Alaska cruise was on my post 60 to-do list. With Al Gore’s warning about disappearing ice and mom’s desiring the cruise experience, I joined the 7-night 9-person family vacation
Anchorage
Flew to the big state’s largest city.
The sun moved eerily slowly at 8pm.
I successfully woke up at 5am for a morning skate. The roads were of similar smoothness, and drivers were as accepting to skaters as in North Texas. The local law enforcement didn’t stop me but made it clear I should limit my major road exposure.
Anchorage had surprisingly nice bike paths, considering the long winter.
A moose and I scared each other at a wooden bridge.
University of Alaska was another good place to skate.
I got limited mileage due to rain and train schedule.
Alaska Railroad: Anchorage -> Whittier
There are cheaper and faster alternatives to reach the ship, but the AKRR train is so relaxing and pretty.
Whittier
The Harbor was designed for tourism—Alaskans drive to the town for a boating trip;
tourists came from all over the world for cruise ships.
The tiny town has 2 distinct sections: I skated through the tunnel to the non-tourist side, where bottled water price was actually reasonable.
Saw multiple lots with vehicle in need of repair.
Many buildings weren’t in the best shape.
Residents and road surfaces got increasingly unfriendly as I ventured further from the tunnel.
One truck driver actually stopped to stare me down. That was my cue to get back to where I belong.
Alcohol supply was controlled by 1 guy. The liquor store had completely random hours.
2 sea days
Surprised by the view when I woke up.
These were my most relaxing days: Slow meals, long night sleep, short workouts.
The endless pool broke (
http://www.endlesspools.com/). I learned to run on treadmill and didn’t fall off.
First whale watching attempt was plagued by fog, which—according to the woman driver from bridge—could clear any minute now. This went on for couple hours.
I eventually saw a black dot with a blowhole and caught glimpse of a triangular thing; my camera stayed in Ziploc. I didn’t care; it was nice in the hot tub on deck.
The
Glacier Bay (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Glacier_Bay_National_Park) more than made up for the mammal disappointment.
Skagway
Skating was an efficient way to see every street in town, which has cheap Internet access ($1.25/15 min) through slow computers.
The paved road to the Canadian border was accessible on the other side of Skagway River.
I decided to play it safe and not to skate it. During the Gold rush days, many horses ran out of juice climbing these mountains; a trail was named after them (
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Pass).
Skagway had the best-equipped Radio Shack I’d seen. I learned later it wasn’t a real Radio Shack. The store sign had a fine print: something like “authorized store.” Ditto Starbucks.
I was one of the faster moving vehicles downtown hurrying back to catch the excursion motor coach.
I had no talent kayaking, but the surround was so beautiful I enjoyed it immensely.
Hopped on the
train (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Pass_and_Yukon_Route) to get back to the dock. The legendary terrains made me feel for those horses.
I promised mom to get back to the ship in time for our excursion. A passenger had a medical issue; the train stopped to wait for medevac.
The conductor laughed when I asked whether there’s a road for me to run back to town.
“Which part of the Dead Horse Trail don’t you understand?”
There was nothing to do except sitting in the penalty box as the seconds ticked by.
The cycling excursion group waited for me. This was the best day! The guide drove us up the road I wanted skate that morning.
Weather was pretty miserable 2000 feet above sea level: foggy, cold, windy; we were in the clouds.
The 13-mile ride back to town was a new experience. We stopped for waterfalls, the climbs, and U. S. custom.
Tourists on bicycles with runny nose seemed sufficiently harmless; the officials didn’t check our passports.
It was gratifying and scary to see mom bombing down the hills.
In a few weeks, the whole town would smell like dead salmons.
Juneau
Stayed on the ship in the morning. Didn’t want to risk missing the excursion. The security personnel informed me that the on-board Danish would become insecure on the other side of the gangway. I ate the brunch at the X-ray machine Kobayashi style.
The helicopter ride didn’t disappoint, despite my crappy seat.
I was dropped off on a
giant ice cube (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Juneau_Icefield) with my cousin Andy and 2 European dudes.
We acquired super power via crampons that enabled climbing and drinking.
Some spots were a little tight.
I couldn’t get over blueness of the ice.
Had limited time before the ship sailed. I briefly stood in line for the free Internet at city library before walking out
to take photos of Sarah Palin’s green roof house
the state capitol, allegedly voted the ugliest ahead of 49 competitors.
