Off the Beaten Path on the Grand

Finally got a crappy foggy cloudy sea day. Visited the sauna, aka the "laundromat" for an extended period so that we would not offend others on our land tour. One washer was tied up for an extended period while the owner of its clothes tried to get laundry powder from the machine. Offered her a tide pod but she doesn't like liquids apparently. So rather than doing two loads at a time I got to do one after the other. And the dryers of course take twice as long as the washers. Sigh. Hopefully when we get on the Star a week from tomorrow we will not have such a problem. We are staying in the Vancouver area for a few days after disembarking the Star so I guess worst case is we will do a load there.

Got a little bonus last night after dinner. We did some brief scenic cruising near the Hubbard? Glacier. Watched a huge tower begin to split off, with very loud cracks, but it did not fall. Another area near where I was filming did calve and I managed to get video of that. Blue ice is sooooo pretty.

Disembarkation wasn't too bad. Had to be in the Michelangelo dining room at 6:30 AM, Tim is NOT a morning person so he was a tad cranky. The train we were supposed to take to Talkeetna was stuck in Seward due to washed out tracks between Seward and Whittier, so we had to take a motor coach. Made it to Talkeetna and found our glacier landing excursion was cancelled, so we just wandered around the little bitty town (the inspiration town for Northern Exposure). Did a little shopping and had lunch. Then took shuttle to McKinley lodge. Had a nice dinner in the Mountain View Restaurant. Denali was shrouded in clouds and not showing her face.

FYI the restaurant across the highway from the Denali Princess Lodge called "The Salmon Bake" is incredible. A full pound plus of King crab for $44, twice as much as we got in the Mountain View and $11 less. The ambiance is much more like Hollings bar. Hubs had a pork loin stuffed with crab and he said it was awesome.

McKinley Lodge was nice, small compared with Denali lodge. Shampoo was a nice invigorating one, and they actually have conditioner. Had to have luggage out by 7 AM and be ready for bus at 9:30. So we had a nice breakfast in the 20232 or however tall Denali is cafe. All the sausage is reindeer sausage, made me feel like I was eating Rudolph. But the fried potatoes were awesome.

When we were gathering to board the bus Denali started to lift the skirts of her cloud cover. Then she took her hat off and there was just a scarf of clouds left. The morning sun was so bright on the white snow.

Went out to the bus this morning to tour the national park and found it was an old school bus and the only remaining seats were in the back. Tried my best on the way to the entrance where we were going to stop and watch a movie, but there was no way I could spend 4 hours back there. The bus driver said we keep the same seats the whole time and there was no slack for people who get car sick. He said don't worry they don't go fast, but the slow rolling motion was made worse by going slow. So, I took the shuttle back to the lodge and let hubs go on the tour. At least this one was included in the price and not one we had to pay extra for.

On the transfer buses the drivers let me sit in the second row, in one of the reserved seats. They are also tour buses that have better suspensions that the school buses.

We ate lunch at the King Salmon, I had the 4 cheese mac and cheese with king crab and shrimp. Was very tasty.

Lots of shopping at Denali, although mostly mass market stuff.

There is some overlap of dishes between the various Princess Lodge eateries. That being said, after reviewing the offerings at the two restaurants on site at the Fairbanks Lodge, my grandson who is stationed with the Army in Fairbanks said "let's go to the Pump House". This place was awesome. One would probably have to arrange for a cab or something if you don't know a local, but it was great. Hubs had red deer (there was also elk on the menu) and I had a lovely scampi. Almost had king crab again but decided I needed to vary the diet a little. And a wonderful strawberry rhubarb crumble for dessert.

Flew up to north of the Arctic Circle last night to Coldfoot, and then driven to Wiseman which is a community of 13 year round residents. We were given a presentation about subsistence living in a climate where the growing season is 2 short months. Then visited the Coldfoot truck stop before being flown back to Fairbanks. On the way back we saw the northern lights pretty much the whole way. Very worth the money. Now we were below the Antarctic Circle and above the Arctic in the same year. Only bad part is plane is not pressurized so my ears are now plugged.

Well getting chilled and having ear issues have plagued us on the journey to Copper River and the first day here. No fever but have semi-isolated ourselves for the day. There were so many coughing and hacking on the bus that the busdriver stopped at an IGA rather than the Santa store in North Pole. Half the bus was in the Health and Beauty aisle checking out the Nyquil, Dayquil, etc. Found some sugar free Robitussin and Ricola drops.

Voice is fluctuating between none, growly, and Minnie Mouse.

Copper River is by far my favorite Princess Lodge. It is nestled on a hill overlooking the Whrangell and St Elias mountains. Gorgeous view. And since our Panoramic flight tour was cancelled due to low ceilingl, and our jet sky tour due to low numbers, we basically are having a "sea day" in a little slice of heaven.

Tomorrow we depart for Anchorage and hopefully will be able to find a place to get hubs glasses fixed before we head to Whittier Saturday to catch the Star Princess

Hope you feel better ASAP! We have a place called Fast Fix in Anchorage that might be able to repair your hubby's glasses. They're located in the 5th Ave Mall downtown, and if your Cruisetour includes hotel, you'll be staying downtown. It would be walking distance. I've never used them, but it's worth a try. Good luck!

