Well hey everyone!
Welcome to Day 7 of our Alaskan adventure!!
And yeah, I know. It’s been a minute since my last post. And for that, I apologize. I wish I could say it was because I was super busy or like traveling or something else cool like that. But honestly? I was just lazy you guys.
But the good news? Now we are getting into the holidays. Which means I actually will be busy.
…
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Oh I don’t think it means I will publish posts any faster. But at least I’ll have excuses.
Er. Right!
Let’s get on with it!
Our “It’s my birthday” 2026 Alaskan Trip – Day 7
So Day 7. We were still up early but not like EARRRLLLLLYYY like some of our other days on this trip. More like 6:30 early times.
And yeah, of course it was pretty out there.
I mean, it’s what Alaska does. Being pretty. Alaska is the Nickie of states.
For breakfast, I think Nickie and Larissa walked down to the International Café once again to grab some food to bring back to the rooms.
Nickie went all Millennial and went in for the Avocado Toast.
Which she was all, “Avocado? More like Avocad-ohhhh that’s pretty good.”
I’m paraphrasing here.
And she grabbed me a Breakfast Burrito and an Almond Croissant
Have I mentioned these Almond Croissants yet? Because they’re kind of whoa. Like real good. Highly recommend y’all. Plus they remind me of a character from a movie my nieces and I came up with one night while strung out on Four Lokos. It was a movie called Takerz vs. Def Squad and it was about these kidnappers called the Takerz where all their names were based on candy bars.
Al Mundjoy was one of them.
But I mean Al Mundcroissant has a nice ring to it too. Sounds pretty elegant actually. You pronounce it Al Mund-cwa-sont.
We had an excursion planned for today but it wasn’t for a little bit so we all kind of took our time this morning. I even had time to hit the gym. Which, as you all may remember, was up on Deck 17. Which gave me the chance to walk by this whole situation.
Welcome to Skagway, y’all!
Being today was a port day, the gym was all kinds of empty today.
I got in my 12-3-30 with this view in front of me.
Which yeah – not like super impressive. But as I was working out, a bald eagle literally flew right by that window. So I mean. America.
After I finished up with my workout, I saw I had a message from Nickie saying to meet her and the Falzones up on Deck 6 at Crooners Bar. Before I did so, I did stop off at the International Café on Deck 5 to get a coffee (and OF COURSE I asked if they wanted anything on account of I am some sort of hero).
I brought my Salted Caramel Swirl (yes, again) up to Crooners and found them sitting by the window.
Right, Crooners Bar. Not to be confused with the Driving Crooner.
And hey I mean up there, she also had a mimosa waiting for me.
So like I guess she’s some sort of hero even moreso.
How were the mimosas? Well this dude gave it his official seal of approval.
Get it?
He’s a seal.
Yeah. You got it.
But that guy was just chilling outside the window this morning.
Alaska life, amirite?
After we finished up with our drinks, we all walked back to our cabins but on the way we passed these tables of games and books passengers could borrow.
Love that.
Back at the cabin, I took a quick shower and got ready for the day. Since our actual Skagway excursion wasn’t for a little bit, we decided to meet the crew for lunch up on Deck 16 at Slice Pizzeria.
And yeah, the pizza was still delicious stuff.
Slice kind of just can’t stop killing it. I ended up going with two slices of pepperoni because that pepperoni was all kinds of good.
Once we finished up with our pizza, it was time to head off the ship.
Now, in Skagway there were these ongoing landslides and rockslides over near the docks. You can see the whole situation here.
And kids – I know all those slides sound real fun. But like, landslides and rockslides are dangerous. Stick to the playgrounds. A little tip from your Uncle Wayne.
So we had to take these little tender boats from ship-to-land. Lookit this little guy.
Cute right? Annnd it’s a lifeboat so we got to pretend we were in Titanic for a little bit.
So fun.
Actually though? When I’ve seen these boats while walking around cruise ships in the past, I have always been like, “I’d like to ride in one of those. But you know, not because of an emergency. I just think they look cozy.”
They do, don’t they? It’s a shame you have to be worried about drowning to have to ride in one usually.
