Good afternoon, my friends,
Yes, here we are, getting ready to sail away from Ketchikan, Alaska and head out to sea to see the glaciers.
We had an enjoyable day here, walking around the quaint village and talking to the locals. I wore my “Ask me about my books” shirt and must have given away 30 or more cards. It seems all there is to do here during the wintertime or when the cruise ships aren’t in, is to read. Everyone is adicted to reading, it seems. The shop keepers suggested I contact the local paper to do a story on me and my books and how they benefit the Wounded Warrior Project, but alas, the paper was closed as it is Saturday. Bummer!
But, I left them my card and will contact them when we return home.
I am scheduled to do two lectures, June 2 & 9 at 10:30 in the Casino lounge. Carol’s and my shirts have had the desired effect, lots of interest. The cruise director had me originally scheduled to do four lectures, but after we spoke, and since I only brought material for one lecture, she said two would be fine…I spent the next morning here in the computer room putting another together and have it finished. Now to practicel!
My books are in the gift shop, but it is TINY, and I was only able to leave two of each there; but, I will conduct at least two book signings after my lectures and those should be very productive. There is not the “younger” crowd the supervisor from Princess forecast. We had our first “formal” night last night, and we were a hit in our Mess Dress uniforms. We went up to dance after the great “dance” show, only to find the ballroom deserted…the older people were in bed by 11pm…go figure.
So, things are going fine so far. Our mini-suite is great, right at the front of the ship, no rocking and rolling and it is extremely quiet. As we cruise further north, it stays light until nearly midnight, and then turns to a dusk, and back to light a few hours later. We woke up today to bright sunshine at 4 a.m. - but, back to sleep when we noted the time.
So far we’ve managed to stay away from most temptations as far as food is concerned, but, they had “key lime” pie today and I couldn’t resist having one piece, (which soon led to another), but we’ll walk around the deck tomorrow to make up for that slight variation in our diet. We did enough walking in town today!
So, for today, I’ll head back down to the cabin to watch from our balcony to see if we can sight some Orka whales. They say a pod has been hanging around the entrance to the bay here.
Take care, come back soon.
For now, Via con Dias, my friends,
Karl