Alaska Cruise Day 5: Sitka

Sitka was the stop that helped convince me to choose Holland America for our Alaska cruise. Not every ship stops at Sitka, but I was interested in seeing the Russian influence on an American town. Of course, I'm not too rah-rah about Russia at the moment (see: invasion of Ukraine), but I booked the trip long before that happened and I was still interested in seeing the country's influence on an American town.

The ship docked about a 10-minute drive outside of the city, so the first order of business was a free shuttle bus. Even downtown, nothing was too far away. A 10- to 15-minute walk took us to the Sitka National Historic Park to see a collection of totem poles, tall trees and views.

Paul and Atticus went to the Sitka Raptor Center to see rehabilitated birds, while Edith and I visited the Russian Bishop's House for a tour of a building from the Russian colonial period. It is also a National Park Service site, and Edith completed some activities to become a Junior Ranger.

Every window had a cross.

She and I went to some shops before meeting up with the boys a bit after noon and visiting St. Michael's Cathedral, with its onion dome. Then we walked up Baranof Castle Hill for the views, and then off to the Russian Cemetery -- as interesting of a resting place as I've ever seen, with its gravestones without order practically in the middle of a forest.

It was a bit of a whirlwind -- off the boat around 8 a.m., back on ship around 2 p.m. before leaving Sitka at 4 p.m. -- but I nice overview of a different perspective of American history.

Alaska Cruise Day 4: Hubbard Glacier

We had a perfect day for our scenic view of Alaska's Hubbard Glacier. The sea-green water, the whites and blues of the glacier and its size, the ice in Disenchantment Bay as we moved ever closer -- wow. 

I stood on the deck to watch as we inched toward Hubbard Glacier, and Paul and the kids joined me when they were done at the pool. We were there for hours and hours, and the size of the thing was disorienting. Just when it seemed we couldn't get any closer, I would see a smaller boat in the distance and realize how massive the glacier is, and how far away we still were. Closer and closer we went for a good four hours, finally getting near enough to watch it calve. We even saw a seal on a chunk of ice just at the edge of the ship!

The sun was shining and the weather was warm until we got up close, so while we were outside for a good bit of time, we went to watch the view from the windows inside, too. Our room's balcony also had an excellent view as the ship repositioned to leave the bay.

Our cruise didn't go to Glacier Bay National Park, and I can only imagine how spectacular that must be. Viewing Hubbard Glacier was one of the highlights of the Alaska cruise.

A seal!

Alaska Cruise Days 1-3: Juneau, Sea Days

Three years after booking it and two years after we were supposed to embark, the day had finally come: We were to set sail on our weeklong cruise to Alaska! It was a relief to finally come aboard. Like all scheduled events since the start of the pandemic, I wasn't sure until the end that it would actually come to be. But it was time to set sail.

We boarded Holland America's Westerdam ship around noon on a Sunday. Check in was a breeze, and we were in our room in about 20 minutes. We sailed away from Seattle, and the kids were excited to try out the kids club. Paul and I were also excited to drop them off so we could eat in the main dining room alone!

Monday was a full day at sea. Paul and I went to a naturalist talk while the kids were at their club, then Paul took them swimming after lunch. They were so excited, although it was difficult for me to understand why -- the pool area was covered but still chilly thanks to the 50ish-degree weather.

Edith and I went to the dining room for tea that afternoon while Paul and Atticus went out for ice cream. In the evening, Paul and I enjoyed the piano bar and the kiddos were happy in the kids club.

Tuesday was one of the best days of all: Juneau. It was also the summer solstice and we lost yet another hour (four hours behind EST), so it wasn't even dark when the kids went to bed around 10:30 p.m. that evening. They should have been sleepy after the full day we had.

It was summer, but it didn't feel like it -- low 50s all day with drizzles. The recommendations to pack layers were serious! We didn't arrive in Juneau until 1 p.m., and then it was go, go, go. We met at the end of the short pier at 1:15 p.m. for our excursion to go whale watching and visit Mendenhall Glacier.

At first I was glad there were so many indoor, heated areas on the boat on Auke Bay, but we ended up spending much of the time on the outdoor portion of the second floor deck anyway, watching whales both near and far. It was really only cold when the boat sped through the water, but much of the two-and-a-half hour tour was spent still or slowly moving forward as we waited for whales to surface. We were lucky, seeing a humpback whale about 50 feet from the boat, and a number of others at a distance. We also got a rare sighting of three orcas further away. It was cloudy and foggy much of the afternoon, but the weather cleared enough to see Mendenhall Glacier from the water even before we visited.

The actual visit to the glacier was just under an hour, which was only enough time to scratch the surface and worry we would be late for the bus back to the ship! The gray clouds made the varying shades of glacier blues more visible and quite stunning.

A quick walk through a bit of downtown Juneau and we were back on board and eating supper by 7:30. The day was tiring but rewarding, and a great start to summer.

Two Days in Portland, Oregon

We got home from our Pacific Northwest vacation last Tuesday as scheduled, and then promptly tested positive for Covid the next day. Sigh.

I had mild symptoms: A low-grade fever overnight, trouble sleeping, a headache for a few hours, some fatigue and a dry throat. Paul and Edith had no symptoms. Atticus finally tested positive a few days later with symptoms that stretched back to Thursday: A few bouts of coughing and a headache. All in all, one of the mildest colds that Atticus and I have had.

But at least we had two weeks of memories to look back on while we remained in isolation. We started the trip by flying into Seattle and the next morning driving a couple of hours south to Portland, Ore. We arrived by lunchtime, eating at a food stall area with outdoor seating. Paul and I split a pad thai and paneer poutine, Edith got a burger and Atticus a grilled cheese.

Then Paul directed us to Macleay Park and a lovely trail along a small river (or large creek?). We saw a blue heron and took a walk that was just beautiful. It was 70 degrees and perfect.

The next day, after taking our cruise-required Covid tests and all getting negatives, we began our visit to the scenic Columbia River Gorge waterfall route. We stopped at a few, including the busy Multnomah Falls, where we crossed the bridge directly in front of the falls and took about a mile-long hike.

Apparently the waterfall route and parking lots can get very, very busy, but there were parking spots everywhere we wanted to be. It was a gray and misty day with intermittent rain -- and also a weekday -- so that surely helped. Even in the mid-50s, though, the weather wasn't bad. Glad we packed rain jackets!

A stop at a fish hatchery and dam was surprisingly interesting. Who knew sturgeon could be so large? The biggest one there was, I think, 10-feet long, 500 pounds and 80 years old! At the dam we saw a fish ladder, and Atticus was interested in how the lock worked. We watched the water lower, but alas no boat.

Supper was at Full Sail Brewing in Hood River, followed by a view of Mount Hood -- not too scenic since we could see only bits of the peak through the clouds.

The next morning we stopped at VooDoo Doughnuts on the drive back to Seattle. Could we have had a more stereotypical two days in Oregon? Hikes, waterfalls, food carts, beer and donuts!