Drivin' Adair by Bimmer 09: Skagway photos

For us it's important to get off the ship in port and enjoy an excursion. Some folks stay onboard to enjoy a quieter ship, some rent cars and drive out of town to scenic places such as Emerald lake if you are in Skagway. Excursions give us a chance to do things we don't normally get to do-like landing by helicopter on a glacier as we did on our first cruise. If we get cold and even wet then that is part of the experience and we know that we'll be returned to the comfort and luxury of the ship once our time is up and we are on the bus/boat heading for the Diamond Princess.

So a cold but bracing river trip with occasional eagle sightings among good company was at an end and we were back on the bus that would take us to the boat dock at Haines and thence home to the DP.

The lady driving the bus took questions as we drove along. Someone asked about winter up here and she had a lot of emotion in her voice talking about the long dark frigid days with nothing to do and nowhere to go once most the bars and restaurants had closed after the cruising season ends in late September. No work for her. Staring at the calendar for months of end until the better weather came and the "army" that runs the tourist industry returns from all over North America for the summer jobs. I felt for her.

Here are some of the stills I took as I made my Skagway Morning Walk video. I was using a pocket sized Canon digital camera then and took stills sparingly as I favor video more. I have since bought a Canon Digital SLR and now take more stills as I enjoy learning how to use it.

This is a small restaurant specializing in fish and chips, close to the cruise ship pier where we docked. I hope to sample their halibut and chips at some point in the future when it is dry enough to sit outside.

No matter what city or town I am in, I love to walk the streets early in the morning, when I have them to myself. I can take a nap later....

There is no shortage of tourist shops in Skagway....

This is the White Pass and Yukon Railway which can climb out of the valley and up into the mountains and take you on a scenic ride into Canada.

Four massive ships in port but I have beaten the crowds

Driftwood put to good use...

Even though it is just 7 a.m most shops are already open as the clock is ticking.....

Carol loves stylish old American cars like this...."unsafe at any speed" is a phrase that comes to my mind...no seat belts, crash crumple- zones, air bags, brakes that mean what they say, weak headlights etc. I noticed an Indian restaurant- my favorite food after years of indulging in it when I lived in London, England. They weren't serving lamb vindaloo for breakfast, alas.