Alaska Cruise: Ports of Call

Princess Cruises use the same ports of call with a little variation throughout its Spring and Summer season.

Victoria

The first or last port of the Alaskan cruise is the one required port that is outside of the United States. Victoria is often this port and sometimes Vancouver fits this requirement.

Victoria as a port is usually a half day stop. The other half day is required to get far enough North that Kitchikan is a reasonable arrival the day after the Canadian port. So getting to Kitchikan, the first Alaskan port requires at least a day and a half and two nights of travel. Everyone is excited to get off the ship a little so there is a backup on getting off the ship. This port is one that you can only choose one activity since the time here is so limited. A number of excursions are available at this port. Some are more valid than others. I suspect that the chocolate tasting and the wine tasting, tea at the Empress Hotel  and the pub crawl lack a little authenticity since it all happens between 8:30 and 1pm. The exception to this is when Victoria is the last of the ports vistied before heading back to SF. This set up allows the passengers to be on board in the late afternoon and and early evening.  Our favorite excursion here is the Butchard Garden/butterfly garden combination. Both of theses are exceptional trips and are combined together for an additional 8 to 10 dollars over the Butchard Garden excursion by itself. About 20 big greyhound like buses arrive on the tarmac near the ships (about 150 yards away). These busses head for either the butterfly garden first or the Butchard Garden first.

Victoria's Butterfly Gardens

 The butterfly gardens reside in a greenhouse like environment. Young high school/college aged docents show the visitors the way the butterflies are raised and point out how to attract them to land on your hat or your colorful clothing. Koi fish and flamingos also inhabit the environment. Some pretty exotic butterflies and moths are visible throughout the tropical plant areas. It can get pretty stuffy in this big covered environment. A fairly large butterfly themed gift shop accompanies this place. It is a great place to have a movie camera as movie makers try to capture butterflies in flight.

Butchard Gardens- Victoria

Butchard Gardens is a wonderful stop. These gardens were made on an old limestone quarry that produced raw materials that allowed San Francisco to be rebuilt after the earthquake fire of 1906. If you have ever planted flowers in your backyard you will be amazed at the various themed gardens that are presented here. It is not a sendentary activity so make sure you have some comfortable walking shoes to attack this one. A merry-go-round is a fun activity for kids of all ages. It is on a grassy knoll at the end of the main route. There is even a computer generated design fountain at the end of the formal garden. My favorites are the hanging begonia gardens on an terrace on the left side as you walk down the main trail, and the rose garden with the rose tunnel and the blue delphinium backdrop to the rose grotto, on the right side of the main trail. Make sure your rub the Tuscan pig's brass statue on its nose for good luck for the year.

Sue has two favorite stops at this place. The gelato shop on the garden side of the Italian formal garden has the best mango gelato in the world. The main gift shop is amazing too. It has a super collection of fine English tea cups for sale. It also has seeds of almost every seed used in the garden. Particularly interesting is the rare blue asian poppy that was discovered an propagated here. They have seeds available for trying at home.

Both of these parks are about 13 miles from the dock. It is really not practical to hire a taxi to take you to these locations. There is really nothing at the dock except a picnic like park area. The town is about 3-5 miles away. It is not impractical to get a taxi to take you to town if you would like to see it. The bus from the gardens usually takes a side trip through the city on the way back to the bus. The bus driver often provides a commentary about living in Victoria.  Do not plan on getting off to shop however. There is usually enough time for passengers to sift through the dock side gift ship before you need to go. Check the next paragraph for more information regarding the gift shop. 

Since you will only be here a half a day renting a car is a little over the top too.

If you want to just get off the ship and plow around, the best Canadian gift shop is located at the end of the dock. It takes and give change in either US money or Canadian (this is a rarity). It is crowded most of the time but the prices are very good and if you need something that says Canada on it or if you want to bring back some of those little English tea biscuits...this is the place. 

Other Ports not of the Docket

Over the years they have included other ports and some ships still dock at those ports. We find that the itineraries for this year have not included two ports that we have enjoyed over the years. Sitka, now served by other lines included many cultural stops. The Russian influence is noted here where the local women have formed folk dancing presentations that the excursions highlighted on this stop. We also had a great experience at the endangered raptor center here and came face to face with an educationally designated adult bald eagle. The visit to St. Michael's Eastern Othodox church was stunning and memorable too. We had great adventures in the many islands that surround Sitka. There are islands that have a remarkable colony of sea lions.

