Last night I was checking the skies hoping the cloud cover would diminish. Unfortunately, the skies did not cooperate so no Northern Lights.
We woke early as we approached Holkham Bay and Endicott Arm on our ship, the Ruby Princess.
Dawes Glacier is a large, active tidewater glacier in Alaska’s Endicott Arm, known for its spectacular calving events where large chunks of ice break off into the sea.
The scenery was magnificent from the peaks of the mountains to the glacier tides below with their pale bluish color.
We looked through our binoculars hoping to spot some wildlife, especially on flat areas and outcroppings.
Waterfalls were everywhere.
It was an amazing cruising area with spectacular views.
The entire cruising area took several hours to complete.
And glaciers could be seen high on the mountaintops.
It was a memorable experience.
For the rest of the day, we had coffee with friends, met a new group of people for dinner, and saw an excellent show.
Tomorrow we tender in Ketchikan.
But tonight we have a full moon which means no Northern Lights.
Our second port is Juneau. It’s the capital of Alaska and what is interesting is that you can only get there by boat or plane. There are no roads in and out.
We woke up to a slightly cloudy day. Unfortunately, it was cloudy all night so no northern lights.
Bruce and I headed out in our hiking gear. Our goal was to go to the Mendenhall glacier and take a hike to Nugget Falls. But first, we stopped at Jellyfish Donuts for some sustenance. I had a coconut cream donut and Bruce had an Alaskan strawberry rhubarb.
We booked a tour with M&M Tours to take us to the glacier. They are right at the pier where the Ruby Princess docked. It was $80 each and the bus was clean, new, and comfortable.
The Mendenhall glacier is not the largest but it is the easiest to see in Juneau. It was approximately 20 minutes to the glacier.
We didn’t have access to the glacier but it was a nice view.
We hiked the one mile in and one mile out to Nugget Falls. It was well worth the walk.
It was a beautiful hike.
We stopped to eat some Dungeness crab. It was delicious but a lot of work.
Then we headed back to the ship. We walked six miles today and my feet hurt.
I’m hoping for a glimpse of the northern lights. Keep your fingers crossed.
Today, we arrived at our first port, Skagway. It was very foggy but beautiful, almost eerie.
Bruce and I had a little lunch before we set out on our adventure. We are taking the White Pass Railway. But first, we did a little exploring in town.
The train is a must-do in Skagway. It’s not difficult. In fact, it’s very beautiful and relaxing.
The ride is approximately two hours back and forth. You travel high up in the mountain and at certain points, if you are afraid of heights it may be a little intimidating.
That’s the front of our train heading into a dark tunnel.
We saw waterfalls on the way.
Bridal Veil Falls
The mountains in the distance were breathtaking.
To think that this railroad was built more than 100 years ago during the gold rush in the 1800s.
Deep ravines carved through the topography.
This little red caboose is a rental property through the US Forest Service.
When we reached White Pass Summit there was a building with the US and Canada flags along with state flags. This is the border between the US and Canada where we did our turnaround to head back to Skagway.
The mountains, bridges, and views took my breath away.
The fog lifted early in the day so our trip was spectacular. When we arrived back at our cabin the view was totally different from this morning.
And our evening was at a table of 8 with enjoyable conversation followed by a whimsical and fun production show.
We had four lovely sea days before reaching our first port in Skagway. It was a time to sleep late, go to the gym, enjoy the entertainment, and learn about Alaska at the Enrichment seminars.
One thing Princess Cruise Line does well is hiring a naturalist or expert to present to the passengers. We learned about sea creatures such as orcas, seals, and otters, and how they survive in Alaska.
We dined early every evening to get to the shows. One male entertainer, Todd Adamson, was great. He was in the movie Forrest Gump.
I didn’t expect to use our balcony but we had a lovely morning outside. Princess provides nice robes.
One morning I woke just after sunrise. And yes I went back to bed.
Bruce and I have Nikon binoculars that are ten-power. They’re great for seeing wildlife in the distance. We saw whales from our balcony yesterday afternoon. My lens is a Nikon 18-300, and it’s not quite as good as the binoculars.
The naturalist said look for seaweed and what looks like garbage. I did and when I looked at my photos I actually caught an otter.
Last night I woke hoping to see northern lights. Unfortunately no!
Just some more photos of the breathtaking scenery.
After a much-needed good night’s sleep, we headed to the Port of San Francisco for an 11 Day cruise on the Ruby Princess.
