Seaplanes float, anglers outdone by orcas in red light museums
“… only for the boys, Dan.” Tiger explained. “Me and you and Daddy and Grandpa Tom and Jackson and Reagan. Mommy and Mamon Joon will stay here.”
“What about Arrow?” I asked. “He is a boy. Can he come?”
“No. He is too little.”
We left Santa Barbara early — very early. (5:00AM Early to be precise) in TJ’s Limo to LAX. We had a LAX to Seattle to Ketchikan Itinerary with a passenger list that was far too complex for Alaska Airlines. When it became clear that printing boarding passes was a bridge too far, Tom tried to explain..
“There are three (3) ‘Thomas Adams’ on this flight.”
“Three? And the middle names?”
“Reagan.”
“Three Reagans?”
“Yes indeed.”
The clerk continued to pound on the keyboard while he thought of pounding his head on the wall.
“I wonder if they can just give me my boarding pass? I can sit in the airplane and wait,” I thought.
Eventually (and I do mean ‘eventually&rsquo
boarding passes where printed. We would have to revisit the issue in Seattle and Ketchikan on the way back.
The airport in Ketchikan is on an island in the Tongass Narrows. We took a van and a ferry to cross to the mainland. We saw our first of many whales on the crossing. Tom had arranged a stay at Salmon Falls Resort which, as you might guess, featured plenty of fishing options. This fact had already generated some discussion. Tiger didn’t want to go fishing, but he also didn’t want to be the only one who didn’t go. The grown-ups didn’t think that having four year old Tiger on a boat, from morning to night, would be the best way to assure a good catch. We ended up agreeing that Tiger (and grandpa Dan) would join his Dad, Grandpa Tom and Uncles for a short angling excursion on the afternoon of the second day.
We had a late dinner in which Tiger’s mac and cheese arrived after everyone else’ dessert. After that, we had a good night’s sleep. The next morning, Tiger and I headed into Ketchikan’s city center. The four docked giant cruise ships made it pretty clear that servicing tourists was a major economic pursuit. Tiger and I walked through the city. Tiger, not particularly excited by the native art, liked the giant gumboil machine that delivered the colorful chewing spheres. It was a central feature of the largest touristy shop.
Tiger also liked running through the store in an aisle parallel to the one I occupied. Determined to be first, he neglected to notice a giant display of teeshirts. He plowed forward sending the teeshirts high into the air. Gravity intervened and the teeshirts were deposited (in disarray) on the floor. The ensuring glare that I got from a shop clerk convinced me that it would be prudent to depart.
Thus, Tiger and I walked to historic Creek Street.
“Ah,” I thought as we walked along the creek, “A museum. Tiger will like that. Dolly’s House: I wonder what kind of museum that would be?”
I discovered that it was a brothel museum. Fortunately, I discovered that before taking Tiger inside. Choosing an alternative path, we bought souvenirs — the most popular was a bag filled with rocks. Tiger chose each rock from an enormous assortment. We also had shared a milkshake (with sprinkles). Tiger told me that it was not necessary that we tell his Mom and Dad about this particular culinary experience.
Back at the resort, Tiger had a great time playing with his (young) Uncles: Jackson and Reagan. This time the meal was delivered far more efficiently. The meals, by the way, were delicious every day we were there. Adventures galore had been planned for the next day. We began with a walk around the, appropriately named, Salmon Falls resort. Tiger liked the Salmon Falls.
This day featured two big adventures. In the afternoon, Tiger and I would join Tom and everyone on the boat to do a little fishing. In the morning..
“A seaplane will land right at that dock, Tiger.” I explained. “It’s going to be great!”
“I was on a seaplane already,” Tiger said, deflatingly.
“You were not in an Alaska seaplane,” I retorted. “And you’ve never been to the Misty Fjords National Monument smartypants, ” I thought. “Let’s walk to that dock.”
As promised, our airplane, a de Havilland Beaver, landed right in front of our hotel. Tiger and I ‘bounded’ aboard.
The flight took a little more than two hours. The airplane held 7 people including the pilot. Everyone had a window seat. After taking off, the plane (slowly) climbed to about 3500 feet.
“Dan!” Tiger shouted (it was very loud), “Those mountains are higher than we are.”
“That’s why we’re flying between them, Tiger. We can’t fly over them.”
We saw vertical cliffs, lakes, grassland and the Tongass National Forest. The weather was perfect — pretty clouds in a blue sky with warm temperatures. We landed on a lake in the midst (mist) of Misty Fjords.
On the way back, Tiger agreed to wear the earphones (which cut down the noise). He was excited and very happy.
View from the float plane
Back at the resort, Tiger and I took a golf cart to the fishing boat dock where we joined Tom, his Dad and two younger brothers. The boat slowly trolled through the narrows.
“This is exciting,” I thought as I remembered the 0-0 Ajax PSV Eindhoven soccer game I’d watched, with Nazy in Amsterdam. Tiger enjoyed the potato chips and running back and forth from fore to aft. And then, there was tension on one line and everyone sprang into action. Tom grabbed the active line, Everyone else pulled in the other lines. I gabbed Tiger and we cheered. Eventually Tom landed — er, more precisely, Tom ‘boated’ a King Salmon. Unfortunately (for Tom) the King was 1/4 too diminutive to keep. Neither Tiger nor the Salmon was unhappy to see it returned to the sea.
The fishing worked out fine overall even though there was a dearth of salmon. Guides blamed the more efficient killer whales — which appeared to exceed the limit while ignoring size restrictions. Team Adams got several Halibut. Tiger had a great time playing with Jackson and Reagan and we had a smooth flight home. Tiger was particularly excited by our transportation options..
“Dan! We rode a limo, a car, a bus, a train, an airplane, a boat, a ferry boat, a golf cart, a seaplane…”
“… and an elevator and moving stairs.” I interrupted.
“It was very cool, Dan.”
It was a great trip. More exciting news in the next edition of The Weekly Letter — including a gender reveal for Tom and Melika’s coming baby (due in August) and an update about our intra-Santa Barbara move.
For more photos of Alaska, please click here
For last week's letter, please click here
Sunset in Alaska