Author: noorali

“One of the symptoms of approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one’s work is terribly important, and that to take a holiday would bring all kinds of disaster,” says The Conquest of Happiness.

With this in mind, Dave and family go on an ambitious Alaska cruise. Last week’s column describes Dave’s experience of a “stress free” holiday, mixed with food, fun and laughter.

Today, Dave tells us about the beauty of Alaska and the activities he enjoyed with his family during the short time he was there.

Let us start with a brief history.

In 1867, United States’ Secretary of State William Seward purchases Alaska from Russia for two cents an acre! Critics laugh. They call it foolish. But soon Alaska surprises the world with its wealth of natural resources (gold, oil, tourism, fishing, and lumber).

Alaska is the largest state in the U.S. It is 2.5 times the size of Texas, with a population of only 609,300.

The cruise ship’s first stop is Juneau, the capital city with a population of 26,800. It is inaccessible by land. Mountains, islands, saltwater bays, forested valleys and flatlands surround it.

With the few hours we had in Juneau, we had to decide whether we should go sea kayaking, canoeing, trail hiking, rain forest nature walk, glacier trekking by helicopter, wildlife cruise, salmon bake, pan for gold or sportfishing.

Our children decide that we go glacier trekking by helicopter! Well, dad has the plastic card! The helicopter soars over Juneau’s wild backcountry and spectacular glaciers. The tour covers 65 miles of Alaskan wilderness and makes a brief glacier landing within the massive Juneau Icefield. The view is spectacular and breathtaking.

Our pilot/guide unveils the beauty and the mystery of the area. Walks us through some interesting spots (require special boots) and help us explore its surface.

Juneau icefield is North America’s fifth largest icefield. It covers more than 1,500 square miles of land. It is estimated that icefield’s snow and ice depth to be from 800 to over 4,500 feet deep. Annual snowfall on the Juneau Icefield exceeds 100 feet.

During the flight, we see mountain goats. The goats favor the high ridges surrounding the icefield during the summer months. We see deep icefield crevasses, hanging icefalls and jagged spires.

Well, it is time to board the ship. In the next couple of days, we disembark at Skagway (population 700), Haines (population 1,200), and Ketchikan (population 8,300).

Each place has its own history and beauty. But there is something special about Skagway – the White Pass and Yukon Route railroad tour in search of gold!

Well, the Klondike Gold Rush was 100 years ago! But there is still high adventure and scenic drama. A ride along the shoulders of granite mountains.

The train (some train cars straight out of the 1890s), leaves Skagway (elevation: 0) on a narrow gauged railroad (built 1898), climbs through the Coast Mountains in Tongass National Forest, through mountain tunnels to the White Pass Summit (elevation: 2,865 ft). Takes you through unforgettable spectacular scenery.

Well Dave, what’s left?

The Glacier Bay! Naturalist and adventurer John Muir is credited with discovering the bay in 1879 but continues to remain isolated and undeveloped. Enter Glacier Bay and you cruise along shorelines completely covered by ice. As water undermines some ice fronts great blocks of ice break loose and crash in to the water. A beautiful sight to cherish.

Well, it is time to cruise back to Vancouver and to the real world. But you cannot disembark until you have cleared your bills, tipped all the kind people who made your trip a delight and cleared the customs!

Dave jumps in the cab, looks at the ship and says, “Alaska, we will be back!”

This series of articles explore the health problems of Dave and his family. They are composite characters of a typical family with health problems.

Start reading the preview of my book A Doctor's Journey for free on Amazon. Available on Kindle for $2.99!

“Alaska, here I come!” says Dave as he embarks on a week’s cruise with his family.

This, ones in a lifetime cruise, is one way Dave and Susan can escape from the stress of modern day life.

We need holidays to take a break from the daily rituals, have quality time with our family, recharge our batteries, reorganize our thoughts and priorities, and bring new vigor to our outlook.

On his return, Dave is overjoyed with what he saw and the way he felt. He sat down to tell me all about it.

In 1725, a Russian explorer, Vitus Bering, is the first European to set foot on Alaskan soil. In 1867, the Government of United States purchases Alaska from Russia for $7.2million (two cents per acre!).

Initially thought to be a foolish deal, Alaska surprises the world with its wealth of natural resources – gold and oil. While oil continues to dominate Alaskan economy, tourism leads fishing and lumbering as the state’s second major industry.

Dave and family board the 50,000-ton ship on a Monday evening in Vancouver. There is nothing very spectacular about the departure. As the ship cruises at an average speed of 20-knots/23 mph, Dave takes pictures of the breathtaking view of Vancouver sun set.

Well, I am getting impatient to know more about the cruise! About food and entertainment. About the beauty of Alaska – glaciers, whales, and the wilderness.

Is there anything healthy to do on board the ship?

There is lots of food! Food services start at 6 am and end with midnight buffet. There is everything, including pizza and ice cream. There are plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables. Enough for 2000 passengers and 625 crewmembers to last for more than a week.

The best thing about the cruise is that you don’t have to work. The phone does not ring. There are no deadlines. No meetings to attend. No complaints to listen to.

The cabins are cleaned twice a day. The towels are changed twice a day! You can order room service if you like. It’s a big, mobile, floating hotel and a small city put together.

All food served is not “unhealthy”. Besides fresh fruits and vegetables, there are sugarless deserts and low calorie items on the menu. One thing they do not provide is will power to resist “unhealthy” food!

For the fitness buffs, there is fully equipped gym with massage therapists. Variety of fitness classes offered that range from beginners to advanced levels. There is sauna, spa, aerobics, yoga – you name it and they have it.

There is basketball area, small driving range (lousy clubs – not like your own), table tennis, two small swimming pools, two hot tubs, and walking and jogging areas.

Each evening there is lot of laughter and fun. There are outstanding Broadway shows, stand up comedians, and singers. Audience participation programs are very funny.

They have baby-sitting arrangements, children’s programs and teen activities.

For gamblers, there is daily lotto, bingo, and casino.

There are two formal evenings when you can dress up in your best clothes. There is beauty saloon to get you ready if you need their services. You can even rent a tuxedo!

There are gift shops with Alaska souvenirs that are made in Canada for which you pay American dollars!

There are several ship photographers who take innumerable pictures for you to buy. Who is not tempted to buy his own picture – although it may never make it to the cover of Rolling Stones magazine!

There is plenty of open seas, fresh air, sunshine (if it does not rain), and blue skies. You can watch sunrise and sun set. You can sit on the deck and watch the stars and the moon. You can watch beautifully lighted cruise ships sail by. Evenings are beautiful, calm and relaxing.

In the next column, I will tell you what Dave and his family saw in Alaska.

Start reading the preview of my book A Doctor's Journey for free on Amazon. Available on Kindle for $2.99!