North To Alaska! Day 6

We were up at 7am and headed for the buffet. Waffles, eggs, toast, tea. Back to the cabin, got our gear ready and off the ship at 8:30. The hours for Ketchikan are 7-1pm. We take couple of photos of the ship and dock area and then take the free shuttle to town. Of course it is not very far, but why walk when you can ride? First up is the famous, infamous? Creek Street. This is the historic brothel area along Ketchikan Creek. Much of the town is built over water as it was too difficult to blast away the rocky hills surrounding the creek. In the 1920's there were over 20 brothels on Creek Street. We walked the boardwalk, photos, some shopping and chatted with a 'madam' at Dolly's. She is dressed in period costume and tries to get you into her business. Since Nevada still has brothels, it was not worth our time. Not far is 'Married Man's Trail'. Basically a back way into Creek Street so married men would not be seen frequenting the brothels. During Prohibition, men would row boats at high tide and deliver whiskey up through a trap door. A Salmon Ladder is at the top of Creek Street. May is too early for salmon to be heading upstream, so we pass. Creek Street is worth a stroll, good photos and shopping.

We stop at Whale Park, more totem poles to add to my totem collection. We look at the map and things to do. The Tongass Historical Museum is close by and we walk over. $2 to enter and we see what they have. Pretty small museum and not a whole lot there. But, it is right in town and worth 10-15 minutes of your time IMO. I pop a few photos and we move on.

We decide to ride the free shuttle to the Totem Heritage Center (THC). THC houses old totem poles retrieved in the 1970s from Tlingit villages on Tongass Island and Haida villages on Prince of Wales Island. The villagers moved to Ketchikan in the '20s to be near schools, churches and employment. THC preserves 18th & 19th century totem poles that would have otherwise been destroyed by time and weather. THC charges $5 to enter and I pay up. Mike decides to pass and will wait outside. It is not very large, but the THC has plenty of totem poles and a small museum, so it is worthwhile IMO I get my photos and leave.

Mike is not around and I decide to head back downtown to shop for some souvenirs. Plenty of shops in downtown Ketchikan and plenty of cruise passengers wandering around. All these Alaska towns depend on the summer cruise passengers to stay afloat. It must be pretty quiet once the cruise season is over. It is now almost noon and I head back to the ship for lunch. I opt for a veggie burger, fruit. They serve hot dogs, burgers by the pool everyday. Afterwards, I head up to the Observation Deck and get photos of Ketchikan.

I am getting good cell phone reception and call everyone I can in Vegas. It is just perfect weather and I decide to read by the pool. Of course about 15 minutes into reading I start to fall asleep. When I rouse myself I head for the cabin for my workout gear. Up to the gym, legs, stomach and 30 minutes on the bike. Shower, drop off my gear, and over to Digital Workshop for class, advanced photo editing. On the way to the cabin, I stop to watch 'Mission Impossible'. I got there for the last half, but have seen it before. Great action movie and worth a second look. Back to the cabin, Mike is there and we chat about our day. We have a 7:45pm dinner time, so time for a rest. We head over to the dining room and only the couple from Mass. are there. No Tom and his wife. Well, I can live with that. I have the usual. Onion soup, salad, veggie choice. Tonight is Indian curry and it is too hot for me. I finish it, but go through many glasses of water to put out the heat. Peach crisp for dessert, then head over to the showroom for the 10pm show. Country/western revue by the ship's company, another good show. Very professional troupe working for the Westerdam. Back into the casino, find Reid & Eunice and we chat about our day. They really made playing poker fun, even if you do lose a bit. We all decide to quit at 1am and that is what we do. We walk to over staterooms and call it a day. Day 6 is over.