The Trip of a Lifetime to Alaska – Land and Sea – Trip Report - COMLETE!! 4/13/12 - Page 27 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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I could never get up the nerve to do zip-lining, but the views do look incredible! Brrrrrr, though! Incredible to see the humpback right from the shore.
Ziplining looks like so much fun - what a great view! I'm thinking if I were you, I would have been pretty happy that the men in your life were unable to go on the tender fishing - that's a huge chunk of change they saved!
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Stacey
Why do these kids look so pathetic?
Find out in: A New Grade, A New House, and A Surprise!Final Thoughts 01/30
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I feel like everytime I read an update I think - wow that is amazing it can't get any better. And then the next update IS even better. Zip lining, humpback whales, bear spotting, beautiful nature all around. Truly Amazing.
PassPorter's Free-Book to Walt Disney World It’s hard to believe anything is free at Walt Disney World; but there are actually a number of things you can get or do for little to no cost. This e-book documents over 200 free or cheap tips to do before you go and after you arrive. You could save a considerable amount of money following these tips. Perhaps more importantly; you can discover overlooked attractions and little-known details most people whiz by on their way to spend money. Click here to see free sample pages from the e-book! Get this popular e-book free of extra charges when you join the PassPorter's Club for as little as $4.95. A club pass includes access to all our other e-books; e-worksheets; super-size photos; and more! This e-book is also available for separate purchase in the PassPorter Online Store for just $5.95.
Day 12 – Wednesday, July 6th – Ketchikan (Bering Sea Crab Fisherman's Tour)
It was another cloudy day as we were pulling into Ketchikan! Par for the course! We headed up to the Windjammer again this morning to have breakfast! Again, we missed the crowds so that was good. We were due to dock at 9, with our excursion (Bearing Sea Fisherman’s Crab tour) at 9:30. Well, it didn’t go so smoothly. The line to get off the boat was quite large this morning. Thankfully we had lined up early and were near the front. Apparently there was some confusion on which decks you’d be able to get off on. The CD gave out the wrong information at the show last night, supposedly (I guess it pays not to go to the show)! I think we were off the boat by 9:20, and hurried over to the excursion (which was just down the street at a different dock). We were the only ship in town today, so there was really no risk of the excursion going without us, as most if not all of the people on it were on our ship!
We found seats on the lower level, thankfully under a working heater! They also have warm jackets which they hand out to everyone. Colin was a bit under the weather today, so he was wrapped up trying to stay warm.
This excursion has been getting a bit of bad reviews lately, but not going it before they made some changes (I guess they are no longer able to feed the eagles or something like that) we didn’t know any better. It is a “canned” tour. They have traps that are placed out in the bay already stocked with stuff, but we still found it very enjoyable and interesting. Our “Deadliest Catch” member was Captain Derrick Ray (red sweatshirt in pics), who was on the 2010 season, filling in for Captain Phil Harris on the Cornelia Marie. Brian Boudreau was also a fisherman and captain, and did most of the talking (he’s in the blue sweatshirt in the pics). Capt. Derrick had many stories of fishing in the Bering Sea, and said not to believe everything you see on Deadliest Catch! Anyway, here are the pictures!
Matt’s pictures.
The boys decided to stay on the dock to fish for a bit. Alexa and I took off for downtown to walk around a bit.
We went to find the salmon ladder, but the salmon weren’t running yet.
We stopped and did some souvenir shopping in the Tongass Trading Post store, and then headed back to the ship. It was swim time, you know!
Matt ended up staying onshore a bit longer. Here is his picture from the salmon hatchery (he said to skip it – not worth it)!
After swimming and lunch, the kids were still hungry. Colin wanted a churro. The only place I knew of to get one was Rita’s Cantina, so I dragged Alexa up there to eat with me. There was no one in there (only one other table)! Thankfully the sun was trying to come out so it was a bit warmer. And we weren’t moving yet so no wind. I got a wildberry margarita, we split chicken fajitas, and of course had the chips and salsa to start (which thankfully were free). I asked the server to wrap our churros to go. He disappeared for quite some time. I thought they would just be a churro wrapped in wax paper (Costco style) but they were all cut up, and had a side of fruit with it. Total for the meal was $23 before tip (they charge a $3 cover charge/pp). Churros delivered to Colin, I went up on deck to take some pictures.
Then it was back to the room to wait for dinner. Not sure of the theme again. Colin had his fruit cup, some pizza, and fries. Alexa had lettuce/cucumber gazpacho (which she did not like), clam chowder (to make up for the gazpacho), shrimp potstickers (my homemade ones are so much better) and crème brulee. I had white bean roasted butternut squash salad, the potstickers (meh..), and a chocolate/orange pie. Matt had clam chowder, beef stroganoff, and a lemon meringue tart. Not a very strong menu! Then it was off to bed!
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Anyway, here are the pictures!
Colin had his fruit cup, some pizza, and fries. Alexa had lettuce/cucumber gazpacho (which she did not like), clam chowder (to make up for the gazpacho), shrimp potstickers (my homemade ones are so much better) and crème brulee. I had white bean roasted butternut squash salad, the potstickers (meh..), and a chocolate/orange pie. Matt had clam chowder, beef stroganoff, and a lemon meringue tart. Not a very strong menu! 
Then it was off to bed!
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