2. SEARCHING FOR ALSAKA JUNE 20TH

6:45AM

wokeup early and decided to bundle up(its chilly even for me!)(remember in the last blog i said it would be the last of the sun for 12-13 days)and sit on our balcony.we are passing a lighthouse. a little one with a bunch of buildings all white with red roofs.  it is Very overcast, grey, and slightly misty .
I have a slight headache from the down pillows.  I will have to remedy that tonight.  we seem to be really moving.  I am ok so far and have not had to take anything for motion.  i am doing ginger.
THE DECK IS WOONDERFUL.
It appears that we are going thru the Narrows or Straits, that was mentioned in the "daily news" we get everyday.  the straits are ending and we are coming to "open sea".  the water seems a deep turquoise blue and very grey and misty.  by 8am no land is in sight anymore and there are swells in the ocean.  I can feel them but i am ok.(ended up taking a pill-meclazine and it is making me sleepy).
mom and i went to a shopping seminar.  it was very hi-end diamond and gem info.  out of my league.  right after was a naturalist and she was very good and informative.  i want to go to more of her stuff.

JUNE 21st-well....we sure started our day out in a comedy of errors}~;(i can laugh about it now)my mom(who can't hear without her hearing aides) said she heard our phone ring for a wakeup call and started getting ready for the early day we had.  I could hardly open my eyes that were quite blurry.  i finally looked at the clock and it said something like 2:30a!  we ended up going back to bed and slept til 6am and went to breakfast at 6:30-or so we thought.  I went right away to the gangway to go on my misty fiord tour.  someone at the gangway told me it was only 5:30!!not 7:30a.  somehow my moms clock and watch were off 2 hours or was it 4 hours off! we went back to bed for another hour-comedy of errors.

SOO, after the real 7am, I headed out for my misty fiord boat tour. it was a big catamaran.  IT WAS WOOONDERFUL!SAW  bunch of Bald Eagles, including a "teenager", a brown and white speckled one and 3-4 adults. below is an eagles nest.

we saw porpoise jumping the waves and seals sitting on rocks.  one of the eagles was eatting a baby sea}~:

our naturalist on the boat said that the mom seal would be very upset when she came back and might quit eating.

i really enjoy the tour, especailly the naturalist on our boat, pointing out everything as we went along.  we also had a native alasakan on board

who talked about the culture of the native alaskans. after lunch  the naturalist talked about all the animals in alaska and then went up to the bow with us to whale watch. we saw some but far off.

I CALL THIS CASTLE ROCK-doesn't it look like that?

leaving castle rock.

misty fiord is a national park.  no roads in this park, you can only hike and go on a boat thru this park.  alaskans are very proud of how they protect their lands and waterways.

MISTY FIORD really lived up to its name-very misty, just beautiful.

as we were coming back into the dock i got a great pic of our ship.  our room was on this side, 3rd room from the back a couple of decks above the lifeboats. it was always a loong walk to the front of the deck and some days it was back and forth a few times.  always got our excercies.

we went to dinner again at the PACIFIC MOON and back to our room to retire.  boat started rocking so i took another meclazine and slept great.

TUES. JUNE 22ND
i WENT ON THE whale watch and mendenhal glacier boat tour.   our naturalist on this boat said at the end of the tour that they usually see on average 3 whales.  we saw 8 multiple times.  we saw their tails-called a fluke.  one whale came straight up with its mouth open for the herring.  another time we were all watching further out for one to come back up.  it surprised us all by coming up right next to the boat!  then went under the boat.

we also saw many eagles-to many to count.  at one place there were at least 12 eagles circling and swirling and catching fish or probably herring.  It was amazing.

this is the whale right next to the boat

the naturalist said the this bull probably weighted 2 tonsmy Fluke pix!!  its hard to catch!

we saw seals with their heads bobbing like floating bowling balls.
it was a successful day of whale and animal wathcing{~;

we got back to the bus and headed to the mendenhal glacier.  it was pouring rain by this time.it was amazing(i am running out of adjectives!)

the glacier is to the left-looks like a mountain. the waterfall is to the right

the mendenhal visitor centerfireweedbluebells

fireweed

mystery flower

columbine

When i got back to the ship, mom and i went shopping in the rain!  and mom  didn't melt!   it was our biggest day-time wise- for shopping.

that night at dinner our head matre'd told us alittle about himself.  Sam had worked 15 years for princess.  he has 4 kids 8-19yo back in the phillipines.  he was away from his family most of the time but he said that his family was secure- home, insurance, their futures, schools.....  he was going to retire in 5 years so he would be home for his last childs last years at home.

LOOK FOR MY NEXT ADVENTURE IN ALASKA-#3