A year ago our son, daughter-in-law, and oldest grandson handed us a gift bag. In it were two lanyards, each with a picture of our grandson, Apollo, standing in front of a backdrop showing a cruise ship, and on top was printed Alaska! Our 49th state has forever been on our bucket list, but it was always more of a far off dream than something that would ever be a reality. Kim and I looked at each other and then at them. I didn’t know what to say, so instead I cried.
We would be joining them on this adventure. They had given us one year to prepare and plan, and believe me there was plenty to do. There were excursions to decide on, plane tickets to book, but more importantly we had clothes to buy! We’re talking Alaska in early June and for the last 10 years Kim and I have lived in Florida! Those two states couldn’t be more different in scenery and temperatures. Oh no! The temperature! I didn’t even own a pair of pants!
We’re no strangers to the cold. We lived for over 3 years in Wyoming and 23 in Colorado, but it’s been a while. 65 degrees used to feel like early summer. 65 now means winter. We watched YouTube travel videos to see how other people dressed for the Inside Passage. Each one showed people in hats, coats, sometimes even parkas. With each one came the same question as we looked at each other with wide eyes, “What time of year was that?” which was followed by nervous laughter. Obviously we were going to freeze!!!
I checked with friends and family who have been there before. Good friends from Colorado told us we might be “chilly”, but not cold. I didn’t believe them. Did you read the part where I mentioned they live in Colorado? What do they know? I asked my sister-in-law who lives in Hawaii. Surely there were similarities between us on what we might consider cold. She said she remembered it being “pretty chilly”, which I thought was pretty vague, but I was fairly sure I understood. We wouldn’t likely freeze. Another friend was actually on that cruise when I texted her the same question. She said, “It’s chilly, but not freezing.” Funny, every picture I saw of her and her husband he was wearing a stocking hat and jacket. She had on a parka. That outerwear says cold to me. A sweater would say chilly! They did all agreed on one thing. Dress in layers. Got it!
The Inside Passage is not the interior and the climate they say is fairly temperate. Do you know what temperate means? I looked it up. It means balmy, pleasant. I don’t think so!!! 75 to 80 is pleasant and balmy. You drop below 70 and now you have entered the chill zone! I was seeing average temperatures for our dates that topped out at 65! In reality, they never made it. I was going to need to go shopping, and shop I did.
I needed shoes that were actual shoes, not flip flops! I needed pants. The Inside Passage is a rainforest, so we needed to prepare for rain. Here in Florida the rain is warm. It would be handy to own a raincoat, but instead I have an umbrella, which I rarely use because of lightning. If I have to be out, I usually just run for it. I was pretty sure the rain wouldn’t be warm in Alaska, so I bought a poncho should I need it. Kim told me when walking I looked like a wizard. Not sure if that’s a good thing, or a bad thing, but I let it go. Fortunately I still had a jacket, hat, and gloves from our former lives in Colorado, but don’t forget socks!! When was the last time I wore socks?
It was in the 60’s the morning we were to set sail in Seattle, and just to make sure we noticed there was a pretty stiff breeze to accompany it! We were already “chilly” and Rebecca was sure she did not bring enough warm clothes. The thought had crossed my mind as well, but we would survive even if we had to buy an $80 sweatshirt while onboard. The excitement of what was to come quickly overcame any of our concerns as we climbed aboard our home for the next 7 days. We were going to Alaska!!!
The horn blasted three times indicating that we were on our way. Leaving the dance party behind we headed outside to watch as we left port and began our journey. The breeze generated by our movement forward, joined with the one already blowing in Seattle, and now we had a pretty decent wind! Smiling we hunched our shoulders, pulled sweaters tightly, zipped up sweatshirts, and huddled close together to stay warm. “Chilly” they said! We weren’t even out of Puget Sound yet?! Hmmm!
The morning we arrived at the Inside Passage the five of us stepped outside on the deck after breakfast to take a deep breath and get lost in the view. The three crew members who were working there took one look at me as the cold air hit me in the face and laughed, “You’re in Alaska now!”, one of them said. Whoa! I was going to need more than a heavy sweater if I planned to spend any time in the open air. This wasn’t cold. It was frigid! I don’t remember anyone using that word when I asked about the temperature! You’ve seen those weather reports that give the temperature with the “wind chill”? I think people are being fairly loosey goosey with that word, “chill”. Let’s go with “frosty”. Not only is it more descriptive, it’s more accurate.
