[Key: Memoir in Times New Roman, Travel Journal in Arial]
July 21, 1984 Ft. Collins to Vancouver, BC/Cool
Left Ft. Collins for Vancouver, B.C. from Ramada Inn’s Frontier Airlines office at 7:25 for Stapleton. Lovely flight once we got a seat assignment – 3 people assigned to our seat! We boarded the beautiful new Noordam ship at 2:30 pm, largest in the [Holland American Line] fleet, + newest in the world. We had hamburgers in the Lido room, then cocktails in the Piet Hein Lounge on the Promenade Deck. Sailed at 7 p.m. dinner at 8:00, then on to explore the Admiral's Lounge for dancing + entertainment. Beautiful scenic view of Mt Ranier [Mount Baker] + other ships leaving the harbor. Mary + Don S, Edna + Harlan joined us for an elegant meal. We turned in at midnight.
July 22, 1984 Sailing toward Ketchikan/Cool/Sunny
An early morning swim in the heated salt water pool got us off to a good start for the day. Spent the afternoon sunny on the deck - watched the four Phillipino ice carvers demonstrate their artistic sculpturing at the side of the pool. The Captain's cocktail party followed by a scrumptious dinner with champagne was enjoyed with friends compliments of the Thomas who sat with us + the Ss. We tried the movie “Yentl” but couldn’t stay awake so we crashed early for a full day of sightseeing tomorrow.
July 23, 1984 Ketchikan, Alaska/Perfect – No rain!
We docked early + went into a tender across the bay to Ketchikan. Had an excellent tour of the Tongass National Forest to see the totem poles made by the Tlingit + Maida Indians. Had a nice lunch at the Lido Lounge Deck + a swim in the warm salt water pool, followed by a sauna bath. Dinner was delightful as usual with cocktails in the Crow’s Nest followed by a floor show in the Admiral's Lounge afterwards. Packing for the tomorrow’s trip to Juneau was the last item of today’s agenda.
July 24, 1984 Juneau/Rainy – 52 degrees
After 3 glorious days of sailing of clear sunny skies on the Noordam, we reached Juneau in typical drizzling rain. Had a tour of the city + then on to our hotel the Breakwater Inn - not too plush but comfortable. Our room overlooks the Gastineau Chanel where there are various types of boats tied up. The mountains are spectacular, but there’s no where for Juneau to grow, so they’re building across the channel in Douglas, a lovely residential area. Taking advantage of a good night's sleep to rest up for tomorrow.
July 25, 1984: Skagway/Fair
Left Juneau for the Mendenhall Glacier at 9:30. Interesting. Saw several bald eaglets nesting + salmon spawning in a nearby stream. Boarded the MV Fairweather at Yankee Cove for a beautiful 100 mile, 4 hr. trip up the Lynn Canal to Skagway where we checked in at the Klondike Hotel. This is by far the most interesting town we’ve seen so far. Pop. is 914, with tourism as its chief industry. After a fine meal in the Klondike Inn we were entertained at the Eagles Hall with "Skagway in the Days of '98" - history of Skagway.
July 26, 1984 Whitehorse, Yukon/Cool, Sunny
When Vladimir brought Bert herbal tea that Peter Rabbit drinks, for breakfast at the Klondike Inn in Skagway, I thought we were in for it. However, it was a very lovely day. We took an hour walk of the town of 900, shopped, had lunch at the Sour Dough Café + then headed north via motor coach over the new road thru the pass to Whitehorse. Had dinner with Dr. + Mrs. G of Indianapolis at the Parthenon Greek Restaurant. Took a walk + it was still light at 11:00 p.m. when we turned in at the Regina Hotel, overlooking the Yukon River.
July 27, 1984 Whitehorse to Beaver Creek/Fair
To our pleasant surprise we boarded our motor coach promptly at 8:00 as scheduled with only 13 passengers. Great! Scenery in the Yukon Ter. is very similar, so although it was lengthy over the Haines + Alaska Hgways, it was very scenic – snow-capped mtns, pines + lakes + Lake Kluane was especially beautiful. Stayed at the Al-Kon Lodge, very small room – new – comfortable + expensive. Had a tasty meal in the lodge, then over to the Community Center by shuttle bus for an interesting slide show of the Inside Passage.
