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Hakodate Provides Another Opportunity to Lose Myself in Painting

Posted on September 21, 2024 by Jo Johnston

Day 17, 2024 Majestic Japan Wednesday, Sept. 18, 2024; Hakodate, Japan When I am painting on site, I can almost fall into a trance, barely aware of what is happening around me. Today, a Japanese man broke through, offering to airdrop to me a photo he just took as I

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2024 Majestic Japan
6 comments

Caution: Ports May Not Match Memories From Past Visits

Posted on September 18, 2024 by Jo Johnston

Day 16, 2024 Majestic Japan Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024; Kushiro, Japan Perhaps every port can’t delight me. Sadly, Kushiro ended up being one of those ports today. I’ve been here twice before and thoroughly enjoyed exploring it on foot with my friend Joyce. The highlight has been the Washo Market

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2024 Majestic Japan
8 comments

Suite or Just a Place to Sleep? A Stateroom for Every Taste

Posted on September 18, 2024 by Jo Johnston

Day 15, 2024 Majestic Japan Monday, Sept. 16, 2024; At Sea, Northern Pacific Ocean For every cruiser, there’s an opinion about the preferred stateroom. Many people never sail in anything without a balcony. Others stretch the budget and double their cruising days by picking an inside cabin, considering it simply

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2024 Majestic Japan
7 comments

Dutch Harbor: Home of Famous and Not-So-Famous Fishing Vessels

Posted on September 12, 2024 by Jo Johnston

Day 10, 2024 Majestic Japan Tuesday, Sept. 10, 2024; Dutch Harbor, Alaska We should have known that a 53-day cruise without a single tender port was too good to be true. A U.S. navy ship pulled rank and bumped us from today’s assigned pier in Dutch Harbor, Alaska, so we

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2024 Majestic Japan
9 comments

When the Rain in Haines Falls Mainly on the Fort, Go to Plan B or C

Posted on September 10, 2024 by Jo Johnston

Day 6, 2024 Majestic Japan Friday, Sept. 6, 2024; Haines, Alaska You know what they say about best laid plans going awry. That described today for me. Nonetheless, I enjoyed myself and ended up with a watercolor to show for it. I’ve learned that Southeast Alaska rain isn’t like rain

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2024 Majestic Japan
5 comments

Visiting a Friend’s Special Log in Sitka’s Rain Forest

Posted on September 6, 2024 by Jo Johnston

Day 5, 2024 Majestic Japan Thursday, Sept. 5, 2024; Sitka, Alaska We lucked out today in Sitka, Alaska, as earlier forecasts for rain today disappeared. The sun tried unsuccessfully to peek through low-hanging clouds, but for this town where it rains two out of every three days, we’ll count today

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2024 Majestic Japan
8 comments

Exploring, Painting and Candy Shopping in Historic Vancouver

Posted on September 5, 2024September 5, 2024 by Jo Johnston

Day 3, 2024 Majestic Japan Tuesday, Sept. 3, 2024; Vancouver, BC, Canada Normally cruise ships start or end their Alaska cruises in Vancouver, so unless cruisers plan to extend their trips, they don’t see much of this beautiful city. We have the full day here, so I took advantage and

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2024 Majestic Japan
9 comments

Victoria Offers Opportunity for New Adventures in Watercolor

Posted on September 4, 2024 by Jo Johnston

Day 2, 2024 Majestic Japan Monday, Sept. 1, 2024; Victoria, BC, Canada What a rare treat – a full day in Victoria on a cruise! Typically, ships call here for just a couple of hours in order to satisfy the peculiarities of U.S. maritime law. We docked at 7 a.m.

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2024 Majestic Japan
11 comments

After Eight Weeks on Land, A Return to Life at Sea

Posted on August 31, 2024 by Jo Johnston

Day -1, 2024 Majestic Japan Saturday, Aug. 31, 2024; Gig Harbor, Washington I’m just about as envious as I can be, watching the sunrise from the home of dear friends Jan and Jim in Gig Harbor, just outside Seattle. What a perfect place to live! Jim was instrumental in drawing

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2024 Majestic Japan
24 comments

Grizzly Bear Adventure Caps Amazing Four-Week Alaska Cruise

Posted on July 9, 2024 by Jo Johnston

Day 27, 2024 Ultimate Alaska Friday, July 5, 2024; Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada Cruises should stop more often in Prince Rupert, Canada. It’s a nice deep-water port in British Columbia and fulfills the requirement that ships stop in a non-U.S. port when sailing round trip from Seattle. Typically cruise

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2024 Ultimate Alaska
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