July 23, 2014 - Whittier, Alaska - The Yin and the Yang

We left the house at noon and drove down the Seward Highway toward Portage. This section of the Seward Highway follows Turnagain Arm to its end and is one of the most beautiful stretches of highway anywhere in the world. (It is also the most dangerous highway in Alaska, but that's another story.)

The tide was out, so we saw lots of mudflats - innocuous looking but very dangerous because the silt os like quicksand and the tide comes in very fast. I think the tides here are the second most extreme tides in North America, after the Bay of Fundy.

At Portage we had to stop and wait for the tunnel to open. The Anton Andeson Tunnel was built during World War II to provide access to Whittier, an ice-free port to be used if necessary to supply _____. It is the only land route to Whittier. You can get there by boat, and I think there is a small airport, but no commercial flights go there.  The population of Whittier is _________. Almost everyone there lives in one high-rise apartment building, built during WW II and known as Begich Towers. There is another large building built by the Army at that time, but it is now derelict. There is a state ferry terminal, a marina, a small hotel/restaurant, and two companies that provide day tours of Prince William Sound. It rains a LOT in Whittier.

When the tunnel was first built, it was a railroad tunnel only. You could drive down to Portage and drive onto a flatbed rail car to go through the tunnel. Some tie in the 90's the tunnel was altered to allow motor vehicles to drive through. It is only one wide line, so the tunnel is closed every half hour to allow traffic to come through from the other direction. Trains, tour bses, cars, and everything else have to wait their turn.

I have walked through the tunnel a couple of times. They allow people to walk through only one day a year, and only for a couple of hours. The tunnel is 2 1/2 miles long. There are 7 or 8 "safe houses" in the tunnel for emergencies. You have to wear a hardhat or helmet when you walk through, and you have to take the train back because they don't want to close the tunnel t traffic for more than a few hours. It is free to ride the train back. The toll to drive to Whittier is $12, but it is free to come back.

After emerging from the tunnel, it is about half a mile to the cruise terminal. Since 98% of the passengers arrive by train or bus, it was very quick for us to drop off our bags. We then hugged Scott goodbye and walked into the terminal, leaving the camera in the car. :(

The embarkation process was one of the easiest and fastest ever. We got on the ship very quickly and found our cabin. This time we booked at the last minute and so we have an obstructed view cabin. This means we have a window, but it is located between two lifeboats, so you don't get a good view. Nonethelss, the cabin is comfy and cozy and nicer than we expected.

The ship was scheduled to sail at 8:30 pm, so the mandatory muster (lifeboat drill) was scheduled for 7:45. we decided to wait and have dinner after the drill, as we figured they wouldn't seat us within an hour (or longer) prior to the drill. At 7;30 an announcement was made - the train from Denali was late, so the drill would be delayed 15 to 20 minutes and he woulld announce the drill 20 minutes before it would take place. Okay, there is already a bit of a disconnect here, as they should have been able to just announce that the drill would start at 8:05.

We knew it would take longer, so we ran down to the dining room to eat before the drill. Unfortunately, the dining room was closed until after the drill. Finally, the 20-minute warning announcement was made, but the drill didn't actually start until about 35 minutes after the announcement. By the time we were seated for dinner it was 9:30. We missed the show, but we did have a pleasant dinner.

So, the Universe gives, and the Universe takes away. Great embarkation and nice cabin vs. terrible muster experience. Of all the problems in the world, this really wasn't so bad.