July 23 Ketchikan

 Sorry for the delay in posting, seems like we've been busier than usual.  Or napping more...

On our last night at Inn at the Market, we watched the fire pits in use.  Seemed a little warm for them, but many people thought otherwise.

On July 21 our boarding time was 11am, and we're still on east coast time, so we had time to walk around.

Street art, appropriate for windy Seattle

On board Regatta, after the usual Oceania check-in.  Online pre-cruise checkin sounded like a good idea, but almost everything was repeated when appearing in person.  I guess they'll work it out eventually.

We started with a day at sea, cruising up to the Alaskan ports.

Our arrival in Ketchikan was heralded by a float plane landing close by.  Float planes are ubiquitous in Alaskan ports.

While waiting to go ashore we scanned the forest for "ping pong balls" and when we find them, they are actually eagles.  We saw 3-4 in the trees, although only two were ever visible at the same time.  In the same nest.

Ketchikan has a real airport, although if you look closely, above and to the left of the 737 is a float plane operating from our harbor.

Welcome to...

Although they're very proud of their rainfall totals, it's nothing compared to Hawaii.

Totem poles are everywhere.

And surprisingly, old VWs are almost as omnipresent as totem poles.  We saw lots of them in Alaska. Apparently the old VW commercial "How does the guy who drives the snowplow get to work?" must really be applicable.

Eagle Park.

Creek Street, famous as the red light district of Ketchikan, is now a popular tourist destination.

Built on wooden pilings above the creek.  There's lots of wood readily available in the area.

Another portion of the creek, with a salmon ladder.  Although it was a little early, we saw some salmon in the creek starting their way upstream.

Just a pretty face along the creek.

Ketchikan (and most of the cities we visited) is built on the side of a hill.  In Alaska these are streets.

More creek.

Just behind the eagle of Eagle Park is the tunnel.  It is listed in Guinness as the only tunnel you can drive through, around or over.

Finally, exit through the gift shop.  Although not on sale, this was an interesting display of Stihl chain saws.  Given the large forests, Stihl chainsaws are an important part of Alaskan history.

Home (for the next week)