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Violist is a chat room regular who has lived all his life in Alaska. Many people think there is nothing to do in this frozen land. Violist has submitted this list of things to do while in Alaska, to help dispel this myth.
Lee Moore from Irving, TX: “My wife and I did a cruise to Alaska on July 15 out of Seattle. Loved every moment! Sure a lot cooler than Dallas, TX. In Ketchikan, we took a floatplane trip – which I can highly recommend. The flight was into the Misty Fjords National Park. We even landed on one of the lakes and got out on land for a short time. Our pilot, the business owner was a lady with 20 yrs. plus experience in Alaska. Her name is Michelle.”
I’ve uploaded darn near every Alaska image in my personal inventory to an Alaskan Cruise Flickr album. I must, again, thank Pluggd for giving me the opportunity to upload both text and images while on the cruise liner (through an ample Internet connection). Sorry the markup is bulky here – I couldn’t find an easy way to strip ID and NAME attributes from the link tags.
Read more on Alaska Photos…
Alas, this week is winding down. We’re on our way to Victoria, British Columbia – that’s in Canada, for all of you who aren’t familiar with the name or territory. I’ve only been on the outskirts of Victoria, spending most of my BC time in Vancouver. I hear they have wonderful gardens in Victoria, actually – but I’m not sure if we’re scheduled to see any of ‘em. Ponzi’s signed us up for some kind of tour and “high tea.” Guess that means we’ll be riding around in a bus with our pinkis extended? I wouldn’t mind traipsing through Victoria’s gardens, actually – it must be a shutterbug’s paradise. There’s not a cloud in the sky this morning – nothing but ocean outside our stateroom window. We have a western view for the moment, and that scenery won’t likely change until the evening hours when we roll into port.
I’m disappointed. I mean, here we are in Alaska, and Ted Stevens has not stopped by to say hello. That’s the least he could do for me, considering CNN put the InterTubes bLaugh in one of their segments the other day! I was sorting through my spam remotely (through VNC to my home computer) when I saw a message from captured the video for me to see it second-hand. The quality isn’t amazing, but it seems that in the broadcast, they kept our sponsor’s message (the GoDaddy coupon code “bLaugh”) intact. Freakin’ sweet! I wonder if we’re anywhere near Ted’s place today?
I can’t remember falling asleep last night. It’s not like we had a very active day (though I did crash early the night before after another round of fine cigars and cognac). Ponzi was up late, ordering chocolate cake and a club sandwich from room service after Midnight. I woke up to the sound of the ship’s activities director, telling us that we had finally arrived at Sitka. I didn’t want to get out of bed – it was too comfortable. What’s there to do in Sitka? Not much, as we would come to discover.
We never actually pulled up to a port yesterday. Hubbard glacier was to be admired from afar – and admired, it was. I’ll cover the experience in tonight’s Lockergnome report – an afternoon that will be forever etched in memory. I never thought something in nature could be so… naturally amazing. I spend my life looking for artificial creations and virtual pleasures, so this formation of snow and ice was a breath of fresh air (literally). I enjoyed watching it for well over three hours – without once thinking of the time, without once feeling bored or restless. I will return one day, mark my words.
Alaska Cruise Tips
The world could be ending right now and I wouldn’t know it. Sure, we have satellite television on board – but the time we’ve spent in our suite has been minimal. Internet access is a premium, so I haven’t spent much of my time catching up with the news online. I’m largely unplugged this week (ironic, as Pluggd is keeping me connected to the Internet for the duration of this voyage). Yes, this week wouldn’t be half as much fun if I wasn’t able to log on and post updates near real-time. And as far as I’m concerned, a couple of times a day is just about as close to “immediate” as you get on the high seas. We haven’t been boarded by pirates yet, though.
Today marks the first day we’ll be stepping off the ship. We’re in Juneau, Alaska – ready to embark on our first dogsledding adventure! I hope to have a few good photos from that excursion. We haven’t quite yet docked for the day, though the views outside our stateroom window have been absolutely amazing. It’s been like watching a long, scrolling postcard from the time we woke up a few hours ago until now. It’s true what they say – the landscape is pretty amazing. The weather is pretty temperate right now, too – haven’t seen a single iceberg float by. I’m a little disappointed that we won’t be touching the Arctic Ocean before turning around and heading back south. It would’ve been “cool” to say that I had been there.
Despite weathering a relatively restless night, I feel refreshed. The bed was comfortable enough, with two twin mattresses akimbo, 250 count sheets, and soft pillows. However, my sense of balance kept me from enjoying a peaceful sleep. I think I’m finally getting my sea legs, though. At least, I hope! It’s most difficult to manage when I can’t see the horizon. The temperature outside? Chilly, but certainly tolerable with thicker clothing. Despite the cool climate, We opted to dine on the verandah for breakfast this morning – the view was oceanic and the company kept us warm. Ponzi and I have a private space just outside our stateroom. Despite the weak coffee, they did bring us heavy cream (per our written request). We’re now getting ready to enjoy our day on board, with Ponzi hot to attend a couple of classes (even though some of them are designed to teach you how to buy more junk that you don’t really need).
We’re finally aboard the Holland America cruise liner! Yes, right now – on a wireless Internet connection. Thanks again to Pluggd for providing the ability for us to get online and post updates. I’ve only been aboard for a couple of hours, but… I’m beyond impressed. Our room is absolutely amazing – and we’ll be able to eat breakfast every morning on our “private” verandah. We’ve got cocktails with the ship’s captain right before dinner – so the fun hasn’t even begun. No, seriously – Holland America is teh shiz. Puts Royal Carribean to shame! Oh man, everything’s so clean. I think this is the first vacation I’ve ever taken when I didn’t want to leave the room.
As noted in my cruise ship report, we have a general schedule for our Holland America [ms Oosterdam] cruise:
Expect to see plugs for Pluggd in the near future: they’re sponsoring our Internet connection on the cruise next week! As it stands, I’ll be checking in at least once a day from the Holland America cruiseliner – text and photos, guaranteed. I’ll post daily audio experiences as well – so long as upload speeds aren’t capped at 2400bps! Drew Olanoff made the cruise connection for us – and for that I’m damn thankful, period. Alex Castro (Pluggd CEO) and I are getting together at Caffe Vita this evening – and I’m bringing the iRiver Clix podcast recording device with me. The audio quality may not be outstanding, but at least it’ll get the job done.
As revealed in last night’s report, I’m going on an Alaskan cruise in another week or so. Friends tell me that there are breathtaking photographs waiting to be taken of the Alaskan landscape – but can I rent (borrow?) higher-quality hardware for a week? The cruise is already going to be expensive to begin with. Here’s a fraction of the feedback I received this morning…
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