I love the idea of waking up to see new colors in the new water.  We were still well within the gorgeous mountains of Alaska.  This was the day I had been warning Richard about… This was our BIG day.  3 excursions in one, fancy date night for dinner, and a play at 10 PM.  LOTS in front of us…  The time for our excursion had changed, but I was able to also change the time for our dinner reservation easy peasy…

It didn’t really START until 2:45, however.  So, we had fruit in the room and wandered around for awhile. We checked out some demonstrations and some game shows.  Eventually, we made our way up to the observation lounge for some sandwiches and snacks.  And, of course, to make sure we were taking full advantage of our drink package.

Skagway was the smallest town we would see on our trip.  Most of its residents bug out for the winter, but there is an extreme shortage of high priced apartments ($1900 for a 2 bedroom) during the summer.  Our tour guide told us that Skagway had three booms… The gold rush of 1898, World War II, and the cruise lines.  There were plenty of ships lined up to show that.  Rose and Wayne had taken Caleb to see sled dogs earlier in the day.  Brian and Andrea were meeting up with him later to go zip lining.

Skagway seemed as though it may have been more rough and tumble back in the day than a lot of the towns in Alaska.  The churches were painted green because most of the men who first settled there couldn’t read, but they could tell colors.  And the houses that were painted red… well…

We had another GORGEOUS day ahead of us… and actually pretty warm in the sun.  I was very comfortable in a sweater and jeans.  I had a coat with me, but I’m not sure that I ever put it on.

This excursion we booked through Norwegian.  The tickets were in our room when we boarded ship, and it was very easy to find our tour.  We showed our tickets and we were directed to “Pyrite Pete”  (who later told us his name was Craig and that he just kinda bounced to wherever the wind blew him throughout his life–right at that moment, it was Alaska.  He reminded me of my my students–and cousin Eddie)

This was a pricey trip.  It was $250 a person.  I heard some complaining about it, but all I could think was “When will I be able able to pan for gold, play with sled dogs, AND take the White Pass train through Alaska again?  I think this is worth it to me!”

So, again we boarded a bus and went to a combination gold mining/sled dog place Gold Rush Dog Tours.  We started with a quick, fun lecture about panning for gold and the chance to do it ourselves.  We learned that gold is heavier than the stones, so we kept adding water and pouring out gravel until eventually we saw the shine from the bottom.  Richard and I combined our gold to find we had amassed $26 worth.  (We figured we’d give it to Caleb.  He can hoard it in case the dollar collapses…)

We were told if we behaved, there would be puppies… so behave we did.  We learned about the Iditarod.  I had no idea it had only been around since the 1970s as a way to save the sport of dogsledding.  The lecture was also sure to let us know what great care was taken of the dogs.  They are vet checked over and over.  They get taken care of even before the musher.  Many of the dogs we met had done the race a number of times, and it was easy to tell that they were very happy dogs.  Since birth, they had been HIGHLY socialized and handled by many people to make their work easier.  I always pictured huskies, but they’re mixed breed for the most part.  Several breeds combined to create the best overall dog for the conditions and the work.

To be honest, I didn’t listen to much of what the musher was telling us once the dogs cam out.  I was far too preoccupied by doggie hugs and kisses which the big dogs gave readily.

One dog, Apollo, was my DEFINITE favorite for the demonstration.  He was a German shepard mix… VERY friendly, jumping up for hugs… and quite mellow.  UNTIL his harness was attached.  Then, he began screaming and crying like a banshee…  surging forward with reckless abandon.  Apollo was in the back during the demonstration.  One person mentioned that it seemed he’d be a good lead dog.  The musher told us that Apollo was like an unguided missile.  He would never run the Iditarod.  Each of the other dogs was panting slightly at the end of the demonstration.  Apollo though?  COMPLETELY winded, big ol’ tongue hanging out to the side.  He did NOTHING to try to conserve his energy which would NEVER do on a thousand mile race.

Then… there were puppies.  They were itty, bitty 3 week old babies that we passed around and snuggled and kissed.  Again, all of these things in an effort to make them great sled dogs.

