Kind's Retirement Travels: Alaska Cruise Day 7 & Day 8 bus ride to Denali

Saturday June 17, was sunny and still in the 40's. We crossed the Gulf of Alaska heading towards Seward which is south of Anchorage. The waves weren't too bad, but it was too cold to be out on deck so we spent the day inside. We went to "Win a Cruise" bingo in the Crow's Nest but did not win! Then I listened to a Q & A with the Captain which was very interesting. Kirk and Andy took a kitchen tour which was brief. Kirk and Bill played pickleball up on the Lido Deck (open air court with nets). After lunch at Lido I went to the Fine Art Auction with Bill and Deb for the fun and free champagne and prizes. We both won a print which we had to pay to ship home, and I bought another print. The rest of the day was spent eating and drinking and going to the comic/magic show in the main lounge. We were in bed by 10:30, after putting our luggage outside the door! Andy and Kathy did check out the late buffet and said it was awesome.

On Sunday we docked in Seward, but had time to eat breakfast in the Lido before leaving the ship about 8:20. Disembarkation was very organized and painless. We hopped on a nice coach bus and rode up the Seward Highway towards Anchorage and then north to Denali National Park. The scenery was beautiful, lots of mountains with snow. Before lunch we stopped at the Iditarod Headquarters in Wasilla which was pretty cool. We ate lunch at Settler's Bay in Wasilla. They had a sandwich buffet all set up for the bus which was very convenient (and good).

We also stopped at the Alaska Veteran's Memorial. These stops weren't on our itinerary but I think they make them when they have time to kill in their schedule.

Our bus driver/tour guide Zach

We got to the McKinley Chalet at Denali about 6:00. After getting settled in our very nice suite we walked up the hill and across the street to Prospector's Pizza, which was packed. We all had pizza and local beer. After dinner we stopped at the bar at the hotel for a nightcap and had a nice visit with the bartender Korie. When we went to bed at 11:30 it was still pretty light out.