We encountered small icebergs in the water in Tracy Arm Fjord. You don’t see icebergs when it’s “chilly” out! Icebergs in the water screamed as they passed, “Put on every layer of warm clothing you brought if you wish to survive!” We were getting on a much smaller boat to take a closer look at Sawyer Glacier. Visions of the Titanic drifted through my thoughts. I heard others murmuring about it as well. It didn’t help when the guide announced that these mesmerizing, azure blue, innocent looking icebergs were bigger underwater than our boat! Wow! Be careful! If I thought it was cold onboard, I’m pretty sure swimming in that water was going to be well down below the “chilly” range, so let’s not entertain a Titanic re-enactment. In spite of the cold, this was by far my most favorite experience of our cruise. It didn’t boast the towering, rugged mountains of the Alaska interior, but rather soft, rounded mammoths that had been scoured through the ages, molded by glacial silt that were equally magnificent. Throw in more harbor seals and their pups than I could count, a few bald and golden eagles, waterfalls, a calving glacier and this place was magical.
In Skagway we were treated to some legendary Alaskan peaks, the Klondike trail, the Yukon, and more wind!! That worked well for the tourist shops as we ducked inside in order to get some warmth back into our hands and cheeks. Walking back to the ship we got as far on the dock as the bow of our ship when we could see the rain making its way across the water. We thought it was coming toward us, but I turned around and looked at the mountain pass behind us. I was fairly sure it might actually be snowing up there, and as I squinted into the distance I realized it was getting closer and gaining ground! We were not going to make it! Rebecca and Apollo scurried ahead. “Save yourself!” Ben chose not to abandon his parents. We stopped ever so briefly for me to unfurl my poncho, wizard-like. Kim and Ben zipped up their coats, putting on their hats and gloves as well. The wind worked itself into a frenzy in front of the approaching rain. We stepped lively now, hoping to beat the squall to the gangway, but it was too fast for us. It pelted us with freezing, wind whipped rain! My gloves were soaked, but my poncho did it’s job. Turns out I was right. Alaska did not dish out the warm rain of Florida. By the time we made it onboard we were more than a little cold!… “Chilly” they said. Hmmm?
Though Juneau started out with a cold breeze that required extra outerwear, this proved to be our warmest stop, which is a relative term. A short while later we were able to remove some cold weather gear, and I was free to enjoy sitting in the sunshine admiring Mendenhall Glacier with just a heavy sweater and polar fleece vest to keep me comfortable. Ketchikan proved similar, though I preferred sitting in the sun to the shade. That’s something we don’t do here in Florida, opt to sit in the sun, unless you’re at the beach. None of us ever stripped down to shirt sleeves. I would describe these two places as “chilly”. Well done my friends. Two out of four. You were only wrong half the time!
Our last stop was at night in Victoria, Canada. We didn’t get caught off guard here, though many did. The wind, our perpetual and uninvited traveling companion, seemed very angry here. Ben, didn’t hesitate to take matters into his own hands and immediately bought bus tickets to take us downtown, rather than endure the walk we had initially intended that surely would include a souvenir of frostbite! Even the border patrol commented how cold it was that night. He wasn’t getting an argument from me.
It wouldn’t be long now before we were headed back to the “balmy” state of Florida, though by definition by mid June Florida had probably blown right past “balmy”. We had an amazing time! We played games, danced, and enjoyed the onboard entertainment with three of our favorite people. We ran into some mildly rough seas where more of the pool water seemed to be on the deck than in the pool. Our nights were illuminated by the nearly Midnight Sun, and morning came shortly after 3:00 a.m. Crazy, right? We saw glaciers, remnants of the Klondike gold rush, and encountered histories of a time gone by. We were treated to sightings of countless humpback whales, bald eagles, harbor seals, dolphins, two bears, and a new one for me… a large school of giant ocean sun fish, otherwise known as Mola! They are huge, freaky looking, and can weigh up to 4,400 pounds!!! What a delight!
We enjoyed a small taste of Alaska. A state so large that you could put California, Montana, and Texas inside of it and still have room to spare! Texas!? We drove across the wide part of Texas once. Took us nearly two days and I thought I’d never be looking at it in my rearview mirror! Using that as a yardstick Alaska is ginormous!! Alaska is raw and wild. I can find no other words to describe it. Like the state itself, there are no words big enough to fully illustrate it. Whether you are viewing it from the water, immersed in its huge mountains, or taking in the wide vistas of the open tundra it is the frontier, and regardless of how many people move there it likely always will be. I thought this trip would satiate my appetite for Alaska, but instead it only made me hunger for more. Thank you Ben, Rebecca, and Apollo for making it possible. For sharing your adventure with us. For being outstanding travel companions. I hope we get to do it again sometime.
I recommend it at least once for everyone, but if you go just know that “Chilly” is a relative word.