Besides Sitka, princess cruises has also stopped going to Icy Point. These port was great because it had great connections with the Indian culture and provided a out adventure stop with hiking zip cording. Sue and I had an amazing whale watching trip off of this port. The humpback whales of California and Hawaii come here to feed. They are usually around Point Adolphis. While this is often a part of the Juneau package, they are much closer here.

The only reason Ican think of as to why Icy Point and Sitka are no longer included is that they both require a tender trip in. Tenders are little boats that are used in emergency to get passengers to safety. They are also used to get passengers to ports where the dock is suitable for the cruise ship to dock and let passengers off. On two occasions medium sized excursion boats were hired to get the passengers back to the ship in time for the ship to meet its schedule. 

If these ports seem important, check out other cruise lines that make these ports part of their itinerary.

Alaska Cruise: What to pack?

A 10 day cruise going anywhere presents an interesting problem regarding packing for the trip.  Also more importantly, what do you bring to wear on such a cruise? What about wine and soda on the Ship?

Clothing to be packed What is the weather like?

When we first started to do Alaska we really didn't know what to pack. Our first inclination was to pack as though we were spending an extended vacation in San Francisco. This works out pretty well. The climate up the coast in Victoria and Alaska is pretty similar to San Francisco without the wind. There is more rain in the summer so a rain windbreaker or one of the newer micro fabric jackets will be pretty convenient. The idea that you will need big puffy down coats is not supported.  Shorts will probably not be used on the ship or really thin T shirts. So long pants and undershirts are comfortable on the ship and on the shore. Stay layered. The big issue is whether you are someone that would not mind spending some time in the laundry room or not. If you plan to do the laundry room thing use just one machine at a time out of courtesy to others. There are usually about four washers and four dryers in each of the laundry rooms. There are 6 laundry rooms for 3500 passengers. The math is crazy. Packing 10 of everything is kind of crazy too.

Pool Stuff

 If you plan to use the pools or the hot tubs be sure to bring your suit. Towels will be provided. It is very cool on board ship and on the open deck. This is not your tropical adventure.  The outdoor pools get very little. There is a demand for the hot tubs. Some of the bigger ships have half indoor and outdoor pools these are often saltwater pools.  The whole thing is off the board if your meet with choppy seas along the way. And you will.  A coat is handy for watching the movie on the outdoor screen at night.  Major sporting events are often screened up on this outdoor venue too.

Dress Code and What to Wear

For most dinners men wear polo or nicer button down shirts. For women they may wear most anything that is considered dressy casual. A lot of casual glitter is worn. On a 10 day cruise there will be two "dress up" nights. Some of the older people make it a formal night with tuxedos and evening gowns. Most of the guys wear sport coats or suits and ties for this night. It is also the time that formal photos are taken both is set ups around the ship's lobby areas and at the tables. A very few people sneak by without the formal set ups by eating at the buffet or ordering in room service. These nights are usually the nights that lobster and steak is served and or the fancy French menu. It is important to pack a nice outfit or two for these big nights. A champagne tower is often set up in the lobby and the captain is there to have his picture taken with you pouring champagne on to the tower. Balloons drop and a new year in the summer is celebrated with free champagne for all that want it. It is important men to bring a pair of nice shoes for this evening. These formal nights are held when the ship is not in port and is traveling for a whole day to get to a port whenever possible.

Luggage Requirements

There are not a maximum requirement for number of bags on the ship. There is not a requirement that the bags are under a certain weight. There are laundering facilities on the ship. They are coin operated and use quarters. An ironing board and ions are available too. People that have dry cleaning to do will find a vallet service. Often on ships that have a long cruise a "deal" is offered so that a bag of clothes could be washed and dried for cruisers at a bulk rate. This is particular nice for people that have traveled across the country by plane and only have a small bag of clothes to bring.

