08 July 2015; Haines, Alaska.

Yesterday I made a remark in my blog that might need a little bit more clarification. I wrote “We were in Seward on the 5^th. and that meant that the day before it was the 4^th. of July, which is also in Alaska the National Holiday.” That would make sense as Alaska is part of the USA. So why the remark? Basically to my utter amazement there are quite a few people on board who do not seem to grasp that. As I am now seeing a lot more of what goes on in the ship, instead of mostly living on the bridge, there are a considerable number of guests who see Alaska as something foreign or at least not directly being part of the USA.  Americans and non-Americans alike. I had heard about questions before at the Front Desk if they could pay with US dollars in Alaska or with an American credit card but I had  never given it much thought.

Until during the last northbound cruise I picked up, here and there, a few snippets of conversation which brought the message home.  The three things I heard this time:  They speak Eskimo in Alaska, Lumberjacks have the right of way (Do not ask me where that one came from) and Alaskans do not like to fly the American flag; they have this “blue thing”.

Also Haines where we were today; has come in for some of those remarks in the past. The one I liked the best, this was some years ago, was the exclamation of a lady going off the Gangway: “look Harry, see those nice white houses on the hill? Answer: “keep going dear, they build foreign over here.”

Well they do not build “foreign” in Haines but the scenery looks different compared to the other ports we visit and that gives it its charm. The sky line of Haines is dominated by (ex) Army buildings, and thus a lot of the houses look a bit different than what most guests are used to seeing at home.

According to Wikipedia, The army built Fort William H. Seward south of Haines in 1904. Later it became Chilkoot barracks named after a town nearby, which later merged into Haines. Until the 2^nd world war it was the only Army post in the Alaska. The fort was deactivated in 1946 but some gun emplacements are still there and of course the housing of the Army Officers, which can be seen dotted against the sky line of Haines.  So the latter makes the town look so different.  The fort itself was restored in 1972 and is now a National Landmark.

Haines as seen from lifeboat nbr. 2 during low tide. The large white building on the right was once part of the army barracks.

Thus Haines might be missing the shopping of Skagway and the train up the mountain but there is enough to do to keep one happily occupied for the day.  What some guests found very interesting was the General Store in Haines. With the shopping Malls, Home Depot and other large chains, General Stores have disappeared from many places in the USA but in smaller Alaskan towns, especially those which have limited connectivity with the outside world, they are still there. For one Family today it was a nostalgic tour to go there, as “Grand pa’s father had one in the 1930’s”.

Today it was a real Alaska day. Very little rain but overcast with low hanging clouds.  Tomorrow we are in Juneau and the weather is supposed to be the same. Another Misty Mountain day as Tolkien would say.