the air)

That does look like a very tight fit!

So that's the industry you work in? I don't think I knew that before. Cool.

How cool that you got to sit up front with the pilot, you got some amazing shots!! It seems like such a unique perspective to be able to see the area that way.

What was that jelly type thing I wonder? lol

At first when I walked down to the plane with that family I was thinking, "This will be awkward" being the odd one out in the group, but sitting up front was such a cool way for me to see things, I loved it!

I think it was a tiny jellyfish. The waters were full of them. I tried to take a shot of the water, but you couldn't really see them in it.

Really cool excursion! I love all the pics of the beautiful scenery.

Cool that you were able to get out of the plane on the water, was that scary? Was it rocking at all? I think I would be nervous.

The Jelly thing was weird and cool, was it a Jellyfish? Don't they sting?

The water was crystal clear and the plane didn't move at all. However, when the boat that I pointed out, as we were taking off came into the lake our pilot got us back in the plane quickly. I think he was afraid that if they came close their wake might rock the plane.

What an awesome excursion, wow! Hpw long was it?

I would have been a little nervous that I was forgotten at the beginning.

Looks like it was for the best Fran cancelled.

We left the ship around 1:45 and got back at 4PM so I think that the plane flight itself must have been 45 minutes to an hour long. The terminal was a good ways north of the main part of the city. I saw it on our way into Ketchikan and I recognized the name on the building. When we left we kept sailing south so we never backtracked.

I was very nervous, I even went up to the desk and asked if they forgot me, something I normally wouldn't do.

The excursion pictures area absolute amazing! What a shame that Fran had to miss it, but it looked like it would have been a bit much for her. And I guess being a single flyer was what got you the great front row view!

Had she been there, we probably would have had the middle seat (the one closest to the door). I really liked having that front and side view, I had much more visibility than on the plane the day before!

Did I understand this correctly that you did the same excursion on your previous Alaskan cruise? I guess you really liked it then if you wanted to repeat it? Did you repeat many experiences or did you mainly go for new ones?

This is the only one that I repeated from our last cruise. In Juneau last time we took a helicopter and landed on a glacier the last time. That one would have been to strenuous for Fran so we opted for the plane instead. In Skagway the last time we took a float plane to a remote nature preserve and rode on a jet boat of sorts. It was fun but we didn't feel we needed to repeat that. I remembered that Corinna took the train and really enjoyed it, and that worked out to be a perfect excursion for us as we didn't get worn out on our first day in Port.

Wow! You were so brave to go up in that little plane!! But beautiful scenery!

Actually the littler planes don't scare me nearly as much as the small commercial planes, not sure why. I'm even thinking of looking into an excursion from the Long Beach Airport. They have flying tours over Catalina. That might be a fun treat for something like a birthday.

 

[pkondz]

Fran stayed behind in Ketchikan after our lunch to buy some T-shirts at the Harley store

What???? They have a Harley store there?!?!??!?

I was on my way to a float plane excursion to the Misty Fjords.

Sounds mysterious. Misty Fjords.

All the folks from the Disney boat were assigned planes and left the waiting area. I was the only one left from the ship and thought I had been left behind. Evidently there was one more family who had lagged behind and they were on the plane with me and our captain had not yet picked up his assignment.

Still. I'd be wondering what was going on too.

This dock was much more friendly than the previous day.

Higher tide?

We were also on much smaller planes than yesterday.

de havilland beaver. That's what I flew out on when they evacuated our town.

It was even harder to get into this plane than the plane the day before.

Looks tight! I seem to remember going in through the back. It was a while ago... about 20+ years.

I got to ride shotgun.

Nice! What would you have done if he'd swung the yolk over to you?
(notice how it pivots?)

We took off in the opposite direction where we were headed and pulled a U-turn in the water.

Have to take off into the wind.

I like these shots with parts of the plane in them (for some of the shots) because it reminds me that I was actually flying in a plane like this.

Another textbook example of a glacially cut valley.

You can easily see it, can't you.

See all those gouges cut into the rocks? Those are called glacial striations and they are the signs of a glacier having moved over the rocks and causing glacial abrasion.

That's what I figured they were. Glad to hear I was correct in my assumption.

This is my favorite shot and I remember it from our previous fly over that we did in 1998. It is Glacier lake and Waterfall.

Nice!

We just sort of flew around various jaw dropping scenes for a few more minutes.

Makes you wonder how the pilot sees it.
You would be "Wow!"
Would he be "Yawn. Been here, done that"?

Even though the weather in Ketchikan was beautiful and sunny, up here in the peaks there was still a cloud cover.

You're lucky. If that was much lower, you might not have gone anywhere.

Then we landed on this small body of water.