Alcohol and Diet Coke

There is a limitation of the amount of alcohol that you can bring on board. It will vary from ship to ship. Alcohol is a major way the ships keep the prices down on the cruise fares. They are vigilant in monitoring the bags that come on the ship so that they maintain their profit margin. When Sue and I were first cruising in 2003 there was a push to pitch the alcohol even at breakfast. This push has subsided considerably as they noticed that the  sale of alcohol has contributed to missing passengers overboard. There will still be the availability of alcohol at every ship wide event. I often will "nurse a drink and that is perfectly acceptable. The bartenders and waiters make their living at the 15% that they tack on to every drink they sell. Overall the drink cost is not as expensive as drinks that you may buy at the Hilton. It can still add up.

This is  a great time to order a drink that you would not order at home. I was fascinated by big blue drinks. Together with the bartender we figured out that maybe I wanted a blue lagoon.  It was made with Caraquau (sp) I would never would have ordered one at home.  Sue had a Peach Rita once that she had never tried before. Both were cool adventures.

Some passengers have devised ingenious ways to "smuggle" in more booze than the ship allows. It is amazing how much listerine the passengers need on the ship. (for instance)

Our big issue is getting caffeine diet coke on the ship. I usually pack a 12 pack or two in the a rolling cart cube. This has sometimes landed me in the bad kid line on the ship. I had stand in line with all the booze smugglers and explain whey we needed to bring in so much soda... that they also sell at 2.50 a pop (pardon the pun). My excuse is that my wife likes diet soda and cannot handle the caffeine. I have yet had to surrender it. Not so lucky are the booze smugglers. Their stuff is often impounded until the last night of the cruise. By the way I usually buy the soda deal and a coffee card as both are great ways to get liquid that isn't ice tea or weak coffee down me. Once we are on the way, the ship has no problem allowing you to restock your stores of soda at the ports. Many passengers have sopped me as we enter the ship form the port and say,"I didn't know we could bring our own soda on the ship." Yep, you can.

Fresh Fruit For the Room

Some cruise lines offer some pretty nice extras. We always order fresh fruit for the cabin through our room steward. This is free on Princess and we usually order an orange and a couple of pears and kiwis. These can be replenished every day if you desire.

Alaskan Cruise Ship Tips Embarcation First Evening on Ship

It used to be that when you signed up for the cruise you had a packet of tagboard punched recipts. No now. The tickets can be printed by you. Even the luggage tickets can and should be printed by you. Climbing on board is simple because you have gone on line and filled in all of the blanks that are required by the ship to let you on. This used to be a laborious task and took over an hour to complete.

Some of these blanks include emergency contact people, home addresses and phone numbers, passport numbers... you will need one since the ship travels to Canada.There are also chances online to book excursions. Excursions are activities you will want to do when the ship arrives at the various ports. More excursions latter in this entry.

Don't miss the view

Getting to the ship in San Francisco is pretty exciting. As you travel across the Oakland Bay Bridge, you will see your ship stand out on the skyline of the city.  It is a white 17 story whale docked along the pier. It is decked out in its flags and is a beautiful piece of anticipation. You are going to get on that ship and go to Alaska.  How fun?

Getting On the Ship - Embarkation

Traveling along the Embarcadero, drivers should pull to the bay side lanes. As they approach the docking area a set of police officers is directing traffic into the passenger drop off area.  As you are dropped off luggage is stacked on the curb and a dockworker, stevedore,  will load your bags up and get them on the ship for you. A 20 dollar tip is in order for this service. The passengers will head to the lines where travel documents are examined and you provide your credit card and the cruise line will provide you with the cruise card. It will have all the information needed for you to get into your cabin and will be your source of payment while you are on the ship. All tips, ship store purchases, spa treatments, wine and drinks, casino card and excursions will be entered on this card's account as the trip progresses. You may request a running total at anytime at the pursers desk.  Replacement cards can be made but it is a good idea to bring a lanyard to keep the cruise card handy. We always hang our lanyards with the cruise card on them in the same place as we go into the cabin. Lock you wallets in the safe. Each room has a safe to store your valuables.  As you board the ship, an electronic photo is taken so that your card can be matched with your face as you leave the ship or enter the ship.