Not today tho. Today we get to NOT DROWN and ride in one.
Myles, Owen, Liam, and Hannah took an earlier boat over than us so we boarded with the Falzones.
And yeah, I thought it looked really cozy inside.
So we sat on top.
Goodbye, Discovery Princess.
And hello, Skagway.
So our excursion today was the White Pass Summit Rail & Bus Excursion, which was a 1 hour, 45 minute train ride up to the White Pass Summit and a bus ride back down. I think you can book it in the reverse order but ours was train up, bus down.
We boarded our train at around 12:30 PM.
Lookit us. All boarded and what not.
I should note – as you can see Nickie and I are right up front. Right near the bathroom. And um.
How do I put this?
I mean, if you have a choice – maybe don’t sit right next to the bathroom.
Is all I’m saying.
Because it’s a bathroom.
But yeah the ride is about a 20-mile journey along the mountainside (though in terms of vertical elevation gain, its only .55 miles straight up).
And yeah man. This thing was scenic AF.
I am not really sure how to do this since I have like a hella-bunch of pictures of this whole situation. I think I may just have to do a photo dump here, but maybe I will jump in from time to time with some narration, much like the train ride actually where we basically just enjoyed the ride with some narration from our crew popped in here and there.
It’ll be like you’re right there with us. Except not at all like that.
Let’s ride the train. Chugga Chugga.
Look how pretty.
Lulz. Kidding, that was like right when we were leaving. Things got hella-scenic.
And while we could def sit and watch the scenery pass from our seats, we were also welcome to stand outside on the platforms on either side of our train car, which offered some pretty cool views.
Oh I should also mention we were also given complimentary water while on-board.
And we could have as much as we wanted. And I took full advantage of that.
Which is an important fact you should remember for later.
But yeah man, the higher we climbed the more impressive the scenery became. It was a lot to take in.
Speaking of impressive…
I mean. Right tho?
We booked this tour because we heard it was breathtakingly beautiful. And like, it seemed we were def on the right track.
On the right track guys.
Trains.
Again, the views on this thing were pretty spectacular stuff.
We crossed bridges, we went through tunnels. We lived, man.
I mean, not THAT bridge.
Srsly tho. Look at this situation.
And this situation? Equally impressive.
Prior to hitting the summit, I should mention they did have to check our passports because we were going to be heading into Canada for a little bit. So like pro tip if choo-choo-choose to book this excursion, don’t forget your passport y’all.
At a little bit past 3:15, we hit the summit. And guys – I don’t think these pictures do this justice because like – with the lake and the rocks and the colors and the little trees and what not – it just kind of felt like we landed on another planet.
Btw – that whole “felt like we were on another planet” line? I’m gonna use that again later in the trip. I mean, look – there’s only so much material to go around.
But yah we were in Canada, eh? And this was where we had to make the switch from train to bus.
And this is probably where I should also remind you of all the free water I drank on the train. Remember this?
TRAIN 17 ALASKA 2026 DAY 7
Well because of all that water, I made sure to hit the bathroom before we got off the train.
…
…
The end. That’s the end of that story.
Fine, it’s not. It’s just the beginning, actually.
But right. We got off the train and boarded our bus. And yeah, things continued to be like…whoa.
And the good thing about a bus is like you can stop and get out and see stuff. Like as we were heading back into Alaska, our bus driver pulled over and let us all get a picture of the situation.
Which I thought was a good sign.
Literally.
After we grabbed that picture, we hopped back on the bus. And like, I started to feel like maybe that final bathroom visit didn’t take care of alllll the free water I consumed. Which was a problem given the bus didn’t have a bathroom.
Oh well, I mean, how bad can it be? It should be an easy ride back into Skagway and…
What the crap? A waterfall? Seriously? A WATERFALL?
You guys have NO IDEA how much pain I was in in that picture right there.
Oh right, that waterfall was Bridal Veil Falls or whatever. You guys. I really had to pee.
When we were back on the bus, I tried taking my mind off it by playing Impostor with the kids but I was playing through gritted teeth and crossed legs. I was really getting worried this was gonna be a bad bad thing very soon.