Hope you feel better ASAP! We have a place called Fast Fix in Anchorage that might be able to repair your hubby's glasses. They're located in the 5th Ave Mall downtown, and if your Cruisetour includes hotel, you'll be staying downtown. It would be walking distance. I've never used them, but it's worth a try. Good luck!

Thanks! We are staying at the Captain Cook which I have been told is lose to the mall. Feel a tad better today, and we haven't had fevers so we should be OK for getting on the Star tomorrow.

The road from Copper River to Palmer on our way to Anchorage was gorgeous. The snow capped mountains, the golden birches, fall is definitely the time to visit Alaska.

I hate getting sick on vacation. :(

I hate getting sick on vacation. :(

Me too, but I guess I would rather respiratory than digestive, although I guess I did that on the Ketchican fishing trip...

The locals at Copper River thought it could be a combination of high pollen count and dehydration that was exacerbating everyone. It's very dry up here and you have to work hard to stay hydrated. I am also asthmatic so respiratory stuff can hang on longer. I do get my nebulizer back tonight so I can switch to that from the inhalers. Stopped in Palmer for lunch and spoke with a pharmacist who thought the real Sudafed would help my ears.

It really is a gorgeous stretch! Glad you're feeling better, and yes, you'll be within walkin distance of the mall and great restaurants. I recommend Glacier Brewhouse (get a res to avoid a long wait!) or Simon and Seafort's (get a res) for outstanding local cuisine and great service.

So we got hubs glasses fixed and had a nice dinner at the Captain Cook in Fletchers. I was really too bushed to eat much but the berry basket dessert was good.

Then, this morning, we were bussed to the airport where we met with the Princess staff and waited for the first shuttle to the ship at noon. Everything went fairly smoothly, and boarding the ship was a dream compared to Vancouver. We are in a sideways interior on the Aloha deck. Much better layout I think than the other interiors, and actually feel like there is more room than our balcony stateroom. There is definitely more storage.

Ok, so after spending the night alternately trying to sleep and walking deck 5 visiting the IC for tea and coughing and hacking, I went to the Medical center. Found out that I feel crappy because I have pneumonia. So, after a couple of different nebulizer treatments, I left with some Levoquin, predinesone, and expectorant. Fairly shaky from the Albuterol, but the nebulizer to break up the stuff in my lungs was pretty effective. Hopefully will have more energy by Skagway on Tuesday.

Our Stewart is divine! Seriously! His name is Divine! He brought me some more pillows so I can sleep sitting up more.

Glad you got the glasses fixed at least! So sorry to hear you have pneumonia, though! [emoji33] Take care, and I hope you feel better very soon!

Glad you got the glasses fixed at least! So sorry to hear you have pneumonia, though! [emoji33] Take care, and I hope you feel better very soon!

thanks!

Seriously glad we took both the northbound and southbound cruises. We had better weather on the northbound so the glaciers were more visible. And the two sea days in the beginning are giving us some mush needed relaxing time to get over my "community acquired" pneumonia. Passed the peak flow test this afternoon so I don't need any more neb treatments and can just keep sucking on the inhalers.

Enjoying the sideways interior, A515 during this recuperation. Stays nice and dark for afternoon naps.

Went to the "Destination Anywhere" production show last night. I enjoyed the opening, Las Vegas, and Bell Hop numbers, but London was odd, and going from London whores to the Lion King in Aftrica? Say what? The dancers and singers performed well, but it was as if they were trying to link genres that were never intended to mesh.

I remember you, I was on the northbound cruise and land tour with you! We sat next to you waiting to board the bus to Talkeetna. We were blessed with great weather and it was a fantastic trip, but I have never been around so many coughing and hacking people! Most of us came home with something yucky despite our efforts to stay well, but consider ourselves lucky because there were many others who were unable to complete the trip and some were hospitalized. We were so happy we took the Tundra Wilderness tour. We saw about 15 grizzly bears, moose, caribou and dal sheep. A wonderful trip! Hope you are feeling better now.

I remember you, I was on the northbound cruise and land tour with you! We sat next to you waiting to board the bus to Talkeetna. We were blessed with great weather and it was a fantastic trip, but I have never been around so many coughing and hacking people! Most of us came home with something yucky despite our efforts to stay well, but consider ourselves lucky because there were many others who were unable to complete the trip and some were hospitalized. We were so happy we took the Tundra Wilderness tour. We saw about 15 grizzly bears, moose, caribou and dal sheep. A wonderful trip! Hope you are feeling better now.

Oh yes! We did have wonderful weather during the land tour, Saw so many wonderful things and will definitely be back with the RV for a summer in the next few years.

Finally got hubs to go see a doctor the second day in Vancouver. Visited a medical clinic where I had to go crazy finding an ATM because they would only take cash or debit cards, and my debit card wouldn't work on their system. He has a wicked sinus infection with secondary bronchitis, so on antibiotics and serious cough medicine. He spent the last two days on the ship in bed, and then three days in Vancouver. Finally went out to the Capilon Suspension Bridge today. Hopefully his sinus will be clear enough on Friday to fly home.