San Francisco has a great parking set for the ships. Just 3 blocks away is the parking garage. The driver (if you come this way) can drive the car up to the vallet parking and walk the 3 blocks back to join the people waiting in line to get on the ship. Usually, the lines go rather quickly and there is not much of a delay... maybe 10 to 20 minutes to get processed and headed for the ship. The big deal here is to get the bags out and into the fray before you go to park. Parking can be paid for with a credit card at the end of the trip.

Stay Away from the First Ship Food

Plan on eating in Livermore or somewhere before you get to the ship.  The first afternoon buffet on the is ship is usually the worst. The entire ship thinks that it has to go eat the minute they arrive on the ship. The worst food, the biggest crowds for eating this food will occur at this time. I always suspect that the crew that dose not get to go ashore is not happy about cooking up for the afternoon buffet.

Part of processing your entry on the ship will include a map of the ship. Usually only one map is provided for each family. It will be the only time that you will see these maps. It might be a good idea to request two of these maps as finding places on the ship at first is difficult even with one of these maps.

As you enter the ship, there are people assigned to point you to your cabin. Elevators can be pretty full here too.  Some of the passenger elevators are disabled so that the ship can use the power to bring up all of the luggage. Ideally your luggage will meet you at the same time you arrive at your room. If not, it will not be long before you get all the pieces. Your room steward (the person who will keep you cabin tidy) will meet you and make sure that you have a plastic protector on top of your bed.

On the Ship Yeah!

As a tip from my daughter... we always wipe down all surfaces with haniwipes. This includes all countertops and TV remotes and all bathroom surfaces. So since starting a cruise with an issue. It has got to help.. right?

Sue, my wife always packs a rolled up waffle foam back support and a yoga mat for the mattress. Some of the mattresses on these beds are not particularly comfortable. Carrying your own helps this out. When she meets the room steward she shows the person the waffle support and asks if it could be used on her side of the bed. We usually tip ahead here as a exta 20 or a prepaid phone card will do wonders for their attitude.

It is important to make the muster meeting. This occurs very soon as you get on the ship. You find the life perserver, do not put it on and arrive at the muster station. This is the place you meet if the ship gets in trouble. Do not use the whistle as these are not sanitized between cruises. Yeah, I know you knew that. If you do not go they will know and pester you about a make up session.

Coming out the muster station meeting, everyone tries to use the elevators to get back to their cabins. This is a mistake, as luggage is still coming up from the storage area and few elevators work. The stairs are tough and steep but will yeild you a more pleasant condition than waiting for the elevator in this case.

Eat Before you Arrive

Plan on eating at your first dinning room meal. You will meet your dinner mates and will get to meet your waiter and his assistant. This meal is usually pretty good. The first night show is short but will give you a chance to see the cruise director an listen to the rundown on the cruise's entertainment menus.

While it is important to get your stuff stored away, it is hard not to be a part of the sail a way. Dress warmly and head out on the top deck to watch as the ship pulls out into the Bay and watch as everyone cheers as it passes Alcatraz and under the Golden Gate Bridge. Sailing under the bridge in this size of ship is something to behold. Coming home will be much less memorable as it is usually dark and foggy and very early in the morning.

Alaskan Cruise Tips: Where?

One of my friends is headed up to Alaska this summer via a Princess Cruise Ship. It will leave San Francisco and stop in the normal South East Alaska Ports. It is a 10 day round trip on one of Princess Cruise Lines bigger ships,the Golden Princess. Sue, my wife, and I have taken this cruise ship to Hawaii a couple times out of the port of LA, San Pedro. We have been to Alaska 5 times on the pretty much the same Alaskan itinerary. We are also thinking about doing it again this summer.  In this blog entry, I hope to provide my friend and my other readers some helpful and interesting tips regarding this adventure.

