It is hard to believe that the cruise we booked over 18 months ago is at it’s last port stop of Ketchikan (insert wiping tears away), before one sea day homeward bound to Vancouver. The weather at our last stop in Alaska didn’t disappoint with the clearest blue sky we have had. It even managed to make it to double digits with the winter jackets being left on the ship and a cardigan only needed in the shade. I am starting to think that perhaps the ‘Westaway weather curse’ has come to an end (famous last words and I’m sure I’ll be proved wrong). To make it memorable, We were greeted with an unusual sight of a helicopter flying past with what appeared to be a snow machine (or part of) hanging from it.
Exploring on foot, we headed to historic ‘Creek Street’, home of the red light district in the Gold Rush. Being one of three cruise ships in port today (and the last to dock), it was packed down there. It is amazing how 8000 odd tourists compacted into an area can make it impossible to get a photo, let alone walk without running into someone. They call Ketchikan the salmon capital of the world but it felt like the sardine capital with us being the sardines. I’m betting the red light girls of old would have had a field day with this many visiting their establishments.
We headed back to Creek Street a few hours later (two of the ships had left) and it was a completely different place. The red light girls would have dried up (literally) with the passing traffic now. I couldn’t help but compare a before and after photo.
No funny stories to tell today but plenty of beauty to see. The town is really picturesque and the photos speak for themselves.
Last December we visited New Zealand and I had been busting to try some fish and chips as everyone had raved about how good it was. I never have the chance to eat this at home (I chose to marry a seafood hater) so I took the opportunity and was bitterly disappointed with probably the worst fish and chips I have ever tried.
Keeping my previous disappointment in mind, I was desperate to try some fresh Alaskan fish and chips. I will be eternally grateful to my seafood hating husband who agreed to have another burger (third burger lunch in a row) so that I could try fish and chips on the wharf. OMG it was absolutely amazing and most definitely the BEST fish and chips I have ever eaten. If you’re ever in Ketchikan this is the place to go. Even the chips were great (yes fried potato can go wrong). Forget KFC secret herbs and spices on their chips. I don’t know what seasoning this place used but the chips tasted a little like smokey bacon. The last few months of stress seemed to disappear as I got to sit in the sun, enjoy the spectacular snow capped mountains and increase my waist line with a fabulous feed (if only they made diet fried food)! Seriously, does life get any better?
Heading back to the ship we stumbled across ‘The Stoney Moose’. Alaska seems to have an abundance of places you can visit to transform into a Stoney Moose……and no we didn’t visit. Thinking about the odd, I forgot to add to my blog yesterday our amazement at witnessing a woman breast feeding her baby as she drove her car down the Main Street of Juneau. Perhaps she’d just been to the Stoney Moose.
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