Napped before another big dinner. Lobsters and prawns were excellent recovery food. While mom and aunts supplemented their 401k at the casino,
I went up to the deck reviewing photos. It was one of my favorite moments.
Ketchikan
I postponed the excursion to skate in the morning while the weather was nice. No way I could climb these hills on wet pavement.
It turned out I couldn’t handle them when dry.
I had problem T-stopping on Ketchikan’s 2nd steepest road
and resorted to the
Eddy technique (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vGeef6563xw).
The trip coincided with salmon runs. Now I understand how bears are able to hand-fish.
Snorkeled was the last excursion. The effort of putting on 7mm suit and other hassles made it inefficient fun.
Swimming next to jellyfish was neat. With wetsuit, gloves, hood and boots, I was safe as long as we didn’t go to first base.
Fancy dinner was routine now. Mushroom soup sucked. King crab legs rocked.
The sunset was nice that night.
Sea day
Got up way too early to watch more invisible whales.
Finally saw a few humpbacks around 3 pm. Distant body parts were above the water. I didn’t bother the camera.
Attempted but gave up on reading the kong fu novel. There ain’t no way I could finish before the library due day.
Ran on treadmill and discovered the speed setting was a mere suggestion; my intervals weren’t nearly as studly as I previously thought.
I was completely spoiled by this time. I didn’t finish the slightly dry NY strip. I suddenly craved bacon.
I used up the undependable prepaid Internet minutes, had my final desserts with decaf from buffet line.
Watched "Air Guitar Nation." The movie was so much fun, I went to bed late.
Vancouver
Disembarkation was an unpleasant long process after insufficient sleep.
Typical of city people, my cousins and I went to Blenz Coffee for wifi and fancy drinks instead of going to Chinatown with others. Being a total geek, I spilled my cappuccino while troubleshooting the store’s wireless router. We quickly decided on the day’s activities:
>
Lookout Tower (http://www.vancouverlookout.com/): a quick and lazy way to see the city.
> aquarium: we’re tired of all the underwhelming marine mammals sightings.
The baby beluga whale was way cute (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXBzGf54-Ik)
>
poutine (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Poutine): I’ve wanted this thing since the Montreal trip 11 months ago
> Tim Horton: a Canadian friend would eat any donut except Tim Horton. Curiosity got to me.
After ingesting grease and sugar, I had enough energy for a Stanley Park skate.
Vancouver is a great inline city: lots of bike lane in the middle of major streets, cars move relatively slowly.
I made a wrong turn and ended up on the wrong side of the town.
I got a good workout skating to and around Stanley Park.
The only other pair of speed skates I saw was Ming from South Korea wearing Toronto skinsuit.
Encountered traffic jams on the way back. Sidewalks were full of tourists and
zombie walkers (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zombie_walk). Fortunately the Garmin worked well amongst high-rises. I skated eerily clean back allies and arrived hotel in time for a nice dinner at a Shanghai restaurant with mom. Ordered takeout food for next day.
Got up early to skate the suburbs and beaches.
Hills were involved.
Heat up left over for lunch with family. I love nice hotels with kitchens (
http://www.suttonplace.com).
Met some
RSVP riders (bike Seattle to Vancouver.
http://www.cascade.org/eandr/rsvp/index.cfm) at the hotel. Looks like a fun event.
The taxi to airport was pleasant. The lines at the airport were not. Many questioned the city’s ability to handle 2010 Olympics crowd.
more photos
Achorage has cool street names.
Not everyone was anxious to get off the train.
Lunch break against a Whittier wall.
A government building.
This girl demonstrated excellent sense of humor by laughing at my jokes.
Some people were pretty serious about projecting images of whale body parts onto their retinas.
This was a routine view the first few days.
Johns Hopkins. They named this one after my school.
Skagway, opposite the airport.
Not all hotels at Skagway were 5-star.
Saw lots of benches at front yards. Never saw a human using them.
RV parking is $800 / month during the summer, exclude electricity and waters.
I expected roofs would be much steeper.
Went to a different country just to kayak.
Andy the artist knew how to pose for facebook.
This mesquito came all the way to 1500 feet to drown.
The babysitter prepared us tourists for the viewing of the giant hole.
Juno made it clear that tourism income was welcome.
Made me want to fly.
A very pricey Internet cafe in Juno.
I burnt lots of calories in order to get this shot.
Skating behind these guys were a great way to tour the city.
Desserts were nice transition between dinner and the meal before bed.
Roads with bike lanes were clearly marked.
Vancouver has lots of parks along the water.
I was the calmer of the 2.
