Alaska Cruise: Skagway

(Journal Entry)
Tuesday, June 4th- Skagway
This morning, Bj got up really early so he could go fishing with the boys and Brooke. I left an hour later and met up with mom, Carrie and Kj for breakfast where we decided what to do for the day. We headed into Skagway to find the car rental place so we could sightsee through the warm confines of a vehicle. Avis wasn't where we thought so it took us longer to find (going through a town full of stores is bound to slow us down a bit). At the rental place we realized that getting into Canada could be a problem because it was only 6 miles up the canyon. So we called US and Canada customs and asked if a birth certificate and drivers license would suffice. They said yes, but then I realized I lost my ship ID card (which also acts as an on-board credit card, yikes). Carrie and i were both a little hesitant to go on a road trip, thinking it was a little more trouble than it was worth, and loosing my ID was the straw that broke the camels back. So Kj rented the car, dropped Carrie and I off so I could get a new card and she and mom left for their adventure (where they saw a momma and baby bear!) while Carrie and I had one of our own in downtown Skagway. Getting a new card was no problem and we had to be back for our zip line excursion at 3:00. We went shopping in a few shops before Bj called letting me know they were on their way back from fishing (not even a bite:() and I told him we'd meet them at the ship for lunch. After lunch we went back to town and made a few souvenir purchases. At three we were back at the ship and signing waivers before we headed up the canyon to the zip-line camp. It was a blast. Our family took up ten of the 14 available slots and the other two couples in the group were great. There were about 4 guides who got us harnessed and fitted for helmets then took us up the hill to a three part ropes course. The first one was a suspended wooden bridge with missing planks. The second was a rope bridge with ropes looped down instead of planks to step on. The third was a combination of the two resembling a suspended balance beam. We all made it through pretty easily, mom was really quite terrified but made it through with a smile! Then up higher we tromped to the beginning of a series of zip lines. There were 6 in all, varying in length and degree. We were there three hours. It may have been the high for the day. What a blast!!! We got back a half hour late for our dinner reservation but were still able to enjoy "Italian night". After dinner We listened to the talented pianist, Tom Franek, and went for a walk around the promenade then a few of us went to play hand and foot while others went to sleep. I turned in early at 10:30.