June 21 - Wednesday. Boat is still going up and down but M and I are happy. Slept right through Yakutat last night which we reached about 1 o'clock. We should get to the Columbia Glacier about 8 or 9. Got up today about 7:30 - breakfast at 8. Prunes, milk and toast! Went up on the deck a while then played deck horse shoes with Mr. Shedd, Hale, Garvey and another lady. It is now just before lunch. Saw a school of porpoises playing beside the ship this morning. The dining room has begun to thin out some - too much rolling. Our table is still at last though.
7:30 PM. Still bright daylight. Still very cloudy and misty too. Had our lunch at 12:30 then M and I came down to our cabin and went to sleep. I slept all afternoon and got up just in time to eat dinner. Didn't earn that meal, did I? After dinner was through, M and I and Miss Collett went on the upper deck and played deck tennis. It is lots of fun but it became so misty that the deck got slippery and I slipped and fell and got my blue shirt dirty. It was too wet to play then so we went down and watched them play shuffle board a while. Last night our steward brought us cherries to eat. The night before we had oranges and apples. I wonder what we will have tonight. We got the return part of our ticket back from the purser tonight. Our train leaves Seward tomorrow at nine. Have to pack up tonight.
11:15 PM. Should be 12:15 but we set our clocks back an hour. M and I are in bed, our packing is done and we got everything back into our suitcases. The steward said he would help us with them tomorrow. Saw the Columbia Glacier - over a quarter of a mile wide and several miles back into the mountains and is 300 feet high. Towering cold blue ice, every now and then a piece breaking off and splashing into the sea with a noise like thunder. The boat pushed right through little and big pieces ice bergs floating at the foot of the glacier. You could feel them bump the ship. This was 1 o'clock at night and M and I used up our camera film taking pictures. It was dreadfully cold though with a misty rain when the boat finally turned away and started back to the gulf again. We had gone into Redemption Bay. M and I were glad to go to the dining room and eat a cold meal and to drink hot tea. Came back to our rooms about 11:15. Packed until 12 o'clock then set our clocks back and got to bed at 11. Good night!
June 22, Thursday. Got up about 7. Already knew by the numerous and loud noises that we were already docked at Seward. M and I went on deck and watched them unload the cargo til breakfast time and paid our tips. Mr. Shedd had helped us decide the amount - $2 for the table steward and $1.50 for the room steward.. M had a run in with the room steward but most of the time things went nicely. Got our baggage down to the station and finally after a long wait set our for Anchorage on the train - 114 miles. The train is slow and bumpity but was nice about stopping at scenic places so we could take pictures. Scenery was beautiful - lovely high mountains covered with snow. The snow coming right to the tracks. Clear rushing streams wound around through the hills. The reflections in the lakes and pools of water we passed were unbelievably clear and beautiful. Saw two glaciers and took pictures. Arrived in Anchorage about 4 and had expected trouble over our hotel. There were no reservations here for us but our friend from across the isle on the boat - the man from Long Beach - requested in a loud voice that the hotel manager "fix these girls up" so we were finally placed through in single rooms. We had checked our baggage to Anchorage so we just gave the hotel clerk our baggage checks and he had our suitcases brought up to our rooms for us from the station. Very nice. After walking around town a while, M and I ate at the Anchorage Grill. Had razor clams fixed in butter. During dinner Mr. Shedd's party came in to eat. After dinner we met Mrs. Wilson - the Alaska lady who is flying into Mt. Bethal tomorrow. She and M and I got to
talking with the hoel manager about works and pictures so he took us into the studio of Sydney Laurence, the painter, who lives at the hotel here. We saw much of his work. It is lovely.
lovely.
M and I walked to a bluff over looking Cook's Inlet. M took pictures of the summit across
the water. Coming home we saw some lovely houses with pretty flower beds and new gardens just starting. The sun didn't set til 9:30 and now at 10:30 it is still bright daylight. Tomorrow us M's birthday. I bought her a dog carved out of bone. Now I'm in bed in the hotel. Very comfortable rooms, closet, dresser, very soft bed, hot and cold running water, telephone, easy chair and a heater that keeps the room nice and warm. Has stayed cloudy today, although the sun broke through bight about 7 o'clock. Nice and warm though. Tomorrow we go to Curry.
To be continued . . . .
Just Writin' on the River Road
Enjoying this trek through Alaska and time.
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