Summer Hols West - Juneau

Summer Hols West - Juneau
(13-Aug-07)

Here we are heading into Alaska's State Capital - Juneau.


We discovered the answer to the age old philosophical question, "What do they do with excess toilets in Alaska?"

The answer, of course, is that they put them in wheelbarrows and dump them on the dock.



Oh no! A bear is about to eat the children! Quick, somebody do something!



Flipper to the rescue!



So we jumped on a tour bus and went for a drive to the other side of the channel.

Look - there's our ship.

And as for those cables heading up the mountainside - well, we'll get to that in a minute.



Or a couple of seconds in blogotime.

Look - it's the Mount Roberts Tramway.



Up to the top we go where we are greeted by this dude that has been standing here for so long that the tree has grown around him.



Here is our guide showing us her amazing shadow puppet skills.



Looking back down the hill we see our ship heading out into the channel - Uh oh!



Trees in Alaska are weird.
This one grew in a circle.



A Bald Eagle.
(They're not really bald, just blonde - hmm - Blonde Eagle doesn't really have the same ring to it...)



They are very picky about what goes on the tram.






Time to go down.
There's our ship out in the middle of the channel.
Some other ship has parked in our spot.



When we get to the bottom we discover that our friend Taku, the Japanese exchange teacher that stayed with us a few years back, has gone into the fish smoking business.



Arr! The noodly appendages of the Flying Spaghetti Monster reach all the way to Alaska!



The Red Dog Saloon.
We would have had lunch here except that most of the passengers from the three cruise ships in town were lined up ahead of us.



Check out the artwork on the public toilets.
(Most artwork I've seen on public toilets is done in spraypaint and usually has something to do with what goes on inside...)



So, small problem - how do we get out to the ship?



We catch one of the ship's tenders of course.



All aboard.



And when we get back to our rooms, what do we find?



Time for some ping pong.



Ah sunset - another day done.

Summer Hols West - Ketchikan

Summer Hols West - Ketchikan.

Here we are arriving in the vast metropolis of Ketchikan.
Notice how the tallest buildings in town are three or four storeys high, and we are looking down on their roof?
That's because I'm standing on the 12th storey deck of the ship.
It completely dwarfs everything else in town :-)




In the Global Referendum of '83, the Salmon of the world decided that their Capital should be at Ketchikan.



Hanging at the dock.



See - flopping huge.



Also, if you are in the market for a jewel encrusted crown, Ketchikan is the place to go.



And Ammolite - that wonderful gemstone found mainly in Alberta, Canada.
Hmm.



There was also a good supply of blacksmiths.



At the Lumberjack Show, the kids watched a wooden bunny rabbit get the top of its head cut off.



They are lumberjacks and they're ok.
They sleep all night and they work all day.



So while Delle and the kids are gallivanting around town with jewellery and wood, I had a bit of an adventure on my own.

Out across the bridge over the salmon-filled river into the old part of town where the houses of ill repute still stand I travelled, dragging with me my dirtiest secrets.

Furtively looking this way and that, sneaking past the Salvation Army Church (it was Sunday after all, and the service was in full swing.)

At last I spied my destination, nestled next to a bar down by the docks to give easy access to sailors that required it's special kind of service.

That's right - the laundromat - two weeks on the road left us with a huge bag full of dirty clothes.
On the ship they would wash your stuff for about $2 per item.
I reckon that the $15 I spent washing and drying our stuff saved us about $250 had we used the ship's laundry :-)



Bye Ketchikan.



Hello mini golf course.





Golf is a bit meh. A bit tricky too with the gentle rocking of the ship.
Time for something a bit more exciting, like rock climbing :-)



Yep, she made it to the top.



I gave it a go too - and made it up to ring the bell - yay!




That night after dinner, Delle and I went up to the front of the ship.
It was really, really windy.



Phew - blown away!



Oh no! We've been boarded by pirates!



This one looks particularly nasty.

Summer Hols West - All At Sea

Summer Hols West - All At Sea.
(11-Aug-07)

On the good ship Radiance of the Seas, there are lots of elevators.
The one we used yesterday had a little plaque on the floor that said "Friday".
I was thinking along the lines of Robinson Crusoe when I thought that they named the elevators after characters in nautical novels.
Turns out that the real answer was somewhat simpler.
Here's what was on the plaque today.




Hmm- yes, well - time for more exploring.
Here is the ship's anti-pirate defences.



Here's the Restaurant at the End of the... um ... Ship.



In the middle of the ship is this huge central arcade type thing called, appropriately enough, the Centrum.



And there was this big spokey type thing suspended in the middle of it.



Kids + all you can eat ice-cream = big trouble.



We weren't the only one's having fun. These dolphins were having a whale of a time surfing in the ship's wake.
(Ok, so you have to zoom right in to see them - sorry - I was using the little camera.)



Later in the day, Cayde was posing for a photo when he fell overboard.
We were a little disappointed until we realised that through the magic of Photoshop, we could insert him into future photos, and so not miss him at all.