MovinSue: Alaska Cruise Part 2

OK so what does one do on a cruise ship on an "At Sea" Day?

Here is the reality. One of our group was kinda seasick and down for the count most of the day. A second member was "a little queasy" but not completely down.

The remaining three checked out the ship activities. One of the many activities we took part in were the Trivia Games--ie naming TV programs from a musical sound clip, naming famous landmarks and birds etc. People were divided into teams and the winners got complimentary bar drinks.

One of the more sinister games was "The Weakest Link". All of us entered our names; two of us were picked out of a hat--me and Mare! Oh Noooo...That was the birth of my new name--Soo-EEE. The ship staff spoke OK English but when my name was called, it sounded like she was calling pigs to slop and everyone foreverafter called me "Soo-EEE". The audience cried "Soo-EEE" as I took my place at the podium.

Here comes the first question.... and I have no idea what this woman just said. She is Philipino and has a marked accent. I heard "ScoobyDo". I was not permitted to watch cartoons as a child, but I thought ScoobyDo was a dog and answered "Bone". WRONG! Second round question: I understood No part of the question. I don't have an ear for accents. In fact, I sometimes don't hear English so good. Needless to say, I was the first one voted out as the Weakest Link. Goodbye, Soo-EEE.

Well, at least our other member, Mare, was able to understand and answer questions--she actually WON the game! Yay Mare, you saved our group reputation!

I must note here that at NO time did any of us not have drink in hand.

We also played Bingo. You cannot progress past age 50 without playing serious Bingo. However, this was the biggest RipOff ever! We each paid $35-50 for about 20 total minutes of play. Granted, the pot was huge! But, the important part of Bingo is the journey--the destination can only be reached by a very select few.

This was the day we learned about the existence of what was to become our Private Bar. While trying to gather up poker chips from TwinkleToes/Mario, we learned of a remote bar behind a specialty restaurant. We came to regard it as our own special bar with our own beloved bar server-Arturo-and played many games of Texas Hold 'Em and drank many drinks at that bar. There is something edgy about 5 females playing Texas Hold 'Em and drinking, don't you agree?

Let's retire the At Sea day and go on to our first port stop, Ketchikan! All seasick persons have recovered. The weather is lovely in Ketchikan, though it would deterioate later in the day. Here is an early morning look at folks gathering for their shore excursions.

Our group had chosen two excursions: the Alaskan Coastal Expedition (in the Zodiaks) and the Plane/Alaskan Crab Feast.

By the way, if anyone is planning to take an Alaska cruise, choose your excursions way ahead of time. They book fast.

Theresa, Mary and Sue went on the Coastal Excursion at 8am and dressed for Cold, Wet conditions!

Mary drew the short straw and was enlisted to drive the Zodiak. Mary is not thrilled.

We were supposed to see wildlife BUT the only things we encountered were eagles...

and the wild salmon dip we were served after the excusion.

Here is a cool photo of the ship from our Zodiac as the day turned cooler and more threatening.

So, what are the girls to do?

Answer: Find a bar in Ketchikan, that's what. Our shuttle driver, a college kid majoring in Nutrition, suggested the Arctic Bear and that's where we ended up!

In this photo, we are with our bartender holding the Bar mascots--polar bears in mating positions. There is probably not much else fun to do in Alaska if you are a polar bear.