Wrangell was our first “virgin” port on this itinerary, and, though I knew it was located in the middle of some breathtaking scenery, our arrival was scheduled for 7am and that’s just not something I wanted to be up for. Though we arrived at 7, the first passengers didn’t start to disembark until 7:30am, so you might want to consider that when making plans ashore.
We instead lingered over breakfast at a table for two in Botticelli, then used a hot tub, and it was close to noon when we finally walked off the ship. Since we had an on board time of 3:30pm, we knew we weren’t going to have a big day, but then Wrangell was not a big town.
While walking across the Lido Deck, we noticed the firepit on MUTS. Instantly warning! 😉
And look at that Alaskan sunshine!
After quick showers, we swung by the buffet for a bite to eat before getting off the ship. For me, buffet lunches have been hot soup and lots of cold watermelon.
You can see why our arrival/departure was so scenic
The limited research I did pointed to the Wrangell Museum as being THE place to visit in town, so we headed off in that direction. There is basically one road kind of following the waterfront and that’s where the very few gift ships, the Ace and the IGA are located. G was once again in search of a Mountain Dew, so we first stopped and got that, and then continued on to the museum. A $12 entrance fee per person provided several exhibits on Wrangell history dating back 10000 years.
The Wrangell waterfront
This was one of my favorite exhibits (probably because it was geared to kids). Several animal pelts could be touched, and then lifting the board each was mounted on revealed the animal it came from. Muskrat and mink were the softest, but wolverine was my favorite (as in It’s great…to be…a Michigan Wolverine!). 😁
A totum topper
We have to find this movie online
I also took special note of the history behind the Garnet Ledge, probably because garnet is my birthstone. It became important an hour or so later.
Walking back to the ship, we were approached by two enterprising teens who were selling Wrangell key chains they designed and made for $10 each. Now, I need a keychain like I need a bad rash but I have a very soft spot for kids who sell things. After the transaction was complete and they had moved on, a fellow cruiser sitting on a nearby bench said, “That was kind” and, under his breath G said “Dandelion perfume”. This isn’t an itinerary appropriate for telling stories but this is a short one, so I will.
When I was 7 or 8 years old, my best friend and I started a business. Every family had hundreds of empty baby food jars in their house, because this was the 60s and every house had a baby. We would pick dandelions in the spring, mash them in baby food jars with a popsicle stick, add water, let it sit for a few minutes, strain it and- voila!- dandelion perfume. We sold these jars door to door; small jars were 5¢, large jars were 10¢. We even knew who our marks were, older ladies who could always be counted on to make a purchase.
I didn’t realize until I was in my teens that these ladies didn’t use our dandelion perfume. In fact, we probably weren’t even off their property when it had already been dumped down a sink. But I clearly remember how proud we were with our little enterprise. And that’s the reason I now have a Wrangell keychain.
Walking down the pier, a young girl was selling raw garnets she had found at the Garnet Ledge, just as I had read about at the museum. I asked her to pick what she thought was the prettiest $3 one, and she took the job quite seriously, and I then paid her $5 for her extra effort. Because…dandelion perfume.
Once back on the ship, we went to Skywalkers to watch our sailaway at 4pm. It was another beautiful day without the breeze we’d had in Ketchikan, and I had worn just a fleece jacket and was comfortable.
The evening included the PES Lounge and then dinner; beautiful scenery passed by our windows as the passages we were sailing on widened and narrowed.
Broccoli from the vegan menu
Starter made entree sized
Your weather report for today.
We’ve been very lucky (but it’s running out soon)
The entertainment in the Princess Theater was a hypnotist, so we found ourselves kind of purposeless, first making way to the Wheelhouse and then to Crooners looking for music that resonated with us with no luck (though we did see bar waiter ShaSha, or, I should say, she saw us. We had last seen her on the Regal but she left weeks before we did, in fact, right after the transatlantic so she missed all the out of service drama.
We ultimately ended up in Club Fusion (it’s Club Fusion, not the Vista-less Lounge on the Ruby Princess, I was wrong in an earlier post) listening to the show band play dance music and watching the largely Asian passengers dance. That’s alway a safe entertainment bet.
I do wanted to catch the moon rise but one of us (shockingly not me) had run out of energy and I didn’t need convincing to call it a day either.
