Alaska Cruise Part II

Many people were on the cruise as a way to see Alaska and all the beautiful scenery. Me, I was all about the cruise!
Here are a few pictures from our two ports, Juneau and Ketchikan

We were encouraged to take the tram in Juneau, and I'm very glad that we did. The vistas are amazing and it was certainly worth it. If you are a hiker, I would definitely recommend you do this and prepare to spend a few hours up on the mountain.

Look at this view, simply amazing

Photos don't do this justice, so if you find yourself in Juneau, take the tram.

Looking back, this is the entrance to the port.

The trees were really cool up here, the trunks all seem to bend at the base and then find their way up. 

There are lots of hiking trails and fantastic photo op's up here.  Many trails still had compact snow/ice and some were quite muddy.  I'm sure the summertime brings many hikers up here.  You could spend hours on the trails.

Back in town, the iconic Red Dog Saloon takes center stage on the corner of the main street.  The downtown was under major road construction, but I made my way to the quilt shop.  Jan couldn't have been nicer and her shop is fabulous.  A lot of variety, some fantastic local designer patterns and definitely worth a visit.

On our stroll back to the ship, we sat on the pier and soaked up the sunshine.  We had amazing weather all three days ashore.  I couldn't resist snapping a picture of the worn patina look on these old boards along the ocean.

Our third port day was Ketchikan. The skies opened up, washed the town, and then by the time I was organized to go ashore, I put back my rain hat and coat and headed out into the glorious sun. My guy stayed on the ship, so I wandered the town and around until I ended up in the local quilt shop. Then I found a wonderful Christmas tree ornament hand painted on bark by a local artist. I was pleased to make this purchase and headed back to the ship.

There are lots of totem poles in Ketchikan, and the flowers and trees were just starting to break out in bloom

I couldn't resist snapping a picture of this floor

There was also a bit of quilting inspiration on the ship.  The carpets also had some very cool Mariners star/compass motifs, but, I guess I was just too busy to take those pictures. 

Yes, the cruise, the Coral Princess ship.  Oh my, I've never been so pampered and overwhelmed with amazing service.  We LOVED every minute of being on the ship and the staff could not have done anything better or been more polite and friendly.  I was blown away by that.  Every person who works in any type of service industry should be sent on a 3 day cruise to see what good service looks like.  And these people are away from home, their babies, wives/husbands/family.  One guy had a new baby he hasn't seen yet............we were humbled by their attitude and generous spirit.

and yes, we have made a deposit on another cruise, but we have two years to make that plan.

I was so busy exploring and enjoying all that was on board that I only stitched 4 blocks.  They each take an hour so that's how much 'down time' I had.  Didn't even crack my book.
Keep stitching,
Sharon