Memories Of The Summer Of 2000

Submitted by HOST GFS Grace@aol.com

 

Ever have a wish to see a certain place? Did you dream about going somewhere, and finally did?

This happened to me. Folks who know me probably would think that I would want to go to Ireland for my dream trip. My dream trip was to go to Alaska by ship and I went there this past September. 

To describe Alaska, the first word of description that comes to mind is, "majestic." The landscape seemed to go on forever, changing at every turn of the bend in Glacier Bay to the expanse of the Pacific Ocean where you would see nothing but water beyond the horizon.

Occasionally you see you would see islands popping up, or pods of whales on their way to their winter home. At times the ship would roll with the choppy waves.

I did not see anyone get seasick with all the rocking and rolling going on, and thank goodness I had good sea legs, for I wanted to see and take in all of this dream of mine that had finally come true.

One almost embarrassing and comical event happened to me while we were in rough seas.

I sure must have been a sight when I tried to go uphill into the theater to watch one of the shows put on for our entertainment. I had gotten a new pair of dress shoes, and the soles were leather and I had forgotten to roughen them up on concrete to make walking less slippery. I remembered only when I started sliding backwards on the carpeted entry into the theater. Trying to think quickly, I told the attendant at the entrance to the door of the theater that I was practicing downhill skiing backwards.

Sometimes you have to make a dumb mistake into a comical situation to keep your dignity. Guess that advice from my parents has worked many a time for me.

At the same time I was thinking to myself, "thank goodness that I did not fall on my face." I must have been some sight, but a couple of folks got a chuckle, including me.  LOL! 

Changing back to the scenery.....we entered into Glacier Bay, formerly known as Thunder Bay.

We were treated to a lecture by a US Forest Ranger who had boarded the ship earlier, and he was as excited as we were, for we were the first to be able to sail up Glacier Bay this season. It seems that is was the pupping season for the seals and then the shedding or molting of their coats, and no ship was allowed to disturb the seals from producing offspring from May to September. He explained the seals were relatively safe from whales thru this passage because the passage was too narrow. Whales are natural enemies of seals, but they usually do not try to look for a meal in narrow passages.

It was exciting when the Captain backed the ship up close to the glaciers. You feel as though you could reach out and touch them. The Ranger explained that no one as yet has found out the reason for the blue tint that the glaciers have, at least the white ones. We came upon another glacier that was very dark, but nonetheless a glacier. The darkness is caused by sediment of mud or dirt that flows over the ice. After staying at the site of these glaciers for over an hour, we sailed on to our first Port of 
Call.

We docked in Haines and went on a tour to see the American Eagles. It was raining and the guide said that the eagles were like us humans, that they hunker down and roost in a shelter. We did manage to see a few eagles through a telescope, but wished they liked the rain more. Our guide was a Native American of the Chilkoot Tribe. He said that he never could figure out why the hunters went into the deep woods to hunt moose, when you would find most of the moose right in town as soon as the season
began. Methinks Bullwinkle and his friends are pretty smart! 

After the sojourn into the woods, where we got to see moose, mountain goats walking high in the hills, and eagles hiding in their perches, we were taken to the local museum, whose purpose is to save the eagles. We examined great exhibits up close and listened to the Historian explain about the local wildlife. Haines is a nice little town with nice folks. 
Next stop was Skagway. We went into town and got souvenirs and walked around a little, but it rained so hard, we cut that venture short.

Our last Port of Call was Juneau. The sun came out and no pun intended, it looked like a jewel.

When the sun shines in Alaska, it is glorious. The air is so clean and the weather was like a lovely day in the Fall. We met up with other folks from other ships, and had a great time talking about where we came from and our experiences on the voyage.

Sailing out of Juneau, I couldn't help think that it sure was a great idea to buy that piece of land to add to our country. There is magnificent beauty, and even today, pioneers that are carving out new lives for themselves in a land that could be just as harsh as it is beautiful. When buying Alaska, it was called," Seward's Folly." It was quite a bargain at 2.5 cents per acre.

Maybe someday I will get to Ireland, but when I first saw Alaska, what came to mind to me was what my employer said to me years ago. He was an emigrant from Romania. He had endured the concentration camps, and had lost his wife and two children. I had asked him if he ever wanted to go back to Romania. He said, "No, Grace. I live now in a wonderful country, and I believe that whoever said, 'See America first,' had a great idea." He was right. I am seeing America first. I look back and remember too, that my grandparents loved this land of ours. America was their adopted home, and they instilled that love in their children, and in turn, to me. I am a second generation American, but American of Irish/German descent. I am satisfied in seeing America first.

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