Cruising through Rudyerd Bay

Heading back to Alaska, we got an unexpected treat for Husby's birthday! While having breakfast at our usual spot on the aft, the crew pulled off a surprise—heart-shaped pancakes, a candle, and even a birthday song! How they managed to plan this without us knowing, I’ll never figure out. Then, later, we walked into our room to find it all decked out for the occasion. These folks really know how to make a birthday at sea unforgettable!

A beautiful and scenic day cruising back to Vancouver. 

Wrangell Alaska

This is Mt Dewey that we hiked up to. 

So, Wrangell, Alaska—yeah, I didn’t know much about it either, but I sure heard a lot of jokes! This tiny port, wedged between Ketchikan and Skagway, was even the punchline for our cruise director.

Wrangell’s got one tiny main street, and it’s mostly hardware stores. No souvenir shops here! The storefronts looked like they sold second-hand goods, and the windows were a little... dusty. 

We decided to hike the Mt. Dewey Trail, just a few blocks from the main street. The trail is super cute, with well-maintained wooden steps, and the weather was perfect—no rain! It was a peaceful, green, serene walk with birds singing all around us. Luckily, no bears joined us! At the top, we were treated to an amazing view, snapped a few pics, and made our way back down.

As we reached the bottom, we spotted a neighborhood kid selling lemonade with a sign pointing us to his sister’s table a little further down. Naturally, we had to check it out! Not only did we score some lemonade, but also some freshly baked snickerdoodles. So adorable!

We wandered through town and didn’t stop at any of the shops, so we set out for the Petroglyph Beach State Historic Park. It’s a flat, easy 20-30 minute walk to the beach. There were a few faded petroglyphs, but it was still a nice stroll. Along the way, some kids were selling garnet. Apparently, there’s a local rule that only the kids can sell it because the land is passed down to them. I try to avoid collecting too much stuff while traveling, so I passed on the gems, but it was a fun little side adventure. Here is a great article I found about the story of selling the garnets. 

Kids history on selling garnets

Overall, it was a leisurely day, and I clocked about 18,000 steps!

That evening, we caught N'Kenge's show in the production salon, and wow—she’s super talented! Her stories and singing were fantastic, and it was hilarious afterward watching all the guys lining up for photos and autographs at the exit. Classic!