Skagway

On our way to Skagway

The name Skagway comes from the Tlinket “shgagwei” meaning “windy place”.  It was aptly named!  We arrived in the morning, but as we had been here before, we decided to take the morning off and just let the crowds leave the boat.  We went to the morning trivia, which was supposedly lines from famous movies and TV shows, but it turns out almost all of them were British.  Out of 15 questions, we tied for first place with 3 correct answers.  It was brutal!

Not really a welcoming coastline

Several ships already here when we arrived.

He's late to the party!

Big boats and little boats...both drawfed by the mountains!

St. Therese Catholic Church

We left the ship about 11:30, and headed to the bus which took us to the city center.  We wandered a bit, and remembered there was a church here and we had gone to Mass the last time we were in Skagway.  We were at sea on Sunday, so not able to go, but here we were, so maybe we could at least go to the church and spend a little time there?  But we had no signal, so no map, and no certainty where to go.  Finally, we asked at the front desk of the visitor’s center, and she showed us on a map.  We hurried over there, as Theresa vaguely remembered there might have been Mass at Noon, or 12:15 or 12:30 or something.  We found the building, found the door, and noticed Mass on Monday and Tuesday was at 12:10.  Looking at my phone, it was exactly 12:10!!  We went inside and were greeted by the Priest, Fr. Michael, who followed us in a couple of minutes later.  We were the only three there, so it was a very intimate Mass!!  It was impossible NOT to notice the alignment of so many things…getting there the very minute Mass was to start, the church was “St. Therese” (for whom Theresa was named), and Fr. Michael (Bill’s middle name)(the Michael part...not the Father part!). It was very moving for both of us.

Lookout!!!  Oh, there are two tracks!

Morning traffic

Main street

"downtown"

We then wandered around town a bit and into a few shops, before heading back to the visitor’s center and watch the movie they had about the beginnings of Skagway and the Klondike Gold Rush.

Theresa's view for lunch.

Back on the ship, we found the buffet and had lunch, and then made it down to the music trivia followed by general trivia.  Theresa considered not going, but once Bill told her it was “Broadway” theme (not wanting another score of 3!), she opted to join Bill and we managed a 3^rd place score (like 16, versus 18 and 19).  Quite respectable!!  (Bill might have guessed 3.)  We then donned bathing suits to make use of the hot tub!  The tub was very nice and warm.  The air was NOT.  So, we stayed in until we were ready to brave the gusts of arctic winds for the seconds between leaving the hot water and drying off enough to not freeze!

Someone's tour is getting back!

Skagway with the valley behind it.

Hot tubbing in Alaska!

Back in the room, it was about time to get ready for dinner.  We had a nice dinner, then prepared for the show at 9PM.  The show was…bizarre.  Lots of wild outfits and colors and busyness which gave it a chaotic feel.  As we arrived we noticed they had sort of a “pre-show” where the characters wordlessly interacted with the audience.  Some used physical or facial expressions, one guy played a sort of flute at people, and other things that had no clear purpose but to keep the audience unsure of what was happening.  Then there was the show with dancing, acrobatics, weird noises (some singing some just noise?) and a narrator.  The story line was as linear as a Spirograph with broken teeth, glitter spilled atop, and a strobe light.  Theresa enjoyed it and I enjoyed my beer. (TG: It was an adaptation of William Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream."

Dessert!