Sailing on the Norwegian Jade

The first port off call was Ketchikan. We rented a car from Alaskan Car Rentals in town so we could explore on our own. When you dock, you are released into the old paper mill turned GIANT gift shop. If you didn’t pack them, pick up a set of gloves before heading off for the day. A hoodie was plenty of layer for us. The temps were between 40 and 50’s for the first week of May. From the dock, we caught a ride on the Walmart shuttle which runs every 15-20 minutes into town. (We had to pick up the hubby a new belt. Apparently, “I” forgot to pack him one.) This shuttle is typically reserved for crew, but for a tip, the driver was happy to add us aboard for the short drive. If you need something, this is the Walmart to get it from as you won’t hit another. It was also in the county and therefore did not charge the higher city tax.

The rental car company picked us up from Walmart and took us to their location for paperwork and to pick up the car for the day. The shuttle driver gave us several of recommendations of places to try throughout our stay for the day. We visited Totem Bight Park, Totem Heritage Center, and Tongess Historical Museum. We stopped at a cute mom and pop restaurant with a 50’s/60’s theme. The Pioneer Cafe had great food and even better milkshakes. The butterscotch milkshake was AMAZING! Jason got the fish and chips, Ferra got the chicken club, and I got the patty melt on rye. Ask for lite onion on this one! It was super good, but a little heavier on the onions than this girl likes. 

I recommend stopping by Creek Street. It reminded me of Pigeon Forge, just on the water. Lot’s of jewelry stores, t-shirt shops, and such. Here, I was able to get a set of Jade earrings with necklace as well as a set of Mammoth tusk earrings. They also had seal skin earrings and other interesting options. Keep in mind that these animals are completely used by the Natives. In Alaska, many Native tribes still eat seal and whale as a staple part of their diet. The Natives believe in no waste and use every single piece of the animal. These animals are not hunted for sport. 

The museums gave us plenty of great information that we were able to refer to throughout the day. The two museums are only $5 a piece per person unless you are under 17 years old, over 65, or military/veteran and then it was free. If you get into the museum for free, please still consider making a donation. The money goes back into the state park and the Tongass Rainforest. Totem Bight was also the same few dollars to the state park. It took about 45 minutes to walk through the ADA accessible park. I say ADA accessible, but the trail is small gravel, so make sure you have your “off road” wheel chair or walker with you. That being said, there were no boulders to climb over and the trail was fairly flat. Several of the totems are being restored at this time. There are options for all of these to be guided tours however, for our family, it was cheaper to rent a car and drive around the small town. To drive from one end of Ketchikan to the other used pretty much one gallon of fuel, but it gave us the freedom to do whatever we wanted. We also weren’t rushed or restricted to a time schedule at each stop so if we got done early or took longer, it was not a problem.