Alaska Day 4 May 26

We docked at Juneau about 7:00 am. Today we went on a whale quest excursion. The first thing we saw was a pod of Killer Whales. There was about 15-20 in the pod. They were spread out over a large area in groups of 3-6 whales each. The largest male was about 30 feet. We followed them for quite a while. Then we headed back north in the channel looking for hump back whales. We were about 500 yards off the coast of Admirlty Island and I was looking for bears along the bank with my binoculars when a large whale breeched right in my sights. I pointed out the whale to the captain and she turned the boat in his direction. We followed him for several minutes then went in seach of other whales. We saw 4 different whales that day. We also saw some seals and bald eagles.
When we got back to the dock, we then went to the Mendenhall glacier visitor center. We were about 1 mile away from the actual glacier but we could see little icebergs in the water that had calved off the face of the glacier. Back to the ship for a late lunch then into Juneau for shopping and site seeing.

Alaska Day 3: May 25th

Today we docked in Ketchikan, AK around 7:00 am. We did a small boat tour to the Misty Fjords. It was cool and rainy all day but it was weather we expected. Back on board the boat in time for dinner and back to sea.

Day 2: May 24th

This was a full day at sea. We found our way around the ship. We were on the Navigation deck in one of the larger balcony suites. Right across the hall was a private lounge for people on our deck. They served little snacks, tea and coffee all during the day. We took advantage of the spa with a massage. We also had a tour of the galley. Impressive.

North to Alaska

Well, our Alaskan adventure is over. Sorry I could not post whil on the road. So here is a summary of what happened.

Day 1: May 23rd

We left from Tyler's airport at 7:00 am on Sunday. We flew to DFW where we caught a plane to Vancouver, BC. We got thru customs and boarded the MS Ryndam around 3:00 pm Pacific time. The boat sailed at 5:00 pm.

Well, we are back in Tyler after a whirlwind tour of two Universal theme parks, Seaworld, and three Disney parks in six days. We went to Disney's Animal Kingdom on Thursday, Epcot on Friday, and the Magic Kingdom on Saturday. We left Orlando at 7:45 am (ET) and drove all the way arriving home at 12:45 (CT). We could have stopped at a hotel, but MY bed was calling. Sure felt good to get in it last night (oops, I mean this morning). I will try to post some photos on facebook later this week.

Seaworld

Yesterday we spent the day at Seaworld Orlando. We got to see the Shamu show at 12:30. The today we heard that one of the killer whales killed a 40 yr old trainer. Seaworld was promptly closed for the day. Good thing we went yesterday. Today it rained most of the afternoon. We spent the day shopping at the outlet mall and at the souvenir places so we don't have to pay the high prices we see at the theme parks.

Tomorrow we have to repack the car and change hotels.

Yesterday we walked around both the Universal Studios park and the Islands of Adventure park. Since this is the off season, the crowds weren't bad and we breezed through both parks between 9 and 4. Rode most of the rides and saw most of the shows. Had lunch at Bubba Gump Shrimp shack. We came back to the resort and spent 30-45 minutes in the hot tub. I crashed early. Margie fell asleep on the couch. Don't know what we will do today.