We spent the afternoon exploring the ship and then unpacked. I love that about cruising. You unpack once.
From our balcony, we sailed past Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate Bridge.
It was quite chilly especially being a Floridian now whose comfort temperature is between 80 and 90 degrees.
For dinner we ate with two women from Sacramento but originally from the Philippines. Also a young woman who lives in Maryland and her dad who lives in California. She said she group up in California but loves living on the east coast.
I had beef rib and Bruce had cod. Unfortunately, Princess does not serve escargot every night.
We watched the show which was two dancers, Duo Corazon. It was excellent.
Afterwards we tried our luck in the casino. We don’t really like the casinos on Princess because they allow smoking and it’s hard on us to be breathing that air. But I had $100 free play and Bruce had $200 and we turned it into $500. So we have some money to play with.
Our trip was initially planned to see Kami and the girls but since we were going to the West Coast, we added two cruises.
I was able to book a flight from Palm Beach to San Francisco with a layover in Dallas. Then the next leg will be from SFO to LAX. Next LAX to Reno. And then home. I booked basic economy on American for a total of $706 each. Since I have the Citi American Airlines card, I was able to get free checked bags and level 5 boarding. My American Express Platinum card has American Airlines as my airline of choice. This gives me a $200 credit which I received when I booked seats. So all the extras were covered.
We had our Lyft Driver pick us up at 4:30. I get 5x points on my Chase card when I book with Lyft. Ever since we had that beat up old Camry with no a/c, I started spending the extra $10 for a nicer ride. This morning was a Cadillac.
We went to the Escape Lounge at PBI using my Amex Platinum. It’s free for me and one guest.
In Dallas we went to The Club using my Priority Pass which I get through Amex. The two hour layover is much nicer in a lounge.
We arrived on time in San Francisco and hired Lyft to take us to the Hyatt Centrix at Fisherman’s Wharf. Again a nicer ride for the extra $10. Plus minimal wait time.
On our way, we marveled at the mountains. Something we don’t see in South Florida.
Once we reached San Francisco, I was overcome with sadness at all the homeless people. Every corner had at least 10 people hanging out with sleeping bags. In one corner someone had a tent. I’m not sure what’s going on here. Do they want to live like this or do they have no choice?
Getting closer to our hotel the buildings were cleaner with no more homeless people on the streets, what hills in this crazy city.
We finally arrived at the Hyatt Centric at Fisherman’s Wharf. I paid with points,12,000, so basically a free night.
We went out for a bite to eat. I had a crap sandwich and Bruce had clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl.
Then we took in the sights first watching a group of guys breakdancing.
Then we walked to Pier 39.
And to top it all off we stopped for ice cream. I had my favorite – coconut and Bruce had rum raisin.
Although it’s early here, our bodies are telling us it’s 10 pm and we are ready for a good night’s sleep.
My granddaughter is sixteen soon to be 17. She’s an amazing young lady. She tried out for the football team and is now the sole female on the JV team. She’s a kicker and plays safety.
But she’s all female. Loves to dress up, fix up, and look lovely. All when she’s not engaging in sports.
Her Mom and stepdad are away so Bruce also known as Poppop and I are here to supervise or just be here for her. I’m not sure how much I will get to see her but our first night we ate at a nice Mexican restaurant.
Kadyn is quite a bit younger
We spent a day shopping and I bought her a Kate Spade pocketbook for her birthday.
Then we went out for sushi!
Today Kadyn had schoolwork to do and she was gone a good part of the day. Bruce and I went for a walk at Lassiter Mill Park.
It was a short walk but we enjoyed it. I wanted to be around when Kadyn was home.
For our anniversary and Bruce’s birthday, we booked what they call back to back cruises. The first one was four days and the second was three days.
We are still on Celebrity Reflection and have our original stateroom. For our anniversary and Bruce’s birthday the ship gave us wine and sweets.
We stopped by Truman’s Little White House. Although we did not take the tour it was very interesting.
It was interesting reading about Truman. I did not know that FDR did not tell his Vice President about the Manhattan Project – developing the atomic bonb. He found out the day he was sworn in.
There are so many interesting homes in Key West.
We stopped at the Wicked Lick for ice cream, coffee and banana bread. Bruce had Mexican Vanilla., which means the vanilla beans came from Mexico.