Oh! I'm really quite surprised that you landed.
Every aerial tour I've been on has one take off and one landing.

See I’m actually standing on the float of the plane.

I would think so.
Because if you were standing on water, they'd still be talking about you 2,000 years from now.

On our way back, we flew past New Eddystone Rock, a 237 foot (72 m) tall column of basalt in the middle of Behm Canal. It was formed within the past 5 million years by volcanic activity.

Interesting.

Here is a better picture.

It really stands out from everything else.

these planes do not only carry passengers for sightseeing, but they deliver mail to the very remote rural areas, they perform a passenger transportation service, and all kinds of other things for the local economy.

Makes sense.

Flight planes are one of the most used forms of transport in this part of the state.

This surprises me not at all.

The pilot took a couple shots of me in front of the plane.

Love that shot. Great souvenir.

As we walked back to the terminal, I noticed these little weird jellyfish things in the water. Well he just reached in a grabbed one to give me a closer look! It kind of creeped me out, but it was him touching it and not me!

I guess he knew what they were. No way I'm grabbing a jellyfish with my bare hand!

Kinda cool, though.

 

[franandaj]

That looks very tight.

It was! I had a pretty difficult time getting in and out!

I would have loved this. I am fascinated by everything that flies.

It was really cool. It's too bad I didn't know anything about what anything did! I did try and watch though.

What a neat photo.

The scenery looks really stunning. What a shame that it was cloudy, but it does not look like this detracted from the experience too much.

Actually the clouds gave it a nice touch.

That would creep me out, too. I don't do jellyfish.

Yeah, me neither. Evidently he didn't think they were dangerous. He saw me trying to focus on them in the water and just scooped that one out for me to take a picture.

Yeah, that looks a lot easier!

Much!

Cool.

So gorgeous!

The scenery is stunning. I could stare at this all day.

I just loved looking at it all, I was sad when it ended.

I am, I am!

So beautiful. I love this.

It really is!

Nice! I just think it's cool that you actually got to take off/land on the water. That must be a neat experience!

It was really cool. I'm so glad that I did two flying experiences on this trip!

I imagine that's really the only way to get around. Amazing how little infrastructure there is.

It's crazy how spread out everything is, and especially the indigenous population lives practically off the land.

Another great shot!

Thanks!

On a quick break at work. Still catching up!

Well it seems like you are all caught up now!

Oh, no. It does. But in winter, the sun pops up suddenly for just a few hours before its gone.
At that latitude, if memory serves, it comes up around 9am and is dark by 4pm or so.

I would go crazy!

It's the scale that always gets me.

You forget how large the ships are. Once Fran left the ship without her scooter and after the excursion she needed me to go back to the room and get her scooter because she could not walk the length of the ship back to the room. They are huge, but you don't realize it until you walk the length of it several times. Even my mom commented about how tired she got walking around the ship.

I know!
"Listen. Fill out the stupid prescription, or do I have to come down there and perform unnecessary elective surgery on you?"

Whoa.

Sounds worth it, though.

Probably. Still... impressive.

She's actually a very good doctor at what she does. She is very attentive to all her patients and is great about cutting the bull that is usually associated with the American Medical system. Now that she's sort of "over" that whole holistic thing. She realized (since we didn't call her for over a year and saw other doctors to fix what was wrong with us) that some patients don't want only holistic treatment. She told me she could treat us with the holistic or traditional medicine and that's why we saw her a couple weeks ago.

Oh of course! The tide. I keep forgetting. Stupid of me.

The tides are evidently the biggest factor in Skagway, but they do apply in all the coastal cities.

Hmmm.... nope. no idea.

Did you ride Soarin' on your trip? There was calving in there....

And how was the knee afterwards?

Now that you mention it, I haven't had a problem with it at all since she did her VooDoo!

Please don't take offense, but.... that sounds weird.
But what do I know? If it works... great!

It does sound weird, but I could get "into" this more than her other holistic things. Evidently I had what she called "cords" that were attaching me. Not to people (which often happens), but to places. My home that I moved out of in 1998, the house we moved out of two years ago, my last job out of the house, and another interesting place, at Disney of all places. She said that I was bleeding energy to these spots and so with her "Shaman powers" she removed the cords.

I used to have nightmares about being back at the old job, and the sorts of situations that I was put in while I worked there. Since "removing" these so called cords, I haven't had any more job nightmares. Also my energy level is much higher and I'm able to accomplish a lot more around the house. VooDoo or not, it seemed to work!

 

[afwdwfan]

I thought it was appropriate to show you my door with the limited decorations that I have. You see all my magnets are in my fish extender and well….

I respect the creativity!

