theliterateleprechaun

I hope I never lose the excitement of receiving my Medallion in the mail! 

We returned home on Saturday from our Alaskan cruise, did laundry and put what we were taking to Hawaii in our suitcases, replacing rain gear, toques and hoodies with flip flops, sunscreen and t-shirts. In April, we did it the other way around - Hawaii then Alaska. I have a funny feeling we'll like this way much better! 😁
 

On 8/30/2024 at 4:55 PM, cr8tiv1 said:

It is too far to walk to Leonards from Ala Moana.  But....Ala Moana is a bus hub.  You should be able to get a bus to Leonards.  While you are in that location....a couple of blocks toward the ocean is Waiola Shave Ice.  Best...Better than that "other" one...on the island.  

 

Waiola Shave Ice Kapahulu.  Which cookies are you looking for?  Better selection of Big Island Candies when you are in Hilo.  

 

https://www.waiolashaveice.co/hours-and-locations

 

I understand there is an all day bus pass.

 

https://www.thebus.org/

 

 

 

I appreciate all your help! Thank you. 

3 hours ago, EDVM96 said:

John Hopkins Inlet is usually closed to all vessel traffic from May 01 to June 30. And from July 01 to August 31, all vessels must remain further than 1/4 nautical mile from any seal hauled out on ice. That's why cruise ships don't enter the inlet until September.

 

However, in 2023 we were lucky on the Sapphire to visit John Hopkins Inlet on May 06. I don't know why we were allowed to do so after May 01.

 

John Hopkins Glacier, May 06 2023

 

WOW. Just WOW! It's spectacular with the snow. What a treat. Thank you for the information about JH Inlet. 😊

5 hours ago, scubacruiserx2 said:

 

 

  Thank you for the review especially the DSLR photos !

We always carry 2 DSLR cameras with extra , pre charged batteries for the cold and 2 chargers for each camera . We have traveled 2 times to Alaska , Antarctica / Patagonia and are currently reviewing Iceland , Scotland and Ireland on the Caribbean last month . We did Antarctica in January this year on another cruise line . We feel that Antarctica/Patagonia and Iceland both blew Alaska away . We would gladly supply links - if you would like , but we don't wish to change the course of your photo review . Thanks again and enjoy your cruise and the cooler weather . ☺️🙂

 

Thank you. I was so frustrated because I'm usually much better prepared for holidays. I won't forget my extra batteries and chargers next time. Live and learn! We know what you mean by Patagonia and Antarctica. We did that cruise last March and were in awe of the scenery. We've been to Greenland but not Iceland and have it on our bucket list. 😊

7 hours ago, YVRteacher said:

New shelf.

New friend.

 

 

Thank you @theliterateleprechaun

I love him!

Awww....Stanley looks happy surrounded by your books and treasures! 💙

Thank you for an honest, thorough and humorous live report. I enjoy seeing the world through your eyes and love your writing as much as I love you and your dad. Cheers to an incredible end to 2024 on your favourite Princess ship. Can't wait to sail with you one day....💜

For anyone interested, we are sailing on the Ruby September 26th and I'd love to have you following along. 

Glacier cruising days! 

Sorry it's taken me so long to post these photos. My biggest mistake this cruise was forgetting my battery charger for my DSLR. I had 10% battery life at the start of a two-week cruise. I saved it for the glacier days and turned if off after taking each picture. 😏

As I understand it, our two days in Hubbard Glacier were the only two days this season that Sapphire Princess was able to visit due to ice. How fortunate to be on both sailings! It was also wonderful that we were able to visit John Hopkins Glacier. Princess avoids this inlet in Glacier Bay most of the summer because the harbour seals are birthing. September 1st is opening day and the Sapphire was able to get access. We saw lots of calving and lots of seals on the bergy bits. I wish I had more photos to share, but for this cruise...this is it. 

Late-season sailing has advantages! 

On 9/13/2024 at 9:47 PM, PurpleTraveller said:

 

In June 2023 when on Crown Princess I had the pleasure of attending a presentation called "North to Alaska" by Brendan Jones. I checked my Princess Patter and his name was listed along with the name of his presentation. The presentation was well attended, very interesting and it was very enjoyable listening to his story of his life in Alaska. The timing of the presentation was perfect as it was the sea day before we visited Sitka. We got to see his home town with his presentation fresh in our minds which added to the great day we had there.

 

I am really enjoying your review and hope that your aunt recovers well from her Ketchikan injuries.

 

Thank you. We talked to her this morning and she's home and neighbours have taken her to pick up some groceries and she's left a message on her doctor's answering service. With regard to the Patter - one of the downfalls of the new format is that there isn't enough room to mention who is presenting. I'm glad you were able to catch one of his lectures and enjoyed your time in Sitka. 

