What a View from The Space Needle

Posted on July 16, 2013July 16, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Time to explore the Space Needle. I skipped the souvenir shop on the ground floor and followed the signs around and up a ramp where I purchased a ticket. It’s a 1 use ticket so once you go up don’t plan to come back down until you’re done. If you do you’ll have to buy another ticket at $21.00 per ticket that can get a little pricey.

The revolving SkyCity restaurant is 500 ft up the Space Needle and was only the 2nd revolving restaurant in the world. The restaurant makes a 360 degree revolution about once every hour. I didn’t eat there. I expect it is expensive and even with reservations people were waiting on the upper deck.

As I waited in line for the elevator I had the opportunity to get a souvenir photo. No one else was going to take my picture so why not?

The elevators hold 25 people at a time. Once we were loaded the attendant welcomed everyone to the Space Needle and told us to “look quick” because we had 43 seconds to see the sights before we reached the Observation Deck at 520 Ft.

The center part of the observation deck is enclosed and they have snack bars and drink bars located around the center core. Tables are placed around the circumference so you can look out over the city as you snack or sip your drinks.

Step down about 5 steps and go out a door and you are outside with only a railing and some glass panels to separate you from the drop to the ground. The outside track doesn’t move. You have to walk around it to see the different areas of the city. I didn’t realize it but the door I chose to use brought me right out to the view of Mount Rainier. Once again my mouth was hanging open.

Mount Rainier was so “there”, “in your face” , I don’t know how to describe it. After chasing the elusive Mount McKinley all of last week, to step out and see this awesome mountain right in front of me just took my breath away.

Mount McKinley is taller than Mount Rainier but Mount Rainier is closer so it looks larger and, forgive me for saying this, more impressive. (at least to me). I’m really glad I had a chance to see Mount Rainier so soon after Mount McKinley as my impressions were so fresh in my mind.

I may not be in Alaska but sunset in Washington State was pretty late too right around 9:30. I didn’t want to stick around that late this time and since I planned to come back to see Chihuly Gardens I decided to head back to the hotel. I needed to be back at the office at 8am and jet lag was definitely confusing my body clock.

College Fjord

Posted on June 18, 2013June 18, 2013 by Dusty Roads

It’s the last day of cruising. We’re well on our way through the Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound .

Glacier Bay to College Fjord 438 nautical miles 18.4 knots

College Fjord contains the largest collection of tidewater glaciers in the world each named after an east coast college or university.

College Fjord is beautiful. Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words.

It seemed that we’d finally left the rain and clouds behind. The sun was bright, reflecting off the white snow covered mountains.

Once you enter the Fjord you will pass Holyoke, Barnard, Wellesley, Vassar, Bryn Mawr and Smith Glaciers on the port side. Harvard is at the head of the fjord.

On the starboard side you’ll see Amherst, Lafayette and Yale.

This is truly what you think of when you think of Alaska.

Welcome to Glacier Bay National Park

Posted on June 16, 2013June 16, 2013 by Dusty Roads

And so as we arrive in Glacier Bay, a land reborn, a world returning to life, a living lesson in resilience. If ever we needed a place to intrigue and inspire us, to help us see all that’s possible in nature and ourselves, this is it. (from the Glacier Bay Brochure issued by the National Park Service)

Did you know that 250 years ago there was no Glacier Bay? 250 years ago the bay was completely covered by the Grand Pacific Glacier.

Naturalist John Muir was enamored of Glacier Bay. ” The very thought of this, my first Alaskan Glacier garden, is an exhilaration.”

As we stood shivering on the deck watching the ship make it’s way through the loose ice, it was easy to share that sentiment. Each berg, no matter the size, was unique and beautiful in its own, cold way.

The floating ice was getting larger now, an indication that we were nearing the end of the bay where the prize of the Margerie Glacier waited.

Glacier Bay is not only known for it’s ice, it’s also known for it’s wildlife but so far we hadn’t seen too much, possibly because of the late start to spring this year. But the bay was about to offer a consolation prize. As a particularly large ice floe floated by we spotted a strange looking spot on the ice. Binoculars came out to confirm and sure enough, it wasn’t dirt, it was a bald eagle.

It stayed right there floating along like Huck Finn on his Mississippi raft until it was out of sight.

About 9:30 we reached our destination, Margerie Glacier and with our arrival the jockeying for a view with the other 2000 passengers began in earnest.

