We are sailing towards Juneau, the capital of Alaska, in the southern part of Alaska — our first stop on a cruise of The Last Frontier.
The cruise wasn’t without a little drama. A sick person had to be transferred off our ship, the Ruby Princess. I watched the rescue operation, as a small boat from the ship met another boat from Canada. The crews attached the boats, then circled around each other in the swirling Pacific before finally connecting to the ship. I watched as they carefully transferred the passenger down to the Canadian boat which headed back to shore, then witnessed the ship’s medical boat lifted back onboard.
The day at sea was a sunny warm one. Claire Shulman and I had flown out to Seattle and boarded the Ruby Princess there. Our cabin space is perfect, and Claire is a very good traveling companion. We have two beds, a nice-sized bathroom and a separate sitting area that leads to a beautiful balcony. It’s where we’ve had our breakfast and basked in the sun, though it became quite windy on the terrace as the ship headed north to Alaska.
We got to see a movie outdoors on the deck in the light of day, Coco, then enjoyed a buffet lunch. I also took part in a class on photography and have become an expert on a camera that a friend of mine lent me for the trip.
At night, Claire and I enjoyed dinner with some interesting couples traveling from Nashville and Washington, D.C., via Minnesota and North Dakota.
On to Skagway a town born out of the gold rush in the 1890 and a train ride to where the miners began their journey. More to come next week!
