September 16, 2011 – Ketchikan . . . last day in Alaska!

September 16, 2011 – Ketchikan . . . last day in Alaska!

We woke up in Ketchikan, Alaska – we left the ship by 8 a.m. since we were only scheduled to be in port until shortly after 1:00.  We decided to forego any excursions today to explore on our own.  Ketchikan is a very nice city and is quite spread out so we had a nice walk.  Our highlights were a crab shack where we shared Dungeness crabs and smoked salmon chowder and an old brothel district that now houses a variety of shops.  One of the shops belongs to the artist who sketches the logos for Raven’s Brew coffee, which is brewed in Ketchikan and is my favorite brew that I regularly order to enjoy at home.  Joe took pictures of healthy salmon, dying salmon (they’re spawning) and dead salmon (they spawned) but never got to catch salmon.  He did enjoy listening to the very successful fishing adventures of one of our fellow cruisers – next trip he’ll be the successful fisherman! After trekking and shopping for a few hours, we returned to the ship and relaxed with some exotic drinks in one of the lounges – when I say that you can relax in lounges here, I mean it, since a few of them actually have beds in the bar!!  We enjoyed our drinks as we watched Alaska grow smaller in the distance.  Good-bye Alaska – it was fun!!

Joe and the girls went to the casino where they collectively came out ahead while I took in a passenger talent show.  The show was very entertaining and funny J We all did our own things for a while – I attended the Chocoholic Buffet.  Our floor had priority viewing before the rest of the ship could attend but I didn’t get the memo that they changed the time so almost missed the early preview.  I was running down a hallway trying to avoid the masses when our butler, Maurice, spotted me and guided me through hallways and doorways to get me in there in time to take pictures of the yards and yards of chocolate creations.  I fixed a plate for the family and tried to make my way out – when I opened the door of the café to exit, about a hundred people were lined up to come in.  I didn’t want to walk by them with a plate of chocolate so tried to escape through the secret route Maurice took me on.  Anyone who knows me realizes that I surely got lost and wandered aimlessly for quite a while with my plate of chocolate – and that’s about the extent of the stress I have felt this week!  We took in another adult showing of The Second City Comedy Troupe and watched an adult scavenger hunt in one of the lounges.  We were asked to join a team by some of our fellow pub-crawlers but are so glad we declined.  If we wouldn’t have, Joe would have ended up on the dance floor in his underwear, wearing a bra, high heels and a purse (though I personally think he would have forfeited the game before joining the rest of the guys who actually did that!)  Joe & I retired to our room to watch a movie and didn’t see the girls again until they crawled in at 4 a.m. with another pizza (we did lose an hour on the clock tonight so they only stayed out until 3 a.m. on the old time, ha).  Needless to say, it was another adventurous evening!!