Juneau Weather

The current weather report for Juneau says it might be partly sunny on the day we want to take our helicopter trip. So maybe we'll be in luck after all. However, Sitka and Ketchikan are still predicting rain. That's fine with me... I have a nice new rain poncho that will keep me dry. We're trying to limit our wardrobe to things that won't take up too much room in the luggage. We don't want to be dragging bags all over the airport.

We plan to visit Seattle before leaving for home, which means searching around for a place to put our bags. I've been told that the hotels will keep your bags at the bell station for a nominal fee. So maybe that's what we will do.

Alaska Is Connected

Elaine Krebs is another Syracuse alumna. She lived in Sitka, Alaska, for a couple of years, before regaining her sanity and moving back to the Lower Forty-Eight. Here's what she has to say:

Alaska is probably the most connected state in the US. Every city you stop in should have one or more Internet cafes. Sitka had several when we were there. The best one is in a coffee shop (I forgot the name) just kind of catty corner from the parking lot where the boats dock. You'll see a large electronics store, a large hotel across the street from that, and kind of behind that in an alley is a coffee shop with a drive up sign that you can't miss. They roast their own beans, the coffee is great, and they have several computers for public use. If you bring your laptop, I'm sure you can pick up any number of wireless signals, and that probably goes for any town that you're in.

Shedding Pounds Now

You know what cruising is like... plenty of food. One frequent cruiser described mealtimes as "feeding the seagulls." She said they all flock around the minute any food appears. Will we be any different? We don't know. But in case we are, we have started shedding weight ahead of time. At the end of every day, we email each other with a list of the things we've eaten. It seems to help us stay on track because we know we have to do an accounting.

We've also agreed to request small portions during shipboard meals, and we're keeping a watch on each other so neither of us sets up a home on the buffet table. We fully believe that we can enjoy our meals and still not come home with "Goodyear" painted on our waistbands.

Is it possible? We'll let you know at the end of our trip...

Insights from Terri...

Terri Reynolds Sowers is another Syracuse native who transplanted to California. She had this to say about her recent Holland America cruise:

"I look forward to following your adventures in Alaska on your blog and also interested in your Holland America experience. Steve & I just returned from a 2 week Northern Europe/Scandinavian cruise on the ms Prinsendam. The ship is older (as are most of the HAL ships) and had some HVAC & plumbing problems. Also it was their smallest ship which has its pros and cons. We also cruised with HAL on the ms Statendam (2 wks New Zealand/Australia) last November. The Statendam was bigger and we didn't have the cabin problems there. The food on both cruises was the best we've had so far (8 cruises/2 on HAL); service was better on the Statendam; only average, at best, on the Prinsendam. In any case, we thoroughly enjoyed the HAL experiences. You will have a fabulous time - savor the food and the fun!! Keep us posted!!"

When I asked her about Internet connections on board (we want to post to the blog during our trip), this is what she said:

"Internet connection fees are pretty steep; it was 45 cents a minute when we purchased the $100 package and 75 cents a minute on the per-minute rate. There is another package rate for something less than $100, but I can't remember what it is. We purchased the $100 one which gave us just over 3.7 hours. We made the mistake of purchasing the lesser $ package on the previous cruise and ran out of time, so we went with the highest time package on this cruise. For an 8 day cruise, you can probably get away with the lower cost package. Connectivity was spotty for us in Europe - particularly in Russia, where we had no access for 2 full days. We wondered if they were jamming us deliberately!!!"

Our Destinations

Copy these links and learn about the cities on our itinerary. Juneau is where we plan to take a helicopter out to the Mendenhall Glacier. That is, if it isn't raining too much. I'll go out there even if it does rain and if they're flying. It's a rare chance to stand on a glacier. Here's the link for Juneau: -- www.traveljuneau.com/

Sitka is an island that once was a major Russian settlement. In fact, it is the place where the sale of Alaska to the United States took place. My friend Elaine Krebs used to live here, so it will be fun to see the places she used to write about. Go to www.sitka.com/

Ketchikan is a fishing and canning town. Back in seventh grade, we used to remember that because the name of the town implies that "first you catch them, and then you can them." Go to www.visit-ketchikan.com/

Victoria BC is the gorgeous provincial capital. I wish we were staying longer, but we're in town only from 6pm until midnight. Too late for high tea, but early enough to see the government buildings all lit up. Go to www.victoria.ca/common/index.shtml

Then there's Seattle, where we start and end our trip. We arrive early in the morning and will do a quick tour of the city -- probably Pike Place Market -- before heading for the airport. Go to www.seattle.gov/html/visitor/

Rainy Weather in Alaska

Diane and I have been checking the weather in Juneau this week, and it looks very rainy. It's hard to tell what the weather really will be like because this is too far ahead of our trip. But I'm betting that our umbrellas will come in handy. It's been raining there for the past couple of weeks.

Our Ship

From Donna -- We chose Holland America for our cruise because my sister had sailed on the Noordam out of San Francisco several years ago, and I was impressed by how elegant the ship looked. It was much classier than some of the lines that cater to the weekend cruiser or to a strictly American market.

Paste the link into your browser and take some of the virtual tours...

http://www.hollandamerica.com/cruiseships/Oosterdam

Mendenhall Glacier

Here is information on the glacier we hope to visit when we reach Juneau. It involves a helicopter ride and a walk on the ice. After growing up in a city where there are only two seasons -- winter and the Fourth of July -- I never thought I'd be interested in walking on ice again. But this is different. It's very old ice. At our age, we're growing increasingly tolerant of old things.

http://www.fs.fed.us/r10/tongass/districts/mendenhall/glaciermove.html