2008 Cruise to Alaska
Part 2


The day after the cruise by Hubbard Glacier, we arrived in Sitka.
We more or less split up here to do different things. Diederik went on a small 'cruise' to see various wildlife. Shown here are some of the results. The top two pictures show whales catching their prey. The next pictur shows a colony of seaotters and the last pictures shows a few seals on the rocks. There was also a Bald Eagle on a nest, but you couldn't get close enough to take a good picture.
Some went into town for some shopping and a look at the sites. There is an old Russian Orthodox Church here. Like all of Alaska this area was once Russian.
There was also a nice museum, but it is difficult to pictures that really tell something.

In front of the main town are many small islands where people build one or more homes. These can only be accessed by boat and most have no access to any utilities. Apperently many are second homes of wealthy west coast people.
That evening dinner turned into a big show. We again had our window table.
Ketchikan was our last stop in Alaska. Diederik went cery-cold-water snorkling. But it was a little disappointing. Not because of the temperature, but because the visibility was poor caused by all the plancton in the water.
That evening we had a real party. First drinks and appetizers in our suite.
Followed by a special dinner in the Pinacle Grill celebrating Stephanie's and Dederik's 20th anniversary and also Tom's 79th birthday.
At the end of the dinner they brought us two cakes. The first one siad "Happy Anniversary", the second one "Happy Birthday".
And dinner was followed by the Dessert Extravaganza. There were lots and lots of desserts, but also a tremendous amount of display items.
The last day the ship 'steamed' back towards Seattle. Stephanie and Diederik were invited to first the Mariners lunch and then to the First Class Lunch. Holland America gave Diederik credit for being on their ships once before (in 1966!) and thus he was part of the Mariners Society, the club for return cruisers. The first class lunch especially had some good food items. Below a picture of some desserts we brought back to our room for later.
Then we reached Seattle again and leave the ship.
However, all our fligths were not until the next day, so there was time to visit Pike Place Market and to do 'some' antiqueing.
The End.