Where in the World?

It’s shortly after 9:00 p.m. PDT and we are in the Strait of Juan de Fuca. Vancouver Island is to our right and the rugged Olympic Peninsula is to our left. Around 11:30 p.m PDT we enter the North Pacific Ocean on the way to our first “stop” in the waters off of Glacier Bay National Park on Tuesday morning.

I boarded the Holland America cruise ship around noon today. While I waited for Erica to arrive, I walked around familiarizing myself with the lay of the boat. The Westerdam is huge with a capacity of about 1900 passengers plus a large crew.

The start of the trip through Puget Sound past Seattle, WA was breathtaking. Mt. Rainer dominated the horizon to the south towering over 14,000 feet in elevation. The sky was without clouds and a deep azure blue. We were on our way.

Two massive ocean going container ships were in the port. I was fascinated by their size and the sheer number of containers that they could carry.

Dinner was semi-formal and quite good with moderate sized portions and a lot of choices. Both Erica and I were tired as neither one of us got a lot sleep the night before, so we retired to our cabin early.

By this time tomorrow night, we will be about a half day of sailing away before we arrive at Glacier Bay National Park.  Translation: about 50 or 60 miles due west of Ketchikan, Alaska.

More as the cruise unfolds.

Michael