We have finally recovered enough from the trip to begin to reflect and process all the wonderful things we got to see and do. Though we missed some of the things at the outset...the Coastal Starlight ride and a couple of touring events, the tour company got us to San Francisco, albeit, about three hours late. That meant we only had time for dinner and a long sleep. On Sunday morning we did some walking at Fishermans' Wharf, but didn't get to see much of the city other than our bus ride arrival.
Boarding the ship was challenging. Homeland Security had issued a special code that day, and every foreign passport had to be check, and the people interviewed. Since the passengers were about 80% foreign, you can imagine that took some time. I think we were in line about 2 1/2 hours. We had just enough time to walk around the ship a little and get dressed for dinner. It was nostalgic for Dad to sail under the Golden Gate Bridge, as he did that as a young naval recruit.
As for weather, we had some of everything...clouds, rain, fog, cold and warm temps. The amazing thing is that we had really good weather where we really needed it. It was chilly in Juneau at the Mendenhall Glacier, but it didn't rain. Skagway and Sitka were absolutely gorgeous sunny days, and those towns were the hightlights of the trip.
Dad got a cold about four days from home, so of course, I couldn't be left out and got it after we got home. I think we're both fully recovered not, and ready to go!
Here are just a couple of pictures. We'll share the rest later.
