Welcome home to Alaska

 

Friday May 10 2024

I missed a day along the way. Sorry ‘bout that.

Actually you didn’t miss much. It was a sea day and about all I did was roam around aimlessly exploring the ship. We had a time change in the night and I didn’t bother to learn how to manually change the time. Normally it is done automatically with the Wi-Fi, but since I am deathly afraid of turning the darned thing on for fear of hitting the marine Wi-Fi and being charged at millionaire rates by the second I’ve stayed in Airplane mode.

So up at the crack of 7am that turned out to be 6am. Down to breakfast and found out the main dining room didn’t open until 7am according to a German couple who were totally flummoxed by the time change. We hung around for a few minutes, and it did become 7 and the doors remained shut. I checked the couple’s daily sheet and though most of it was written in Deutsch the time was written in universal numbers 7:00. After a while some dude showed up and said it was 7:30, he showed us his program and his read 7:30.

We all hung around, after all we were already at the gate. Mr. Some Dude turned out to be Mr. Know-it-all. From Ketchum Idaho (he probably votes for the wrong political party from me). I said “Ernest Hemingway lived there (and shot himself there too).” Mr. Know-it-all (hence forth Mr. KIA) said “Wow! You are right! How did you know that?”. Sarcastic Theresa replied “I don’t know. I just pulled it out of the air”. Well that kind of ruined our eternal friendship. At least I didn't tell him I pulled it out on my ass. He dropped me from his sights and began to pontificate about his travels and knowledge of everything to another nearby woman.

At half past 7 the portal to breakfast opened and welcomed us to a nice white tablecloth table with a view of the wake. I offered to tale a picture for the couple next to me. He was trying to do the selfie thing and his 70 year old thumbs were not as agile as those 20 something’s you see on the internet. We chatted a little before our orders were delivered. He American she a much much younger attractive woman from the Dominican Republic. We didn’t solve any of the world’s problems, but we did kill a few minutes in conversation.

The remainder of the day was just wandering from place to place. Stopping and watching the crew attempting to entertain the rest of us. In the evening I had my first Specialty Dining experience. If it wasn’t so bad it would have been unremarkable. Cagney’s Steakhouse. All the YouTube reviewers raved about them. The appetizer of Ahi Tartar was really, really good. The salad I forget. The rib eye steak was cooked perfectly, but they should have let the cow the steak came from just retire in her old age. The meat was so laden with gristle and tough even their steak knife had difficulty ripping through it. One piece I chewed on it until my jaws locked. Any place else I would have spit it out and hid it in my napkin, but I couldn’t find a way to discreetly do that. So I choked (really) down.

The host asked me twice how I like the meal. I gave him a flat “It’s okay”. That seemed to satisfy him. I guess just okay is ok.

After that I went to the casino and donated the hundred dollar bill to the gambling gods. That now belongs to the casino. I might walk away from the table with over a hundred, but only the amount over $100 is mine. The Benjamin still belongs to the table. It ran the hundred through the craps table and left once it had gone through and walked away with $140. That was fun, but I was the sole player, and it was kind of boring. I love craps for the table’s energy as well as a chance to increase my bankroll. Solo it is the same interaction as a slot machine, and that is more about the monetary exchange than the social exchange. I don't think I'll be playing Craps solo again. (The preceding was from the first night)

This evening I went to play craps and there were a few at the table. One guy was having a blast betting on everything and having fun fun along the way. He and I played for 45 minutes and I did alright. I doubled my $100. So I am now up $140 and I still have the cruise line’s black chip in my pocket.

Off to slumber land after that and woke at 6 and dozed until 7. I looked out my peephole and there was another ship next to us and people were there. Guess I better pull the shades while I get dressed. A bagel and coffee and off the ship to the wilds of Alaska. The place of my birth. I guess the ship didn’t know that I had returned, because the ticker tape parade was missing. Maybe the statue was erected in the capital Juneau, and I’ll see it tomorrow. Today Ketchikan.

The ship used to park downtown, but this cruise line built a different parking spot out of town so we had to catch a bus to get to the city proper. Not a tour bus, a school bus! The only difference between this bus and a 1960's school bus were the seatbelts. The driver was fun, informative and funny which made up for the gum under the seats. The tour videos all talked up Creek Street and my friends who had cruised here before all talked up the totem park. So those were my two goals. One right in town and the other one at the edge of town.

Ketchikan was a segregated city at the turn of the 20th century those approved of lived on the north side of the creek and the Indians and Chinese south of the creek, as well as assorted bawdy houses. The south of the creek is now Creek Street one of the high points of a trip to Ketchikan. Much like Cannery Row in Monterey age has softened and polished it up, and it is now the showpiece of Old Ketchikan. It really is kind of cute and very photogenic. I took a few photos of the street and I think one or two might be a keeper. Past the $10 tour of a former brothel, a t-shirt shop, a couple overpriced non Starbucks and up the creek. Following the salmon trail up to their spawning grounds and now fish maternity ward called a hatchery.

Then off to the Totem Pole park. It’s just outside of town, says Lynda and Linda. At least it isn’t raining, and the weather is mild. Just outside of town turns out to be a two and a half mile walk alongside the main highway in Ketchikan. At least there was an asphalt path bordering the road. I got there and really did enjoy them. Some sun would have helped enhance the colors of the poles, but that is why there is Photoshop. A half mile walk would have made them fantastic. I opted for a $15 taxi ride back to Creek Street.

Now the clouds have parted, and Creek Street is loaded with color, so I took a few more photos. By now the afternoon wind was starting up and coming off the water, it seemed like a good time to return to the ship. A real double-decked tour bus this time. No school bus, it's probably time to pick the kiddies for lunch.

I went straight to lunch myself when on the ship. The place was packed. The hostess asked if I minded sharing a table. Sure, why not? A husband, wife and someone’s mother sat at the table with me. He turns and says “I know you! You and I played craps last night!” He was the hot roller that helped me double my stake. Wow! What a nice coincidence, though the pool of people is limited when on a cruise ship. so, maybe not such a coincidence. They were in their own bubble, so conversation was minimal.

Back to my room to drop things off and my cabin attendant Jesus wanted to talk. Making sure everything was up to standards, and then we got to the part that I was curious about. I didn’t ask wages, but I found out he had worked for the company for 24 years and could retire at 25. I think he was holding on for that parachute. Except it’s not a parachute it’s more of a paper airplane. After 25 you get a lump sum of $1,000 a year and a handshake. That is providing you make it to 25. If you don’t, you don’t get diddly. He also wasn’t too hot on this particular ship. On the newer ones he had his own room, this one he had to bunk with nine others. 5 bunks on one side and 4 on the other. You gotta get up early if you want to use the bathroom.