ALASKA! Ketchikan, Day 3
This whole town front from the wharf to the shops to the street to the other shops on the other side of the street right up to the cliff face is one giant wharf. It was mighty surprising to be looking between building on the far side of a paved road that runs along the waterline and see…water way down there under the giant mega wharf of doom.
For your amusement and edification, I present you with a direct copy of my notes for today:
Roomservice breakfast TINY
Up at 6am again. Cloudy, drizzle lots of people in big heavy coats, I think they are Californians. It’s not bad out there.
Ketchikan on stilts, even worf road.
Saw Some bald eagles
-Orcas can appear anywhere. Damn Orcas
-Saw Humpback whales! Singing whale lady
-midnight Buffet sucks
Exactly as I wrote them so now you know what I’m working from to fill in the stories. They all pretty much look like that, except for the ones I was writing in the dark when I insanely stayed up all night to figure out when the damned sun sets and when it rises. (Don’t ask). Now, to ‘splain.
They provide a room service card to fill out and hang up the night before so TheMan and I decided to try it out. All I can say about the experience is that nowhere in MY book is a Danish less than two inches in diameter. Nuff said that. After breakfast we took a peek out to see what the new town was like (and our first port of call!) and I was a bit dismayed to find loads of people trundling down the gang plank bundled like they were going out to play in the snow. After stepping outside I realized that they were pansy Californian wusses because it was downright nice out. Even *I* wasn’t sure I would need a woobie (but I took one just in case).
This isn’t exactly the best shot, but Ketchikan has a giant wharf that stretches about 150 feet back from the shoreline until it hits a huge cliff. The houses perch right on the cliff and the walkways and stairs that go up a couple hundred feet between them are actually streets. The city maintains them as roads in the winter. Frekky! We debarked and headed out into town, the wrong way, and found ourselves in the working section rather than the tourist section. Look, boats!
We found the tourista boulevard once we turned around and headed back, did our tourist thing (which included buying a double fist full of post cards and mailing them out. Hee!) and then re-embarked for an afternoon of getting our heads yarbled at by MEEchelle who had all sorts of things to tell us. One of which was that we would most likely see humpback whales and we could see orcas as well because orcas could appear anywhere! Like maybe the elevator or perhaps the lower dining room. You never know! She did yarble us a bald eagle so that was cool
Watch for orcas too, because you know they could appear anywhere!
We did eventually see whales up close to the ship because we puttered through a narrows and the whales had no choice but to putter along side of us, or at least really close as far as whales are concerned. TheMan and I went to the forward viewing deck and were ooing and ahhing when this spaced out hippy looking old lady drifted onto the deck. She immediately threw back her head and screeched “Halleluuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuiah” loud enough for the town of Ketchikan, four hours distant, to hear her. She then walked up and down the deck explaining about how the whales were curious animals and if you sing to them they will come up to listen! Which was, of course, followed by another ear splitting round of Halleluiahs and then more informatively bizarre information about whales. She asked if anyone could yodel, because apparently whales like that too, but no one stepped forward. Oh, I take that back, some one offered to throw her overboard but I’m not sure if that exactly counts towards things that impress whales. TheMan describes her as “A few baleen short of a happy krill meal”.
Oh look, whales! As a side note, this one dove right after Crazy Whale Lady halleluiahed at it. Heh!
And speaking of bizarre, I’m not sure if I love it or not but one finally appeared in our room after they turned down the sheets in the evening. I think it’s an elephant.
To top off the night, we stayed up to experience the midnight buffet and I’m going to have to give it many thumbs down. Hot dogs and fixings are not my idea of buffet. Heh, I guess that’s one meal we can give up without any feeling of loss no?
When deck chair ass gets to you, take a pic!
Last Year at the booniverse: The bushes have all gone bazoo and have taken to giving me the evil eye every time I walk by.