History

The trip from San Francisco is 10 days on the ship. It is important to get a great room so that the trip will not be insufferable. Our first Alaskan cruise adventure from San Francisco included passage on a very small ship. The company was not sure that there would be a significant demand for tickets and the small ship was a shot across the bow. Princess had purchased a couple of ships from companies that had gone out of business. One of them was a former Renaissance  Cruise Line that they dubbed the new Pacific Princess. The Alaskan adventure exceeded expectations and the 10 day cruise replaced a 665 passenger ship with one that could take 2500 passengers. It was the Regal Princesses. Our last cruise from San Francisco was on the Star Princess.  Princess has embarked on a policy to leave a ship at these "home ports" and allow all cruises from that port to be from that ship. As San Francisco has developed their cruise ship facilities, bigger ships are now docked there as their "home" port. The Golden Princess is one of the bigger ships in their fleet and reflects the both the increased market of San Francisco and its accommodations at the peir. The Golden Princess is a really spectacular ship. It can move 3500 passengers 28 miles an hour with complete comfort. It has wonderful stabilizers to keep the ship from swaying back and forth too much and amazing passenger amenities.  We have taken this ship twice to Hawaii from LA and back in 15 day cruises.

Planning

Cruising is as big a time commitment as it is a financial commitment. 10 days of your life will be spent away from your ordinary existence. Really, no cell phones no significant internet... just you and 3100 new friends on the open ocean. A few timely tips may make it more comfortable and enjoyable.

An Alaskan trip is lots of fun and can be enjoyed on many different levels. Some people see it as a big party time. They are living the life large in a moveable Las Vegas. There are amazing ways to enjoy the ship as a mini Las Vegas. These is a large casino on every ship (except for Disney). There are nightly shows that you may not want to miss. If you plan to use this trip with this as your major plan you are probably on the wrong cruise line and should play to fly to Vancover and get on the Carnival cruise which is centered on this agenda. Carnival is less expensive than Princess and tends to attract a younger crowd which includes many more families with kids.

An Alaskan cruise with the crowd that is very modulated will enjoy themselves more on the Holland America cruises. My friends who have taken both support this thought and have had a great time on Holland but understand that the energy for daily activity is more centered on personal service rather than shipboard activities.

Norwegian is another cruise line that haunts the Alaskan waters. It sends some nice sized ships up into the same area as Princess. They do not have any seating times for dinner and this allows for passengers to come into the dinning room anytime during the hours they are open and eat. They also promote more outside dinning in their specialty restaurants. These are all for an additional charge. All the other cruise lines have these too and have modified their choices so that you may also do some dining with other friends then ones selected by the company. A smaller dining room is selected for this and there may be a wait of 10 to 20 minutes to be seated. There are also alternative choices  or at a steakhouse, an Italian or French restaurant for an additional charge of 15 to 25 dollars per person. These require a reservation sometimes a couple of days ahead. Since you have already spent a good fee for the nightly dinner and they are amazing in every respect, these places are not entirely required unless you are celebrating a particular occasion or you have a particular interest. One of my daughters and I shared a saddle of veal in the French bistro one night on board a Norwegian ship headed for Mexico that was certainly spectacular. Norwegian was lacking however, in its menu for lunch.  It served the same lunch entrees throughout the cruise in its dinning room. Norwegian cruises out of Vancouver, British Columbia this summer.

My wife and I have always chosen Princess for our Alaskan trips because leaving out of San Francisco is so much less of a hassle than to get to an airport and get on a plane two hours early and then get to a ship from a plane after flying a couple of hours. I know people do this all this time... but there has to be more compelling reason than more choice to make this happen. Princess and Celeberty curise lines are only viable options out of San Francisco and this year. Celebrity is a bit more expensive and offers fewer trips overall. Princess Cruises as  the choice  is very palatable. You get three more days on the ship leaving from San Francisco. As my father said, any day on the ship is a luxury. He is right.

Where on the Ship?

On our Alaskan trips Sue and I have always with the exception of the first one have chosen an interior room. One of the reasons is that they usually are more handicapped accessible. They are also cheaper. If you are even a little claustrophobic, you may consider an obstructed view cabin. These cabins are generally on the level that the tenders are hung and include a porthole. The porthole does not open but is does provide light and most of the view out of the porthole is not obstructed by the tenders in our experience. Most of your time you will spend in public areas.

