Hello from Skagway!
Today we were docked at the forward Railroad Dock, right alongside the slide area. Before our trip to Skagway last year the hillside gave way and tore up part of the dock. Some of the debris even hit one of the Princess cruise ships. They are still working on the situation and have two different plans for the ships docked along the hillside. For those ships docked aft (at the back of the dock) they are running shuttles back and forth for the passengers to get past the danger zone. For ships docked forward (like us today), they have to run their tenders (water shuttles) to get passengers to and from shore. No walking off the ship like the good old days.
The thought of the long, long tender lines
I did make my way to Crown Grill for dinner and had a filet mignon, the first red meat I've had in months. As I made my way out, the Puppies in the Piazza was starting up. I watched and listened a bit. I'm still not sure about the whole the puppies need socialization thing. These guys were 15 weeks old and pretty hyper, with one tearing up a stuffed animal before greeting the first passengers. I watched the handlers give them handfuls of ice cubes to chew. It wasn't warm at all, so does it maybe calm them down?
Knowing I will be here next week when we'll be docked in the prime spot, the Broadway Dock
A cool and breezy day making a rougher tender ride
And...I'm not as strong as I thought I was.
Here I was all bragging yesterday about being stronger, but two miles scootering on the wooden walkways didn't do my body good. As I found out in the middle of the night, a Charlie horse in my left calf combined with a sciatic nerve that all of a sudden decided to make an appearance on my right side made for a rough go of it. Dealing with both at the same time while sleeping on a twin bed? It was not pretty. There were a few moans and groans and maybe even some whimpering as I tried to find a less painful way to sleep. As I was mostly unsuccessful during the night time hours I decided to spend the daytime hours keeping a low profile in the cabin.
On my way back to the cabin I heard Steve Hites' voice coming from the Explorers Lounge so I stopped in and listened to his show. He's a storyteller who adds song with his presentation about Alaska. It was interesting watching and listening to him (and the audience reaction) as I think storytelling now isn't appreciated as much as it was when we first saw him almost 20 years ago.
Tomorrow we're in Glacier Bay. It'll be an early morning and a long day. I wonder how I'll feel about it now that I've been to Norway and Prince Christian Sound in Greenland. See you then!
Before I go, here's today's quick video of Skagway taken from Deck 15.
If you're interested, I've written about Skagway several times before: