I woke up at 8:45 to see houses floating by. I spent the next hour on the balcony watching us sail into Ketchikan. It was a glorious day with the temperature already in the middle 60s by the time we docked (it got into the low 70s as the day progressed).
Ketchikan is the southernmost city in Alaska. It claims to be the salmon capital of the world and is the wettest city in North America (but luckily no precipitation today.
I had lunch before I left for my excursion, "City Highlights, Totems, and Creek Street by Trolley", at 12:30.
The driver/guide, Dalton, pointed out the interesting places in the city as we drove out to see the Totem poles at the Saxman Village. We saw the carving house and learned that the totems are made of western red cedar. When an old pole falls down it is left where it is and an exact replica is carved and put in the same location. Some groups carve the entire pole and others only parts.
We then came back to Creek Street which at one time was the red light district. It is built on stilts over the Ketchikan Creek. We were able to get off there or take the trolley back to the ship. I got off and looked around before taking the free shuttle back to the ship. There was a free shuttle running between Creek Street, downtown, and the cruise ships (the Norwegian Pearl and the Westerdam were in port also).
Back on board by 3:30 and got my afternoon ice cream before heading to team trivia. Our five Cruise Critic group played and won with 15 out of 15. This was our fourth win in a row - OMG, we have become the artichokes!
1.What third lightest element is a major component of batteries?
2.Which US state has the lowest amount of pollution?
3.How many times was there live pigeon shooting at the Olympics?
4.What was Medusa's hair made of?
5.On a ship what runs forward to aft on the port side and aft to forward on the starboard side?
Back to my cabin to get ready for dinner and watch the sail-away from my balcony. After we left port there were a number of whale sightings.
The seven of the Sail-Away Gang on board had dinner at Le Cirque so no evening trivia (I'm sure the other teams did not miss us!). I had mostly the same as on the Westerdam but I did have the Strawberry Pavlova instead of Creme Brûlée. We went to the Northern Lights to listen to the music (and watch Chris and Martin dance).
Park in Ketchikan
The trolley
About Saxman Village
Lincoln at the top
Some of the totem poles
The carving center
Entrance to Creek Street
Ketchikan Creek
There will be salmon spawning in this creek in another month or so
Shops along Creek Street
Trivia
1.Lithium
2.Alaska
3.once
4.snakes
5.its name
Smooth sailing until next time!
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