Daniel owns Doing Work Coffee and he shared with us his love of coffee as well as serving foods on and in biodegradable vessels.
The banana bread was the best I ever had and if you are on Duval Street, you must try a delicious piece.
By the way, the fork is made of corn. It is very solid but will break down in a short period of time.
Of course, no visit to a city is complete without a church. St. Paul’s Episcopal Church of Key West is located on Duval.
After church and lighting a candle we made our way to the Ernest Hemingway House. Known for the polydactyl cats having an extra claw, there are supposedly 57 cats many of which have the extra claw, on the estate.
We took a short tour in the house.
Ernest Hemingways writing room contained the typewriter he wrote many of his books on.
The grounds were lovely with an Olympic size pool.
The cost to tour the home and grounds was $17.
Interesting homes and buildings along the way. One being the Enchanted Tiki Home.
Before we headed back to the ship we stopped in First Flight for some conch fritters. They were pretty good and the service was great.
Key West is really a cool place to visit with lots to do!
Bimini is a small island that is part of the Bahamas. It is the closest point in the Bahamas to the mainland United States and is about 130 miles to Nassau.
Bruce and I bought a shuttle pass and it came with a drink and chaise for $38. If you travel to Bimini, it’s a free shuttle and you can use the chaise lounges. So I wouldn’t purchase this again.
The beach was lovely with temperate waters and so clear I could see my feet. The water was particularly salty which made it easy to float. And the sandy bottom felt soft and smooth.
We could see our ship in the distance.
It was a wonderful way to spend our 32nd Wedding Anniversary.
We are on another Caribbean cruise on Celebrity Reflection. We did a back-to-back taking 4 days and 3 days. The first four had a sea day yesterday with Key West today and Bimini tomorrow. The three days are the same ports but no sea day.
So 7 days of being pampered.
Celebrity Reflection is the ship that began our love of cruising. In 2016, we took a 16-day Transatlantic trip that included stops in Malaga, Cartegna, Barcelona, and Nice. My dear friend Mary Beth was on board, and she was actually the person who really introduced us to this new way of life.
On our first night in the dining room, I ate my usual escargot. Celebrity has it on the menu daily. I forgot to take a photo before I dug in and consumed the escargot.
The show for the evening was a production show. It wasn’t our favorite but still entertaining.
Afterwards, we tried our luck in the casino. While we were playing one of my favorite slots, the pigs, old friends from South Carolina saw us. Chris and Carrie, we have known for 20 years.
We made arrangements to meet for dinner last night. It’s unbelievable running into friends. It was an elegant chic night. Bruce and I were probably more formally dressed than most people. Celebrity in the Caribbean doesn’t seem to require a dress code. I saw jeans and very casual dress in the dining room.
In the morning we did a meditation on the pool deck, worked out in the gym, and then had breakfast.
Our day was packed with fun and relaxation. We went to a talk on cruising and did a little gambling. Our luck was better today.
We met Chris and Carrie for dinner and spent a lot of time reminiscing about old times. We are all avid cruisers and we will all be on a ship out of LA next month.
We played a little in the casino but Bruce was tired so we made it an early evening. The show was a mentalist, not our favorite so we decided not to go.
Today we woke in Key West.
We spent a leisurely morning in our cabin and then had a late breakfast with Chris and Carrie.
Bruce and I decided to visit the Mel Fisher Nautical Museum. Mel Fisher was an adventurer who spent a good part of his life looking for treasures.
Mel Fisher and his wife and children discovered a Spanish ship that sunk off the coast of Florida in the 1600’s. It was filled with gold, silver, emeralds and other jewels.
The museum is a three minute walk from the dock and cost $17.95 to get in. It was a very interesting museum.
Next time we hope to go to the Hemingway House.
We met up with friends for coffee in the afternoon. I hadn’t been drinking coffee but I indulged in a cappuccino.
We met Chris and Carrie out on deck five. That’s where they take little Toby to do his business.
Celebrity allows dogs on the ship and Toby is a perfect little pup. He sits still and is quiet. Carrie trained him well.
While out in deck 5 we saw a pod of dolphins swim by the bow of the ship on the port side. Unfortunately, all I have is pictures of water. I missed.
We ate dinner together and then Bruce and I went to the show. It was another production show and it was great.
Bruce and I wandered outside to see the sunset but we just missed. The sky was lovely though.
We played a bit in the casino and we finally won a bit so all was good!
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