Tracy Arm...August 12, 2009

This was another full day at sea...although much calmer so no sea sickness! We cruised through the Tracy Arm Fjord. A fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by abrasion of the surrounding bedrock then fills up with sea water. We got up early, worked out, then spent most of the day on deck enjoying the scenery and watching for whales. It was by far the coldest day with a high of 50 degrees Fahrenheit. It is the most beautiful place I've ever been. We were in awe...

(notice the glacier in the background)

Sailing up by the glacier. The ship set a record...it was the closest it had ever gotten to the glacier...

Heart Ice...from the "heart" of the glacier. It is thousands of years old. It is blue because all of the oxygen has been sucked out...

In this picture you can see the carvings on the rocks from the glacier. It moves approximately 1 inch/day....

We spent several hours whale watching and saw over 50 hump back whales.
That evening was the second formal night so we got all dressed up again. We had lobster for dinner. After dinner we went to another show starring the Golden Princess Dancers. We were in bed relatively early because we had to get up super early the following day for our zip line excursion!

Skagway...August 11, 2009

We were in Skagway, Alaska from 6:00 a.m.-8:30 p.m. We went Kayaking! It was the first time either of us had been and we'd definitely go again. We saw a black bear... ducks...

a Bald Eagle...

and beautiful scenery...

It was cold (high of 57 degrees Fahrenheit) so it was a bit of a shocker coming from Texas where it's been hot (100 degrees Fahrenheit). We both had three coats/jackets on in this picture!

That night we watched the Golden Princess Dancers perform and went to a comedy show on the ship.

Next up...one of the most beautiful places on earth!

Juneau...August 10, 2009

Our first stop was in Juneau, Alaska. We arrived at noon and stayed until 10:00 p.m. This was one of our favorite stops and excursions.

The first thing we did was go on a whale watching tour. We got on a boat just like this and headed out to see some humpback whales.

Beautiful view from the boat...

~View of the Mendenhall Glacier from the boat~

As we were passing by several humpbacks, the captain came on the loudspeaker and said they had gotten word that there was a pod of Orca Whales (a.k.a. Killer Whales) spotted which is quite rare. It was the coolest thing we've ever seen! There were approximately a dozen Orcas. They turned off the boat and we were able to sit and watch them for about thirty minutes. The whales actually swam up to and under the boat. We could have reached out and touched them. It was truly breath taking. I think it was the highlight of our trip. They kept telling us how lucky we were to even see Orcas and to see them this close. They run 4 tours/day, 6 days/week and only see them maybe once every 3 weeks but never as close.

This whale turned on it's back and swam under the boat...

The whales wave farewell...

After watching the Orcas, we got to see a group of humpback whales group feeding. They said this is also very rare to see as humpbacks generally do not hang out or feed in groups.

We also saw a group of Sea Otters sun bathing...

After the boat ride, we went to the Mendenhall Glacier ...

It was magnificent!

Before getting back on the ship, we took a tram ride up the mountain and were able to hike around. The view was awesome!

View of our ship from the top of the mountain...

This bald eagle had been shot and wounded so he was being kept in a small cage. It was interesting to see how large they are.

This day was our anniversary. When we got up that morning there were balloons outside our room wishing us a Happy Anniversary. It was a wonderful day and fabulous way to celebrate 15 years of marriage. There were two restaurants on the ship that you had to pay a cover charge of $25/person to eat at. You could eat as much as you wanted for the price. Since it was our anniversary, we went to the Crown Grill and had the best meal. I've never seen so much food! :) We both had lobster, steak, appetizers, and dessert (not to mention sides). Neither one of us ate breakfast the next day because we were so full!