After the helicopter tour, there's not much we want to do. We are in the afterglow and can't imagine what to do next, so we get off the shuttle in town to do some shopping.
I had gotten a bunch of gifts at Del Sol in Ketchikan, plus some smoked salmon for my youngest son Xavier, and a Northern Lights shirt for Axel that has a wolf on it. But we wanted to get something for Robert's coworker Laramie and maybe for Ron, as well as something for my oldest son. So we shop.
Skagway is packed with cruise ship-ers. The town only houses about 800 full time residents, and all the shops look like buildings from the 1800's. We see so much art and native scrimshaw and so many exorbitantly expensive animal pelts. We play "spot the jewelry store" which is a joke.
We end up in a knife shop that I notice sells William Henry knives. We choose a knife that's very unusual, for Laramie. It has a blade made by an artisan, out of an old steel file. It's amazing. The artist calls them Anza knives.
We get lots of tshirts at the Alaskan tshirt company, including an Alaskan moose shirt for my oldest that has the batman symbol in place of the moose antlers, and some wild huckleberry jam. We also grab a map of the Inside Passage of Alaska so we can see where we've been and put it in geographical context. We stop at an antique store on a side street and find some awesome antiques, but opt to leave it all behind, unbought, because we can't figure out how to get everything home.
We consider eating crab legs at Tracy's but decide to skip it and eat dinner in the main dining room on the ship. We get back on board and drop stuff off in our room. We go up and pick up our Hot Glass class items, Robert's black and white lily and my pumpkin. We take them back to the cabin to unwrap and admire, and then wrap them back up and stash them for safekeeping. We eat in the Oceanview restaurant and then go back to our room. The ship is headed for Victoria and has a lot of ground to cover, (so to speak) so it's moving fast through open ocean. Although I'm not seasick, I am a tad woozy and tired. We watch movies and fall asleep.
The next morning, Wednesday, is a sea day. I have to be up at 7am so I can get to the salon. I spend two hours getting a manicure and pedicure. My manicurist is Wendy who's from Zimbabwe. She is educated and has two children, both boys. She went to University but couldn't find a job in Zimbabwe, so she moved to South Africa. She's been away from her boys for the last 7 months.
The ship is still pitching and rolling today. It's moving in sideways figure eights: down and to the right, up, down and left, up, over and over. The ship seems more empty than usual, and the carts in the salon are rolling around the floor.
My skin on my legs is so dry, Wendy puts some crazy mud scrub on my feet and legs during the pedicure and then she puts an oil on them and my skin just sucks it right up. I buy that oil.
Robert brings me a cappuccino while I'm getting my toenails painted. He's so chivalrous, he sits with me while Wendy finishes the pedicure. I show Robert her handiwork: my own nails painted with a meticulous french tip job in gel, and my toes painted in a vivid lavender gel. Wendy tells me I now look like a lady.
We spend our sea day eating, chatting with the friends we've made, and taking naps in the middle of the day. When dinner comes, Robert dresses in his tuxedo and tails with his black brocade vest and black bowtie. I dress in my shimmering dress with the slit up to my thigh and a sheer capelet and stilettos. We walk down to the Grand Epernay for formal night.
The first thing we realize is that we don't have a table, because we've not eaten dinner in the main dining room at all, yet. So we speak to the host and he finds us a charming table for two in the center of the room.
We are treated well and we have drinks and lovely meals. I eat New York steak and Robert has Beef Wellington. It's much less formal than we expect, though, with many people wearing shorts and such. I finally ask the waiter about it, and he explains they aren't calling it Formal Night on this cruise. They're calling it Chic Night, so anyone who didn't pack formal clothing can still attend, but we also don't see the ice sculptures and the seafood menu we were told would be present during Formal Night. We decide it doesn't matter.
At the large table next to us, this darling man and his tiny son take their seats. The man is dressed in a crisp white suit with white shoes and light blue accents on his shirt. The little boy's suit somewhat mirrors his father's, and Robert and I are all gaga over this tiny little dude. He's adorable. Later, his mother shows up along with either sisters or friends, and she is stunning. Tall and slim in a pink dress that matches the little dude's shirt. Cute family.
We run into the father in that white suit late at night, on deck 5. It turns out, he is also a Navy man like Robert. He's been in the navy for 17 years and he was just promoted to Chief, which is what Robert retired as. He says he may not take the promotion because they would most likely have to move. He's from Detroit originally but currently lives in Chicago. His wife is adamant about not wanting to move. He and Robert shook hands and Robert wished him good luck making his decision.
Tomorrow is our last day. We get to see Victoria, British Columbia. I was last in Victoria about 30 years ago, but Robert's never been to BC. We will be visiting Castle Craigdarroch, which is a Scottish Lord's castle from the 1800's, and I believe we will also visit Butchart Gardens.
See you tomorrow!
