Ketch U if I Kan

Woke up this morning in sunny Ketchikan.  Well, sunny-ish.  It’s going to be a relatively nice day here in Ketchikan.

I stepped outside on our balcony to get a shot of the city and kept hearing all this belly flopping noise. I knew it couldn’t be waves breaking because it was so calm outside. So as I looked around I saw them. Flying fish! They are everywhere in the harbor. I stood, like a dufus, on the deck with me telephoto lens and waited and waited and waited.  Let’s just say I got a lot of shots of splashing water.  Only later did I learn these were not just fish, but salmon.  Who knew? Our salmon in Seattle don’t shoot straight out of the water.  Weird fish.

I spent, as with every port, the first 30 minutes or so waiting for Blueberry to go off and get her “free” jewelry stuff.  An event I just don’t understand. These jewelry stores are “owned” by the cruise lines and so provide passengers with “free” stuff hoping you’ll go in and buy their crap.

After the jewelry walk, Blueberry and I headed to Creek Street to walk around the other little shops. Creek Street was originally the “red light” district.  Not so much today, but it was fun to go through the little shops and spend a little money.

But the interesting part is on the way to Creek Street.  First some background for those of you who aren’t cruisers, each passenger is given a card that is their life or death on the cruise.  It’s your drink ticket, your “cash” for the boat. It’s how they know you are who you are. Well, here’s the story of the day.

Blueberry and I decided to take this little tram up to the top of the hill and have a view of Ketchikan. And finding no view we decided to take this little trail down called “Marrying Man trail” – the irony isn’t lost on me.  As we got to the bottom of the trail I decided I was warm and so was going to take my jacket off.  I was standing by a fence that overlooked a stream, with the sides of the stream being covered with these bushes with thorns. Not blackberry, but something similar.  Anyhow, as I pulled my jacket over my head, the lanyard that was holding my “card” flipped off and over the fence. I knew I was sunk.  I stood there dumbfounded and didn’t know what to do. This nice young man, attached to a nice young woman, said he’d climb down and get it. So he did.  As he was climbing down I was saying Thank you. He said, “Don’t thank me yet, I haven’t found it.”  Next thing I know he has it in his hands. My hero!

So after all that I was spent. We spent the rest of the day wandering around Ketchikan.

Once we were back on the ship we signed up for the On Deck for the Cure.  Blueberry, Mark and Vanessa did the actual 9 laps around the boat. I managed 2 before the footsies decided to say “enough”.  I was the photographer.

Back on the ship and tonight…tonight is the fun. Tonight the main chef is doing Dessert Extravaganza.  They are opening up the dessert extravaganza 20 minutes early for photographs. So guess who’s going to be there with her camera?  Moi!  I could careless about the desserts – already had my Flaming Alaska for dessert tonight…even though it wasn’t flaming. 

Tomorrow Victoria.  We’re trying to decide whether to get off the ship or not. We dock at 6pm and only stay until midnight…so who knows.