Ketchikan Blog
Today is our first port day! We are in Ketchikan from 7:00 AM to 3:30 PM and we have a lot to do while we are here. It was an early morning for us but not as early as yesterday thankfully. The Garden Buffet is only two floors up from us and our room is right next to the staircase so bringing our breakfast back to our room was so easy. The weather today looks like it will clear up and turn into a warm early summer day. We are going to try to be among the first groups of people off the ship. Because we lined up early we were able to get off the boat early as well. The ship docked in Ward Cove, we walked through their warehouse style shop and loaded up onto the bus to be taken into town.
The bus let us off at the far end of the cruise terminals near town. We have a bit of time before we need to meet up for our excursion so we are planning on stopping at Jellyfish Donuts and heading to Creek Street. Even though we were among the first from our ship to get into town, other ships were also letting people off. The line at Jellyfish Donuts was already substantial. Ben and I split a fresh cookies and creme donut and it was one of the best donuts we’ve had.
I am so glad that we booked this particular trip. Our tour guide was super knowledgeable and enthusiastic. We paddled lazily around a few islands off the coast for a few hours. We didn’t go very far in terms of distance but that could be relative to how much you go kayaking. We kayak a lot at home, the other couple we were with had never kayaked. We were surrounded by wildlife the entire time. We saw dozens of otters, 15-20 whale spouts, a few sea lions and about a dozen eagles. There were a few porpoises in the distance but they didn’t come very close. A sea lion was following us for a good portion of our paddle, until we lost him. He made a reappearance some time later when an eagle stole a fish he caught. I have never seen anything like that and I am positive no one would believe me if i didn’t get it on video. It was low tide still, so we paused to look at the starfish and sea cucumbers on the backside of one of the islands. When we got back to the resort they had snacks including fresh smoked salmon and crackers. It was an amazing experience and I would highly recommend booking through Alaska Shore Excursions. We had the option to be dropped off back in town or back at Ward Cove to get back on the ship. Originally we were going to go back to town but our energy levels were wavering and we chose to get back on the ship instead.
Our afternoon siesta turned into a 2-3 hour nap. The sun was coming out for the afternoon so it was only right to sit by the pool. Ben attended another military appreciation meeting and we met back up before dinner. Tonight we split Bruschetta, french onion soup, white cheddar potato soup, asian spare ribs and a roasted sirloin. It sounds like a lot but they were small plates. After dinner we wandered a bit before getting our stuff ready for tomorrow and settling in for the night.