Many people like to use a travel agent to get a cruise booked. They are sponsored by the cruise lines to make sure that you have someone to explain all the different booking options. They are also the agents for added services. A cruise consultant, another name for an agent that knows their way around the booking process, may be able to add on a bus link up from your home city to the dock and back so that you will not have to use your car to get you to the dock. One of my friends who is cruising this summer is using this service with an additional cost of 80 dollars each to do just that. He and his wife will be picked up in Merced and dropped off on time at the dock in San Francisco to catch their Alaskan cruise.

If your departure date is within 90days of your investigation, you may be best served in the ticker section of Vacations to Go.com on the web. Things get a little desperate in the cruise industry when the departure is close at hand an a certain percentage of cabins have not been sold. Prices for cabin often drop significantly at this time. It can be sort of a risk too. Some people sign on early for a cruise and hope that they will be upgraded before this rush occurs within the last 90 days.

The following paragraphs relate to the Golden Princess and other sister ships such as the Grand Princess:  

Our favorite stateroom location is on the Lido Deck. It is on the same deck as the pools and the buffet. The Buffet is located on the other side of the ship and passengers with staterooms on this deck need to consider that they must walk to the other side of the ship for food service.  For some this is no small task as the ship is pretty long. Our pathway extended past both pools, the outdoor pool and the indoor pool before coming into the buffet doors. With all the excitement you would expect, this stateroom is fairly quiet. At times when exercise classes are in progress you may hear some thumping on the ceiling but outside of that it is fairly quiet.

A big part of the ship's entertainment occurs in the center plaza area on this ship. The center plaza areas have a 24hour European style small plate serving area and bakery. The Starbucks style coffee is located there. Service is provided at your table for the fancy coffee. The wine cellar/tasking is there also. Access to the internet and the library is located in this hub. Our cabin had access to this area through the elevator that dropped five floors to the art gallery. an easy walk through the art gallery opened to the plaza. Mini concerts and trio type entertainment was programed often at the plaza too. Our assigned dining area was a little problematic. It was across the ship and down 6 decks. The last deck could only be accessed by going the the 5th deck down and changing to a particular elevator that was for special needs. Everyone else spread across the staircase prior to dinner between the 5th deck down the the 6th.

The Giants win the Pennant and the World Series!

2014 the San Francisco Giants are a most unlikely team to win the Series. Some of their most trusted players, the reliable core where stricken near the end. Replaced and sent on their way by the pride of the Giants minor league and some skilful trades for experienced pitchers.

The Giants were the team that had to play through the pressure of winning the one game wildcard against a formidable Pittsburgh Pirate team that almost won their division. The Giants had to win this game in Pittsburgh. But as happened throughout the season this team seemed to be almost better on the road that at home so no account. What some considered the best team in the National league was up next. They faced the Washington Nationals. In the mean time Saint Louis was taking out the might LA Dodgers... thank goodness. The LA Dodgers had set themselves up in this season to be the west coast version of the Yankees. But alas to no avail. They went down.

The San Francisco Giants St. Louis Cardinal series was a tough one. Both teams took losses at home. One of the games went 18 innnings. But in the end the Giants with a low home run total came through in the end. They demonstrated a way to generate runs without a hit. Walks work. No matter how hard the pitcher throws the ball, they ball must go pretty close to the strike zone to limit the damage.

When the Giants met the KC Royals who also worked themselves up the ladder from the wildcard slot the form of each league with the designated hitter allowed in the American League but not allowed in the National league challenged each manager to set their team to do the best they could with each game. The American League had won the All Star Game which allowed the last games to be played in the American League with the designated hitter. But as a truism in this game and in most others, good pitching will defeat good batting every time. The winner of game seven while on the record is Jeremy Afelt, the MVp for the World Series was the humble cow rancher from Hickory North Caolina, Madison Bumbgarder.

The games were exciting throughout. Most runs were made through infield hits or infielder errors. This allowed for the games to be pretty tense through most of its length. The Kansas City Royals were very much like the Giants in their make up. They usually relied on their speed on the bases as a equalizer. In the world series this did not happen as much.  I feel that the arms the Giants had in the infield and the outfield defensively limited this action.

