[Ski]

It's difficult for me to get my head wrapped around just how huge man is able to construct objects which will, defying the forces of gravity, float on the water. The MS Westerdam is no less than 936 feet long. (Think: Space Needle all the way down to Denny Way.) If you don't think you can do a bit of "hiking" on one of these babies, think again: When the aft deck on the top floor is where you need to go for tea, and your cabin is up forward, you're in for a lot of walking. And nothing says fun like having your 90-year-old mother trip on the dust ruffle on the bed and do a faceplant in the cabin, so you can push her around in a wheelchair on the boat for a whole week. We had a blast.

Kind of difficult to grasp the scale of these monstrosities. That behemoth on the left there is even bigger than the one we're on! And it looks dinky compared to one of the big Norwegian cruisers!

After pulling away from Pier 91 in Seattle, I stashed my camera for a couple days. The weather was crappy. The seas were rough. My ears are a bit screwy and I was having a difficult time keeping my balance. The nice girls down at the front desk gave me some kind of pills. I ate too many and they put me to sleep. The food was absolutely fabulous.

Caesar Salad 083022

I have got to get me some of these fancy knives with the little cow heads on the handles. They reminded me of that steak house in Flagstaff where they had the little cows and corrals all around the perimeters of the dinner plates. Truly classic American kitsch.

lamb chops with roasted beets and feta, and asparagus 083022

Mom had the fish.

baked halibut 083022

The weather cooperated to a minimal degree for the stop at Glacier Bay.

Hubbard Glacier, Glacier Bay, Alaska 083122

bk Glacier Bay 083122

For dinner I decided to try something a bit different.

baked hake 083122

chocolate mousse 083122

The stop in Sitka (the morning Mom fell and hurt her foot) turned into a complete fiasco. Mom had booked a couple "excursions", but stayed behind because she hurt her foot. I got off the boat, rode the shuttle bus into town, only to discover that our "tour guide" had already left with a load of tourists. We improvised and I got to go see the fabulous church again, which is (other than Gavan Hill) about the best thing in Sitka. (Gavan Hill trip report HERE)

I can't read Cyrillic, so I have no idea what this is about. Eastern Orthodox Church, Sitka, Alaska 090122

Mom ordered room service for breakfast, but I found it far more fun to go up and sample the delights offered on the buffet line and watch the tourists.

breakfast 090222

Dinner was, again, fabulous. Mom ordered this cute little appetizer:

roasted beet and tangerine salad with feta on polenta 090222

The dinners just got better and better.

roast duck breast on red cabbage 090222

Other than doing a lot of walking and eating, we found amusement in the form of a little quartet.

Lincoln Center Stage Quartet (L to R) Yunjo Lee, piano; Jorge Maresch, cello; Hua Chu Huang, violin; and Victoria Witmer, viola.

This wasn't a high school recital. This was top-shelf, world-class stuff. I will not be surprised to see Hua Chu's name on CDs in the future - he really is that good - up on his toes, diving in and attacking each note. Victoria was positively brilliant on the viola. Yunjo kept the pace with lightning-fast fingers, and George - with his death-defying pizzicato passages, anchors the four of them. We pulled back into Elliot Bay on the morning of Sunday September 4th to beautiful blue skies (after, of course, another fabulous breakfast)

breakfast 090422

No room service for Mom on the last day, so I made four trips up to the buffet for her breakfast. (I can only carry so many plates at one time.) That was a record-breaker: end to end on the ship four times in 20 minutes, including eight elevator rides.

Elliot Bay 090422 0620 PDT

I sure hope that foot of hers heals up quick. I think she and I should do that Honolulu-Papeetee thing. Thanks Mom! Love you! BK

[Bloated Chipmunk]

Good on you for doing a trip w/your mom! Hope she heals fast.