Alaska 2017: Ketchikan

Our last port in Alaska was Ketchikan, aka: "The Salmon Capital of the World." In addition to all of that salmon, Ketchikan is known for being the first city in Alaska. And also known for: Lumberjacks.

Our stop in Ketchikan was short and we arrived very early in the morning. We had one excursion booked; The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show. Dan and I did not do the lumberjack show on our previous trip to Ketchikan, but after hearing how much everyone enjoyed the show, it was on our must-do list for this trip.

The show is located across town, about a fifteen minute walk from where the Ruby Princess was docked. Here are the pictures that we took as we walked through the town.

The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show lasts about an hour and is held in an open-air arena, with first come-first serve seating.

The show centers around competitions between two pairs of lumberjacks, one pair from America and the other from Canada. It is similar to Medieval Times, in that depending on where you sit, you are either rooting for the Canadians or the Americans. All of the lumberjacks play a different character to give it a bit of a storyline. For example the "bad boy" lumberjack was on the Canadian side and he was a sore loser which ramped up the rivalry. The American side had a slightly goofy, bad-boy character too. With regard to the actual events, It was hard to tell how much was predetermined and how much was actual competition.

That said, it is a fun, high-energy show and clearly, the lumberjacks are all very talented. They did log-rolling, wood carving, axe throwing, sawing, and the final competition, where one lumberjack from each side had to climb up a tall tree. These are all skilled athletes, no matter how much of it may have been staged.

We rooted for the home team, but I can't remember which side actually won. It was a close competition throughout. The excitement wasn't so much in who won, but in the actual competitions themselves. If you're heading to Ketchikan, The Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show is a perfect pick for the entire family. This is also a very short port stop, so this excursion will leave enough time for you to enjoy the town.

The kids got a picture with a lumberjack. This guy was one of the "nice" characters.

Dan wasn't feeling well, so he headed back to the ship and I took the kids around the town. Ketchikan has a small indoor mall with an outlet store, where we stocked up on Alaska souvenirs and had a sugary treat.

Like the other ports, a lot of the stores in Ketchikan are tourist traps. I'm not sure what it is about cruise ports but they seem to be the place where people go to get jewelry. There are so many jewelers in Ketchikan and all of them had some kind of free trinket to entice buyers to enter their shops. We navigated around these stores, but we were lured in by a store selling items that change color in the light. I bought Zoe color changing nail-polish and Felix a tee-shirt, both were big hits.

Our morning in Ketchikan was a blur and before we knew it, we were back on the ship and enjoying an afternoon of swimming as the Ruby Princess headed to its final port, Victoria Island in Canada.

Alaska 2017- Skagway: Part One

Skagway is charming. It reminded me of the fictional town of Storybrooke on the television show, Once Upon a Time. It's so darn cute and filled with more things than we had time to do. On our previous Alaska cruise, Skagway was not one of ports, we visited Sitka instead. Sitka was lovely, but if you're planning a cruise, I highly recommend picking an itinerary that includes Skagway.

Our Ruby Princess Skagway picture, with a bald eagle and a fisherman.

Pictures right off of the dock.

The local news.

Pretty summer wild flowers.

Skagway was important during the late 1800's, as prospectors traveled through to Canada for the Klondike Gold Rush in the Yukon. The town grew and built a notoriety for lawlessness and immoral behavior. John W. Nordstrom spent a few years in Skagway, before settling in Seattle to start his shoe business, which would grow into the Nordstrom retail empire.

We had several hours before our afternoon excursion, so without a plan, we set out to explore the town. We took a lot of pictures.

Sugar Mamas sells cupcakes and hot dogs. On the recommendation of the employees, I tried a rhubarb cupcake. I think it may have been the first time that I've ever eaten rhubarb in any form. It was delicious.

One of the must-see attractions in Skagway is The Days of 98' Show. We saw this as an optional excursion, but did not pre-book it. We were drawn in by the ticket sellers on the street, promising a family-friendly, fun show.

Tickets were twenty-five for adults and twelve fifty for kids for the hour long show. When we shelled out the money, we thought it was a little steep, but we were also in vacation spending mode.

That said, the show was worth every penny. It was one of my favorite things that we did on our vacation. It was highly entertaining and we all loved it.

The show is about Soapy Smith (Bill McCarthy), a con-man who lived in Skagway during the late 1800's. The show has been running continuously since 1923, when steamships first started bringing tourists to Skagway.

The Days of 98' Show is a musical- comedy with a dose of local History. It is very audience participatory. Your chances of being pulled on stage are fairly high, especially when the theater isn't full. It was about half-full during our performance. Don't think that you can hide in the back either, they will find you.