When we were exiting, I was holding Richard’s coat and binoculars wrapped inside my coat.  “Pyrite Pete” looked at me and jokingly (I thought) said “I think we have a dog smuggler here.”  The musher gave me a side eye….and I unwrapped and handed the coat to Richard.  Came to find out, it actually happens!   People steal puppies and smuggle them on the ship.  They get in heaping loads of trouble for it, but they do it!   Crazy people!

As the final part of this portion of the excursion, they gave us the opportunity to feel an Alaskan winter, without the wind.  You hang out in a room that is 40 degrees below zero for 5 minutes.  So… it was a warm day out…  We’d been in the sun. Truth?  It felt kind of refreshing, but after being a kid in Chicago, I know that refreshing feeling passes…

From there, it was time for the famous White Pass Railroad.  I say famous because no matter who I told I was going to Alaska, if they had been, they said, “You HAVE to take the train…”  So we did.

We were actually the last train of the day–climbing up 3000 feet in 20 miles, through tunnels and curves and GORGEOUS scenery.  It is a “narrow gauge train.”  I didn’t know how much that mattered until Richard and I wedged ourselves into a seat that didn’t leave much room for two children.  Still, I sat way forward, he sat way back, and we were fine.  You can’t walk from car to car, but you can go outside on the platform of your train.

Since we were on an excursion, we had two tour guides… Pyrite Pete (Craig/Cousin Eddie) and the live narration over speakers.  On the way up, the right side looks at the side of a mountain… pretty much the whole time the left side has all of the scenery… and the people from the right side LEAN over them taking pictures.  For this reason, I would suggest sitting on the right side.  On the way down, you see ALL the same things, but no one is crowding your space when you’re trying to get the pictures.  I am inserting a slide show, but this is DEFINITELY one of those “you have to experience it” things to get the beauty.

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The train was running a little late, but I learned if if the excursion is with the cruise line, they’ll usually hold a ship.  It didn’t come down to that, but it was close.

We got back to the room and prepared for our dinner at Le Bistro.  I thought this was supposed to be one of the fancier meals on the ship, so I chose to wear a dress.  I told Richard he just needed long pants so he could wear jeans if he wanted.  In the end, he wished he had worn khakis, but he was fine.

This was my favorite meal of the trip.  I know people hear “French” and get freaked out because instead of green beans they say things like “haricots verts,” but they’re just green beans…  If you like butter, you like French food.

Le Bistro was a smaller restaurant… and one of a very few with a dedicated bar.  It was on the 17th deck and our view as we were leaving Skagway and getting ready to go towards the glaciers was GORGEOUS.  One waterfall after another all through dinner.

Again with the two appetizers, the main and dessert.  Oh so good… my French onion soup, escargots, and lamb were out of this world wonderful… and a creme brulee with a coffee and some Bailey’s Irish cream…  YUM!!!!  Richard had veal and said it was excellent as well.  Now, for the people who think they don’t like escargots… If you like sauteed mushrooms in garlic and butter, you like escargots.  Honest, I promise…  (Yes, they’re snails… but you’d never know unless someone told you.)

Dinner ended a little after 9 and our reservations for Havana (the musical) were at 10, so we decided to go back up to the observation lounge for an after dinner drink and some piano Paul.  Once up there, thought, we decided to forgo Havana, and hang with Paul. Brian and Andrea said it was good–pretty costumes and good dancing–but not great.  I figure if we gave up our seats, someone got to go in on standby.  The Jersey Boys, Havana, and all comedy shows were complimentary on the ship.  The only “pay for” performance was Prohibition.  You did get 5 cocktails and a show at that one, but we decided we didn’t need to do that.  We contacted Brian and Andrea (If you have the app, you can pay $9.95 for messaging on the ship), and they came up and joined us.  We got to see awesome videos of Caleb ziplining for the first time like a pro!  Andrea and I were still feeling frisky, but the only choices left after Paul was finished was a dance club and line dancing…  which didn’t appeal to us.

Besides, the next day was Glacier Bay!   When we went back to the room, turndown had come and made an animal (rabbit I think?)  I know lots of people LOVE towel animals… and it sure is a nice extra touch, but I don’t get extra excited about it.  What I DO get excited about are the next day plans.  We needed to fill out our customs for for Canada, and we also had a map of Glacier Bay.  I could hardly wait!