Ketchikan

Our day started out perfectly! No rain and our crew friend, Juliet, from the Discovery was able to spend 20 minutes with us. 

On the way back from the Discovery, Auntie Marg tripped on an uneven plank on the boardwalk and fell flat on her face.

A kind shopkeeper phoned 911 and they arrived within minutes. After assessing her, they suggested that she head to the medical center on board for further testing and x-rays. Auntie Marg is 85 and spry, but she'd fainted after we'd got her seated and we were worried. 

She walked back to the ship complaining that something wasn't right about her elbow and sporting a few blood spatters on her clothing as well as a nasty bruise on her hand and nose. 

The medical center staff and as well as the 911 first responders in Ketchikan were top notch. After a three hour stint she came out with a smile, a cast and a sling. 

She'll need orthopedic surgery. 

*watch your step on the Ketchikan boardwalk and remember to put your insurance contact numbers in your wallet. 

When we looked outside, the wind had picked up and the rain was pouring, so we stayed on board and counted our blessings. 

Happy healing, Auntie Marg! I know you'll read this. 😘

We were so excited to get invited to this fantastic cocktail party again! It was nice to see familiar faces; both passengers from last week's party and newly joined officers we'd sailed with before. 

Juneau

We were in port today with the Majestic Princess and had made plans to meet up with another crew friend and bring her on the Sapphire for lunch. 

It was as much a treat for us as it was for Hilda to play 'guest' and meet up with former colleagues! 

We repeated our walk out to the whale statue.

...and repeated happy hour at Devil's Club Brewery. 

We bought two of these glasses to take home and re-live our holiday memories. 

Jellyfish Fields Jelly Donut Ale all around. If you haven’t tried this one, you must. It tastes like a jelly donut because it's a mixture of beer, strawberry, marionberry, black currant and cherry puree, as well as vanilla, Graham cracker crumbs, and several flats of donut holes! 

The popcorn here is out of this world! 

We stopped in at the fudge shop to stock up on huckleberry truffles - another must when you stop in this port. Thanks for introducing us to this sweet treat @YVRteacher.

Our cabin steward, Richard, surprised us nightly with terrific towel art.

I'm puzzled about what the above creature is supposed to be....any ideas?

When we heard there was also an author on for the second week, Mom and I scoured the Patter for information. It was obscurely titled 'Raising Three Girls In The Rainforest.' The lecturer's name wasn't even included! I'll bet if people knew that it was Brendan Jones, the lecture hall would have been filled. 

Turn out was pathetic. 

Brendan had a fantastic slideshow to accompany his talk. To have an author open up and share so much of his personal life was GOLD. He told us about meeting his wife and moving onto a boat when they got married. In fact, they lived on the boat for more than five years and raised their first daughter there. We saw photos of life on a small boat, their cabin in the trees in Sitka, and heard about his wife homeschooling the three girls while also working as Sitka's judge. I loved how fearless his girls are and was in awe of their Alaskan upbringing. 

Brendan graciously signed copies for Mom and me and obliged us photos. 

Yes, I was fan-girling. 

I couldn't believe what I'd just experienced - such a rare opportunity. 

Brendan is currently working on a memoir. 

I'll post reviews to my Instagram page on both books once I've read them and will try to remember to post here as well. 

I will note the travesty of Princess's poor marketing on my survey. To have an author like this on board and only give him one lecture space in the timetable and not inform passengers properly had me shaking my head. 

Skagway

We met our friend Ronnie who works on the Discovery and invited him to come back to the Sapphire with us for the day. He loved being a 'guest' on the ship and getting to go places and eating places he'd not normally be allowed. 

After two days of scenic cruising, we were eager to get out for a walk and Ronnie wanted to join us. 

If you haven’t walked out to Yakutania Point yet, you must make it a priority! 

That's the hardest part of the trail. 

It was wonderful to reconnect with a treasured friend.

*For those who know him, he plans on one more contract with Princess. His girls are 2 and 8 and he feels he needs to be home more. He's opened a fishing tackle shop and has a dream of operating fishing charters in Goa. 

The barista in the International Cafe continues to impress us with his latte art! 

He keeps telling me that it's me in the foam....I'm starting to get a complex...do I keep getting more haggard looking?! I don't feel as bad as I look. 

I can explain the last one  .. I slept in, the hot water was marginally lukewarm and my turkish towel gave me more of a loofah than I was expecting. 

