08.06.09

08.06.09

Ketchikan

We got into the port at Ketchikan, Alaska at 6am. We were at the International Cafe for croissants and coffee by 7 as we had to be off the boat at 7:20am precisely for our excursion to the Saxman Native Village.

We loved this village! It is the Tlingit (pronounced like "clink-it") Village of Saxman. They were the first official settlers of SouthEast Alaska. We started out watching a video explaining the tribe, then walked on a nature trail. 

Our guide, Wayne, explained many of the native trees and how the natives used them for their basic needs, even how they made baby diapers. It was really interesting. 

We were able to go into the Clan House for a dance demonstration. There is traditionally only one SHORT narrow doorway into the Clan House, so anyone coming in had to stoop over and come in one at at time. This was a defense mechanism so their enemies couldn't over take them. 

The dancers were pretty cool and you know, Native. After THEY were done, we got to get up and dance with them, wearing their garb! 

Oh yeah! Ryan and I, and of course, CARLY completely enjoyed doing this:) Mom was kind enough to take pictures. 

Afterwards, we went outside and heard all about their totem poles which they are apparently known for. 

We learned that these were not idols that they worshiped, but rather more of a family crest, or story poles. 

We went into a carving shed where they are working on new poles. They run about $3500 per linear foot, so a little pricey, considering the tallest totem poles in Alaska are 40 feet tall! 

Our favorite pole was the one that told the story of the boy who went down by the water when his mama told him not to and he got his hand stuck in a giant clamshell and they couldn't free him, and then the tide came in a drowned him. 

They put this pole near the waters edge to remind the little ones to obey their parents and stay away from the water! Carly enjoyed this pole completely and acted it out herself. Of course, then she fell on the gravel and busted her bum and there were tears all around. She's fine. Apparently, accident prone:)  Tears stopped with a little "Fry Bread" that the dancers were selling for $2 to raise money to travel. Tasted like fried dough, so it was really, really good. This was a fun excursion... interesting and educational.

After our tour, Mom and I and Carly did a little Power Shopping... we had to be back on the ship at 11:45am, so there wasn't much time. 

To make sure we didn't miss anything in Ketchikan, Ryan, Ben and Dad walked around taking pictures for us. I know. Lame. But we sure enjoyed THEIR memories!

We were sad it was such a short "Port Call" because the weather was a BEAUTIFUL sunny, 70 degrees! 

Apparently that is nearly unheard of in Ketchikan. It's a pretty cute little town, too.

We ate a "fancy lunch" in the Donatello Dining room, then the kids too off for KC as we cruised off towards British Columbia. Mom and I decided we needed naps, so we had a nice relaxing afternoon! Ben and Carly had a little rest after KC and I enjoyed reading my book in one of the many quaint lounges with a nice cup of coffee... we got this Coffee Card for $24 the first day and you can have all the coffee, tea, and hot chocolate you want, plus 16 lattes, or specialty coffee's. Actually a really GREAT deal as we CERTAINLY drank well over $24 worth of these items. Coffee Addict here.

The kids wanted to attend the dinner with the KC people (it was formal night, AGAIN! so we weren't going to the dining room anyways). 

They were having "Pizza and Pasta" night and Mom decided these were great nicknames for Ben and Carly. I had to agree there. So, we enjoyed a quiet dinner at the buffet withOUT our own personal entertainment provided by Pizza and Pasta. Then we went to the "Cinematastic" show, which was pretty good. We learned the next day that it was the first time the cast had performed it and that actually impressed me. There was so much intense dancing, they HAD to be exhausted afterwards, and they still had another performance at 10pm!

We hung out in the cabin, letting the kids play together until they went to bed. I went up to the MUTS area and brought them back popcorn, which they thought was pretty fun. We had to set our clocks ahead an hour before sleeping so we'd be in the right time zone when we got up in the morning, near Victoria.

Another really fun day...