At 6:30 AM we
went to the lounge where they had set up a continental breakfast
of yogurt, cereal, fruit and sweets. I grabbed a coffee and a cheese danish
then went outside to the rear of the third level.

At the end of our level where they set out a protective mat on
the floor. We grabbed a blue yoga mat and a blue block object
and found a spot on the floor. Tomorrow I may do this earlier to
make sure we have a better spot. i have never done yoga before.
Our leader started us at 6:45 with some shaking then we
stretched overhead and right and left followed by a sequence of
arm and leg movements on the floor. I think the whole time was
worthwhile. I felt alert and awake. I'm not sure if it is really necessary or
not. Breakfast was next at 7:30. We sat with two guys from Raleigh. At the
table were Anne, the two guys and Libbie and I. Paul did not make it to
breakfast, I had a ham and egg omelet with bacon and some hash browns. It was
quite good. During breakfast the ship stopped. We had reached Dawson Glacier
in Endicott Arm. Later in the morning we donned life jackets and boarded a
skiff. John, a mate, lent me some neoprene gloves and I bought an uncruise knit
hat. I also borrowed a rain coat from uncruise, wore my rain pants and a tee
shirt under a flannel shirt. I was dressed quite warmly for the ride.

The ride on the skiff was cold and interesting as our captain
drove around several icebergs with his 90 hp Yamaha pontoon
boat. The glacier was a pretty shade of blue. They say it makes
it's own weather and it was true. It was windy and cold. I
first thought I heard thunder but later I found that it was the
ice calving. It cracks with a roar when it hits the water and
explodes. Ice shrapnel is thrown into the air and huge wakes
are created. We were only allowed to be 1/4 mile from the
glacier. The glacier itself is 1 mile wide. There is a delay.
The ice falls and hits the water followed by the crack of
thunder a second or two later. We saw a whole wall of ie
collapse and drop into the water with a loud roar. It was
pretty awesome. When we were out there we had hot chocolate
with peppermint schnapps. Outstanding!!!! What an environment
to have this concoction. Nnxt the skiff started rolling in the
ensuing wake. This was the awesome power of nature. We sat
down for lunch when we came back and had a chicken salad on a
pita along with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc. The wines are on
taps - Melbec, Cabernet, Merlot, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc.
Dessert was warm peaches and raspberry crumble with vanilla ice cream.

We then went outside to watch the boat approach Fords Terror
which is a white water rapids caused by rapid changes of the
tide. There was a bald eagle perched on top of a pine tree
watching us. A few people were on the beach next to Fords
Terror. They were from small skiffs which came off a smaller
boat than the Safari Endeavor. I received a pair of boots,
size 12, on the upper deck. These will be used for shore hiking
in tide pools. Cocktail hour is at 5:30 every day. I went down early and
ordered a martini which was my second this year. I really liked it.
We saw an incredible number of humpback and orca
whales in a little bay we pulled into. It was pretty spectacular,
there were easily 20 whales putting on a show. One even
breached and went vertical launching himself into the air. So
cool. All this activity took place shortly after dinner. We
discovered the sun deck which is on the 4th floor. It was
pretty empty and a great place to take whale photos. Dinner
tonight was 50-50 cod and duck, both of which were delicious.
Dessert was cheesecake with blackberries. Wow. We had dinner
with a couple from indiana who owned a used semi truck business.
Also at our table were Paul and Anne. After dinner I stayed in the lounge for
the evening talk about some Alaskan lore. I may have dozed partly through the
talk.