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The last of July and early August, Mel and I took the Inside Passage Cruise to Alaska. Also traveling with us was our son, Eric, daughter-in-law, Kim, and our seven-year-old grandson, Jeffrey. The weather was fabulous, and we brought back many photos and memories to share.
We flew into Seattle a few days early, rented an SUV and ferried over to Victoria, on Vancouver Island. We toured Buchart Gardens and other points and the second day, we headed for Sidney where we panned for gold. We spent the night at Vancouver, B.C., on the mainland, then drove back to Seattle the next day. At 4 p.m., we set sail on the Celebrity Mercury, headed for Juneau.
"Well Ah'll swan. Ah figgered these cabins'd be 'bout twice't as big as a camper shell_not big enuff to cuss a cat— but this ain't haf bad," Mel said. Next time I looked, he and Jeffrey were eating chocolate candy and doing somersaults on our bed. I told them I was going to make them walk the plank if they didn't settle down. Soon, they were whale watching from our balcony, and actually saw quite a few from that perch during our trip.
We had a couple of days at sea, and Mel spent a lot of time snoozing in deck chairs, beneath those wool plaid blankets. The only way I could get him up and moving was when I'd say, "This is a mighty expensive nap."
"Sounds like them li'l guys down there in the galley has kicked up the rowin' speed. Cap'n must be water skiin'," Mel snorted. Looking around at the primarily "senior" crowd, he said, "No doubt about it, this shore ain't the Love Boat!"
At Juneau, we took the tramway to the top of Mt. Roberts where Mel and Eric practically foundered at an all-you-can-eat Alaskan King Crab buffet. And back on the ship, it was food, glorious food, around the clock.
Mel was in true form when we arrived at the Hubbard Glacier.
"Ah'm just lahk a butcherin' hawg. Ah luv this cold weather," Mel sighed, inhaling and exhaling the chilly air. He alarmed one lady when, as everyone migrated to the bow to see the glacier, he said, "Wonder if this thang's gonna go into a nosedive when all 2,200 passengers git down here?"
My husband felt most at home at Skagway, with its colorful tales of fortune seekers and lawlessness that abounded following the Klondike Gold Rush in 1897.
While salmon fishing in Ketchikan, he got a little carried away boasting about the superiority and cunning of the Texas outlaws to those in Alaska, and just how great Texas is. The fishing guide stung back with the comment, "Keep on, and we'll cut Alaska in half and make Texas the THIRD largest state!"
Mel loved the food, but hated the formal nights. During the last dress-up occasion, it was rough sailing. He spilled burgundy sauce down the front of his white shirt. The more he rubbed it, the bigger it got.
"Oh dear!" I gasped.
Mel just shrugged and grinned.
"Oh well, you know what they say. 'Ship happens.'"
