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Woo! Back in H(ot)-Town! Well, overall, the cruise was a very enjoyable experience. Our ship was the first of its size to attempt to traverse the Tracy Arm Fjord (imagine that scene from the movie Titanic when the ship approaches the iceburg except much, MUCH smaller with mountains on either side of the vessel – that’s what the fjord looked like). Anyways, come to find out the next day, our little journey amidst the ice damaged a propellor and caused the ship to lose speed on our journey to Victoria, British Columbia. In fact, coupled with a three hour delay due to a drop in speed, the winds in Victoria harbor were so immense that we were anchored off shore for somewhere between 12-15 HOURS.

Yeah… people started getting worried when the crew deployed a small, lifeboat towards our final destination (Victoria was the last port we were supposed to visit). The time rolled on, and we never ended up going there at all. Oh well. I spent the majority of my free time on the ship at the basketball court ballin’ with some cool people from around the country. It’s nice to see people our age with such a relaxed, carefree mentality in such a tranquil environment… makes you forget all the drama and obligations at home. Yeahhh… my brother and I make a great 2-person team. Bring it, you hata’s… R² will take ya! (not really) XD We went on one major shore excursion in each city we visitied (Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan), but the helicopter glacier tour we took in Skagway was by far the best. Imagine, eight people surrounded by walls of ice towering around 2,000 feet all around you… it really was a once in a lifetime sight. One of the people in our group even had the audacity to ask about the frequency of avalanches in the area, and literally a second after the guide gave her elaborate response, we witnessed a big*ss boulder smash into a block of ice bringing down a massive sheet of debris and icy slush. Good stuff! We went whale watching (yes, we did see a few humpbacks), took a train to White Pass summit, learned about the Klondike Gold Rush, learned about five types of native salmon… five times (no joke), and saw a group of bald eagles consuming a fish beside Salmon Falls. I’ll post some pictures later.
Some memorable events on the trip:
- The SAN ANTONIO SPURS being crowned the NBA Champions. Anyone predict a repeat next year? Hopefully, if T-Mac and Yao can learn to play at Ryan Bowen’s level, we’ll be a threat to their success.
- 2 v 2 basketball with my brother.
- LOSING to my brother in a shooting competition by a single point after we tied twice.
- The cheery crew members providing some sort of humourous event in the dining rooms.
- Ice sculpting “championships.”
- A feeding at 10:00 AM.
- … a feeding at 10:01 AM.
- … a feeding at 10:07 AM. (if you’ve been on a cruise before, you know what I’m talking about).
- Valley of the Glaciers Helicopter Tour
- Room service
- Mini-golf in the rain (yeah, I said it!)
- Meeting people
- Seeing the scenary in Victoria… a few miles offshore.
- Indian taxicab drivers
Yeah… I really need to put some pictures up later.

Oh, and to address something that Bui brought up earlier today, I know my senior quote wasn’t in the paper but hurr it is: “May achievement be conceived in unrivaled ambition, reassured through the integrity of one’s character, fulfilled in a lifetime of self-betterment, and limited solely by a boundless imagination.” (Note: There WAS a word limit). Go ahead, laugh. I know I did.

Hope everyone had a great week!

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