46 minutes ago, kluv2cruz said:

Was here July 2023 and had a glorious very hot day. Did an enjoyable big exploration and hike! I’ve requested the City Under One Roof from my library. Sadly, the 2nd Iris Yamashita book isn’t in my library system but maybe I’ll find it on a cruise ship leave one take one someday! Thanks for your great posts and pics!

Beautiful photo! We got sunburned here 2 years ago. Happy reading. 

Whittier, Alaska

The following few pictures show why I come to Whittier. 

If you aren't happy with the cloud cover here, just wait awhile. It changes. 

I was so happy that my parents got to experience Whittier. This is my mom at the top end of town. 

The only gift shop in town. Check out the reindeer 'accommodations' next door! 

Don't miss the wooly mammoth bones! Where else can you touch a wooly mammoth hip bone?! 

Steve put his hat in the photo for size comparison. 

"It's prettier in Whittier." Get out and explore. 

Whittier, Alaska

When the U.S. Army pulled out in the 1960s, they left behind 2 buildings. One I mentioned in the last post, the Buckner Building, and this one, the Hodge Building. It was the former residence of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and was built in 1957. 

This 14-storey building contains 196 apartments, 2 floors of daily rental B&B, a post office, store, laundromat, church, conference room, indoor playground and a school. In 1972 it was renamed the Begich Tower. As of the 2024 census, 257 people live in Whittier....in this building. 

You can't miss it. It's the tallest structure in town. I laughed at a sign on the front door reminding residents to remove their fishing clothes before entering the building. 

We got talking to one of the residents who told us that 6 cars had been broken into in front of the building the night before... by a coastal brown bear! It was shot, but managed to get into the woods injured. 

I gulped, thinking of our 16,000 step exploration around town with an injured bear close by. 

If you explore here, be bear aware. 

There are a few good videos on YouTube of a teacher's life in Whittier. We met one who was taking her class down to the waterfront for science class. It was a small, multi-grade class and she told us that most of the children had one parent who worked for the railway.

We spoke to one teenager who'd just graduated. She was born in Hawaii on a military base and relocated to Whittier when she was four. She has done all her schooling in the Hodge/Begich Tower. When we asked her what she did to keep entertained, she told us kids her age spend lots of time outside. She hikes everyday and works in one of the local shops. 

I hope this town is on your itinerary and that you have a sunny day to explore. 

“The residents of Port Mettier were no stranger to a past that was best forgotten.”

Village in the Dark is the sequel to City Under One Roof and as much as I enjoyed book one, this one was the better of the two. It was fantastic, really. 

Why do I enjoy these books?

1. Setting

They’re both set in Port Mettier (Whittier, Alaska), a place I’ve visited a few times and love. What makes this a perfect choice is that there’s only one way in (except for a few cruise ships a year) and out of this isolated location - a 2.5-mile-long tunnel. Many people choose this location because it’s secluded, isolated and, like many places in Alaska, it’s inaccessible. Yamashita showcases this harsh and deadly setting. 

This time she’s added an off-grid self-sufficient women-run settlement called Unity. 

2. Characters

Yamashita has crafted a diverse and eclectic cast each with their distinct voice. 

✔️an Indigenous Japanese young woman who has grown up in an isolated community and knows very little of “Man’s World”

✔️A toll booth operator for the one-way alternating tunnel 

✔️A flamboyant Asian Madonna of types

✔️A ‘Mettier’s momma’ who runs rental suites on the top floor of the building who totes a gun to protect herself from her incarcerated ex. 

In book one, Detective Cara Kennedy and Ellie Wright are antagonists and in book two they’re protagonists. In fact, both these women join Mia Upash as narrators of this mystery. 

3. Great title

I knew it referred to the fact that all 250 residents of Whittier literally live under one roof as a village in the Begich Tower. When I learned where Mia was raised, it suddenly took on an additional meaning. 

4. Intriguing purpose

✔️Cara is driven to find out what happened to her family and the shocking opening reveals foul play. 

✔️Ellie is driven to find out what happened to her estranged son and becomes worried that his death is connected to Cara’s family’s deaths. 

✔️Mia is in possession of a secret and is being hunted for it

✔️IVIG and plasma donation link the subplots and had me reaching to Google

The jaw-dropping ending of chapter 12 was enough to read under the covers last night until I finished the book. 

I hope you get a chance to read this book, especially if Whittier, Alaska is in your travel plans. 

Did you know that in the heart of Alaska there is a town of approximately 200 residents who are essentially cut off from the rest of the world? 

Whittier, Alaska is at the head of the Passage Canal, 58 miles southeast of Anchorage and until the year 2000, the only way into this town was via plane, boat or train. Even with car access through the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel now available (2.5 miles long, making it the largest in NA) once an hour, it still remains a remote location 23 years later. Adding to the feeling of ‘cut off’ is the fact that the tunnel is closed at 10pm nightly. 

