Day Five of the journal I kept on an Alaskan cruise I took in 2003.
Other Days: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11
12:22 AM ADT
Hmm. It seems that when I'm interested in reading something, I can keep doing it for quite a while. After my last entry I went and grabbed a bit of food and coffee from the buffet, stopped back by my cabin, grabbed Body of Secrets, then went and sat in the library and read while watching the departure from Juneau. After taking a few photos at various times the sun set and I continued to read. Well, about four or five hours after starting to read tonight, I finished the book. I'm glad I brought a second one, as if I finish that too, I'm screwed. Hopefully there will be more for me to do in Skagway tomorrow, so that I'm not left to come back to my cabin and just sit here and write again. We shall see... Even if it's just not raining tomorrow, which I would like, I'll go for another long walk ending up, well, I don't know where.
I checked my email tonight as well, but it seems that Crystal didn't reply, no one replied to my LiveJournal post, and only my mom had emailed my c0nsumer@ account. That's all right, though. I think I made that previous post at around 10:00 PM EDT, sometime after eating some dinner. I'm not quite sure when, but I know it was while I was on my way to the library.
I'm giving this Funky Porcini disc a listen right now. Thus far it's not bad, and I really like the use of samples in the first track, but it's definitely mellow. I think I might have been hoping for some hard driving 4/4 dancy stuff, although this is still good.
One other interesting thing... As I was walking away from the internet terminals, there were two armed, uniformed Coast Guard guys wandering around, looking slightly bored. They were in standard navy blue BDUs, each with what appeared to be a Glock of some sort on their respective belts. I said hi, the person closest to me returned the gesture, and I just continued on my way. I'm not too sure what's going on, I hope nothing bad, but it does seem a little strange that there would be Coast Guard guys wandering around a cruise ship at midnight. Or, perhaps they brought a special pilot on board to guide the ship through a particular channel and they are just waiting for him to finish up? Who knows...
Since there is so much time in port tomorrow, I'm going to adjust my alarmish clock to wake me up at 8:00 AM ADT. I really hope that provides for enough sleep. I also hope there are interesting things to do tomorrow...
While I really hate to admit it, at this point I'm starting to wonder if I regret coming on this cruise alone, if not coming on it at all. After the interesting incident in Ketchikan combined with the fact that I didn't really get to talk to anyone beyond Crystal and her friend, which was for a rather short time, today, I have this overwhelming sense of loneliness. It's sort of like the feeling I would always have when I had to sit at home because of a day off of work, but there was nothing outside of home for me to do. Fortunately I have the escape of beautiful scenery and books and this journal. I don't think I'd do well in jail. Hopefully the time in Anchorage will be different, though. I've got a couple of places planned out that I would like to see, and if the weather is nice, I should be able to walk to them and hopefully have a good time.
I'm now up to track four on this disc, entitled '50,000 Ft Freefall'. All in all, I think it's an all right disc, and the DVD seems to have some really nice, trippy, mellow videos; perfect for playing on TV while having sex on the couch. Yeah. Sex on the couch. Sure. With who?
Anyway... Seeing as I've been cold while sleeping for the past few nights, I think I'm going to grab the spare blanket, throw it on the bed, climb in, and try to fall asleep. I don't think it'll be too much of a problem, but we will have to see, as some nights I just pass right out, others I don't. One thing that I've noticed is that I can't really feel the motion of the ship rocking as I lay in bed. I don't know if it's because of my body being oriented perpendicular to the roll of the ship, as I think that you're less likely to feel forwards and backwards tilting motion as you are side to side, or if it's for some other random reason. But anyway, it's bed time now. Goodnight...
8:37 AM ADT
Ahh, another day, another town. Today it's Skagway, the last stop that we'll be making before heading on to Seward, where the cruise ends. From there it's a five hour train ride and I will, supposedly, be in Anchorage only about half a mile from the hotel where I'm staying.
Most likely due to the second blanet added to my bed last night I slept exceptionally well, despite the few bizarre dreams I had. These included walking through a house that was for sale, inquiring about the price, and realizing that it would cost over $450,000 for me to live there. I don't know precisely where the house was, but the feeling of the neighborhood was like that of somewhere in Grosse Pointe. If I recall correctly the house had a total of perhaps five floors, although from the outside it didn't look like any more than two or three. I do recall having one additional dream, although at this time I really can't recall any details about it.
I think this morning I'll visit the buffet for breakfast again. Tomorrow I may make an exception to the norm and eat in the normal dining facilities, although I find it to be a bit of an inconvenience to have to dress nicely for food, then dress back in 'normal' clothes for walking around town.
Well, I think it's time for me to finish dressing, pack my backpack, grab some food, and head into town. I have no idea whatsoever what Skagway is like, so hopefully this will be a pleasant surprise.
