Glacier Bay!

At 3:00 AM I awoke to use the bathroom. Phyl was snoring so I felt my way along without turning on any lights. I got my toilet paper and attempted to wipe.


G- Shit! (jumping up and throwing on the light)

P- (startled awake) What's wrong?

G- Did you flush the toilet recently?

P- No! Not since we went to bed and I checked to make sure the water stopped filling.

G- Well it must have been steadily dripping during the night because I just went to wipe and the water is so damn high that I put my hand in it! Damn it to hell!!! It's all the way up to the top. I HATE THIS TOILET!!!!!!

P- (coming into the bathroom) Flush it and let's watch it again to be sure it stops running. I'm going to go to the customer service desk tomorrow and chew someone's ass.

After that rude awakening, it seemed we had just fallen back asleep when our coffee arrived at 7:00 AM. We wanted to be up on deck when we entered Glacier Bay. We were extremely excited about today's scenery and expected it to be our favorite day. It was quite a chilly morning, so we sat in the Crow's Nest for a while.

P- People like that piss me off! I know they made an announcement that there was no smoking allowed in here this morning. Is she deaf?

G- Well, she might be. She looks about 90. But she probably just doesn't give a damn.

P- With any luck, her 3 pack a day habit will catch up with her in the next few minutes and that'll solve that problem.

We met up with Hal & Jackie and secured a spot along the railing. The ranger announced that there was a Humpback Whale carcass on the beach upon which bears had been feasting throughout the summer. Sure enough, we saw 3 huge grizzly bears and 1 cub on the beach, eating the whale, which appeared, at this point, to be nothing but bones. We all gasped in delight as we passed around the binoculars.

The day was as spectacular as we had anticipated. The glaciers were absolutely stunning and the color of the water was indescribable!  The ship stopped at the glacier cul-du-sac and we stood listening to the cracking and thundering as the glacier calved. We studied the cracks in the glacier walls, the variations of blue, and the snake like movement of the practically immobile ice. It is hard to believe that when this bay was discovered (by a European) just 250 years ago, the glacier extended to the bay entrance.

We spent most of the day on deck; not until we exited the glacier area, did we go inside to warm up and get a bite to eat. We all agree that it had been a magical day. Glacier Bay was the highlight of our trip! This was the Alaska that Phyl & I had wanted to see. The breathtaking beauty cannot be described but must be experienced first hand.

 
 
(see more photos in Picasa album)