If you try something once, you’re just interested. If you try something a second time and you still enjoy it, you know it’s a great thing. So, I’m here to report that whale watching was even better the second time! (more…)
By Guest Author Peggy Bradshaw; Photos by George Bradshaw
One of the most popular tourist attractions in Fairbanks, Alaska is the Discovery Sternwheeler boat, docked on the Chena River not far from downtown. It is owned by the Binkley family, who have been in the riverboat business since the days of the Klondike gold rush. It has been a tourist attraction since 1950 and has been continuously captained by members of the Binkley family.
Take a ride on the Discovery Sternwheeler
By Guest Author Peggy Bradshaw
Photos by George Bradshaw
Glacier Bay is part of the National Park Service and vessel permits are required before entering Glacier Bay from June 1 to August 31. You can request a permit by contacting the National Park Service at Bartlett Cove. Comrprised of 3.3 million acres of mountains, glaciers, forests, and waterways, Glacier Bay National Park and Preserve are a highlight of the Inside Passage and part of a 25-million-acre World Heritage Site – one of the world’s largest protected natural areas – designated by UNESCO. (more…)
By Guest Author Peggy Bradsaw
The Alaskan gold rush lured thousands to Skagway, which became known as the gateway to the goldfields. By 1898, it was Alaska’s largest town with a population of about 20,000, not counting the 10,000 people living in the tent city of nearby Dyea. Today, Skagway has less than 1,000 residents but the population more than doubles on the days when the cruise ships pull into the dock.
Skagway boasted the shortest route to the Klondike, but it was far from being the easiest. Over a hundred years ago, the White Pass route through the coast mountains and the shorter, but steeper, Chilkoot Trail, were used by thousands of stampeders. The treacherous Chilkoot Trail, combined with the area’s cruel elements, left scores dead. The hotels, saloons, dance halls and gambling houses prospered, but as the gold supply dwindled, so did the population of the town, as the miners left to go to newly-discovered gold fields.
By Guest Author Peggy Bradshaw
A whale watch is a rare and exciting experience that provides views of our fellow mammal, the whale. In Alaska, The whale watch tour we took began in Auke Bay at the marina and traveled through the Saginaw Channel to the Lynn Canal, the main summer feeding waters of the humpback whale. You are always assured of seeing at least one whale, and seeing just one is a rarity. (more…)
By Guest Author Peggy Bradshaw
Ketchikan, referred to as “Alaska’s First City,” is the first port of call for all the cruise lines. Because the cruise lines are the lifeblood of the town, the store’s hours in downtown are “whenever the ships are in port.”
World-famous for the abundance of incredible totem poles in the region, Ketchikan is also known as the “Salmon Capital of the World.” The amazing thing about Ketchikan is that there are no roads into it from the outside world. Everything must be brought in by boat, ferry or plane – even the garbage truck that reads “Satisfaction Guaranteed or Double Your Garbage Back.” (more…)
By Guest Author Peggy Bradshaw
I was amazed at the size of the big white ship docked at Vancouver, B.C. We had flown in and were ready to board for our 7-day cruise through the famous Alaskan Inside Passage. Traveling with two other couples, we had mini-suites with balconies side by side on the Dolphin Deck, Deck 9.
Cruising from Vancouver Photo by George Bradshaw
For most people, a trip on an ocean liner is not something they would consider. It takes longer to get places that way and delays arrival at a destination.
Since The Queen Mary is now docked in Long Beach, California, the Queen Mary Hotel can provide an approximation of what it would have been like to travel the Atlantic in style.
Queen Mary from Long Beach
We had been invited to spend time with the Queen, the ship the Queen Mary, that is.
Docked permanently in Long Beach, California, the cruise liner Queen Mary saw many years of active service until it reached its current permanent berth.
Queen Mary with Russian submarine
Now a hotel, tourist attraction and historical museum, the Queen is a venerable ship that first plied the waters in the time just before World War II. The passenger capacity was almost 2,000, with the crew representing a little more than half that number.
By Guest Author Jim Crowe
While my wife and I were on an Australian and New Zealand cruise, I celebrated my birthday on January 31. A lifetime dream for both of us, celebrating my birthday during the trip was “the frosting on the cake.”
After rising early and enjoying an early room service breakfast on our private balcony, we took a tender boat ashore and boarded a tour bus for the “Historic Hokianga Experience.” (more…)
