June 28

Today is our 40th wedding anniversary! We are having a great time on our "cruise" despite another rainy chilly day! We arrived in Alaska around 8 AM and stopped at 3 ports today - Ketchikan, Wrangell and Petersburg. Since it was Sunday, nothing was open in these little towns, but interesting to just walk around, plus it felt good to get some exercise!

Here we are in Columbia's gift shopPretty mountains along the way thru the misty fog Mark standing at entrance off ship in WrangellThe post office in Wrangell and the first totem pole we saw Neat lighthouse Amy is with the Tongass National Park Service and throughout the weekend, gave intersting talks about native wildlife, glaciers, and what to expect, see and do at the various ports. A unique tribal house Huge cargo ship Float plane taking off right in front of our ship. Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg and Juneau are accessible only by water or air. Steve, our purser was a great guy who gave us the opportunity (at Mark's request) to go to the "Bridge" where the captain and crew navigate our journey. What a neat experience to spend an hour with the 3-man crew (all in their early 30's) and see it all from their vantage point with great technology! While on the bridge, I chatted with Steve and learned more about the area, saw a sea otter, whale and we passed many icebergs! FUN!!!