Alaska - part 2

Alaska time was so different. Light until - well pretty much light all night in Fairbanks and Denali. Saturday we were up early. We boarded the train for Anchorage and enjoyed the gorgeous ride. The train was much more roomy and the windows allowed for great viewing.

Panoramic of train interior. 

Views from the train to Anchorage. 

Street scene in Anchorage. 

We had one night in Anchorage. We ate at a pricey restaurant and enjoyed a delicious fresh king salmon from the Copper River. Meager portion caused us to grab a slice of pizza before retiring to our hotel. Got up and attended Mass at the Cathedral practically next door to the hotel. Caught breakfast in a great local deli. Then back to hotel to wait for bus to train. 

On board for Seward to catch our ship. We went through tunnels and were up high in many places. We saw more wild life. One of the most impressive sights was just as we left Anchorage. There was a grass landing strip that bordered a neighborhood and an airplane in nearly every back yard! Wow!

Macho especially like this particular train ride. Photos just don't do it justice.

Frozen stream. 

Seeing the front of the train going around a curve.

Finally get to see our ship. The Noordam. 

Macho's pants set off the metal detector and then his ship card malfunctioned. He got it all straighten at Guest Services while I located our room. We started to unpack then went and grabbed a bite to eat before we had to attend mandatory muster for safety training. 

We slept better with curtains that blocked the light. 

Didn't get out of bed until 9:00 Monday morning. 

We packed the day with as many ship activities as we could since it was a day "at sea". 

We even attended tea at 3:00! 

We went to the Gala night in the dining hall and met some new friends...from Iowa. 

Tuesday we sailed our way to Glacier Bay. It was in the 30's that morning. It evened snowed for just a few minutes. We were layered up good. National park rangers boarded our ship that morning and we attended their program. After the park ranger spoke a native Tlingit interpreter spoke to us. She was very "in character" the entire time she was on ship. 

Paulette, our native Tlingit interpreter. 

The Marjorie Glacier "calved" for us many times. It makes a loud thunderous sound before it drops ice into the water. Then the water is full of little icebergs. 

Not all glaciers have names. 

That takes us through Tuesday... more in another episode.