Day 19 At Sea and Glacier Bay

This is our day in which we travel through the seas and up to the Margerie glacier. It is again a spectacular day. When we got to the glacier it was calving as usual but this time we could see the top of the mountains behind. I must be doing something right because if I am in charge of weather as they say on board, it has been perfect. The temp at the glacier was in the 70’s. People were seeing all kinds of creatures around the ship and Margerie greeted them with some of her best views. Everyone is enjoying the cruise but also becoming a bit depressed as they realize it is almost over. I have met some wonderful people especially my dinner guests this week. It has been a truly international experience at the dinner table. We are from Canada, England, Switzerland and of course the U.S. Our topics are as diverse as our homelands talking about soccer, yacht racing, casinos, parliament, the queen and future rulers of England and so many other topics including a few conspiracy theories an much more. That’s the part of the cruise I don’t like…having to say farewell.

Day 18 Skagway and Railroad Days

Today I return to the port of Skagway for the last time this year. It is a cute town with the village looking much as it did in the goldrush days. The most popular place of the town is the Red Onion Saloon which doubled as a bordello up until 1960.. I was passing through town and just happened to see a few of the ladies of the saloon having an afternoon chat. As a crew member I get to escort some of the excursion so today I went on the Yukon Railroad for a three hour ride. It is a really nice trip in that you see some of history and some of the territory of old. We went past the cemetery where “Soapy” the town villain is buried and on up the side of a huge mountain. There were rapids that were so bad along the side of the train that no one has made it through them in raft yet. The scariest part of the trip was the train tressle we went over which was way above the valley below. At the end of the trip we entered Canada for about ten minutes just long enough to move the engine from the front of the train to the front of the train going back. As we passed the border I couldn’t help but wonder if this wasn’t one of the ways men left the US to get to Canada during the Viet Nam war days. Today it is so quiet and peaceful up there. Speaking of perfect days we have yet to have a bad day weather wise. The temps have been great, there have been few clouds, no rain and smooth seas. It is hard to believe the end of this third leg of time here is almost over.

Day 17 Juneau and the Gold Rush

We arrived in Juneau today and I am escorting a trip to go gold panning. It was really a lot of fun. And yes I actually found gold in the stream. Albeit about 39 cents worth but I did find real gold. I was the skeptic and thought they seeded the pans we worked with but I found my gold by randomly panning from the bottom of the river. I now have a gold claim deed that allows me to pan for gold anywhere in the US! Are you impressed!! Mountain Matt was our guide and he showed us around the river and the area. The place we panned for gold was where the actual gold rush began in the same stream bed. The difference is they used to blast the rock apart and crush the stone to find the gold. We were just panning in a river bed. I went to State capital where I visited the Governors office and of course saw Sara’s picture. I learned an interesting fact in the visit to the capital. Governor Palin didn’t tell her staff or the Lt. Governor she was resigning. They learned by reading it in the paper or hearing it on the news. Every time I visit a port I learn another new fact or find a really neat shop. I am seeing some great stained glass and glass products which are giving me a number of ideas for when I get back to the campus. Speaking of which, it is really strange being away from Felician for such a long time. I am beginning to realize what it feels like to be at sea for three weeks. I still have another week to go, I don’t know how crew members go on for eight months.

Day 16 Ketchikan and King Windbag

We returned to Ketchikan and again and I was given the chance to escort again. To my surprise I had the same guide I had two weeks ago. This time I was off to a Totem Village and salmon hatchery. I couldn’t believe how big the salmon are when they come back up stream to spawn and die. I had the daylights scared out of me while I was watching the salmon tank. A huge 40lb coho jumped up out at the water and was within 4 inches of me and my camera.. Well you can imagine the holler I let out. It was a greet day and the weather was fantastic. We almost reached 80 and there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. To the surprise of all you reading this, when I got back on the ship I did my daily mile walk around the deck. On Saturday I will do the breast cancer walk again along with other passengers. It is really wonderful to see all the people who participate and the survivors themselves who lead the way. Daily mass is getting about 16 people per day and I continually meet new people. Today it was people who lived in Hartford when I did and people from NJ and NY and the occasional person wearing and Ohio State U sweat shirt. The shows are excellent but given the location of my cabin I get to hear them at least 3 times a day since my cabin is directly over the stage and the rehearse every day for at least an hour. Tomorrow its on to the Capital and all its surprises. Look out Sara Im gonna be in your backyard looking for Russia!

