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The 14-Day Alaskan Adventurer Cruise, August 22-September 6, 2010, Holland America Amsterdam

Text by Snookums, Pictures by Filbert

Part Six

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September 1 (Wednesday, Day 11, Kodiak, Alaska) -

Fishing boat in Kodiak Harbor

Filbert, Snookums and Judy left the ship around 9 AM to explore Kodiak, population 6,000. The day started kind of overcast and probably in the mid-50s. Alaskans layer their clothes and so did we. We walked about a mile into town. Kodiak is known as the “Fishing Capital of Alaska”. On the way to town we saw the Kodiak Island Brewing Company but it was closed until noon. We had to be back on the ship by 12:30 so Filbert and Judy weren’t sure they were going to be able to get any of Kodiak’s beer.

More after the jump . . . Then we saw a tourist store that had an ad for salmon leather wallets. We hadn’t heard of these before at any of the other ports and were curious what they were. That store was closed but we went into the one next to it and the cashier said that her husband has owned one for the last ten years and it’s as good as new. She also told us to go to the tribal community center next door for the flea market and the man that makes them would be there. Sure enough, a man buys salmon skins and 72 steps later has a wallet or moneyclip or checkbook cover. He said that the salmon processors just throw the skins out, but he has to buy them from them. He is certainly a craftsman and if he had had the styles of wallets that any of us used, we would have bought one. Judy did buy a pin in the shape of a salmon made from salmon skin. And, it was in the bin with items with slight imperfections so she got it for $3 rather than $11. We don’t know what the imperfection is. Snookums bought a jar of salmonberry jelly for Mom at the next table. The woman canned it two days ago. She said that whenever she sees berries growing along the road, she stops and picks them. Salmonberries look like raspberries but are more of a salmon color. They only last for about an hour after picking them and she said that as soon as she picks them she juices them and then freezes the juice and when she has enough for a batch of jelly then she’ll make some.

Our next stop in our wanderings was the free Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge. This was a new two-story building that housed exhibits. We watched a 15-minute film and then oohed and aahed over the skeleton of the grey whale that was suspended from the ceiling. In 2000 a local biology teacher found a dead grey whale on shore and decided that the skeleton would be great for tourists. They buried the carcass for four years to let it decompose. Then they spent a year cleaning all of the bones. Finally, seven years after she found it, it was suspended from the ceiling of the Kodiak National Wildlife Refuge. The biology teacher had no idea how much work would be involved with her find!

Whale bones

After the nice visit learning about nature, we went to the Holy Resurrection Russian Orthodox Church. It was built in 1945 but different churches have stood on this same site since 1794. When we left the church we decided to walk up to the Fred Zharoff Bridge in order to get photos of Kodiak. Next on our list of things was to get our picture taken under the “Welcome to Kodiak” sign at the harbor.

Russian Orthodox Church

Welcome to Kodiak

While there Snookums talked to three guys cleaning out a fishing boat and found out that they had just been out for the 3-month salmon season. They were college kids working a summer job and had been off the boat three times in the past three months for less than 24 hours each time. They actually came back yesterday and were spending today cleaning the boat thoroughly (with Dawn and Formula 409) to get it ready for dry-dock where it would stay for the next nine months until the next salmon season. They said that it hadn’t rained for six days during their fishing season and they were sick and tired of wearing the rain gear! (By the way, the day was now warm and sunny in Kodiak.) They said that the salmon run this year wasn’t too good but that the price of salmon was $1.40/pound rather than the normal $.50/pound. They were hoping to make $40,000 each but might have to settle for $25,000. They hadn’t been paid at all in three months.

Snookums and Judy (left) meet fishermen

Our next stop was the Safeway Liquor Store for various craft beers (including “Rogue Captain Sig’s Northwestern Ale” with Sig Hansen on the label from “Deadliest Catch”) and salmonberry wine made in Kodiak. On the way back to the ship we were surprised to see the Kodiak Island Brewing Company open since it was 11:45 AM. We stopped in and found out that it was a microbrewery and only sold beer from the tap (no cans and bottles). You could buy a growler of beer, but not a container with any “staying” power. However, they did have a tasting deal for $5 in order to taste all seven of their brews. Of course Judy and Filbert had to take advantage of that deal! Filbert also bought an empty glass and Snookums bought him a t-shirt that has one of the beer labels on the back. The label is for the company’s “Sarah Pale Ale” brew and is a parody of the St. Pauli girl in that it is a painting of Sarah Palin in a German bar maid outfit offering steins of beer. The employee said that they didn’t ask Sarah Palin if they could use her image and hadn’t heard anything from her, but figured she knew about it by now. Filbert likes the t-shirt since he says people won’t be able to tell if he likes Sarah Palin or not. We made it to the ship with three minutes to spare!

Beer sign

After a quick stop in the cabin we went to Lido for the salmon bake. Mom found me and Filbert and we later saw Dad and Judy enjoying the fresh salmon pan-fried poolside along with the clams and mussels. Everyone on the ship was saying it was the best salmon they had ever eaten. Even Snookums, who isn’t that fond of seafood, figured she should get in the spirit, enjoyed it.

Tonight was formal night and we had one of the free bottles of champagne in the suite prior to dinner. Roland and Bernice came, too, and then joined us for dinner since Gary and Charlotte don’t do formal dinners. Snookums ordered the deboned stuffed quail and was surprised when it showed up with its legs still on. However, she pulled off a leg and started eating the meat off the bone. She somehow swallowed a sliver of the bone and started choking (and crying due to the sensation) but she was okay. She quit on the legs after that and cut into the stuffed breast. Much to her chagrin, when she started chewing she found a huge bone in her mouth. At that point she was not going to eat the deboned stuffed quail and ordered the lasagna. So much for no bones! The rest of the meal went without incident.

We had the wine steward serve the salmonberry wine after dinner and everyone thought it was kind of different, but in a good way. Filbert and Mom thought it was tart and Judy thought it was sweet. All of the glasses were emptied so it must have been okay.

Salmonberry wine bottle

The dessert extravaganza was at 10:30 PM but Snookums and Filbert have seen enough of them and didn’t even go. Instead Snookums ate the birch syrup caramel corn that was purchased at the Alaska State Fair.

Coast Guard C-130 doing touch-and-go landings at the Kodiak Coast Guard station

Next: Hubbard Glacier!