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Thursday, August 12- Kansas City to Anchorage

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  I haven’t updated published a blog in awhile.   COVID largely spared my loved ones and me but it sure had an impact on my travel.   Eastern Europe in late June- moved to October of 2022.   The cruise off Belize and Guatemala in October- COVID situation in Belize was worsening and I was given the opportunity to change to one within Alaska.   I grabbed it.   Ron and I had taken UnCruise in Alaska in 2012 and 2014.   I’d been considering returning so this was all I needed.   In addition to proof of vaccination they required a negative COVID test a few days before.   Happily, it did come back negative (I had no reason to expect otherwise but you never know). American Airlines sent me a dire warning a few days before:   TSA lines were long, get there 2 hours early for domestic flights… I checked the MyTSA app and found estimates of 15-minute wait times.   Sure enough, the line I needed to use never had more than a few people and only one person ahead of me when I entered it- and I didn’
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Friday, August 13- Anchorage to Juneau; Embarcation

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  My flight to Juneau took off close to the scheduled time at 11 AM and about an hour later we landed.   On a clear day the view alone is worth it- anything you read about in a geology book on glaciers is here. Cirques, horns, hanging glaciers- they're all there! The face of a glacier Two glaciers join together partway down a mountain I met with the UnCruise staff member sent to meet a number of us and he immediately checked my paperwork showing a negative COVID test within the last 4 days and proof of vaccination.   This is the only way I’d travel right now.   We were taken to downtown Juneau to wait till we could board the ship.   After lunch I looked at the upcoming weather report and decided I needed rain pants- an easy errand in a town that caters to cruise ship passengers, but first I had to pass about a dozen jewelry stores with some of the most garish pieces I’d ever seen- and I like jewelry.   I found what I was looking for in a locally-owned shop and also bought some jewe
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Saturday, August 14- First Whale Sightings

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  As we cruised to our next destination in the morning we were treated to the sight of humpback whales feeding near the shore.   I was up on deck participating in a stretch class. That was the end of the stretch class as we went over to look.   We were given our choice of several excursions in the afternoon- I chose a 2-hour afternoon kayak paddle where we encountered harbor seals and a couple of bald eagles.   Later that evening we saw sea otters and had a brief glimpse of an orca whale. Seals.  I know- I need a better camera.  Please consider contributing to a GoFundMe for that purpose.  ;-) View from my room- ready for the next kayak paddle. Pictures of whales?  Sorry.  Whales NEVER breach when you have your camera aimed at the right place in the water and even when I've gotten photos it's been a blurry shot of a curved back or a fluke (tail) disappearing.  You gotta be there. But here's a selfie I took in the lounge instead. 
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Sunday, August 15: Two Hikes

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  I was unceremoniously awakened at 4 AM as we hauled anchor to head for Bartlett Cove at Glacier Bay.   I tried to get back to sleep but never really did.   There was an early hike scheduled at 6 AM anyway, so I headed into the lounge and enjoyed a frosted scone with my early-bird breakfast.   (I had a second one with my regular breakfast when I got back.)    And this is just the EARLY breakfast.  Eggs, bacon and other necessities followed later.  We ate well. We were the only tourists in Bartlett Cove and were free to wander the trails.   We were reminded that the entire area had been under a thick sheet of ice only 300 years ago.   A nearby totem pole told the story of how the Tlingit were forced to abandon their settlements as the glacier advanced and, after it had receded enough for them to return, the US government locked them out of the area and told them they could no longer fish, hunt or live there.   The government eventually allowed them back in. This totem pole tells the st
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Monday, August 16- Glacier Kayaking

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  I slept longer than I had in any of the past 3 nights- almost 9 hours.   Good thing- as promised, I got the kayak paddle, which was my first choice, at 8:45 AM.   First, though, the wicked pastry cook had tempted me with yet another breakfast item with frosting, a cinnamon muffin with cream-cheese frosting.   A spray skirt.  Not a flattering look but it fits over the open cockpit in the kayak and keeps you from getting wet. The view behind us was almost as beautiful as the view in front of us. The Fairweather Mountains are seen only in....fair weather.  We were fortunate! Things do tend to work out for the best.   I would not have wanted to miss that kayak paddle.   We came very close to the face of Lamplough Glacier, which has receded enough that it was no longer a tidal glacier (i.e., not touched by ocean currents) and this less likely to produce major calving.   Calving in a large tidal glacier can be dramatic- an iceberg breaking off causes an ominous cracking sound and then
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Tuesday, August 17- The Curse of the COVIDIOT

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  When the Captain gets on the PA system at 6 AM, you know the news is not going to be good. One of the passengers had tested positive for COVID.   The person traveling with him had not.   (We later found out they'd been bar-hopping the night before embarcation.)   They were well-equipped with tests on board.  The crew had all tested negative and they and would first test passengers who had been in the vicinity of the affected passenger.   When I hadn’t heard from anyone by 7:30 I figured that was a good sign.    Breakfast menus were placed by the doors so we could check off our selection and have them delivered. Naturally, we were confined to our cabins.   I felt a bit better when breakfast was finally delivered, followed by a second cup of coffee at my request.   I had a stash of good books and a TRX for workouts.   I felt worse for the crew, who appear to love their jobs and who were probably very worried about what this meant for the rest of the season. Phone service retu
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Wednesday, August 18- Shipbound

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  At 6:45 AM we got the good news that here were no further positive tests.   Still, we were staying in Juneau.   We could stay on board till lunch tomorrow.   If you left the ship you had to stay off, to protect everyone on board.   Well, Juneau looked pretty miserable from my window and I had no mad urge to go look for gaudy tanzanite jewelry.   Juneau Harbor.  This view became VERY familiar.  Note the tram up the mountain at upper right. With the Internet fading in and out, I checked my flight options and THOUGHT I’d changed my flights on Alaska Air’s site but didn’t get a confirmation. I called and after a reasonable hold time I found that it had not gone through.   A friendly agent booked it for me.   Leaving Juneau tomorrow at 6:42 PM, overnighting in Seattle, leaving Seattle 6:41 PM, getting into Kansas City at close to midnight.   Not optimal, especially since the Juneau-Seattle leg was in Coach, but she gave me an exit row seat.   I felt better with everything confirmed. We
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