Glacier Bay

The coast of Alaska looks about the same from The Hubbard Glacier down to Glacier Bay National Park.  Mountain after snow capped mountain, with a few trees  along the shoreline.  Lots more clouds and cooler, breezy weather.  More like what you imagine when you think of Alaska.

 We went to the naturalist talk this morning before breakfast to listen about whales.  He is an interesting fellow who reminds me of Bill Nye the science guy.  He walks around with a fur tail attached to the back of his pants (it’s not real fur).  I didn’t expect more than  the usual generic information about whales, but he was much more specific and detailed with pictures and video in the Princess Theater.  He was up on the current whale research and dispelled a lot of common myths about whales.  Did you know that there are three types of humpback whales:  resident, transient and oceanic?  Neither did I. Do you know the difference between dolphins and porpoises?  Or Why Orcas are called Orcas?  Neat stuff.

 
Most of the aquatic wildlife is concentrated at the mouth of Glacier Bay (where most of the food is).  I saw a couple of humpback whale tails as they dove and several sea otters.  We picked up a couple of Park Rangers as we entered the bay and they are providing a running commentary as we sail toward the glaciers at the end of the bay.

 There are two TVs in our mini-suite so we can sit here and watch a webcam live view from the bridge of the scenery ahead of the ship.  We also have a 3’x3’ picture window for photos.  Lots of TV  channels but  only a couple worthwhile.  I’m avoiding the current news  channel and it’s a relief not to know all the bad things happening around the world.

Mom is still struggling a little with the motion of the boat so we went down to the lower levels of the ship last night to hang out before bedtime.  Most of the music is for geezers, but there was a one man show with a Broadway theme.  Corny with  some props, but he was funny and entertaining.  He couldn’t play anything from Spamalot though.  He was in the Crooners Lounge with large pictures of Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin and Sammy Davis Jr. lining the walls.