Day 15 At Sea and In The Kitchen

Today as we continue our way up North I spent a little time in the kitchen. Its amazing what all they do in a very small space. I Thought you might be interested in a few culinary facts. Each day they wash approximately 5000 glasses, 7000 dessert plates and 3000 dinner plates. They are very conscientious of the environment so even the dishwashing machines are equipped to capture food particles and then burn them as waster sonothing goes back into the seas. As I walked thru the pastry area I was amazed at what they could good with bread. An you want to talk about food! Here are some food stats: 8500 lbs of meat, 4000 lbs of chicken, 2000 lbs of fish will all be consumed in the course our week together not to mention 200 gallons of ice cream, 2500 lbs of butter and 1200 lbs of vegetables. You can imagine how busy the kitchen staff are daily.

And now for your culinary enjoyment I am going to share the recipe for what you always have every day here --- Baked Alaska, It really quite easy so try it and enjoy and keep me in mind as you create this wonderful light dessert!

No so Classic baled Alaska WITH Cherries Jubilee sauce
Serves 9-10

Makes the sauce first. You also can freeze it and save it for later use.
CJSauce
½ c white sugar 2tbsp cornstarch 1/3 c water ¼ c orange juice
2 lbs cherries (pitted of course) 1 10oz jar of bing cherries ½ tsp grated orange zest
¼ c kirsch or high quality brandy

Wisk together the sugar, cornstarch, water and OJ in a wide sauce pan. Bring o boil over medium heat. Stir in the cherries and orange zest and bring to boil. Reduce heat and simmer 10 minutes. Remove and when ready to serve add in the brandy and light. Serve over the Baked Alaska

Baked Alaska
Large Brownie Favorite Ice cream Meringue

Place one brownie at the center of a serving dish. Mound ice cream on top. Using a pastry bag or a zip lock bag build a meringue mountain on top of brownie and ice cream. Keep in freezer till ready to serve. If you don’t like chocolate you can substitute your favorite cookie instead.

Meringue
6 large eggs whites Make sure they have no yoke in them
¼ tsp fresh lemon juice
¾ c sugar
Beat the egg whites and add a pinch of salt until foamy.. Gradually add the sugar as you are whipping until the meringue forms peaks. You know the meringue is right when you can turn the bowl upside down over your head and nothing falls out

Baled in a 450 degree oven till golden brown or use a camping blow torch and turn the meringue golden brown.

Pour the cherries on top of and along side of the meringue. Heat the brandy, ignite it and pour over the cherries and meringue and you have a fantastic creation for dessert.

Note: For the record baked Alaska is not an Alaskan creation. It was created by a chef in NYC to celebrate Alaska’s joing the Unites States. Enjoy, Miss you all!!

Day 14 In Port and Out of Port

We have arrived in port at 6 am and begin emptying the ship as quickly as possible. Within a window of 3 hours everyone is off ship and our housekeeping staff are making beds and cleaning room all over again to make ready for the next departure at 5 in the evening. In case you were wondering my ship holds 1, 256 passengers and 350 crew members so starting Sunday afternoon that is a lot of laundry to do, and they do it so well! I went off ship and visited with my special friend Michael and Brian. I always choose Vancouver as my port of preference because I get to saty my good friends Hanks and Lorna and visit the parish I first served in. Good friends, good times, good memories, when I left Vancouver I was treated to a rare site and you can see from pictures just how perfect the day was. Mt Baker was completely in view as it silhouetted the Vancouver skyline. We were off on another voyage with near perfect weather. A midnight I went out onto the sometimes private deck outside my cabin area and watch the pilots come onboard. There is a full moon right now and you could see perfectly for quite some distance. Of course what I had to face while watching this transfer of pilots was a gale force wind that so strong I had to brace myself against the wind and hold on to the rail. It was quite the site to see. Shades of the Titanic but without the sinking!

Day 13 At Sea But Land is Near

This is the next to last of the second week. It is a time spent entirely at sea and after having to stay an extra circling the ocean it is a quiet day. This afternoon I had mass for the passengers and approx 150 attended. The seas at this point are wide open but as you will from the picture of the area there is also land surrounding us as we pass thru the strait to return home. What struck me as I looked at the hillsides was how badly areas of the forest had been stripped of their trees yet in a simple sort of way there is much new growth. As you can see from the picture man has certainly taken charge and the face of the landscape has changed. Of course without this you wouldn’t have your houses, or newspapers or lots of other uses for the wood. It certainly is the major industry of the land up north. People on board are beginning to pack their bags and get ready to come to port in Vancouver. There is a funny story about the passengers who packed their bags and put them out to be picked up for their departure. Only thing is they forgot to leave clothes out for the morning and down the gangway they went in just the HAL bathrobe and slippers.

