Laundry & Scotch in Hoonah

Today's coveted cover photo is courtesy of Susan, master photographer.   Look at the color of this poppy.   Makes me want a bagel...

We hiked down to the Icy Strait Lodge for breakfast this morning, thank you John, Susan for breakfast!

The photo is of the lodge with John & Susan in it.

It was on the walk back that Susan spied the poppy, above.
The Tongass National Forest is enormous.   So far, the entire trip has been within its boundaries.

The Tongass National Forest covers more than 17,000,000 acres and is the largest coastal temperate national forest in the world.





We hiked back to the marina and checked-in at the Harbormaster's office.  Fortunately, they were able to move us to a slip with power and water.

That shift allowed us to do laundry!   Yea!   Our onboard washer & dryer require 220V.  So, I can plug into shorepower or run the generator to get 220V.  Laundry also consumes a lot of water, so it is handier to obtain shoreside where I can readily get power and water.

So, today was laundry day!
Here are a few pictures of nearby workboats in the marina.   Working marinas are cool.   They lack some of the upscale tourist facilities, but what is here is real and very functional.
We then hiked out to Icy Strait Point where the cruise ships dock.  That's about 1.7 miles from our marina. 

We spied a classic old seiner that had been turned into a tourist display.  Just thinking of Allen & Ellen and a potential new boat for their fleet!   Only a little bit of work to keep her from sinking!
The old pier in Hoonah out at Icy Strait Point.
Lunch!   King crab, Reindeer chili and a Crabby Bloody Mary.

Thank heavens for master schucker, John, who dismantled the crab with aplomb and did so in mere seconds.
On our walk back to the marina, we passed this Robert Wyland sculpture.  Someone, ahem, Susan, snapped this photo...
The view back into Port Frederick, the bay that Hoonah is in.   Hoonah is just off to the left in this photo.

Salmon identification chart.   All I know is that Kings, Coho, and Sockeye are my favorites, in that order.  I'm not a big fan of Pinks (aka Humpy) as their meat is mushy and watery.

But for my East Coast friends and family, you haven't had salmon until you've had Pacific Northwest Salmon.   The Atlantic salmon is completely different.

I will go out on a pretty short limb here and declare that PNW King Salmon is simply the best fish I've ever had.   And that is saying a lot for this Kansas raised boy!   Oh, wait a minute...

We stopped by a liquor store on our way back to the boat and bought a selection of whiskies.

So, we had a whisky tasting back on Blue Redd.

The Westland had a smoky carmel nose, the GlenFiddich was velvety smooth, the Four Roses was powerful and sweet, and the GlenDronach was delightful.   Hard to pick the best out of this bunch, but all were quite good.
With all this whisky/Scotch we had to have Irish Beef Stew for dinner.  Perfect pairing!

John introduced me to a fabulous musical artist, London Grammar.   I’d heard their music at AXPONA earlier this spring, but I didn’t know who they were.   Very impressive.   Thanks!




We walked over 18,000 steps today.   Not bad.

We will stay in town tomorrow to finish provisioning and prepare for our jaunt through Glacier Bay.  There are no stores or services of note in Glacier Bay so whatever we get here must last us 8 more days until we arrive in Juneau.   We may have to go on a much-needed diet!

Good Night, My Friends.

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