At Sea & Glacier Bay

Two days on the ship, we spend the time orienting ourselves and then viewing some glaciers by water.  First up was Hubbard Glacier.  In the morning before we reached Hubbard, A naturalist hired by the cruise line gave a presentation.  She grew up in Alaska in the 50's where her father was a preacher.  After her presentation, she told us where to stand (10th floor at the front of the ship) to get the best view.   Though the sun was shining it was COLD.  We're glad we brought plenty of clothes to layer plus gloves and hats.   Again, as we approach the glacier, chunks ice float nearby.  As the glacier meets the water, the chunks "calve" or fall off the glacier  Though we're 6-8 miles away, it seems much closer and the cold wind blew in our faces making it feel like December instead of August.  Once again we see the blue green color with black to grey-brown streaks. (Glaciers hardly ever appear white like snow.)   As they grind through mountain passes, they polish and grind the rock of the mountain, pushing along by gravity.  The ship then turned slowly from side to side, giving great views from the balconies.   Day two at sea, we headed toward Glacier Bay National Park.  As its name suggests, it's home to many glaciers of varying types and sizes.  It took several hours to reach our destination and we watched from our room's balcony searching for wildlife along the way.  We returned to our viewing spot but this time it was much warmer.  At the head of the bay we see two glacier that look very different.  The Marjorie is a 250 ft tall glacier that starts 75 miles away in steep slopes.  It's framed by green and grey granite sloes on each side.   Like the Hubbard, it is white and blue-green with streaks of black.  Tothe right of the Marjorie, a lower glacier lays but it has a much different look.  It approaches the water from a much more shallow slope.  This glacier is covered in the grey-black silt and rock. It almost doesn't even look like ice but more like a partially-thawed pile of snow and gravel in a Lowe's parking lot in February!  We definitely got our fill of beautiful scenery.   Dinner reservations were at the on-board Italian restaurant. Every meal  has been outstanding and this one was too.  Our waiter from the main dining room came and visited us to make sure we were being taken care of.  Cary ordered the sea bass entree but apparently it was enough for 2 people.  So we had to help her eat it, of course.  Nearly everything we've ordered is perfectly prepared and yummy. Up early tomorrow...we will wake up in port in Skagway.