July 28, 1984 Fairbanks/Cool/Sunny
We left Beaver Creek in the Yukon + drove to the Can-Alaska border. The inspector was surprised to note my birthplace as he knew someone from there at Ohio U. Drove to Tok for lunch. The Alaska Hgway to Fairbanks is insulated due to the extreme temperatures. We stopped to see the malmutes + Alaskan huskies as well as the Pipe Line enroute here. After checking in we went to a delicious salmon bake with our friends Mary + Don S from the Noordam. The Ds from Seattle joined us. Had quite a nice meal + evening.
July 29, 1984 Fairbanks/Rainy
This was our first day for raincoats. Had a bus tour of the city with stops at the U. of Alaska Museum + the Visitors Center. The pipe line tour was great. It’s 800 mi from the Beaufort Sea to the Pac. Ocean (Prudhoe Bay - Valdez). Cost 9 billion $. Travels 7’ an hour + it’s kept at temp. of 140-160 degrees. We walked downtown upon return to the hotel, shopped in the rain, had lunch + came back to hotel to watch the Olympic Games on TV. Dinner with Ds at Clinker Bagger. Delicious meal + delightful English Tudor atmosphere.
July 30, 1984 Mt McKinley/Beautiful
This was the highlight of our tour. We checked in at the Chalet and started on our Wildlife Tour of Denali. We weren’t sure of what we’d see, but in addition to seeing beautiful Mt McKinley in all its splendor, we saw 4 bears, a dozen caribou, 2 moose, and 4 Dall sheep – quite a day. The Nenana R. was flowing at our front door + we watched people riding in rubber rafts in very swift current. After dinner we watched the Olympics in the lounge.
July 31, 1984 Anchorage/Cool/Cloudy
We left for Anchorage about 10:00. Saw a dog sled demonstration at the Denali Hotel. Interesting. Boarded our bus around 1:00. Nothing much to report. Visited a fruit stand en route + saw a movie. Had dinner at the rooftop of the Hilton Hotel with the Ds. What delightful evening – had shrimp + beef tenderloin. Beautiful, beautiful view of the city. Mary + Don Ss called to say they couldn’t join us for dinner so we bid farewell to our Peoria, Ill. friends via phone.
Aug. 1, 1984 Anchorage/Cool – A Little a.m. drizzle
Our morning city tour included stops at the museum and Earthquake Park. The flowers are the most beautiful colors, sizes + shapes ever. I'll always remember the beautiful hanging baskets - the larkspur, lobelia, marigolds, forget-me-nots, begonias, + dahlias, to name a few. The city is growing leaps + bounds. The Kenai Mts, Alyeska ski lift, + Portage Glacier were on the afternoon tour – all extremely interesting. Our dinner at the Downtown Deli across from the Visitors Center was one of the best meals we’ve had on the trip. We said “Good-bye” to our friends the Ds - Gladys + Leonard from Wash. Quite a day.
Aug. 2, 1984 Anchorage – Seattle/Cool - Clear
We had a 4:30 a.m. call to get bags out at the Hilton at 4:45, leaving early for our trip to the Lower 48. Had a good flight + arrived at the Edgewater in Seattle shortly after noon. Wasted no time getting to the Science Center, sight of the [1962] World's Fair. Enjoyed the China Exhibit, "Behold Hawaii" on a 3-1/2 story high screen, 60 ft. wide at the Imax Theatre, then a ride to the top (550’) of the Space Needle. Had a delicious seafood dinner at the pier called Elliott’s – a most interesting floor – ceiling bar. The walk back to the hotel was interesting along the pier as the fleet’s in for Seafarer’s Weekend. Home tomorrow via Colo.
Had a nice visit with Mike, Leslie, + Ryan for a few days before going home to Rocky River. Since school will start in a few weeks, I had to get lesson plans ready. I spent at least six weeks teaching about Alaska. My third graders all wanted to go there, + I wonder how many of them will make it via military service. They thought I was rich because I’d traveled so much. Because of our military life I told them they could do the same.