1:53 PM ADT
Well, Skagway was a surprise, albeit not a pleasant one. Keeping to my tradition of wandering around, the first thing I did was start walking, hoping to reach the other end of town. I didn't quite make it, although I did realize some interesting things about Skagway. Basically, I think that if it weren't for tourism, Skagway would not exist. With a population of about 800 (I believe), Skagway feels like if someone were to take Algonac, have only one road out, with the nearest town being Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, Canada a bit over a hundred miles away, and install a few touristy shops. Complete with camp grounds that appeared to be more like miniature trailer parks, more houses with 30 year old paint than fresh, the smell of disappointment hung over the town like fog over the mountains near Ketchikan. I would have taken more photos of the town, but the houses and people seemed so run down that I felt guilty at the thought of getting out my camera and rubbernecking at the poverty and despair of this town.
The only purchases I made in the town were a few remaining post cards and a decent sized latte. I'm really enjoying west coast coffee, specifically non-Starbucks coffee. Hopefully I'll be able to purchase a bag of the oh-so-wonderful Raven's Brew coffee in Anchorage, although I'm sure it's available online if I can't find it in person. I am sort of wishing I had taken the train ride on the narrow gauge rail line which originally carried people to this town. It was around $50 for the ride which lasts for three hours, and I'm thinking that it likely would have been more interesting than just sitting in the big leather chair and reading The Illuminatus! Trilogy. It is a good book, even with it's disjointed method of story telling, but I am in Alaska... I should probably see more of Alaska. Perhaps I'll see if there are any more trains leaving today. I don't think there are, though, so it looks like I'm stuck with my Cabaret Voltaire tracks, my book, work's notebook, and the buffet. Sounds like something I could have done at Old Country Buffet at Hall and Schoenherr, as opposed to 'beautiful' downtown Skagway.
Right before starting to write this I took a few minutes and had another go at shaving. It'd been a few days, so I can report that my face is blood and pain free, and feeling as smooth as I always like it. Now I can look good for all the ladies on the ship. All the retired, newlywed, or mid-marrage-restoration ladies who seem more interested in shopping and the statue of a white explorer being led around by someone who really knew the land and the area and wasn't there solely to exploit it.
Wow, I get cynical when I spend time alone.
I'm craving something... I'm not sure what, though. It's a food, I can tell that much, but precisely what, I can't put my finger on it. I have to say that a nice Thai curry sounds good, maybe that's it... Or maybe it's tofu. I'm not sure. With the large number of Asian, and specifically Japanese passengers on board the ship, there always seems to be some sort of Asian-ish food for dinner. Maybe tonight will continue the trend. There was even a seaweed-based soup for breakfast the other day, and maybe soon there will be miso soup. That would be really, really wonderful.
2:47 PM ADT
I just hopped over to the internet access area and checked my email so that I could collect the few postal addresses which I had somehow forgotten to bring with me. Having done that I was able to complete the address portion of the post cards and drop them in the mail box. Hopefully they'll make it to their destination before I return.
I also stopped by the bar and grabbed myself a whiskey sour. I've been desiring something alcoholic for the last couple days, but I've been ignoring the desire and sticking with coffee, mostly over the issue of cost. I don't know why I'm concerning myself with a couple of dollars while on a US$2000 cruise, but that's just me.
I'm not sure what I'm going to do next, but I was thinking of going and grabbing some pizza from the buffet upstairs. While I don't really need the food per say, it wouldn't be bad having this drink to sip on while eating pizza and reading some more. Or, maybe I'll just wait a bit longer and dress up a bit so I can go to an organized dinner. I wonder what's on the menu for tonight... Hmm...
This whiskey sour is pretty tasty, no doubt due to the fact that a real bartender made it, as opposed to me just trying to cobble one together in my kitchen. While it may only be sour mix and whiskey over ice, I think the use of the blender combined with the slice of lemon and the maraschino cherry both help. That reminds me, once I get home I really need to make the Hot Damn-infused cherries that Dave made for Deb and Brian's 2002 Samhain Party. Those were tasty...
Okay, yeah. I think I'll take my drink up stairs, grab some pizza, then combine the two and a book into more reading.
7:13 PM ADT
Why is it that whenever I spent a long period of time reading I end up feeling detached and groggy, like if I had just woken from a nap? I think that whenever I read I slightly detune from reality and get overly absorbed into the book. In fact, I know that I do this whenever I watch a film that I'm really interested in.
Well, I managed to eat a bunch of pizza (approximately four slices) and a bunch of cookies (countless, perhaps ten?) along with a bunch of coffee while reading the first 195 pages of The Illuminatus! Trilogy. I have to say, this book is a mindfuck.
8:24 PM ADT
Okay, timewarp. As I was in the middle of writing that, I realized that I didn't have any photos of Skagway which were taking from the ship itself, so I went and grabbed some. I thought the ship was going to leave soon, but it didn't, so I got plenty and made it back here with time to spare. I even managed to grab a few photos of the string quartet which is regularly playing all while I'm reading, etc. I also checked the night's menu and found that dinner includes fried tofu with miso. The only problem is that I'm not hungry. Since open seating for dinner ends at 22:00 ADT, hopefully I'll be hungry before then, so that I can grab some (hopefully) tasty tofu. I think all the pizza and cookies did me in, though.
