Mon, Tue, Wed

Yesterday (Sunday) after boarding we looked through the upcoming events on the ship.There was a Mass at 5PM and a "congregation led" non-denominational servic listed for 6PM. We went, as did two other couples. One couple was from Delaware the other couple was from Scotland. We had a good discussion about our faith. The couple from Scotland gave us something of a history lesson on the Christian faith in Scotland.
We had a nice lunch at the buffet and an adequate supper at the fancy dining room. (I haven't tried one of the hot dogs yet.) We signed up for "open seating" so we won't know who are dinner partners will be. Last night we shared a table with a younger (early 50's) fromToronto Canada and a couple of old hippies(?).  The hippies, especially the guy, seemed to have done a LOT of traveling around the world. I wonder if at least one of them was a "trust fund baby" living off an inheiritance. None of the jobs they talked about would have provided them with the income to all the travelling they claimed to have done.
Seas started getting rough around 8PM and got a little rougher all night. When I got up we were headed directly into a 40 mph wind. It was up to 50 mph by noon. The last time I looked it was back down to 40 mph. Seas have calmed down a little, it is now 5:30, but they are still at least as rough as anything we experienced on our Princess cruise several years ago. According to the last public address announcement things are going to get a LOT rougher during the night. All the swaying doesn't seem to bother Kathy. I took a couple of motion sickness pills before bed last night, and another one this morning. So far do good for me. We both slept well last night and both managed nice naps today.
We are sitting up on the Lido Deck, level 8, now having a cup of coffee and a cup of tea. It is the deck with the buffet and also with an indoor pool, hot tubs & an outdoor pool. (Temperatures are in the low 50's. I haven't looked but I doubt there is anyone in the outside pools.) Actually there is no one it the indoor pool. They put a net across it. We think the net serves a dual purpose. It keeps people out of the pool because the movement of       the ship is causing a LOT of wave action in the pool, and the net helps control the amount of water that is spashing out of the pool.
Perhaps it is because the Princess cruise was our first cruise but the staff on this cruise don't seem as happy. They are pleasant but there is an undercurrent the the pleasantness is somewhat forced. There are over 600 crew & staff, so far I haven't met one who speaks like he/she if from the US.
Tuesday - At Sea
Seas were very rough in the late evening, and most of the night. The bow of the ship was constantly raising up to plow over the top of a wave and then drop down in the trough behind the wave. Yesterday afternoon we heard we were probably experience 15' seas, I think we did. By around 4AM the waves had calmed down some, but still rougher than anything we experienced on the Princess cruise we took several years ago. We both faired fine. In fact we both slept quite well.
Today we cruised into Glacier Bay and saw several glaciers. According to scientists the glacier in this area was FAR, FAR larger in 1750 than it was today. Between 1750 & 1795 it receded 5 miles. By 1890 it had receded another 40 miles. In the 130 years since then it has retreated another 25 miles. I think it is no longer receding, it may actually be growing again. None of the Rangers doing the narration mentioned why the glacier retreated 45 miles during the 140 years between 1750 & 1890, I'm pretty sure the cause was not man caused global warming.
Note to Tom & Mary Lou - Had my first hot dogs while on board today. They were pretty good. There was a LONG line at the hot dog & hamburger stand. They are so busy that they hand out pagers when you order so that you will now when to come back back to pick up your order.
We arrive in Haines tomorrow morning an are supposed to meet to go 4 wheeling at 6:50AM. Hopefully I can get this posted while we have cell service in port tomorrow.
After a couple of days on the Vandaam I think I would describe it as a high end floating flea market, or maybe a high end craft fair. A substantial portion of the public area is used up by shops for jewelery, HIGH END (expensive) clothing, liquor stores, numerous bars (almost all the food is free but you have to pay for booze), a casino, etc. There is a nice, but small, library area. I'm not knocking this, obviously if people didn't buy stuff at these places the ship wouldn't have them.
Wed - Haines. We docked at 6:30AM and at 6:50 we met the folks that were to take us on a 4 wheeler mountain climbing adventure. Weather was not looking good. Temperature was low 50's and a slight drizzle. It continued improving all day. By 1:00PM it was partly cloudy & 62 degees.
Kathy drove us up the mountain and back down. She did a fine job. We  had a "train" of maybe 40 people in a dozen Kawasaki 4 wheelers (mules?). They had locked 4 wheel drive capability but, even on the steep muddy portions of the trail a single drive wheel was all that was needed. The scenery was once again beautiful.
After returning we walked around Haines for a short time. The population of Haines is 2,500 in the summer and about 1,700 during the winter months. Temperatures don't get real cold, only a handful of nights where the lows dip into the single digits.They do get a LOT of snow, typically over 12' of it over the winter, but never a lot at one time. It is possible to drive to Haines but it is a long drive from anywhere. A barge comes up from Seattle once a week with supplies for the local stores. Their electricity is generated by a hydroelectic plant (renwable energy). It costs them 29 cents per kwh, about twice what we pay in Missouri.
I am back on the ship now, Kathy is still browsing Haines. I won't post any photos with this, probably no more photos posted untl we are back in the lower 48.
God is good, may He bless you and yours.