Ketchikan
Trip Start
Jun 03, 2006
1
3
7
Trip End
Jun 14, 2006
Our first port was Ketchikan. What I didn't know, but soon learned, is that most of the southern tip of Alaska borders rainforest. Ketchikan is no exception, receiving some 340 days of rain each year. Our excursion here was the "Duck Tour," a tour around town and the harbor in an amphibious vehicle. Ketchikan is extrememly hilly; almost all of the homes are raked into the hillside. Many accommodations have been made to adapt to the wet climate, including building the school on stilts and putting the playground underneath it.
After the tour we visited creek street on our own: a public street that consists of a boardwalk along the creek that runs through the center of town. Here we found Dolly's House, a whore house from the time of the gold rush. From the back of Dolly's House out to the public highway runs a road called Married Man's Trail. This road would allow men to travel to and from Dolly's House unsuspected. The trail is actually quite beautiful and leads you past the salmon hatchery.
Back on the ship we had dinner in the dining room (a five course meal including vegan options). I started to realize that cruising IS what it's cracked up to be.
After the tour we visited creek street on our own: a public street that consists of a boardwalk along the creek that runs through the center of town. Here we found Dolly's House, a whore house from the time of the gold rush. From the back of Dolly's House out to the public highway runs a road called Married Man's Trail. This road would allow men to travel to and from Dolly's House unsuspected. The trail is actually quite beautiful and leads you past the salmon hatchery.
Back on the ship we had dinner in the dining room (a five course meal including vegan options). I started to realize that cruising IS what it's cracked up to be.


