Alaskan Cruise - Day 5

**Cinderelley** · 07-21-2009, 08:16 PM

Ketchikan

We had a horse-drawn carriage excursion scheduled for 9 am. So, we were dragging DD & DS out of bed at 7:30 am. This became a morning ritual, as teenagers can not seem to get it through their brain that staying up until after 1 am makes it difficult to get out of bed early the next day.

Maybe this should be a class they take in school.

Then came the second great teenage experience of the day - DD came in and asked if she could borrow a pair of my socks. "What happened to yours?" I asked her suspiciously. "I only packed one pair," was her unbelievable reply. We're 5 days into our trip, and she decides to tell me now. She couldn't have possibly told me this while we were in Vancouver where there were stores all over the place?????

Although this seems like a simple problem to solve - just share your socks and wash them more often- it really isn't. DD wears a size 12 shoe. She is almost 6 feet tall and athletic. I am 5'4" and petite. Anytime she "borrows" my socks, I know it, because she stretches them out so much, they fall off my ankles. Another distinct disadvantage to having a daugher who is that much taller than I is her delight in picking me up and spinning me around, but that's a whole other story.

So, I tossed her a pair of my socks and headed up to the Windjammer to bring the kids breakfast. They couldn't get ready in time to get their own breakfast and still make it for the 9 am trolley tour.

Mom and Jeff had already been strolling around Ketchikan, so they met us when we got off the ship. We ran across WifesChef once again and waved. After asking for directions, we found our trolley. The first thing that caught our eye was the husky puppy that was onboard. Her name was Luna, and the kids fell in love with her. Much to my surprise, DD ignored the horses - Bud and Doc- and continued petting Luna. I think they still miss our husky that we had to put down in 2005. The driver was named Sam, and the tour guide was named Whitney. They were an entertaining and informative pair, but the best part was Luna's attempts to get the snacks that Sam was eating. She was very subtle about it, so I don't know how many people actually noticed. We have 3 dogs at home though, so we could relate wholeheartedly.

During the tour, we found out there was a Wal-mart in town. At the end, we asked how to get there. It was so far away, Wal-mart sends a bus to pick up tourists to take them there. Mom and Jeff headed back to the ship. We had to ask several people how to catch the bus, because there weren't any signs. I really didn't want to waste my time in Ketchikan by hitting Wal-Mart, but we needed to get DD some socks and my pants had gotten so loose they were falling down.

That is not what I expected to happen on vacation, so I had to get a belt. I kept having the feeling that we were asking the wrong question, so I went into the bookstore by the bus stop and talked to the proprietor there. As we were talking, I mentioned to her that we were going to Wal-mart to get DD some socks. The response was "Don't go all the way out there. There's a store two blocks from here that has really cute socks." Score!!!

We also got some presents for the grandkids, and DS got a stuffed animal for his girlfriend all at the same store. In a store just a few doors down, I found a belt. We also tried some chocolate from ketchicandies. It was very tasty. DH was tired, and headed back to the ship. The kids and I walked along a little farther and saw a jellyfish in the water. Later at the Sealife Center, we learned it was called a lion jellyfish. It was beautiful to watch.

The kids were tired, so we headed back to the ship. Since we were boarding 2 hours before the end of the port time, getting back on was a breeze. I really liked how the staff always called you by name when they scanned your card. It was always along the lines of "Welcome back, Christi." It made me feel like they really paid attention to security -making sure you were the right person with the card.

After the kids said they were "sooooooooo tired" and practically fell asleep in Ketchikan, they promptly ran to the teen center. I decided to go up to the Starquest Nightclub to check it out. DH & I needed somewhere to try our new dance moves.

While there, we ran across DD with one of her new buddies and took a few pictures of her with the Marilyn Monroe statue.

We all gathered together again for dinner which was great as usual. Found out that Mom spent the afternoon reading her book while Jeff wandered off on his own. After dinner, Mom and Jeff hit the show again, and we wandered out to the helipad. It was a great view, but very windy. I had a full length leather coat on, and I could've used it as wings to fly on the wind. DD had to stand behind me and keep me still while DH button my jacket. Whenever I tried to do it on my own, the wind would push me backwards. I even got a picture of DS leaning forward and not falling because the wind was holding him up.

Around 8, the kids headed off to the teen center again. The theme for the night was 70's. They had the "Village People" performing in the Centrum. This was the most entertaining part of the trip. There was a lady in her 70s or 80s who was dancing with the Indian of the Village People. Eventually, they got into one of the glass elevators and were doing all sorts of antics in there as it was going up and down. Even with my fear of heights, it was entertaining enough for me to stay there watching from the 8th floor.

The kids were tucked into bed just after 1 am again.

**crazypoohbear** · 07-21-2009, 11:51 PM

a wal mart??? in alaska on vacation. thank goodness you were able to avoid that !! LOL
sounds like you were on a great ship with terrific customer satisfaction. NOT like the one I was on!
glad you are all having a great time
Keepem coming.