Normally, this would scare me off, but I actually had a lot of fun when I was pulled on stage to dance the can-can. I thought I did pretty well considering I was bundled up in cold-weather clothes and I was in pain from sciatica. The best part of the video is hearing Dan and the kids laughing.

After the show. we ate lunch in The Red Onion Saloon: a former brothel. We didn't do it with the kids, but they have tours of the brothel. The restaurant has a lot of character and it was jammed with tourists. The food was good, but I think the ambiance is really what sells the place. It was like being in an episode of Deadwood.

If you're traveling with children, you must stop by The Trail Center: Klondike Gold Rush International Historical Park.

The Trail Center offers interactive educational exhibits geared towards children, explaining life during the Klondike Gold Rush. It's small (we spent about thirty minutes) and it's free. Zoe and Felix are from Sweden, so they were unfamiliar with this part of North American history, that I had learned at their age. Dan and I each took a kid and went through the exhibits. It's very well done and worth doing. When they finished, they were given a short quiz by a park ranger and earned a National Historical Park pin and sticker. I had no idea that this was a thing with our National Parks, but it's a wonderful way to teach kids. It's fun and interesting. Heck, even if you're not traveling with kids, it's worth popping in to take a look.

In Skagway: Part Two, our excursion to an Iditarod training camp and husky puppies!

Alaska Cruise 2017: Juneau

Our first port was Juneau, Alaska's capital city. It's Alaska's second biggest city with just over thirty-two thousand people. This isn't a very big city, but it certainly gets crowded with tourists during cruise season.

Here are pictures that we took as the Ruby Princess was docking at the port.

Parked next to the Ruby Princess, was Holland America's Nieuw Amsterdam, which Dan and I took on our first trip to Alaska. The Nieuw Amsterdam is a great ship, perfect for older passengers. It's much smaller with more quiet spaces. The Ruby Princess is a better fit for cruising with children.

The official Juneau port picture, with a anemic looking killer whale and dopey moose. I like the framing with the bear, who looks like he wants to get in on the action.

We took a picture of the kids with the statue of Patsy Ann, Juneau's famous rescue dog.

If you look up in the sky and are lucky, you'll spot bald eagles soaring over Juneau. They are gorgeous and majestic. However, if you fail to spot a bald eagle, you'll most certainly see the Alaska Ravens. Alaska Ravens are everywhere in Juneau. They own the place. They have zero fear of tourists.

We had a few hours to browse shops and grab lunch before our afternoon excursion. We ate at the Alaska Fish & Chips Company. The food and service were both very good, but this airplane themed restaurant is most definitely a tourist spot, complete with tourist pricing.

The restaurant is located on the waterfront, in a small mall of other business. We walked through the mall and looked at all manner of Alaska souvenir: canned salmon, fur bikinis, and enormous hunting knives.

We declined those purchase opportunities. Instead, we took pictures of fun signs and the town.

Juneau is a port that is filled with great excursions. On our first cruise, Dan and I took a trip to an eagle rescue, went on a cable car ride, and rode in a float plane over the Tongass National Forest. This trip, we booked the "Mendenhall Glacier Float Trip."

We were picked up at the port and took a quick bus ride to the start of our rafting adventure. We were told to wear thick socks and warm clothes, with the tour company outfitting us in safety equipment, rain boots, and water-proof clothes.

Bundled up, armed with paddles, we waddled to our raft and we were helped aboard by the rafting crew.

I can't remember the name of our guide, but she was great. She made sure that we were safe (no going overboard), but still had fun, while learning about Alaska.

The kids were allowed to paddle, but really it was the adults doing the bulk of the work. It wasn't too strenuous though, this is an excursion that most people would have no problem enjoying. If you really couldn't or didn't want to paddle, you were put in the middle of the raft. No pressure to get a work-out!

This is the Mendenhall Glacier right in front of us!

The best part of the trip was the small section of rapids. It was thrilling and it definitely made me eager to book a white-water rafting vacation. Most of the excursion was tame, just floating through the Tongass National Forest.

It started lightly raining and it was so cold, that the rain turned to ice in our hair. If you look closely, you can see the ice!

This was actually our 2017 holiday card picture.

Not only did we have a great time, but we really enjoyed spending the afternoon with the other people on our raft. Everyone was very friendly and having fun. Before heading back to the bus, we were given hot cider and a selection of appetizers- including a salmon spread for crackers, of course. You can't escape salmon in Alaska.

If you're looking for a Juneau excursion that is a little thrilling, without being terrifying, the "Mendenhall Glacier Float Trip" is the perfect pick.