Tracy Arm Fjord

The first day of the cruise was departure from Seattle, and getting used to the ship.  We did the safety drill and how to choose a lifeboat (there was assigned seating, but i am thinking in the event of an emergency it would really be more a matter of first come first served,) and in the afternoon went to the first of the lectures given by the ship's naturalist. 

Now there's a job for ya!!  Sitting on the bridge of a ship all day watching for wildlife (as opposed to being in a city watching the wild life) and getting on the loudspeaker to tell everyone to run to the port side to see the whales.  I could do that!  Especially in Alaska...nature "in a matchbox," as i was once told.

At dinner that night, we met our table mates for the week, Miss Wanda and Miss Debra.  They were two lovely ladies from Atlanta, and they didn't quite know what to think of ALA and i.  Probably partly because we showed up in our matching "40's Flamingo" shirts and then asked them to take a picture of us toasting, wearing these...

Yes.
We did.

And because i value our friendship, i am not posting the picture. 
It is Whirled Peas.

ALA donned them for me, and i donned them for a dear friend.  The dear friend that gave us a fun filled Bon Voyage Birthday gift bag, containing all things flamingo and birthday.  Thanks, Sandy!! It was a blast!!

So it took a day or two for Miss Wanda and Miss Debra to get over the shock of us, and to realize that we really were quite harmless, but by then end of the cruise, we had a nice little camaraderie going. 

The second day was billed as a "Day at Sea," and most of it was spent on the balcony, knitting and smelling the salt air, enjoying the wildlife, mountains and lovely fresh, cool air.

Twice during the first two days (can't remember exactly at what point) we had temporary pilot's guiding the ship through difficult waters.  We happened to be on the same side as the pilot's porthole of egress,  and i enjoyed watching the pilot boat zoom up to the side of the ship, slow down slightly, and then hook a U-y and zoom away, ostensibly to go pick up other pilots after work, because it sure appeared that they were trying to beat some kind of traffic jam.

The day after that began by boarding the St. Phillip, a small excursion boat, and venturing into Tracy  Arm wilderness area.

 I surely did love the train, but can't decide if the train ride or the Tracy Arm excursion was my favorite part.

We saw amazing things, such as these little guys...

What?  You don't see her?

How about now...

Okay, now?

They are called murrelet's, and are known for diving deep in the water to feed.
They also make their nests on little outcroppings of huge mountainous walls.

Couldn't get the entire face in one frame for perspective.
It was REALLY tall!

How about that "Bunny Burg?"

Here is one i got a little bit better perspective on, later in the day...

Okay, let's test your eyes again...see the bears in this picture?

 There are two of them, one on either side of the waterfall.  They were busy with lunch, and weren't interested in posing, so this is as good as it got...

 Speaking of waterfalls...there was this fabulous fall, and the captain drove the boat right up to it.  ALA and i were as close to the bow as you could get and we caught the spray!  It was mist-ical!

 I loved the colors that the mineral deposits left on the rocks. 

Grab a sweater before you come visit next time...tomorrow is Glacier Day!