Ketchikan

Chef and I slept in late today and got into trouble. At the evening cocktail party, the First Mate had encouraged everyone to sleep in late the next morning. Chef and I mistakenly thought that included us. We won’t do that again.

I was sad when I left crew quarters and saw how gray and rainy it was. It was a miserable day. Our event for the day was to start at 3:00 pm and I was just hoping it would stop raining before our event got started.

By late morning, most everyone was busy and I was a little stir crazy, so I set out on some errands. I went by Sea Gate to pick up some items for the First Mate. The guys were all huddled in meetings so I only stopped in for a short time. Then I walked a half-mile or so up to the liquor store to restock Sanctuary. While I was out, the guys called and invited me to join them for lunch. It was nice to relax and talk with them.

Then we headed back to the boats and got ready for our trip to the Misty Fjords. We were all on one big, fast catamaran boat. Thankfully, the weather lifted some, and the visibility was very good. We hadn’t been out of the harbor for more than half an hour when a pod of five orca appeared at our side and put on an incredible show for about 10 minutes. The orca alone made the trip worthwhile. But things continued to get better. The farther we moved into the Fjords, the more stunning it became. Sheer mountain cliffs leapt straight up from the water. Waterfalls cascaded down 3,000 feet of sheer rock. It was truly a breathtaking place.

The cruise lasted until about 8:00 pm. When we got back folks all headed out in different directions. Chef, Shlomo (Jonathan) and I all stopped in at the grocery store and somehow managed to spend nearly an hour and a half shopping for lord knows what. We got things loaded onto Sanctuary then headed to Sea Gate to drop off their supplies. The night ended in the now typical fashion – sharing the evening with dear friends.