Sooooo…Nickie was just like, “I think you should talk to the bus driver.” So awkwardly, I walked up to the front of the bus and the conversation went like this:
Me: Oh, uh hi so.
Bus driver: Oh whats up? Can I help you with anything?
Me: Well, I was wondering. Is there maybe a place someone could go to the bathroom coming up?
Bus driver: Actually, we should be hitting the US Border Inspection Station in like 10 minutes. Why? Does one of the kids with you have to go?
Me: (embarrassed, still in pain) Well, no. It’s me actually.
Bus driver: Ah oh. Well sure. Yeah, you can hop off and run in there.
Yeah. I am an embarrassment.
But true to her word, we were there within 10 minutes. Unfortunately, it was a long line of cars when we got there. So it was more like 20 minutes by the time I was able to hop out. And you guys – that was a lonnnnnng 20 minutes.
But hey, the bus pulled over and I was able to run in and take care of business.
And for those keeping score, this was indeed the second time we re-routed a bus full of tourists to take care of our own needs (the first time being just yesterday when we had to go to the Verizon store in Juneau to replace Nickie’s phone).
But whatever you guys. I don’t know if I have ever felt as much relief as I did in this picture Nickie took of me running back to the bus.
Like this could crack the top 5 of happiest moments of this trip.
Also – when I got back on the bus, the entire bus applauded. Which I think was designed to sort of poke fun at me, but I love attention. So. Joke’s on you guys.
But overall – this excursion? Highly recommend it if Skagway is one of your port days. The scenery on both the train ride up and the bus ride down was unreal. And I loved kind of mixing it up with both the train and the bus ride. Plus, we wouldn’t have gotten a picture with that Alaska sign if we had opted for the round-trip train (which is an option btw.) The crew was great as well. This excursion actually ended up being a favorite of a few members of our party so for sure-recommend.
Some tips if you do book this one:
- Like I said, don’t forget your passport if you do book this excursion (you DON’T need it for the round-trip train since you don’t get off).
- Maybe choose a seat not right next to the bathroom. Unless you’re into that sort of thing.
- And yeah I mean. Watch it on the water. I guess the lesson here is don’t hydrate guys. It’s not worth it.
Speaking of hydrating though. When we arrived back in Skagway, I was parched. Soooo Nickie, Tony, Larissa, Mia, and I decided to hit up the Red Onion Saloon…
… while the rest of the crew decided to do some sightseeing around the admittedly super cute town.
Now, the Red Onion. It was not only a bar but also a brothel museum.
Why yes I did say Mia joined us. Why?
Guys relax. She got a hot chocolate.
I also don’t fully know why a brothel would call itself the Red Onion. Even if I were in the market for such services the “onion” thing would probably put me off I think. I just…you know. Onions aren’t the most er uh…erotic of vegetables. Know what I mean?
Anyway though. Like I said, we were thirsty. And thankfully – behold, the Reindeer Fart shot.
Yah. Another “fart” shot. We did a Duck Fart just yesterday in Juneau.
Alaskans LOVE farts. So I dunno. Maybe the term “Red Onion” is alluring after all?
But right so we had the Duck Fart yesterday. That one was made with Kahlua, Bailey’s and Crown Royal. The Reindeer Fart, meanwhile is also made with Kahlua and Bailey’s but it swaps the Crown Royal for Peppermint Schnapps.
I liked both honestly. But I think maybe I prefer the Reindeer Fart actually. I dunno. The mint of the Schnapps really did add a little bit more depth to the shot. The menu described it as “Christmas in your mouth” and yeah, I can see that. In fact, we liked it so much? We ordered another round.
Poor Mia.
But we did also order some food. We got a plate of the Naughty Nelly Nachos, topped with melted cheddar cheese, red onions (doy, of course), tomatoes, green onions, salsa and sour cream. We also opted to get the jalapenos on the side along with some guacamole.
And yah, they were pretty good. I mean they were nachos you guys. I love you, nachos.
Good stuff, that Red Onion.
