We were slightly overdue in Ketchikan, arriving a bit after nine am. The tour buses awaited to depart, but we scheduled no tours today. Today we planned just a self-guided walking tour of the city. It was a cool-looking city too, from the top deck of the ship (14 stories up, looking down on a city whose tallest building is three stories).
We ran into another couple from the ship we had met on the train from Fairbanks, and they had the same plan (hike the city). So we did. We visited a totem pole museum and a brothel museum. We stopped at Maggie's Mocha, Mugs and More for some refreshment, then went our separate ways for some last chance shopping (this is our last stop in Alaska), so we spent more money on souvenirs.
Ketchikan is known for its 240" of annual rainful, but we brought the beautiful weather with us, and the good people of Ketchikan had to put up with a sunny day. The temperature got into the 70's today.
Tonight was formal night at dinner, a gimmick to rent tuxedos and book the beauty salons on board. It was followed by a champagne fountain (700+ glasses stacked in a pyramid, with champagne poured into the top glass until it overflowed into all the others. Streamers were thrown, party horns bleated, free champagne was passed around. We grabbed ours and made ourselves a private toast to Alaska as a goodbye (we had entered Canada an hour before), then retired for the night to watch American Beauty on the ship's movie channel.
It's really dark out now, something we're going to have to readjust to. Not to mention the time difference. It's after midnight here; it's after 4 am back home. And we have left Alaska behind. We'll be at sea all day tomorrow, docking in Vancouver early Monday.
It's not over yet. But it's gettin' close.
Itinerary