September 28, Saturday.
AA 2249 LAX to Las Vegas, then dinner with Baby and Bob at Aliante Bistro.
Sunday.
Dinner with our Aglipay cousins at the lovely new home of Jam4 and Luz.
Monday.
Lunch at The Grill, afternoon at Bob and Baby’s home, then dancing with Pam and Noli at Cafe Moda.
Tuesday.
Afternoon of pampering at Aliante Spa, then dinner & Frankie Moreno show at Myron’s.
Wednesday.
Dinner at Aliante Bistro, then Rod Stewart show at Caesar’s Palace.
Thursday.
Lunch at The Retreat on Mount Charleston, new iPhones and stuff at the Apple Store, then dinner at La Cave in Wynn.
Friday.
Dinner at Buca di Beppo.
Saturday.
Lunch at Bob and Baby’s home before flight AA504 to LAX.
A fabulous whirlwind super bonding week! What happens in Vegas continues after Vegas. Right, Babes? ❤️
Labels: Aglipays, Aliante, Caesar’s Palace, Frankie Moreno, Myron’s, Rod Stewart, Wynn
Finally! A glorious sunny clear day as we cruise into San Francisco Bay.
Crystal Symphony salutes the Golden Gate Bridge with a mighty blast from the ship’s horn as we slip under the iconic bridge.
We’re partying in the Ferry Building with the Bay Area Route 66 girls: Yollee, Malu, Ada, Josie, Daisy and Stel.
The party starts predictably noisily at 3 in Gott’s Roadside with wine and sandwiches- lots and lots of sandwiches as Malu manages to bring in even more to add to the already copious amounts on order- and eventually winds up with dinner at Boulette’s Larder on the opposite end of the building.
We’re joined by Stuart and Dandy who do double-duty as paparazzi and location scouts for our long-awaited get together.
One perfect day in San Francisco. 💕
Labels: R66 party
First stop, Sitka. It’s almost completely shrouded in heavy cloud; which sort of announces the weather conditions we would be facing on the cruise.
Already I have broken out my seasick pills. I’ve had them with me since our South Pacific cruise in March but have not needed them until now.
Not a good start but I’m sure things will get better.
Juneau.
We’re docked alongside the pier. It looks to be a pretty good day, so we set off to see the Mendenhall Glacier. We immediately double back though to get my raincoat which I had overly optimistically left in our room.
No sooner have our feet touched dry land than the heavens opened. We are drenched. No matter; we’re dressed for the occasion.
We’re kids playing in the rain, sloshing about on the footbridge through the Salmon Forest in search of leaping fish in the rushing stream. Sadly, no fish have come out to play.
A woman walking towards me points to the end of the footbridge.
There are ice floes out there, she shouts excitedly through several layers of wet scarves.
That means the glacier is nearby.
This is truly an idyllic spot. However, Mendenhall Glacier barely shows up from the rain-soaked landscape.
Glacier Bay.
I haven’t been paying attention to the ranger’s commentary so I’m still getting ready to join Stuart in the lounge deck when to my surprise, the Lamplugh Glacier suddenly appears in my window. I rush outside to take pictures.
I figure I’m in the best possible position to observe the glacier; I feel I can almost reach out and touch it. But it’s cold and wet on the balcony and I manage to take only a few pictures.
Having now joined Stuart in the lounge, we’re sitting comfortably warm and dry, mugs of hot chocolate in hand. We have a ringside view of magical, serene, majestic Glacier Bay.
Accessible only by air or by water, the bay long ago used to be one massive glacier. Higher average temperatures and lesser snowfalls over the past 250 years or so have transformed it into a fjord containing many smaller glaciers. Those that terminate in water, whether in high or low tide, are called tidewater glaciers. There are eight of them here.
Two of the most active glaciers in the bay are the Margerie and the Johns Hopkins. They are continually calving; that is, splitting and shedding icebergs into the water.
Approaching the head of the Johns Hopkins Inlet, we are face to face with the glacier bearing its name.
The ship then turns around and enters the Tarr Inlet going up alongside the Margerie Glacier.
I guess seeing and hearing the glaciers actually shedding icebergs into the bay would be the only thing that could further this magic.
My photos, taken with an iPhone through water-streaked windows, don’t do them justice.
Still, here they are, if only to keep a digital record of images infinitely more wondrous that have been indelibly printed on my brain.
Labels: Glacier Bay, Johns Hopkins, Lamplugh, Margerie, Mendenhall