Afterwards, Tony and I split off to do some…shopping. While the rest of the group went over to this Alaskan Fry Bread situation everyone talks about. Like literally – if you look up what to do in Skagway, this place will inevitably come up.
I didn’t get to try it, so I can’t comment on it but I mean. It’s fried dough, right? Like something I can get after riding the Gravitron at the local carnival? Is it not?
Annnnyway, at this point it was already 6PM so we all made the call to head back to the ship so we could hit the main dining room for dinner.
Lookit – here’s Myles, Hannah, Owen, and Liam. Heading back to the ship so we could hit the main dining room for dinner.
Wild that just this random picture of these guys is still hella-scenic.
The rest of us also headed back to the ship so we could hit the main dining room for dinner.
What a fun day in Skagway you guys.
Once back on the ship, we all went back to our respective cabins to get ready for dinner. Well, Nickie got “ready.” I just took my vest off I guess?
So pretty.
We all met back down in the main dining room at 7:30 and look. Bread!
We put in our orders and while we were waiting for our appetizers, our head waiter walked around handing out Coconut Shrimp like some sort of shellfish Santa.
And yah, it was good. It was coconut shrimp. Doy.
For my appetizer, I went with the Spinach and Artichoke Dip.
Which was really good. The dip was nice and creamy and warm and flavorful and dippy. I think my only complaint was like…that’s all the bread I get with it? Thankfully, there was a bread basket I could dip into.
I also snapped some pictures of a few other appetizers around the table, like this Caesar Salad.
And this French Onion Soup Pot Pie Style thing.
And this carbonara. Which I think actually I also got in addition to my dip?
Also a stellar appetizer.
For my main, I went with the Beef Wellington with a red wine demi-glace, mashed potatoes, and steamed vegetables.
Was it the best Beef Wellington I’ve ever had? I mean, no. But it was very good. Like, if I was on the Discovery Princess again and this was on the menu, I think I’d order it again. For a mass-produced Beef Wellington, it was definitely tasty.
Now, dinner once again took two hours. Which, for a main dining room meal, is just not great. But at least tonight, we weren’t trying to catch any shows. And that meant I could enjoy my dessert tonight even if it was 9:30 – which was the Chocolate Souffle with Vanilla Sauce.
And enjoy that I did. Real good dessert.
I know I said it before, but the food on the Discovery Princess was relatively good-to-really-good. The service left something to be desired here and there, but the food usually didn’t disappoint.
As we were enjoying dinner, we all talked about the plan for the night. Some folks wanted to head down to karaoke while others (and by others, I mean Nickie, Larissa, and Hannah) wanted to just kinda chill.
Hannah wanted to hang in her own cabin so Myles walked her back while Tony and I walked back with Nickie and Larissa to our cabins. And we got them nice and cozy on the balcony.
And poured them some champagne.
They were real comfortable. Like, almost too comfortable.
Oh wait sorry. Did I forget to mention they were kind of drunk before we even got back to the cabin?
Hah, my bad.
The rest of us – me, Tony, Myles, Owen, Liam, and Mia – headed down to Princess Live! for some karaoke. And we got there right on time to get our names in. And by “right on time” I mean we got there like a half hour before it started because otherwise it would have filled up by the time it was supposed to start, 10PM.
Myles sang “Part of Your World” from the Little Mermaid, which obvs brought the house down.
I don’t have any pictures of my performance but I went with “Baby Got Back” and while I was singing, the lyrics completely disappeared from the screen but like a true professional I just kept right on going.
I was pretty impressive, is what I’m saying to you.
So I think I earned this.
Yup – we kept the farts going. They had Duck Farts on the menu. Fart fart fart.
Post-karaoke, we all decided to take an evening stroll and check out the scenery. And yeah, it was like 11:45 at this point but still kind of bright-ish out.
Then it was time to say our goodnights and get to bed.
And yeah, that’s kind of our Skagway Day. Our Skag-Day. It was a good one. I like Skagway.
That’s Day 7, y’all. Stay tuned for the next couple days which will be like, “HI LOOK GLACIERS!!”
See y’all then!
Last post – Day 6!