Excited calls of “It’s Calving” mingled with the rangers comments over the PA system. Camera shutters clicked and no one wanted to miss a moment. People were crawling under the railings to get a tiny sliver of unobstructed view for their cameras to peek through.

I confess my frustration level was growing as I am sure was the case for many others. Those big blue screens may cut the wind but they are really in the way for pictures. Cold and (I confess) a little irritated we decided to go back down to our stateroom and see if we could see anything from our balcony.

Hit me upside the head for my stupidity! Here was the real view and we didn’t have to share with anyone else. Plus we were protected from the wind so it wasn’t as cold. Thank you Island Princess for the balcony upgrade.

We sat in comfort and snapped pictures to our hearts content. I did see the glacier calve once. I didn’t even try to catch a picture as I was just too much in awe. Although we wasted 45 minutes or so topside we still had a good 30 minutes before the captain swung the ship around so the starboard side balconies could have their turn.

Lesson learned…check the view from your balcony and avoid the crowds!

Absence

Posted on May 24, 2013May 24, 2013 by Dusty Roads

You guys are awesome. I didn’t expect to be away from my blog this long but internet connections are few and far between and when I can get them they are slow and quite expensive so, my friends, please be patient a little longer as my introduction to The Great Land is coming to an end very soon. I have barely scratched the surface of all there is to see but I will share with you my experiences and observations so stay turned! 🙂

Carnival Cruise Lines Woes Continue

Posted on April 14, 2013April 14, 2013 by Dusty Roads

What a difference a day makes! Yesterday I was blocked, stymied, brain-dead. Between being cooped up inside because of cold, sleet and freezing rain and fighting the bureaucracy that is the Mass. DUA (department of unemployment administration), All I could see was a blank screen when I tried to prepare a post for yesterday but today the news has dropped a topic right in my lap. It seems that Carnival Cruise lines is still on the “sick list”.

Just a couple of days ago Carnival Fascination received a surprise inspection from the CDC. According to the article in USA Today, all cruise ships that dock in American ports are subject to surprise inspections twice per year. The article states the ship failed due to cleanliness. Citing live flies, dried food waste and even a “roach nymph,” inspectors for the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have given the 2,056-passenger Carnival Fascination a failing health grade. (To read the whole article click here http://www.usatoday.com/story/cruiselog/2013/04/11/carnival-fascination-cdc-health-inspection/2074175/

But that wasn’t the only cruise ship mishap in the news this morning. The one that made me perk up my ears was the name PRINCESS. We will be traveling on a Princess Ship when we sail to Alaska.

So what now? What has plagued the Princess ship?

A news station in Houston is reporting that the Carnival-owned Princess Cruises’ Crown Princess experienced a blockage within the vacuum toilet system which affected some 410 staterooms in the aft part of the cruise ship. The news station quoted a passenger saying “by the bathroom, it was flooded, it was wet in the carpet.” Another passenger said the ship “smelled of backed-up sewer.” Many passengers couldn’t use the toilets in their cabins. Passengers had to get up in the night and take elevators to use the public restrooms. One passenger told the Houston news station: “I will never, ever, ever, ever cruise with Princess again, ever.

Carnival, especially since the Triumph disaster, has been dubbed the “poop” ships. Princess cruise lines is owned by Carnival but treated as a separate entity with its own management but this may be the first glimmer that the same problems that plague the parent company may be “trickling down”. (pun intended)

The Crown Princess has had problems before. About 2 months ago it made the news when a passenger went overboard. The article I found states it was the Coral Princess but Cruise Law News reports it as the Crown Princess…typo error or multiple incidents? I don’t know. Just be sure to hang on to the rails! It was also the Crown Princess that was hit with the dreaded norovirus on a transatlantic trip from Venice, Italy.

So it appears the cruise ship industry continues to be plagued with problems. One thing is sure, get ready for deep discounts as the cruise lines attempt to lure back skittish travelers. Carnival has already introduced fares as low as $38.00/day for 4 day Caribbean cruises. My guess would be to expect more to come on the heels of this negative publicity.

My limited experience so far has been positive. In about a month my sister and I will be off on our Alaska adventure which starts with a 7 day cruise on Princess Lines. It is my sister’s first cruise and the longest one I will have taken. Here’s hoping my positive experiences continue.