Day 12 Bad Seas Lost a Port

Today was supposed to be Ketchikan before returning to Vancouver. Note I said supposed to be. It seems the seas did not cooperate and we are now left to wander around the ocean for two days instead of one. That I dare say is NOT fun. The passengers begin to get quite bored and then tempers fly. The water was far to rough for us to pull into port so I feel a little bit like the inside of a giant washing machine only this one comes with dinner and entertainment. We will now begin two days of circling around in the inside passage since we cannot go into port in Vancouver till Sunday. I guess a lot of folks will go to the movie or wach tv or play wii golf in the crows nest. I am sure the guest services staff is going absolutely crazy trying to figure out what to do with the extra day. I myself will just wonder around the decks and try to keep people happy for the next two days.

Day 11 Juneau Again

I returned to Juneau today. Was supposed to go on a rafting trip and glacier visit but because of the timing I could get back on ship in time for mass. However IF I had used my brain I still would be able to do it but taking a local bus back to the ship. Oh Well I have two more tries at it. I wondered around Juneau for the day. Visited passengers who weren’t off on excursion, read a book and relaxed. It is so tough to be on board for 4 weeks. (Stop laughing or you will wake the bears!) Tonight’s dinner is the second formal dinner as you see from the picture and the chocolate extravaganza which you also see. Its amazing what these crew members do with your food. Needless to say, presentation is everything!!! Tonight was the black and white dance and I wonderer withmy boss the cruise director if my clerical qualified as black & white.

Day 10 Of Seals and Eagles

As priest on board I am able to escort some of the excursion on shore and today I was off to the eagle preserve. We didn’t see a bear but we saw lots of eagles and took a trip into the rain forest. It is one of the largest in North America. Everywhere we went there were eagles but we also got to see a seal sunning itself. The Pink salmon are running now so I got to see the fence the salmon have to go thru to be counted. At present there were 1,249 since May. This is not a good number as there needs to be 5,000 by the end of September.
Interested in a new job, how about be salmon counter. They work 8 hr shifts and don nothing but watch salmon go thru the gate and occasionally catch a few to measure them and see where they have been. We were waiting to see Stockings the bear an her three cubs but she didn’t appear. I did have the opportunity to eat a white berry that isn’t white at all but orange. Very tasty and in the raspberry family. Also so wile blueberries which the bears love but also learned they contain a worm inside each one . Chose not to eat one of those!

Day 9 Bears and Glaciers

Today as we are coming away from the Glacier there is a dead whale on the shore and the bears have been eating off of it daily. It is quite the site to see. I am having wonderful dinner discussions with my table mates and today a very special guest joined our table, the Chief medical officer joined us for dinner and he is quite the table guest. The wine was on him and the conversation was great. Who would ever think that two teachers, a nursing consultant, two farmers from Idaho, a restauranteur from California, a CPA and a priest would ever get together for dinner.

Day 8 Emergency Onboard Coast Guard Needed

Today I witnessed an air evacuation on board our ship. Within minutes of our distress call and ask for emergency evacuation we had a coast guard helicopter hovering over our deck, it was quite the site to see. As the helicopter approached a wet suited CG sailor was dropped onto the deck together with the recovery basket. Next the helicopter flew away for quick refuel and was back to pick up out patient who had suffered a stroke. The helicopter returned and then the nurse was pulled up first followed by the patient. It was really exciting. Within minutes the patient was at the hospital 45 minutes away. The coast guard is really worth its money. I am beginning to think they wont want me on board the Statendam.

