We did, indeed, enjoy a calm start this morning. We’ve been getting to bed at a sane hour
(though that has resulted in us not catching a single movie or show) so we wake
up naturally sometime between 6 and 7.
We putzed around the room until the restaurant opened for breakfast, to
avoid the buffet. We filled the blank
places in a big oval table for 10, and enjoyed eggs and breakfast meats. There was an update on the norovirus
situation; while several folks “turned themselves in” after the original
announcement – they should have done that at the first sign of symptoms – only two
new cases had occurred since then.
Certainly good news, and reassuring that our fellow passengers are also
doing their part to keep us all healthy.
Our goal for the day, in addition to meeting all the
requirements for being packed up, was to get in a walk around the promenade
deck. The ship was really hauling, so
the breeze was stiff, but we got the job done.
Several more-dedicated folks passed at higher velocity, but we were
satisfied with a brisk walk in the clear, clean air. Placards told us that 2.8 times around equaled
a mile, but we were happy with once.
Back in the room there was a lot of paper to sort
through. We have tags that relate to the
land tour, and tags that just relate to getting bags off of the boat. Some bags get both, others just one. We read the instructions again and again in
hopes of getting the assortment right on the first try (we’ll know tomorrow
night).
Mysteriously to us, our major
suitcase disappears altogether tonight until we and it are reunited in
Fairbanks the last night. So we needed
to pack everything for the next several days in our carry-on, which itself
disappears tonight but will find us at the lodge in McKinley. We are allowed to bring one “tote-sized” bag
onto the train up to Talkeetna, apparently space is at a premium.
All this consumed much of the morning, and we broke for
lunch and to clear our wooly heads. This
was not a particularly successful table-share as we sat with a couple and their
son and daughter-in-law, who naturally conversed mostly with each other. But no matter, we still had work to do. We wished them a pleasant remainder of the
journey and got back upstairs…taking a brief break to be distracted by a
lengthy noontime announcement from the bridge, covering everything from time of
day to current location, heading & speed to weather forecast. Probably this happens daily, but we haven’t
been on the ship at noontime often.
With much trotting back and forth, we finally were able to
weigh the big bags (our hope is not to open them, just check them at the
airport) and both of us had several pounds left to go. We were able to zip the smaller bags closed
as well! So we kicked back and enjoyed
the bottle of bubbly we’d brought along, reviewing trip highlights and other
memories. Bags went out into the hallway
as directed.
We needed to work out dinner and viewing plans, as the ship
was to arrive at the top of College Fjord around 5:30. We’ve been choosing a 5:15 reservation (first
up) and it’s worked well, so we decided to stick with that and just not linger …
we’d catch up with viewing immediately afterwards. As it happened, we got a fine view of several
glaciers spilling into the fjord as we motored past them, and when we got back
to our stateroom we were facing a solid wall of ice probably 3 miles wide. While we weren’t treated to active calving,
there were plenty of cracks and groans as the ice continues its slow journey
down to the water and, ultimately, the sea.
The temperature was still moderate enough to enjoy being
outside, and the late afternoon sun was very warm. Seabirds floated on the water here and there,
and flocked around the cliffs beside the foot of the glacier. We were reminded of an observation made
during the Misty Fjords tour: one could
beach the prow of that small boat and the bottom drops so quickly that the
stern would be over 80’ of water…the canyon is that steep. Wonder how deep it would be under the bottom
of this much larger vessel?
But almost OOPS! We
have to go pick up the DVD of this cruise, and we’re a little late doing
that. So back downstairs (Angie’s fitbit
has registered three dozen flights today!) … happily the crowds had thinned out
so our errand was completed efficiently.
In the course of lunch and dinner, we discovered that asking
“Are you continuing up to Denali?” is not sufficiently focused … there seem to
be at least three different itineraries that allow folks to say “Yes” to that
question. So we will be interested to
see which of our acquaintances are on OUR train early in the morning.
It will be an early day for sure – we are to muster at the
dining room at 6:10 sharp. The breakfast
buffet opens at 5A (no room service on disembarkation day!) so we’ve set up a
wakeup call for 4:30A. Tough assignment,
but we guess “they” knew we were up to it.
Our fingers are crossed that the weather will hold another few days – it’s
said that if we see the top of Mt. McKinley it’s a miracle. All the locals are raving about how unusual
this stretch of sunshine has been, so whatever comes we are grateful for
spectacular weather thus far.
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