Alaska P6

They showed a couple of movies last night in the lounge on our deck. This lounge has rows of high-backed reclining chairs with footrests, which are very comfortable. The movies are shown on wide-screen TV. We didn’t go as the one show wasn’t something that we would enjoy and we had seen the other one. I came to the cabin and wrote my journal entry instead. The ferry, which cannot be called luxurious, is certainly well appointed, well maintained and clean. The crew have been very cooperative and helpful

Breakfast was not so great! Not being very hungry, we went to the snack bar. The fare there left lot to be desired, but we tried it anyway. Jo got a cup of tea and after a battle with a malfunctioning toaster had a bagel, one half of which was warmed, the other half cold! I tried a “Danish,” which was pretty bad. We have decided that tomorrow morning, that we are going into Ketchikan (we dock at 7:00 AM and are there 90 minutes) for breakfast for a change. If that doesn’t work, we’ll use the little toaster we have in car and do our own breakfast!

. ot what one usually associates with “government employees.”

MATC ALASKAN TOUR 2007

We awakened early (5:00 Alaska Time) after a good night’s sleep. And took our first shower in the bath in our “stateroom.” The cabins aboard the ferry are luxurious compare to the accommodations that we had on the ferry from Denmark to Norway. Those had been comparable to the “bed rooms” on the Amtrak our group took back to Boston last summer for the MAFCA Convention. As I recall, the showers on the train were about half the size of a telephone booth. Our showers today are spacious — and would be about twice the size of a telephone booth!

The cabin contains two bunk beds and would sleep four, but the room would be crowded. It is certainly OK for two people. We have a double window on the outer wall about six-feet wide and under it is a table for our luggage and a chair beside that. The other dimension of the floor is about 12-feet and it contains a reasonably large basin, plus a generous area to hang clothes and stow more of our gear on one side and on the other a door leads to the bath.

The volume of water in the shower is drastically restricted as the water supply on the ship must be conserved. The ship holds about 500 passengers (we have only about 350 on this voyage). We noticed last night that there was no big crowd in the snack bar when we ate and they told us that we didn’t need reservations in the dining room.

There are over 100 people “camping” out in the solarium area on the aft of the top deck. The solarium has lots of plastic chairs like those found around swimming pools and the younger set stake those out with their sleeping bags and backpacks. Aft of the solarium there is a large open deck area and some have pitched their mountain tents, using duct tape to fasten ties on the deck to hold them fast, in place of stakes. We were up there with Don and Cindy Knight and he remarked that it looked like fun and if he were a few years younger, he might try it. Those of you who were with us in Australia will remember the Knights as being the couple with “Jethro” the “Oakie” car, with bedsprings and other junk piled on the car. Jethro has been the same hit on this tour as it was Down Under. Don is posting to a web site. You might like to take a look at it. www.jethroknight.com

The ride has been very smooth since leaving Bellingham. A small roll can be discerned if one carefully watches a fixed portion of the boat against the distant shore, or mountain. A few minutes ago, however, the roll was more pronounced for about five to ten minutes. Now it is back to normal. We must have passed by an opening in the islands which allowed some of the ocean swell to reach us.

Sunset on a rainy day on the Inland Passage

We left Los Angeles after an extreme heat wave and found the temperatures on the Inland Passage quite comfortable

Deck Chairs and tents make it economical for many of the younger set to go to Alaska

The dining room is well appointed and offers a great view from the stern windows

Lunch was OK in the dinning room. There was a buffet set up from which we could select a salad bar, soup and/or make-your-own sandwich. We, with the Olsons, all had the clam chowder. During lunch, there was an announcement of a couple of whale sightings. We all rushed outside, but I failed to see anything. Jim Baker, at the next table decided that if we wanted to see a whale that we should go see Shamoo! There were some sightings by others earlier and some later in the afternoon. I have yet to see anything but a few dead trees!

Jo and I spent a part of the afternoon in our cabin, napping and reading. We went to the car and retrieved some things, among them, my binoculars — now maybe I’ll see something interesting!

I asked the Purser if there was WiFi on the boat. There isn’t, so I’ll have to wait until we get to Whitehorse before having an opportunity to upload this to the web site Seems as though this boat was refurbished at a time when the management wasn’t too interested in that service. Other boats on the line have it. Those on the Mosher tour had it on theirs. Maybe we’ll have better luck on our return voyage..

The Forestry Service representative, a woman from Juneau, gave a very informative and interesting talk on Robert Service and recited portions of his poetry. We enjoyed it very much. Later she conducted a talk on native art. Jo attended, but I stayed in the cabin and read and napped.

Tonight we are going to try the “famous Columbia Buffet.” (That is what later. The non-Model A reader might think that there is a major emphasis on food. He would be right! Model A’s run on gasoline, oil and water. Their occupants run on food! We have a hard time passing up a good eatery! What is more, we are not too discerning, if we are hungry!

The sky has been overcast most of the day, with the sun breaking through for several hours. I noticed the temperature on the deck was 60-degrees this morning, so it is not too cold out on deck. For us, who have experienced so much hot weather in Southern California recently, it is a blessing.

The buffet was good and very popular with the other passengers. There was a long line when the dining room first opened at 6:00 PM. When we went up at 7:00, there were only a few in line, but since most of the tables were taken, we had to wait about 20 minutes. They gave us a beeper and we went to the bar and had a glass of wine. The entrée selection included salmon. Lasagna, teriyaki chicken, plus roast beef and ham at a carvery, salad bar and a selection of pies and cakes. We sampled most of the items and came away full.

After eating, we sat in the lounge in the bow and watched the sunset and the many wooded islands slip by the boat until it was time to go to bed. Thus ended our first full day on the Columbia.