The majority of residents live in a one block apartment building that also houses limited amenities such as a grocery shop, medical center, post office and laundromat. 

Debut author, Iris Yamashita has taken this fascinating and unusual city and topography as inspiration for her locked city mystery, City Under One Roof. 

Told in three voices, this crime fiction mystery is as unique as it is compelling. Detective Cara Kennedy Is an ‘otter’; an outsider, police investigator who has been called in from Anchorage. Her baggage includes secrets that slowly unfold for the reader - secrets that make her empathetic and bring urgency to the investigation. Amy Lin, 17, is a long-time resident and teenager whose mom runs the local Chinese restaurant, Star Asian Food. Like most teenagers, not only does Amy hide secrets, but she also stumbles on one while at school. The final voice is that of Lonnie Sipely - a mentally disabled, colourful beret wearing, longtime resident who talks in word salads and has a pet moose named Denny. As a result of her disability, nobody pays attention to her. The thing is, Lonnie sees and hears more than she should. Her secrets are valuable. 

I loved ‘Moose Lady Lonnie’ ’s character and the fact that there were 3 teenagers spotlighted in this plot. Of all the age groups to live in such a location, I think teenagers would be the most difficult. It was interesting to see things through their eyes. Cara’s contemplation on page 231 also fuelled my thoughts for the past few days. The mystery and misdirection kept me turning pages and the possibility of wandering the sights mentioned in the book kept me interested. 

🫎

In a recent interview, the author likened coming through the tunnel at Whittier to falling down the rabbit hole in Alice In Wonderland. She suggested that she crafted Cara as Alice, Amy as the white rabbit and Lonnie is the Mad Hatter. I think knowing this will shape how you read the book! 

🫎

I loved the unpredictable ending that was as good as the introduction and the assurance of a sequel.

Whittier is the wettest city in the USA. It gets 198 inches of rain per year and 250 inches of snow. To arrive here and get sunshine is ... exciting! 

It was originally built in 1943 by the U.S. Army as Camp Sullivan and had a population of approximately 1200 until it was decommissioned in 1960.

To house the army, the Buckner Building was built and was quickly dubbed 'The City Under One Roof'.

This $6M 6-storey building housed 1000 officers and enlisted personnel as well as a:

✔️hospital

✔️350 seat movie theatre

✔️jail

✔️photo lab

✔️commissary

✔️bakery

✔️huge cafeteria

✔️gun and rifle range

✔️church

✔️barbershop

✔️library

✔️radio and TV station

I'd first heard of the Buckner Building when I read City Under One Roof (my next post will feature this book) and knew that I needed to see this abandoned building for myself. 

We walked along the boardwalk to the end of town and veered right at The Lazy Otter and Sound Ideas.

In front of these buildings, across the street, you'll see the sign for the pedestrian tunnel. 

This 512 ft long tunnel will take you under the railway to the residential side of town. 

You'll see these signs when you emerge from the tunnel. If you keep left, you'll come to the only grocery town. It's worth checking out. 

Once you come out of the shop, keep left and cross the street at the Admiralty Inn. Head up a slight hill, and you'll see the Buckner Building ahead of you. 

I can see why this building is so alluring. Imagine the stories it could tell...

If you go to YouTube, there are 'tours' allowing you to see inside. 

Reading the book certainly added to the appeal. 

5 hours ago, andimark said:

Me too! Making me wish our May 2025 Alaska cruise was now!

Add sunglasses to your packing list! Sun glare from the glaciers is strong. Happy countdown.  

Glacier Bay 

We were so excited to see that Princess has added a pop-up ramen bar on the lido deck! You have your choice of beef, seafood, or miso with tofu ramen. They have all the oils, spices, and seaweed as well as chopsticks. The line moved extremely quickly and it was a welcome treat to get warmed up between glacier viewing on the open deck. 

WTG, Princess. I love these new additions. ❤️

2 hours ago, cruiseny4life said:

Well, I'm here to see another Princess review. I'm a loyal to NCL'er, so you can thank our favorite librarian, @YVRteacher for bringing me over. You won't catch me in a suit and tie, so I'm skipping the lobster and steak, but gosh your review is making me keep Princess on the consideration list for Alaska! 

 

I'm loving the naturalists you're listening to (and meeting), the meals you're having, and the overall experience. Thanks for sharing! I always enjoy feeling up the animals when they have pelts, and the like, out. It's so interesting to "pet" them. I feel like I'm closer to the animal and can understand a little more how their life is (far from actually knowing, though).

 

Have a great next few days!! 

Thank you! 👋