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The Cruise

Glacier Bay

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College Fjord

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Nome

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White Alice Antenna Station

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Musk Oxen

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Last Train to Nowhere

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In late July, Patty and I flew to Vancouver to enjoy the "Voyage of the Glaciers" cruise aboard the Island Princess.  The cruise departed on July 31 from Vancouver, BC, Canada and ended on August 7 in Whittier, AK, Princess's port serving Anchorage.  After arriving in Anchorage, we flew to Nome, AK for a couple of days spent touring around and looking for musk oxen and walking the beach searching for sea glass..  

The cruise

Coincidentally, Patty's brother Jim and wife Peggy were on the same cruise (their first cruise) and we set sail on Jim's birthday (July 31) from Vancouver.  During the cruise we visited Icy Strait Point, Juneau, and Skagway.  Then we spent a couple of days scenic cruising in Glacier Bay National Park and College Fjord before disembarking in Whittier.  We enjoyed beautiful weather during the entire cruise with cool temperatures, no rain (unusual for Alaska), and sunny days.

This cruise, we enjoyed the best ever Captain and Captain's Circle Hostess.  The captain was energetic, very open and friendly, and truly seemed to love his ship and crew.  We usually visit the Captain's Circle Hostess to determine our placement on the ship (this time, we were #16 and #17) and she was very friendly and happy to chat (more than most we've met).  When she found out that Jim and Peggy were on the cruise, she told us to feel free to invite them to the Captain's Circle Party even though they weren't yet Captain's Circle members.  We did and they joined us and had a good time (see image #23 in "The Cruise" gallery).  The cruise was even more special as we were invited to the Captain's special luncheon for the top 40 most travelled guests (see image #24 in "The Cruise" Gallery.

The ports were enjoyable, but we didn't book any excursions this cruise.  Instead, as usual, we used the ports as opportunities to stock up on soft drinks at cheaper prices than onboard.  We were successful at Icy Strait Point (which was beautiful) where we walked into town (Hoonah) to find a grocery and free wi-fi.  We found both next door to each other.  So, we enjoyed a couple of drinks and free wi-fi at "The Office Bar" and then found our soft drinks at the "Hoonah Trading Company".  In Juneau, we found another grocery which was conveniently located in the same strip center as "Juno Froyo" where we enjoyed some delicious frozen yogurt.  We had planned to go to church with Jim and Peggy in Skagway since we'd be there most of the day (a Sunday).  However, once we arrived at the church, there was a sign posted announcing "no church today" as the priest (who serves two locations) was stuck in Haines, AK due to a ferry workers' strike.  Instead, we wandered around town where I enjoyed a bison hotdog and Patty and Peggy found some good deals on hematite jewelry, color-changing rings, and other goodies.

The days we spent scenic cruising were beautiful and we were able to enjoy both Glacier Bay and College Fjord from our fantastic stateroom balcony.  In both places, we saw some seals sunning themselves on ice bergs.  They were a good distance away and even with me shooting at 560 mm, were quite small in the photos unless very severely cropped.  At College Fjord, we were lucky to see the Harvard Glacier calving quite a bit and were able to get some good photos of the action.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and so it was with the cruise.  We arrived in Whittier where we disembarked and boarded a bus to the Anchorage airport for yet another adventure ...

Nome

After a long wait at the Anchorage airport, we finally boarded our plane and headed to Nome, by way of Kotzebue, AK.  Our hotel in Nome, the Aurora Inn and Suites, was undergoing renovation, so entry was in the rear and check-in was in a guest room converted to an office.  Our guest room was spacious and comfortable with a view out to Front Street.  We enjoyed dinners at Milano's every night and breakfast across the street (and down some) at Subway (which is also the town's cinema).  All the people that we met in and around Nome were very friendly and very helpful.

Nome is situated on the Seward Peninsula on the Bering Sea.  It has a long stretch of beach where Patty and I enjoyed walking and searching for sea glass (bits of weathered (ocean tumbled) glass).  Finding sea glass was one of our goals for Nome, and we were quite successful, finding much more than expected.  We found some "rare" colors as well as common colors of sea glass and some porcelain pieces.  Our finds are now part of the accent decoration in various places in our home.

Another goal for Nome was to find and photograph musk oxen.  We found three groups while there and got some pretty good photos.  They are odd creatures, survivors of the last ice age and, what we like to call them, the "Cousin Itts" of the animal kingdom.  Take a look at the photos, and you'll see why we call them that.

We also enjoyed an adventure up Anvil Mountain to see the last remaining "White Alice" antenna station.  As described in Wikipedia, these were part of a United States Air Force telecommunication network with 80 radio stations constructed in Alaska during the Cold War. Among other things, they served as part of the Distant Early Warning Line (DEW Line) until replaced by satellite communications.

Last, but not least, we drove out to the "Last Train to Nowhere" which is about 32 miles out from Nome on the Nome-Council Road.  Along the way, we stopped at the "Safety Roadhouse" for a drink, a reindeer hotdog, some great juke box music, and fun conversation with the bar keeper and guests.  

Photo info.  Please enjoy the slideshows.  Simply click the slideshow icon to see the photos.  Once done, click the "Back to Intro Page" link at the top of any page to return here.  All photos were shot with Patty's Canon PowerShot ELPH 130 IS or Dave's Canon EOS 5D MK IV, Sony DSC-WX50, and our Motorola Z4 smart phone cameras. All images were shot as JPG (130 IS, DSC-WX50, and some Moto Z4) or RAW (5D Mark IV and some Moto Z4) and adjusted as needed in Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® Classic.  Additional photo data is provided below each photo in the slideshow.  Enjoy the photos!

All photos are Copyright © 2019 David & Patty Boston