It took a little bit to fill but by 10AM I was on my way back to the Tram where I could catch the Shuttle back to the ship. As soon as I left the pharmacy, I popped two of the little coughing pellets! Finally I could take them again, we had rationed them so well and I believe Fran may have had one left. I also picked up an inhaler that was supposed to help suppress her cough.

Whew! I'm glad you finally got the meds you needed.

Everyone else in our plane decided to walk around Juneau and catch the shuttle back to the ship later. We were only one block away from the drug store so I knew how long a walk it was back to the shuttle stop and encouraged Fran not to try it without her scooter. I had had enough of the town. It was nothing but a tourist trap and after my near sprint through town to get to and from the pharmacy, I was tired and hungry. Without Fran's scooter she wasn't getting very far. Instead we got a ride back to the ship from the folks at Taku charters.

Good call.

The pictures were beautiful! I'm glad that Fran was able to get to and from the plane so you could both go on the tour! It looks like a lot of fun!

There is that escort that I’m used to seeing, but where are all the huge guns that they have in California and Florida?

Well, in California and Florida, you have more issues with drug runners and other smaller scale wrong doers. A big gun works. None of them are crazy enough to go to Alaska. All they have to worry about is the Russians. A big gun is pointless. That's why you can't see the nuclear sub underneath it.

All the way up the waterfront we passed jewelers who had "barkers" out there trying to lure customers into their stores. "Hey lady, we got a free gift for Wonder guests!"

"Come inside for your free freshwater pearl earrings!"

I don't remember all the ploys as I tried to avoid them.

This is kind of disappointing. It kind of goes against the illusion of what we'd expect Alaska to be and sounds more like the touristy shops you'd find near the cruise ships in the Bahamas or someplace like that.

Then we landed on this small body of water. We all got out on the side of the plane and the pilot was kind enough to take this picture of me. I tried a few selfies, but they didn’t come out so good.

Just don't fall in! That's gotta be some cold water!

Flight planes are one of the most used forms of transport in this part of the state.

Well, I mean I've seen so many highways in these pictures you've taken...

As we walked back to the terminal, I noticed these little weird jellyfish things in the water. Well he just reached in a grabbed one to give me a closer look! It kind of creeped me out, but it was him touching it and not me!

Whoa! So I take it they don't sting? Or he just doesn't care and is a badass?

 

[pkondz]

Well it seems like you are all caught up now!

Well.... here, yeah.
Still have your other TR, plus about 3 others I think.

I would go crazy!

Now you know why I am the way I am.

She's actually a very good doctor at what she does. She is very attentive to all her patients and is great about cutting the bull that is usually associated with the American Medical system.

Nice.

She told me she could treat us with the holistic or traditional medicine and that's why we saw her a couple weeks ago.

I'm surprised she'd do both.
I guess I imagined that you'd either go wholly into one or the other.

The tides are evidently the biggest factor in Skagway, but they do apply in all the coastal cities.

You'd think I'd know that. I lived in a coastal... well, Churchill's a town... for 4 years.

Did you ride Soarin' on your trip? There was calving in there....

Ah. Okay. Got it now.

Now that you mention it, I haven't had a problem with it at all since she did her VooDoo!

Huh!

It does sound weird, but I could get "into" this more than her other holistic things. Evidently I had what she called "cords" that were attaching me. Not to people (which often happens), but to places. My home that I moved out of in 1998, the house we moved out of two years ago, my last job out of the house, and another interesting place, at Disney of all places. She said that I was bleeding energy to these spots and so with her "Shaman powers" she removed the cords.

You realize that you've just made it sound.... weirder.

I used to have nightmares about being back at the old job, and the sorts of situations that I was put in while I worked there. Since "removing" these so called cords, I haven't had any more job nightmares. Also my energy level is much higher and I'm able to accomplish a lot more around the house. VooDoo or not, it seemed to work!

I will be darned.

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

This trip report is incredible! Your pictures are amazing! I hope to make it on an Alaskan Disney Cruise someday and this is really inspiring me to want to go even more!

This is a great pic of you both! Remy & Emile are so cute too how neat to have them on the cruise!



Love Fran's smile!




This is also super cool! I love seeing that they had some more unusual characters out!

 

[PiperGirlInWondrland]

ok oops sorry those came out so large I must've deleted the quotes but they are great pics!

 

[Paula Sedley-Burke]

I hope Fran managed to get the purchases she wanted.

That excursion was something else! Good job Fran decided to sit that one out as the plane was even less accessible. What a treat riding shotgun.

Amazing photos. I love when you can see your cruise ship from air. Those striations are amazing and those waterfalls. Wow.

That is wonderful the pilot made full use of his float plane landing on the water and allowing photographs.

Sounds like a great day!