From August 30 till September 10, 2018 we had the vacation of a lifetime. We did an Alaskan Land and Sea Tour with Holland America. The best part was the company. Here’s a list of the awesome group who shared this experience: Ginger (me) and Joe Watkins My sister, Rita and her husband, Ron Hopper…… Continue reading Alaska: Prologue
Category: Alaska 2018
Travel Log about our Alaska Land and Sea trip
Alaska: Getting There:
Thurs. Aug 30th: JR and Jackie here last night. Up at 4 am. To airport via Uber, (had to schedule 2 UBERs, since no 6 passenger van was available and between the four of us there was just too much luggage to fit in the trunk of a mid-size car). Our driver, whose name was…… Continue reading Alaska: Getting There:
Alaska: Anchorage and a Train Ride
All Aboard!! [top, r-l] JR Watkins and Jackie Bontrager, Ron and Rita Hopper, Gloria Herms, Joe and Ginger Watkins Fri. Aug 31st: The next morning it was about 50 degrees and overcast again. We had the breakfast buffet in the hotel restaurant early. We had to be in the lobby before 8:15 am to…… Continue reading Alaska: Anchorage and a Train Ride
Alaska: Denali Wilderness Tour
Sat. Sept 1st: Up by 5 am. We grabbed a cup of coffee and a breakfast sandwich at the Starbucks counter in the lobby and picked up our boxed lunches. At 6 am we were all herded onto a converted school bus for the Tundra Wilderness Tour. If it is possible, the bus seats are…… Continue reading Alaska: Denali Wilderness Tour
Alaska: Denali and ATVs
Sat. Sept 1st B: Back at the lodge we chilled until it was time to meet up for our ATV excursion. We headed out on a bus around 7 pm to the Black Diamond ATV garage. We had to watch a safety video and don helmets and paper coveralls, like we were going into surgery. With…… Continue reading Alaska: Denali and ATVs
Alaska: To Seward and a Big Ship
Sun. Sept 2nd: Early breakfast then we were herded onto another bus, this one was called a motor-coach, to take us to Seward and our ship. At least this ride was comfortable. We had ten hours with another Alaskan tour guide to tell us what we are seeing as we headed south on AK-3 past Anchorage…… Continue reading Alaska: To Seward and a Big Ship
Alaska: Out to Sea
Mon. Sept 3rd: Started the day with room service, coffee and omelets. Nice to sit on balcony, watching the water move swiftly by. No land in sight. We’ve been at sea all night heading south. Joe and I took a tour of the boat, learning our way around, identifying what was going on where. We…… Continue reading Alaska: Out to Sea
Alaska: Glacier Bay
Tues. Sept 4th: Early this morning the Captain informed us that we were moving into Glacier Bay. At 9 am we headed to Vista Stage on Deck 2 to watch a show about the glaciers. The MC was Jillian from the night before and she indeed was wearing a puffy white sweat shirt. She told…… Continue reading Alaska: Glacier Bay
Alaska: On Foot in Haines
Wed. Sept 5th: When we awoke we were in Haines, Alaska, a small town an hour and half south of Skagway by ferry and toll road. After coffee and breakfast we all debarked to check out the small town. Started out with me and Joe, JR and Jackie, and the Hoppers. Gloria was not with us…… Continue reading Alaska: On Foot in Haines
Alaska: Juneau and Mendenhall Glacier:
Thurs. Sept 6th: We had breakfast and coffee delivered to our room 7 am. Then we stood out on our balcony along with Jackie and JR who were hanging over their railing beside us and watched as the Noordam was maneuvered up to the dock and the dock workers below in orange vests stood on the…… Continue reading Alaska: Juneau and Mendenhall Glacier:
