I'm on a Train......I'm on a Boat

Despite having beautiful weather while at the Denali Princess and the McKinley Princess, we woke the next morning to rain and clouds. Bye bye mountain, hello normal Alaskan weather. However, there was one bright spot to this dreary morning - the possibility of a fantastic breakfast.

We piled on a bus, coffee in hand, and drove an hour to the town of Talkeetna. Once arrived we sprinted off the bus and booked it to The Roadhouse, home of the famous Sourdough Hotcakes. Largest pancakes ever - they spill off the plate. My parents each got one while I was crazy healthy and got fruit, yogurt and granola.


I did try the hotcake though and it was amazing.

Talkeetna itself didn't wake up until 10ish. We wandered the quaint town for a bit after finishing our breakfast, looking for places to spend money. Stopped in a few different shops, bought some trinkets and took pictures of trains that rolled passed. We did meet a couple that had been there for three days. Not sure how you spend three days there since I was bored after two hours. Nevertheless, I would recommend visiting it if you get the chance. Supposedly the bars are good and you can drink with the locals which is always recommended when visiting Alaska - gives you the full Alaskan flavor (aka PBR and chewing tobacco - its a good flavor.)



Finally it was time to board another bus. We took the bus to a small pickup for the train that would take us to Whittier - and the ship! And was that not the longest train ride of my life. We got on board by 1 and didn't reach Whittier til 630. We had a seat mate - a talkative woman from New Haven. She obviously didn't get the hint when I put in my headphones as she continued to talk to us. It was a long, cramped 5 1/2 hours.

But finally we arrived. And there she was, back dropped by the lovely mountains that surround the small town of Whittier. We quickly got on board and rushed to our suite. Part three of the trip had begun and we were going to enjoy it. For those who wish to watch, here is a link to video that is near and dear to my heart. It does have some explicit language so I do not recommend it to those under 18.You might have to scroll to the bottom of the page to see the video


Here is a picture of the deck of our suite. It looks out over the port side of the bow of the ship - we've enjoyed beautiful views of the Alaskan landscape from the comfort of our room.

After hastily unpacking, we attended the lifeboat drill. Then we headed back to the room to quickly shower and find a place to eat dinner. It was open dining the first night so we ate in the Savoy Dining Room instead of our normal International Dining Room. We didn't eat until 10 p.m.

Then, to escape the clutches of my parents, I ran off to meet some 18-25-year-old people in the club. Met a few but have since realized that this cruise is not going to have the party crew that I experienced on the trip to Bermuda. Ah well.

But now we are on the boat and have been for a few days. I know I'm behind in my blogs but there is so much to see and so much to eat and just so much more to drink. I'll do my best to blog our sea days tomorrow.