Southbound

May 20, 2023

We can’t say “no” to a cruise we can take without flying, so it was a no-brainer that we would book the same cruise we enjoyed so much in 2022. We left our house at 9:45 this morning, and in an hour we reached the Portage Glacier turnoff.

On the way we passed an Alaska Railroad train headed from Whittier to Anchorage, or perhaps Denali.

All the melting snow resulted in dozens of “pop-up waterfalls” along the side of the road.

We passed a number of people dip-netting in silty, muddy Turnagain Arm. Usually we only see them along the streams flowing into Turnagain Arm. Not long ago, a man got stuck in the mud up to his waist at the mouth of one of the streams flowing into Turnagain Arm and had to be rescued. You can read more about it here.

These people are hooligan fishermen. Now, I am not saying the people are “hooligans” who are fishing. I am saying they are fishermen and fisherwomen, and they are fishing for “hooligan,” also known as eulachon or candlefish. These small fish are a type of smelt. This is a subsistence fishery, and most of these people are fishing for their own use.

Right before the turnoff for Portage Glacier is an animal sanctuary, the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center. They care for injured and orphaned wildlife, and it is a popular stop for tourists. From the road I could see a group of bison, but it never occurred to me to take a photo for my blog. Oh, no. But if you have a nickel you know what bison look like. 

Soon we were turning off the Seward Highway and proceeding toward the entrance to the Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. It’s a one-lane, 2.5-mile-long tunnel, with alternating train and vehicle use. It’s also the only road to the port of Whittier. It took us about 15 minutes to get to the tunnel entrance, and then we had to wait for the next tunnel opening for vehicles going to Whittier.

As we passed the Begich, Boggs Visitor Center (fka the Portage Glacier Visitor Center), we could see some icebergs floating near the shore. The glacier itself is no longer visible from the Visitor Center.

Inside the tunnel

When we emerged from the tunnel on the Whittier side, we could see our ship, not far away. Within minutes we had dropped off our luggage. While I waited in the terminal, Ken drove to a long-term parking lot across the road from the terminal. Within 10 minutes he made it back to the terminal on foot.

After checking in and boarding we went to our cabin to drop off our backpacks and jackets (it was 46℉ in Whittier today).

Our aft cabin 

The view from our balcony

We went to the pizza restaurant for lunch. It’s called Alfonso’s, or Alforgetto’s or something like that. Maybe Alfredo’s. You probably know where I am going with this. Even though it wasn’t at all busy, somebody forgot to put in our order. 

During the half hour that we waited, we listened to a duo singing and playing guitar in the piazza, which is right next to Alforgetto’s. I think the name of the duo was Dis-harmony, or something. It’s really amazing to me that people choose to make a career in a field they are not very good at.

There is a new restaurant onboard. It’s called Rudi’s Catch. We had dinner there, and it was very nice. It’s in the space that was formerly occupied by Rudi’s Sur Le Mer Bistro. They have reconfigured the space so that passengers aren’t able to wander through it while people are eating. I think that is a huge improvement.

Most of the menu is new, with an emphasis on seafood. The format is still the same: pick one appetizer, one main course and one dessert. There are more choices to pick from now.

Salmon tartare with avocado

Marinated lobster tail with grapefruit and sesame oil

Catch of the day: King Salmon

A Dali-inspired dessert

Triple “S” : something I didn’t order, thankfully. I wouldn’t have expected this, based on the description

The ship left Whittier about 90 minutes late due to problems with a train carrying some of the cruise passengers to Whittier. It got sorted out and we left without any fanfare.

Today’s color is Champagne. Here’s to the start of a new adventure.