Last night on the ship

It was sad to leave the ship. They had definitely spoiled us. Xan has gotten used to getting lots of attention. We will be back!!









Mosaic in Triton's restaurant.

Xan's first lobster

He really liked it!!

Ketchikan

Grant and I had a massage this morning so we headed into town later than the crowd. Xan slept until we headed back on the ship to watch us pull out of port.








Xan met a girl on deck that evening. She chased him around until dinner time.

Pirates!!!

Pirates have taken the ship. I knew it was a risk in the Caribbean but I never thought it would happen here in Alaska. Captain Hook, Peter Pan, and Jack Sparrow (sorry, Captain Jack Sparrow) were wandering the ship. We even saw the new Pirates of the Caribbean movie in 3D!

Flounder's Reef

You may have noticed that Xan is not in any of the pictures from Skagway. He had no interest in a many hour bus and train tour and asked to stay on the Ship at the Flounders' Reef (an area just for kids his age). We spent the evening just hanging around the ship.








Xan met Ariel this evening and couldn't take his eyes off her.

How badly do you want to strike it rich?

Today we stopped in Skagway, the historic starting point on a journey to the Klondike and your opportunity to hunt for gold. The rush is long over but the town of Skagway and many of the points along the trail have preserved the history of that time.

We traveled over the White Pass by rail but during the gold rush, prospectors were on foot. They had to make the trip through the pass many times to carry up the 2000 lbs of supplies (enough for a year) required to make it past the Canadian checkpoint.












It was a beautiful, warm day with not a cloud in the sky. I tried to imagine what sort of drive one would need to brave this mountain pass in the winter with only the hope of riches. It was a grueling trek with many dangers. Seems like a pretty big risk to me. But the countryside is breathtakingly beautiful. Maybe that, and a large sense of adventure where enough.







We also visited a sled dog training camp. Many of the dogs have run the Iditarod. There were even husky puppies to play with :)

A beautiful day in Tracy Arm Fjord

I can't believe our luck. The weather for our sail into the Tracy Arm Fjord was incredible. The sun was out and warm.

















Xan wasn't sure about getting this close to Goofy