Snapshots 4.0

Chapter 10 – Skagway

The ship docked in Skagway at 6 AM and that was the time Maura thought she had set her alarm for. However, that didn't happen. Maura and Jane had overslept. They were supposed to wake up at 6 AM so they could meet Arianna and Mario for breakfast at 7 AM. Arianna and Mario waited for an extra 10 minutes and then decided to go up and check on them. They were never late, never. Arianna knocked on their door and startled Maura awake. She quickly got up and put on her robe and answered the door. Arianna could see how flustered Maura looked.

"Late night huh, were you still sleeping?" Arianna asked as Maura yawned and nodded in the affirmative. She had a slightly embarrassed look on her face. Arianna just smiled and said, "How about we get some breakfast and coffee to go for the two of you while you get up and get dressed. Our excursion is leaving at 8 AM, you still have time to get dressed and meet us downstairs." Maura nodded and shut the door so she could wake Jane up and they could get ready to go.

They would only be in Skagway until 5 PM and they would be gone for the majority of the time they were in port as their excursion was almost seven hours. Maura quickly woke Jane up and told her, "Jane, love my alarm didn't go off we overslept. We need to get up and get going."

"Five more minutes, Maur please. It's too early." Jane pleaded with Maura as she put the pillow over her face to block out the light. Maura knew she didn't have time to let Jane have her customary five more minutes. They needed to get moving they were late and they could still make the excursion if they got up and got dressed.

"No, Jane, we need to get up now." Maura insisted. She hated being forceful with Jane but they really needed to get up and get dressed.

Jane whined, "I'm tired Maur, you wore me out last night."

"I'm tired also Jane, but we overslept and we need to get moving." Maura said as she put Jane's clothes on the bed for her.

"We never oversleep Maur, you always set your alarm." Jane explained and Maura nodded in agreement.

"I know but I must have been distracted and forgot to turn the alarm on." Maura told Jane as she was half dressed already. Jane was sitting up in the bed and was thankful that Maura had laid her clothes out for her.

Jane stood up and started getting dressed and said, "But I need coffee and something to eat before we go." Jane was worried that the normal snacks that Maura carried for her would not be enough to satisfy her beast of a stomach.

"Arianna is getting you something to eat and some coffee. We just have to meet them downstairs as soon as we can. She is grabbing things that can be eaten on the go."

"Do you think she will grab me some bacon? I really want bacon, that is able to be eaten on the go." Jane advised Maura. Maura just smiled at how Jane was rationalizing how she could still have bacon.

"I know. I will text her and make sure she grabs some bacon for you." Maura said as she pulled out her phone to send a message to Arianna to make sure she grabbed some bacon for Jane.

"Thank you Maur." Jane said as she rushed into the bathroom to use the restroom and finish getting ready. Maura was all dressed and ready to go. If was a quarter to 8 when they met Arianna and Mario downstairs. Jane didn't waste any time seeking out the bacon and coffee from Arianna.

After she took a sip of coffee and a bite of bacon she smiled and said, "Thank you Arianna. Have I told you how much I love and appreciate you?"

"Now, I know that is the bacon and coffee talking." Arianna stated as they laughed and disembarked from the ship. They met their excursion on time and once on the bus Jane and Maura took a deep breath and relaxed a little. They were both still eating some breakfast, Jane a little faster than Maura. Maura was sipping her tea as she enjoyed her breakfast. Maura was able to get some additional coffee to put in her Thermos. She knew Jane liked the coffee on the ship and she wasn't sure about the coffee on the train so she wanted to make sure Jane had coffee.

Maura wondered now that they were retired if Jane's coffee intake would slow down. She wondered also if Jane would continue to work out as much as she had while keeping in shape for her job. Retirement is something they were just figuring out so there were quite a few unknowns that they would figure out together. They had time to figure out everything except for some trips they had planned they were free to do what they wanted when they wanted. She was looking forward to that. She knew Jane was looking forward to being able to sleep in more often.

The quick bus ride took them to the depot where they would board the vintage White Pass & Yukon Route railcar for their scenic train ride following the path that the miners followed in search of gold. They saw spectacular waterfalls as the open-air railcar took some cliff-hanging turns on it's 40-mile roundtrip journey to the summit. All four of them were taking pictures as the railcar slowly journeyed along the mountain side.

Jane wished they could have gone to some of the waterfalls as they were beautiful but there were no stops on the railcar. Just the slow 40-mile journey with fantastic views. Most of the terrain was treacherous and they all wondered how in the heck they managed to build a track for the railcar to travel. Maura of course knew the answer and shared her knowledge of how the mountain was carved and the track was installed. The tour guide had explained some facts but Maura's facts were given in greater detail. Maura never seemed to stop amazing Jane with her random facts.

When they arrived back at the depot, they boarded a motorcoach to take a scenic ride through the downtown historic district. They were provided a BBQ lunch when they stopped at Dredge Town and after lunch they were shown how to pan for gold and found a small piece of gold in their pans.

They all enjoyed panning for gold. Jane and Arianna of course had to make a bet on who would pan the most gold. Their guide had told them that everybody would find some gold in their pan. So, the standard fifty-dollar bet was made. Mario and Maura wanted to participate in this bet and told Jane and Arianna that they bet five dollars that one of them would get more gold then either one of them. Jane and Arianna looked at each other and agreed to the bet. They figured one of them would get more gold than Maura or Mario.

All of the town's people were dressed in period costumes and played the part from the old gold mining days. It was very entertaining. They spent about twenty minutes learning and then panning for their gold. They took their gold into the Gold Shack and had it weighed before heading into the giftshop and heading back to the ship. They weighed their gold and Maura had the most and she gladly held out her hand to Jane and Arianna to receive her five-dollar bill from each of them. Being the sportswoman that she was she gave Mario five dollars.

There was only .01 of an ounce difference between Jane and Arianna's gold. With Arianna being the victor. She was so happy. It was close but she won fair and square. Jane handed her the fifty-dollar bill. They had the clerk put Arianna and Mario's gold in the same souvenir container and Jane and Maura's in another souvenir container. Jane put their container in her pocket. She knew just where she wanted to place it in their house when they got home.

They boarded the motorcoach and headed back to the ship. Tonight, they were having dinner in the Sterling Steakhouse at 7 PM, so they wanted to be showered and dressed in time for their dinner reservations.

After perusing the menu Jane decided she would have the Filet Mignon with Red Skin Mashed Potatoes and Grilled Asparagus, while Mario decided on the Porterhouse with a Loaded Baked Idaho Potato and Sautéed Wild Mushrooms. Maura and Arianna agreed that they would have the Pan-Roasted Chilean Sea Bass, Champagne Mousseline with Leek and Mushroom Ragout.

They spent almost two hours enjoying their meal, Maura had picked out an elegant wine and two bottles later they were ready for dessert. They skipped the restaurant's dessert menu and went back to their rooms for dessert.

They had a day at sea the next day so they would be able to sleep in and Jane was looking forward to that. She didn't want to tell Maura but she was exhausted. She had a feeling that Maura was dragging a little herself so she didn't feel too guilty for enjoying their adult time the night before.

They had decided before retiring to their rooms that they would meet for breakfast at 9:00. The dining room closed at 9:30 and as long as they were in there before then they could sit down and have a formal breakfast. They figured they hadn't done that yet and they really liked their wait staff.