Sep 14: Ketchican
<http://www.ketchicanalaska.com/ Ketchican is in an area that is very damp, in fact they
called it a rain forest. We were fascinated with the green forest and plants of the area. I sure
took some good pictures and they are not lost We went on the Princess Tour Coach to see the
sights in Ketchican. The young man who was our guide, we discovered, was from the H....
tribe. He was next in line to become the Chief of his tribe after his grandfather. His profession
was being a DJ on a local radio station. He was very articulate and so we were treated to a
deluxe tour. He was intensely knowledgeable about the totem poles, lodges, and and the
history behind each, taking time to explain all the details about each one. The lodge was made
with a kingpin [tallest center beam in picture that when taken down allowed the tribe to move
the lodge with them where ever they went. I thought of Lincoln Logs as he described the huge
Cedar beams they used. He also explained they did not have a written language until the white
men brought it to them about two generations back in time.
I finally just couldn't contain myself any longer and so ask
if he had been able to write down his family history and linkage of his family and tribe. His
reply astonished me as he had 400 years on the computer. However he had not made a web
page yet. This is another area that Family History Extractors will have to tackle some day. It
makes one wonder how they were able to keep those ancestors straight for 400 years of not
being able to write it all down. A large portion of their culture revolved around their Totem
Poles. These documented the Ancestors and their standing within the tribe. Their brave acts
were very carefully documented in picture form on the Totem Poles. Above are Totem Poles
that have been preserved about 200 years and so the picture was taken without a flash.
Sep 15: At Sea
The Princesses trip to Vancouver was beautiful. All day we rested, ate and got ready for
another formal evening in the dining room. We saw a humpback whale one evening and on
another we saw what we thought were dolphins.
This was our last night on the Princess. The cuisine was spectacular every evening but even
more so this evening. Each evening had been replete with a five course dinner. Anything we
had ever wanted to sample was offered at some time or another during the cruise,
This final evening we were escorted to our table by one of our two waiters. After seating us
the napkin was spread on our lap and the menu presented.
Wine was served with each meal and since we declined the alcoholic beverages we were
served with our choice of fruit juice each meal. We had a shrimp cocktail, cold soup, very
creamy and blushed with strawberries., Lobster Tails and King Crab complete with melted
butter. Green salads of every variety and as a farewell piece de resistance ?ed Alaska.??
was served after being presented flambee as the waiters marched around the dinning room
with lights out. Very elegantly presented to our table before extinguishing the flame. . A
Champagne Party was held afterwards with dancing. We felt very Royal indeed.
Lunches were buffet or sit down as you choose. We always caught the Buffet as there were so
many activities going on we did not want to miss. We had wonderful hot soups, Quiche , hot
meats and deli type meats and cheeses. Wonderful fruits, breads, muffins, salads and you name
it and it was presented .
A few other spectacular foods we sampled were: Escargot, Caviar, Oysters, Muscles, Clams,
Octopus, Abalone, Baked Cornish Hens, wonderful Duck, Sushi, Beef Wellington, Prime Rib;
Lamb Chops, Rack of Lamb; Friday brought a Sea Food Pie with Octopus, Abalone with other
tiny seafood bits. The various Halibut, Salmon and other sea foods were served as filet, and
pates with wonderful homemade crackers and breads. And yes, if you were so inclined
Hamburgers and Hot-dogs. Tiny garden vegetables, wonderful baked deserts ...to name a few,
a Blackberry and Apple Cobbler, a Chocolate Mousse, Chocolate French Silk Pie and
several types of Souffl? tiny cookies and exotic ice creams.
A very artistic Chef carved Ice into birds, whales and other fish. Melons were elegantly
presented adorned with carved roses, jumping fish and flying birds.
Sep 16: Vancouver to Seattle : The last leg of our trip from Vancouver to Seattle was the Pits.
The seats on the Coach were small but even so we were lucky to get a seat to ourselves. The
down side was a smelly latrine that reeked of urine next to our seats. We were processed
through customs, where they were totally disinterested in our small amount of Souvenirs. I
was having to walk slowly at this point with my knees dictating my activity level. So ...T-Jay
got me a wheel chair and pushed me all of the way to the Delta concourse. We thought we had
an hour to eat, and were looking forward to a good meal since we hadn't eaten since 8:00 that
morning. It was now 3:00 p.m. As we arrived after getting the luggage settled, they began to
announce our plane was boarding. In some manner we had miss calculated an hour. The plane
was leaving on MST and Seattle was on PST.
While we boarded, T-Jay hurried back and grabbed some muffins from the first vendor he
came to and so we had only muffins, Delta's Party packet of pretzels, nuts etc and a can of Pop
to hold us until we landed. We were left to remember all the meals we had while on tour.
Everything elegant in the way of cuisine had been served. Our memories now were all we
had.
Jimmy and I drove on to Idaho that evening. We saw some spectacular storm clouds about 200
miles from home and saw a Wild Fire start off in the distance. We were back to our fire
devastate state. The trip had been a wonderful experience but it was good to be home again.
The End ...but so many beautiful scenic pictures to savor. Georgene |  | 
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