Anyway... As I was saying about The Illuminatus! Trilogy. This book is just amazing. While I realize it's science fiction, I find it wholly engrossing, at times almost reading like factual political works that I've read as opposed to fiction. It's also so involving that I occasionally find myself wondering if casting off standard social norms, as described in the book, and as I have previously read in other works. But, I'm not sure that I really know how, nor am I sure if I want to, nor am I sure if it is even a wise choice.
While writing this I've got the ship board version of Discovery Channel turned on. The interesting thing is that as opposed to having commercials, they have ads for the on-board shops they have, all selling things from Channel to Gucci to various fragrances, hand bags, clothing, sculptures, etc. It makes me wonder if there are people who are actually interested in purchasing US$1000 sculptures while on vacation. I'd personally think that this sort of thing is something you would plan for at home, but then again, most people on this ship make far more money than I do, I'm sure.
I wonder why the ship hasn't left port yet... It's interesting, because while I was walking around on the upper outdoor level, I noticed that the local police were standing around, talking to two US Coast Guard guys. I believe they are the same two whom I saw last night, and seeing as Skagway doesn't appear to have a US Coast Guard station, I wonder what's going on. Maybe some people aren't back on time or got lost or something like that? Who knows... All I know is that all I have planned is to depart the ship on Saturday or whenever, hop on the train, and hopefully end up at the hotel with my luggage, ready for the couple day layover in Anchorage. I suddenly have this strong feeling of dread, but I'm not sure what it's about. I think it's a general curiosity about my bank account and whether or not it ended up overdrafted while I was gone. It shouldn't have, but I haven't been checking it and I did make a few ATM withdrawals, so it's very possible. I'll have to check later tonight when I check email.
Yeah, I shouldn't have had all those cookies and pizza. I think I'm going to end up skipping the tofu with miso tonight, unfortunately. I just feel really full, like I ate a bunch of junk food, which is precisely what I did. Ah well.
Now that I think about it, I should have made a point of grabbing a bit of sand or rock or something from each town I visited. I was on a beach in Ketchikan, Juneau, and could have easily been on one in Skagway. Ah well, maybe another time... I wouldn't mind coming back on this vacation provided I had someone else to go with, although next vacation will likely be to somewhere in Europe. I'm hoping Scotland or London could be on the books, although I don't know where I'd stay. I could stay with Jenny, but I feel bad because I never really emailed her back after quite a while, and since she doesn't use any instant messenger, I'll just have to email her. I just started a search on the archive CD that I bought with me so that I could find her email address. I think I'll drop her a note when I'm checking my email, if anything just to say hi. Ahh, there's her address. Mmm....grep.
10:17 PM ADT
Well, I ended up having the miso and tofu along with a glass of wine anyways, then I finished up by having this almond ice cream drizzled with honey. Nice and tasty, although I was seated all alone. If there's one thing I don't like, it's dining completely alone. You just sit there and stare off into space while waiting for the next bit of food to arrive. As much as I say that I don't like meeting new people, I have to say that I prefer having people to eat dinner with as opposed to being just stuck all alone. Ah well.
I'm starting to think that maybe I should work out some. There's a gym upstairs and I've got a book to read. Maybe I'll go camp out on one of the stationary bikes and see how much reading I can get done. I'm thinking that if I can typically read for five to six hours in a day, I should be able to at least get three hours in on a bike. Yeah, I think I'll go for it. I think a bit of physical exhaustion is exactly what I need right now, anyway.
11:38 PM ADT
Ahh, the internet connection in the internet connection area is finally working. I dropped a quick note to my friend Jenn from Scotland. Well, she might not be in Scotland anymore, for some reason I'm thinking that she now lives in London. But anyway... No other email, ah well. Before that I managed to get some working out done. First thing I did was grab my book and sit down on one of the recumbent stationary bikes, up the program to 30 minutes, then go. Well, I didn't stop once and managed to read for most of the time, so that was a good thing. After that I figured I'd give a treadmill a go. Well, treadmills aren't conducive to reading, so after 10 minutes of rather fast walking, I scrapped that idea. Next came the upright stationary bike. By this time my legs were getting pretty jello-like, so I left it on it's default 20 minute program. Well, the combination of this bike being uncomfortable, shaking a bunch making it hard to read, and my starting to get tired, I decided that it was time for me to call it quits. What I really should have done was stayed on the recumbent bike, because while I was on the treadmill a girl came in and started using the one I had just been using. So, that was a missed chance for conversation. Oh well.
Strangely an image of one of the businesses on 22 Mile Road between Ryan and the entrance to River Bends Park just popped into my head. It's the log-cabin like building, which, now that I think about it, may actually not be a building and might just be someone's house, stuck in the middle of what looks like a budding, 20 year old rural industrial area.
I'm thinking that all that's left for me to do today is to climb into bed and do some reading. There's a 'dance party' thing that happens down in one of the club-like things here. I was thinking about walking into there to see what it's like, but I think I'll reserve that for tomorrow night, as I just don't feel like changing again today. That, and I'm having a problem with going up stairs right now. There are elevators, but for some reason I don't like using them, probably because they make me feel lazy. Ah well.
Actually, why not? There's no good reason for me not to walk down there... I'll see what it's like...