22 Sept
Today we were arriving at Icy Strait Point at 11 so we had breakfast in the Main Dining Room again. I had the fruit plate followed by scrambled egg with toast.Rob had another omelette 
(Not pictured because you've already seen them!)
We had to hastily arrange excursions for this port given the last-minute change and was one of our first tasks when we boarded the other day.
We selected 2 options: a gondola ride to the top of the hill (mountain?) and a jeep ‘off-road’ adventure which was planned for 1615 – we tried to get an earlier time but I think everyone had the same idea.
We left the boat just after 11 and were greeted by a green gondola which apparently was our route to the red gondola which takes you to the top.
When we got there, we had to exchange our ticket for a wristband which seemed an odd extra step but never mind. A short queue later and we were on our way up.
We quickly called home as we had phone signal before taking a few photos of the view.
There was a nature walk which claimed to be a mile long but we are pretty sure it wasn’t (we estimate it was barely half that distance). We had to go in large groups and were led by a man with a gun in case we came across any bears!
We did 2 loops to get a few steps in and as we finished the second loop we had some light rain.
On the way around, we had a real Instagram vs reality moment, as can be seen by these 2 photos which were taken in the exact same spot but shows how you can post what you want people to see on social media.
We took our trip back down the slope and as we got into our gondola the line had grown quite long so it seems lots of people had the same idea.
We walked back to the ship, having realised that the first gondola ride was entirely unnecessary (as it was less than a mile to walk back via an adjacent path) to have lunch as there were long queues for the main restaurant on the island.
We then realised that there was another section of the island so after lunch popped to have a look around before our jeep excursion. I bought a pair of earrings which were made by a local jeweller/artist called Juli Keown.
Here is Rob taking yet another selfie to post (I'm not sure any of his selfies made it onto his own social media
Our jeep excursion started at 1615 and we were in groups of 4 in 5 jeeps, we were in a jeep with a couple from North Dakota. Our guide took us out into Hoonah and then on to some logging roads where we stopped a couple of times to take photos and swap drivers.
It was good to see a bit of ‘real’ Alaska away from the crowds and gift shops and there were maximum 18 people in the area in these photos!
This photo is of a really large eagles nest:
This is the only gas pump (not station...there is just one pump) in Hoonah.
And this photo is of the 'tunnel' we went through between Icy Strait Point and Hoonah.
It apparently used to be an actual tunnel but there too many rockslides and so the top of the tunnel had to be removed for safety reasons.
We returned to Icy Strait Point at around 1815 and were offered a trip back to the dock on the tram which felt very Disney (it didn’t have doors like in the old days).
We had a rest and watched a little bit of TV before dinner.
Tonight’s meal was Pate for me and crab cake for Rob as starters.
This was followed by cheese tortellini for me with lamb for Rob who cheekily asked for a side of fries as an extra.
For dessert Rob had chocolate and olive oil cake while I decided to try the vacherin (which if I remember correctly was meringue with some different flavoured sorbets) which was really good.
(Not pictured because you've already seen them!)We had to hastily arrange excursions for this port given the last-minute change and was one of our first tasks when we boarded the other day.
We selected 2 options: a gondola ride to the top of the hill (mountain?) and a jeep ‘off-road’ adventure which was planned for 1615 – we tried to get an earlier time but I think everyone had the same idea.
We left the boat just after 11 and were greeted by a green gondola which apparently was our route to the red gondola which takes you to the top.
When we got there, we had to exchange our ticket for a wristband which seemed an odd extra step but never mind. A short queue later and we were on our way up.
We quickly called home as we had phone signal before taking a few photos of the view.
There was a nature walk which claimed to be a mile long but we are pretty sure it wasn’t (we estimate it was barely half that distance). We had to go in large groups and were led by a man with a gun in case we came across any bears!
We did 2 loops to get a few steps in and as we finished the second loop we had some light rain.
On the way around, we had a real Instagram vs reality moment, as can be seen by these 2 photos which were taken in the exact same spot but shows how you can post what you want people to see on social media.
We took our trip back down the slope and as we got into our gondola the line had grown quite long so it seems lots of people had the same idea.
We walked back to the ship, having realised that the first gondola ride was entirely unnecessary (as it was less than a mile to walk back via an adjacent path) to have lunch as there were long queues for the main restaurant on the island.
We then realised that there was another section of the island so after lunch popped to have a look around before our jeep excursion. I bought a pair of earrings which were made by a local jeweller/artist called Juli Keown.
Here is Rob taking yet another selfie to post (I'm not sure any of his selfies made it onto his own social media
Our jeep excursion started at 1615 and we were in groups of 4 in 5 jeeps, we were in a jeep with a couple from North Dakota. Our guide took us out into Hoonah and then on to some logging roads where we stopped a couple of times to take photos and swap drivers.
It was good to see a bit of ‘real’ Alaska away from the crowds and gift shops and there were maximum 18 people in the area in these photos!
This photo is of a really large eagles nest:
This is the only gas pump (not station...there is just one pump) in Hoonah.
And this photo is of the 'tunnel' we went through between Icy Strait Point and Hoonah.
It apparently used to be an actual tunnel but there too many rockslides and so the top of the tunnel had to be removed for safety reasons.
We returned to Icy Strait Point at around 1815 and were offered a trip back to the dock on the tram which felt very Disney (it didn’t have doors like in the old days).
We had a rest and watched a little bit of TV before dinner.
Tonight’s meal was Pate for me and crab cake for Rob as starters.
This was followed by cheese tortellini for me with lamb for Rob who cheekily asked for a side of fries as an extra.
For dessert Rob had chocolate and olive oil cake while I decided to try the vacherin (which if I remember correctly was meringue with some different flavoured sorbets) which was really good.
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