So, on we go toward the northern hemisphere. We had 2 Monday, April 19th’s. That was the good news. You know, we crossed the international date line. The not so good news was that like all the days afterward, our extra day has only 23 hours. We have been losing the hour between 2 and 3 pm everyday. It is making our bodies go bonkers.
Yesterday, the 20th, we were able to see the Aleutians, the islands that run south west of Alaska. We were traveling on the north side of the chain due to weather on the south. We did have some wave action and wind, even as far away from the weather as we were.
These are the clearest pictures we were able to get. The weather kept closing in and snowing. And the sun set. How rotten of it. So the pictures eventually got too dark.
My dad was stationed somewhere in the Aleutians during his war. I’m not sure which one, but I am pretty sure it was not one of these, but further south west. They remind us of when we were in Antarctica.
I had hoped to spot some wildlife, but only one whale was spotted by Duane, and pretty far off. It must have breached, because all they saw was a huge splash.
Today, Wednesday the 21,(and yes that is the same day as your 21st) we had some excitement. We were told by the captain that a passenger had to be evacuated for medical purposes. We would be diverting toward Kodiak Island and be met part way by a helicopter and plane. We had to travel through several snow squalls to get to our rendezvous point. When the ship slows down in open ocean, the waves have a very great effect on her. We had plates and food flying around the buffet. The crew is great, though. They deal with this a lot.
Anyway, the helicopter came and had to make 4 approaches. We weren’t allowed in the forward section of the ship, so they could work, so we didn’t see exactly what was happening. The rumors about who was being evacuated were rampant. We do believe we figured out who it was. We were not close to him, which is only good news for us, sort of.
From what we could see, the helicopter came to the ship 4 times. While this was going on, a plane, see above photo, was flying around and around. We figured it was for refueling and/or looking for weather fronts and/or there for rescue of something went bad. Nothing did. The helicopter had to leave a couple of times due to us entering a weather front, or it overtaking us. The winds picked up and visibility was zero due to blowing snow. It was rather scary to watch the ship bow going up and down with a helicopter trying to stay above it.
Well, the Coast Guard know what they are doing. They were able to get the man on board and away they finally went. I think the whole thing, from the planes arriving to their leaving, took over an hour. Hopefully the plane had enough fuel for both of them to get to Kodiak. From there, we imagine, they will have to transport him to Anchorage or some other big city. We think he needs dialysis.
Well, we have continued on our way. The trip is much smoother now. Duane is snoring on the bed. The time changes don’t seem to bother him.
Love to all, till next time.
We are hoping to find some internet in Vancouver or Seattle.
Deb, I will try to get a phone working so we can set up a pick up. Let me know about Mike when you know. (our brother may be meeting us in LA. He wants to see our pictures. He has no idea:)
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