North to Alaska Part 3

 

North to Alaska  Part 3

Today we woke up in Skagway the most Northwest point in the

Alaska inside passage. It was a boomtown in 1898 due to the Klondike Gold Rush. Today it was a boomtown as well because there are three cruise ships in port. It was “boom crazy” with tourists. 

Skagway is a historical town surrounded by stunning scenery. The top three  things to do here are ride White Pass Yukon Route railway, take a helicopter ride, and visit the Red Onion Saloon.   We opted to stroll, more like maneuver amongst the crowd down Broadway Street. We did hear the very pricey railway ticket for a mere $ 200 per person trip was beautiful, a bit long, very crowded but beautiful. 

Skagway town is full of shops mostly selling the same tee shirts, sweatshirts, rain jackets, hats and mittens.  There are also the jewelry shops and of course like in almost every town whether in the Caribbean or Alaska the Diamond International store. That store is usually empty even with a salesperson outside trying to lure customers in with 20 % off today’s sales pitch. That’s a hard pitch to make when you can smell freshly made caramel corn a block away.

It always surprises me that cruisers that have had glutinous meals throughout their trip, head for a tavern for a beer, café or ice cream shop. Of course many are seeking the local favorites, salmon, crab and halibut they have been craving but that comes at a hefty price.  On a past trip to Alaska Jay and I stopped at local café for crab. It was good but we paid almost twice the price we would at home.

Besides the big bags of caramel corn the other most popular treat is  the Klondike Doughboy. Nope not a person, though many would fit that description. It is a fried piece of flat bread with cinnamon and sugar.

The hot spot in town is the Red Onion Saloon, we didn’t stop there because there was a crowd at the saloon gates waiting to get in. It’s a quirky café and bar that used to be a saloon and a brothel for gold miners. The staff still dress up as working girls and offer tours of the upstairs for $20 a person for 20-minute tour. 

Well, that was our day in Skagway.  You can see we don’t always do all the things or see all the sights that maybe a tourist should. Our approach to sightseeing, drop your phone, stop taking pictures for a minute, take a big breath and take it all in.

Day 6 Cruising Hubbard Glacier

Today we are at Sea, its not any sea day but a notable one because we get to view the specular Hubbard Glacier. They even shut the casino down knowing most passengers will be on deck.  For those who don’t know the difference between a glacier and iceberg the Titanic ran into an iceberg because it was floating the middle of the ocean.  Glaciers form on land over zillions of years from melting ice flowing downhill.  When a chunk of ice breaks off from a glacier and goes into sea it is an iceberg. The process is called calving just like a cow giving birth to a calf so glaciers give birth to a big chunk of ice. I had to look that up. LOL. Anyway it is truly spectacular sight.

Later if was off to our second cooking class “Snow days Brunch”. An excellent class starting out with a boysenberry Sparkler comprised of boysenberry syrup, champagne, a few boysenberries, and a lemon twist. That gave us the energy to whip up some  cinnamon cream scones and the famous Seattle Joe scramble egg with mushrooms, spinach, scallions and grated parmigiana reggiano cheese.

After class we met up with Myrna and Steve from Arizona. Myrna attended our first cooking class and we ran them a couple of times and decided to continue swapping stories at the Horizon Lounge. Afternoon tea was being served but we skipped that since we had a reservation for dinner at Jacques. 

Jacques is a French restaurant aboard inspired by legendary French chef Jacques Pepin who served as Oceania’s first ever Executive Culinary Director.  The menu for us was a challenge to say the least. Basically, started out with the pai  de partage,  went with on to  the coeur  LIfue a’Echalote et Roquefort, followed by gratine’e a l’oignon and selected the Filet de Boeuf’ Rossini. In plain language our meal was bread and butter, salad with blue cheese dressing, onion soup, and some beef mignon. Yep no ratatouille, escargot, or bouillabaisse. We opt for the crepe suzette.  Like they say,”When in

Rome…”

We ended the day going to a show featuring greatest moments of the Hollywood musicals, a great show. All and all, a great day. Tomorrow we will be in Juneau.