Day 7 Last day of Cruise one Start of cruise Two

We visited the college Fjords today. They are named after the Ivy League colleges but some reason Princeton got skipped. They are all moving glaciers but are not Tidal water glasciers. Its quite a sight to see since you get to see 7 different gaciers at once. had a few whale siting today. the crew shows are fantastics onboard. Later today we docked in Seward. It is definitely NOT the big town six bars three restaurants, a Post Office, a few churches and not much more. We will be in port for over 12 hours. I went into and just walked around. It was a busy day for me. Two masses, one at 5 and one at 11;15 for the crew. On Saturday there were over 150 people at mass held in a meeting room. Usually mass is in the theatre/instructional kitchen. As I continue I will try to include pictures from on Board. My dinner partners have changed and they are from everywhere and various occupations: Farmers from Idaho, a teacher and restarant own from California by way of NJ and the Basque region of France, a construction worker who seems like he could have mafia connections ( I think I may learn where Jimmy Haffa is buried), a nurse and a CPA from New Hampshire. It should make for interesting dinner conversations

Day 7 At Sea

Today is the slow down phase of this cruise. This morning the crew bid farewell to our passengers and I joined the rest of the crew on stage singing Love in Any Language and as the casting lands, u was center stage with my boss the cruise director. Who said I wouldn’t make it back on stage? Today is a little busier for me I began with mass then the crew farewell. At noon I will join the crew and passengers for our mile walk around the deck to fight breast cancer, I am realy proud of Holland America’s efforts here as they have raised over 2 million dollars for cancer research. Tonight I will celebrate Sunday mass at 5 then onto dinner with my new found Baptist friends where once again the passengers will be entertained by the dining room staff. Contrary to popular opinion I really do work while on board ship!

Day 6 The Glacier

Today we are at sea and going to the glacier. On the way we were able to see a number of whales, a few sea lions, many puffins and several bear. The most spectacular sight was the glacier with its calving. While we were looking at the glacier the largest piece of glacial ice I have ever seen fell off into the waters. Many of the crew said they have never seen such a large chunk fall yet the face of the glacier changed very little. It is hard to describe what happens when the glacier calves except you hear what is like a shot gun shot and woweee the ice falls into the water. You really should come up to Alaska and discover its true beauty unharmed by large cities and traffic jams. Remember the largest city is a little over a whopping 45,000.

Day 4 Fire in the Priest's Cabin or So They Thought

We arrived in the state capital today. And no, there was no sarah siting. She is too busy wither TV show and planning her 2012 campaign. During the ships fire drill for crew just as I was stepping out of the shower there was a fire alarm and a phone call. Now if you know my history with the Statendam you know I have two fires on board while I was on board. Sure enough there was a real fire alarm again, only this time the phone call came to my room . It was the officer of he deck needing to know if I was Ok. It seems the fire alarm was coming from my room. When I took my shower I apparently set it off. Now I am 3 for 3 as to fires on board while I am on board.

Today was a damp rainy day with much of the area in rain. I had no activities to take care so I just relaxed till about noon and then went out for my annual trip to Mickey D’s for a Big Mac or something and wondering around town. Unfortunately I forgot how cold it gets up here when it rains so I now have a new jacket for the rest of the trip. I had a chance to meet a well educated local who told me all kinds of facts about Juneau and the waters around. He makes jewelry out of crab claws and sells them for $50 Maybe I shall have to start a new business. I wondered around town and checked out the local artists. There are some great things being done with glass and with artifacts and I will haven much to share with you when I get home. As I set here typing my cabin is directly over the main stage so I am getting entertained by the HAL Cats. We are heading out in about a half hour so I will go out on my deck (the veranda Deck) and watch us sail away from Juneau on to Skagway. I get to go to Glassblowing site as an escort. More tomorrow!

Day Three

Ketchikan It was the most beautiful of days. absolutely no rain andlots of sun. I went as an escort on one of the trips.I went ot e the Tlingit lodge watched thier dancing, heard their story and walked thru the rain foreest then I went to the lumberjack competition. Thelatter relaly is a show that was entertaining at times. The peopleon board are nice though mass attendance isnt that great. I onlyhave about 12 people each day. I have added some more pictures for your enjoyment.

Along the The Way days 1-2

Well I left vancouver Sunday afternoon at 5:00 on board the Statenedam. I will be writing from here for the next 4 weeks. We left by way of a sailaway but unfortunately I dont get to go to then as they always schedule mass during it. By the time i finished we were several miles away from the city and it was a distant blur. For the next two days we were at sea. It was was quite choppy at times. The good news is there is a natural remedy for sea sickness up here. It is the old fashioned granny smith apple, so if you are ever at sea and sick, take avisit to the orchid and things shouldbe better.

Today we are in port in ketchikan, it ought be to be called Kitch a Kan because it is mostly souvenir shops. I took some pictures, i hope I can figure out how to post them