Some walking in Canada, eh?

At first I let Dad read the map. We made a wrong turn, and then I took over as map man. Victoria is a beautiful city, and the Empress Hotel is very elegant. We walked downtown, visited the hotel, walked down Government Street, and stopped at a McDonalds. Just so I could say I’ve eatin at one in almost every country I’ve been to. The British Columbia parliament building is located in Victoria, and is lit up with lights at night, not sky lights, think more of like white Christmas lights around the Montgomery Capital Building and that would be a close resemblance. We got back on the ship and are headed back to Seattle for an early morning departure. We leave the ship around 8 a.m. and head over to Bremerton for the Keany & Du Bey wedding. This will be an amazing opportunity for me to meet family members who I have never met in person, and an opportunity to celebrate marriage. Off to bed, next stop is in Bremerton.

T.J. Martin

Victoria, British Columbia (Canada)

www.tjmartin.org

On a Boat, at sea

Another day at sea, we slept in today and enjoy the fine cuisine the ship has to offer. Tonight is formal night so we get to dress up in shirt and ties. Tonight we are also going to catch two shows. The first is the “So You Wanna Dance” production show and the other is an impressionist. On to another beautiful day on a boat!

T.J. Martin

On a boat, at sea, in some really cold water

www.tjmartin.org

Train Ride in the Mountains of Alaska (and a few feet of Canada)

Today we woke up in Skagway. Our excursion was a beautiful train ride into the mountains. The White Pass Scenic Railway was originally built as one of two routes to get to the Klondike Gold Fields. We were not in search of gold on our trip, but it was tremendous ride through this magnificent and historical mountains. If the mountains could only tell of what they had seen over time, they would have a great story to tell. This has been by far the greatest and most beautiful excursion of the trip. We technically were over the Canadian border for a few minutes as our train engine switched sides, but we didn't get off so there was no need to have passports.

The White Pass Railroad took us up a 20 mile ride up into the mountains. After getting back from our train ride, Dad decided he wanted to mail some postcards from Alaska. We had bought some earlier, but hadn’t had time to fill them out and mail them. All-A-Board was at 4:30 so we had less than 30 minutes to get on board or the boat would be leaving us. Thus at 4:00 p.m. Dad ran back into Skagway to put postcards in the mail. I nervously waited for him on the dock. It was a long way back into town, and the Post Office was on the other side of town. But, he successfully ran into town and back in time for us to board the ship at 4:25. I was afraid we wouldn’t make it, but we did, thank goodness!!

T.J. Martin
Skagway, AK
www.tjmartin.org

Juneau

Early Wednesday morning we pulled into Tracy Arm around 6 a.m. local time. Dad and I got up around 6:30 to go see. Tracy Arm is a location where, as recently as 400 years ago, a glacier once sat. The erosion of tides and currents have cut an inlet. Ships can now navigate into Tracy Arm where there are spectacular views, shear cliffs, waterfalls, small icebergs, and glacially polished rocks which create a stunning view.  After taking some pictures and eating some breakfast, I was ready to go back to sleep. 

Dad was awake so he went back up to check out the scenery. Around noon we went to the Trident Grill and had some burgers and grabbed a couple of ice cream cones. Next it was time to head to the pier for our second excursion of our trip. We were going sport fishing in Juneau and looking for the elusive King Salmon. Dad and I didn’t catch anything, but the other two on our excursion caught some Dolly Varden Trout. There are a ton of bald eagles living up here in Alaska, and there were times on our excursion when we saw two or three flying around. They are beautiful and majestic creatures. We headed back to the boat and had a late dinner at the Sante Fe Dining Room then Dad went back to the room and I went to watch The Blind Side. 

Overall, a very great day! Now on to Skagway.

T.J. Martin

Juneau, AK

www.tjmartin.org

I think I can in Ketchikan

Tuesday we pulled into Ketchikan. We woke up and had a morning breakfast to give us plenty of energy before beginning our first excursion. Our first excursion . . .bike riding. Our goal . . . not to pass out. The hills weren’t very tall, but still tough for an out-of-shape father and son. It left us chugging up those hills sayin “I think I can, I think I can.” We successfully made it to the end of the one highway in the city, and got to experience a short hike through the Tongas National Forrest. With beautiful greenery, this is actually a rain forest. Prior to the excursion my dad and I were wondering if we could make it on the Clover Pass Bike Tour. Now we know we can, in Ketchikan. Then we walked to downtown Ketchikan and looked around before heading back to our ship. Wednesday we are heading out to go fishing for the elusive King Salmon. 

T.J. Martin

Ketchikan, AK

www.tjmartin.org

I'm On A Boat!!

Today was our first full day on the boat. After a successful flight and check-in to our ship we enjoyed the Horizon Buffet for both lunch and dinner. I attempted to play some Texas Holdem, unsuccessfully. We woke up this morning and got a late lunch at the buffet. There was a Masons Get-Together at the Crooners Lounge today around noon. It was an opportunity to meet some freemasons from around the world with representations from Australia and Canada. I then went with my dad to an enrichment lecture called "From Ketchikan to Barrow" which taught us about local wildlife and activities. It was a terrific lecture and was very informational.

 

Dad and I then signed up for a Ping Pong Tournament. We both got beat in the first round. There are many international individuals who apparently live and breathe table tennis and are much better than us southerners. Dad's opponent was from Spokane, Washington and mine was a young guy from Maui here celebrating his brother's graduation from high school. We grabbed an ice cream cone from and then a snack from the Trident Grill before heading back to the room and taking a nap. We woke up in time to change in to our suits for formal night.

 

Tonight was one of the two nights when we had to dress up for the evening. We kept it simple and wore suit and ties, but some people were dressed to the nines in their tux's and evening gowns.  At dinner we ate with a father and son from Michigan and enjoyed the fine dining of the Pacific Moon Restaurant. Then we attended an amazing show called "Piano Man" which was a selection of performances of Billy Joel, Liberace, Barry Manilow, and Elton John.

 

Now we are heading to bed so we can wake up in Ketchikan and go on a bike tour. That's all. Oh, and I'm on a Boat!!!

 

T.J. Martin

On a Boat

www.tjmatin.org

Da Plane, Da Plane

We have just taken off from the Atlanta airport. Dad and I are across the isle from each other. The plane we are on has three seats on each side, and we both have the benefit of having a vacant seat between us and our other seat buddy.

Dad's seat buddy is a businessman from Atlanta who works in software training of somekind. They've been discussing their family and their travels. My seat buddy is Quinton Teal who recently signed to play football with the Seattle Seahawks. He is originally from Memphis and played college ball in Carolina. He starts practice tomorrow and is on his way out to Seattle to get to work for the upcoming pro season... so cool.

The plane has this free inflight internet which is awesome! I am flying high in the air and can still get online. We were just served our refreshments and I am about to start reading until I doze off. Sleeping always makes the flight shorter, and 5 hours isn't that bad of a flight, so we should be in Seattle before we know it. Seattle here we come!

T.J. Martin
Inflight on a plane somewhere over the US
www.tjmartin.org