The last Alaskan port on our Princess Inside Passage Passage cruise was the picturesque town of Ketchikan. As you can see from the photos, we had another cloudy day, and rain started mid-way through our visit.

Jann and I walked from the waterfront to scenic Creek Street to visit Dolly’s House, now a “brother museum”. The house was quite interesting, as was Dolly herself, so I’ll devote a separate blog to that visit.

The rain started while we were inside Dolly’s House, so we sought shelter in several stops along the way where we made last minute purchases. I found some Alaska T-shirts to bring home, one with a graphic of the Northern Lights–viewing the Aurora Borealis some day is still on my bucket list–and another proclaiming Alaska as being “Just North of Normal”. Alaskans seem to pride themselves on being just a little bit different than those of us who live in the Lower 48.

Back at the dock, we stopped to admire the sculpture in the round called The Rock by Dave Rubin. The monument features seven figures from area history: Chief Johnson, plus a fisherman, a miner, a logger, an aviator, a Native woman drumming, and an elegant lady in 1890s clothing and carrying a carpetbag.

We sailed from Ketchikan around noon and spent the rest of the day at sea. That night we had our second formal dinner in the dining room, topped off by the ceremonial procession of the Baked Alaska desserts to the tune of the Tarantella. I’d forgotten how yummy Baked Alaska can be. This isn’t the best photo–it’s a bit blurry–but gives you an idea of what it looks like. I think cruise ships are about the only places where Baked Alaska is still served. Neapolitan ice cream topped off with meringue. What’s not to like?

I’ll close with yet another pretty picture of sunset at sea, this time with a tiny crescent moon visible at the left top.

Linda