Shopping in Skagway

We have been watching the cruise ships with interest. They come and go by stealth. We have finally figured out their routine. They come in overnight, usually stay till after supper, then they leave. When we wake up in the morning, different ones are anchored. It's really pretty cool. Looking down the main street in Skagway, you can see the one ship at the end of the street. They move silently, except for the blasts from their horn, but we haven't always heard it. We have never taken a cruise, but it does look enticing.

The merchants here are all prepared for the cruisers. They assume everyone here arrived by ship. We are confused by the number of jewelry shops in town. There are more of those than even restaurants. Do people on cruises like to buy jewelry? A lot of it looks like junk and/or costume type jewelry. But it all has a hefty price tag on it. I have found I wear very little jewelry. I have a few pieces I really like, but since we went full time and live in the motorhome, I just haven't been interested in carrying around a lot of it. I did buy one piece today. It is a glass necklace that represents “winter” in Alaska. It's kind of hard to explain, but the artist was making them in his shop. He has glass rods with a design in them. These he cuts into small bits and makes a frame (round, heart-shaped, tear drop, etc.) into which he places the pieces. Then he fires it in an oven and the glass melts into one piece. He was very talented and made some very unusual pieces. I bought one I liked because it was an authentic Alaskan souvenir.

We stopped in at the “Days of '98” which is an hour-long show they do several times a day. It is a musical and depicts life in Skagway during the time of “Soapy Smith,” who was a con man who controlled much of the money in Skagway during his day. Eventually a resident, Frank Reid, took him to task. That ended in both their deaths and they are buried in the old cemetery outside of town. Frank died a hero for having liberated Skagway of its most notorious citizen. It was a delightful show incorporating a few members of the audience and was a lot of fun.

We walked down through most of the streets today and bought just a few things. We don't need anything, but found a few things we liked. We also took time to have lunch while we were out. We stopped at the Sweet Tooth Cafe. I had grilled halibut which was very good and Terry had a patty melt. It was one of the more reasonably priced restaurants we have seen. We walked around and took pictures. Today was a really beautiful day. It is sunny and warm and we were shedding our jackets before we returned home. We saw this snow blowing machine on display in town. It actually is still used.

We are now back at the motorhome. Supper has been in the crockpot since morning, so I don't have that to worry about. We may take a walk later and look at the cruise ships.

Till next time. . .

Dale