Saturday Sept 9, 2023
Hi All! Today was both a very relaxing day as well as a very educational day. During the late morning and early afternoon there were three different lectures I went to. They were all really interesting. The first was called “The First Alaskans: Native Peoples of the Northland”. It was about all the various clans of the indigenous people of Alaska. And no they don’t call them Eskimos anymore!
The next one was called “Breaking the Ice Ceiling”. It was about three brave and courageous women of Alaska and how they did jobs that were mostly done by men and they were very successful at it like being the Captain of a Coast Guard Ice Breaker.
The last one was called “Gold Fever: The Great Klondike Gold Rush”. Of course it was all about the gold rush in Skagway and the crazy stories of the people who tried to make it rich.
Then during late afternoon and early evening we cruised thru the Inside Passage which is a narrow section of water near Vancouver Island where the scenery on both sides is beautiful. That area is also very rich with marine life. We saw Orca whales (but I couldn’t get my camera up quick enough since they only show themselves briefly), a ton of Pacific white sided dolphin that were all jumping thru the water(I wish I could post the video because the picture doesn’t capture how many there were and how they were all leaping out of the water!), as well as some nice sunset photos against the beautiful scenery.
In the evening I had dinner, watched the show of the 4 singers (they were just OK), and ended the night with the piano sing alongs.
Tomorrow will be a LONG trip home and include a red eye flight but for all this beauty and wildlife, it’s worth it!
The Wandering Italian 