So all hail to the hometown heroes. The Giants are the World Series Champions once more.  They have had this honor for the last three out of five years. Will they wait a year and win in 2016 or will they repeat next year.  This decision will basically happen when the players contracts who are up for free agency are settled and many of them are sure to go find better money on other teams. So is there any more gas in the minor league teams to support the player crunch that occurs through injury and free agency.. Time will tell and that is why they play the game.

Finally a little Fall

It has been a really hot summer.  More days than usual in the triple digits. Fall has come officially and the weather in Merced has finally caught up a little with the label.

We have highs in the 80's and most of the day it is keeping us comfortable in the 70's.  The new whole house fan has seen some nice use this summer and fall.  When the air temperature outside is cooler than what we set the air conditioner, we use it to even out the difference.  If we leave it on all night only the rooms that have a window open equalize. Overall the house temperature drops to about 71 degrees. My friend from England found it interesting that they work hard all summer to trap the heat in the house and we work hard to get it out of the house.

The other signs of the fall are pretty evident.  Baseball is winding up and the local teams are both in single game playoffs called the wildcard.  Both the Giants and the A's are sort of limping into the games in their respective conferences with wounded wings.  The A's are suffering since the trade deadline just after the all star game.  They traded away one of their highest paid Cuban players, Cespedes, and immediately their offense and win making power seemed to drop.  The Giants have had a tough time generating runs and have taken to importing the strength of their farm teams fire power to ignite the old coals of a winning streak to take them to the end. Such firepower is not without liability in the defense. They really had not much of a chance to do anything else as their prospects for post season play dimmed when the overpowering pitching strength of the Dodgers took center stage. So we shall see. A single game will determine if either or both continue into the playoffs and have a chance to play and hopefully win in the world series.  As they look now, I wouldn't  give odds that either of them are balanced powerhouses that seem to be needed to win the October World Series.

Football is once again center stage. So many flags are being thrown that this sport has the chance to become another soccer where the analytic power of the referees and their marching orders to "change" the sport will take the sport out of the endeavor. This year there a a number of defensive backs that have resorted to using their hands into the face mask to slow down the progress of a pass receiver or running back. Pass interference is a very often called. The referees are checking that 5 yard limit of contact carefully.  What seems to have disappeared this year is the call on roughing the quarterback. This call was made routinely last year.  Overall I am pretty pleased to see that the NFL is getting serious with its play on the field. There were way too many concussive events that were allowed to go on without penalty in the past. I am less excited about the NFL's stance on domestic violence with its stars. There is still a chance to catch up so far this has ignited the conversation for the public. Good may eventually come out of this debacle.

In the meantime there are some really good chances to work outside and whip up the yards before the serious wet weather comes.... we all are hoping for some of that this year in this drought stricken valley. Hopefully next year there will be enough water to have a front courtyard annual flower garden. : ) Pat 

Crested Butte and Bud Light

The advance team came and checked out one of our favorite ski towns, Crested Butte, for a wild Bud Light Party. Crested Butte is tucked away about 30 miles North of the Gunnison, Colorado. Crested Butte has a town population of a bout 1000 people in the summer and fall.  It is a big ski town and its winter population may swell to about 2500 people. It is not on the main road to Aspen or Breckenridge. It is out of the way yet can be reached by a jet airport in Gunnison.

At first many residents were massively skeptical that the town council would sell the town for 250,000 dollar for one weekend in September. What were they going to do there? What crazy activity would go on? Why such secrecy? Eventually the town got 500,000 for its trouble.

I week before it was actually going to happen the council approved and the party began last weekend, September 7.  The people who were invited to come were all adults and most of them were over 25 years old. They applied to be in the party, on line of course. 1,000 actually came. Bud Light chartered jets that landed in Gunnison and the party goers arrived in Crested Butte.  800 support staff also were there as Bud light figured to add about 2 million dollars to the local economy. 300 local laborers were also hired. The didn't count the 500,000 dollars that Bud light donated to the city as a legacy payment. Was that enough for hush money?  Most of the people in the area ended up thinking that it was well worth it. The Gunnison Times had a full color spread of the activities of the weekend. Bud light is now running slick advertisements of their fake mayor and their the party town that they constructed in Crested Butte. The Gunnison Times reported that the local hot tub company "rented 6 hot tubs" and returned them in good shape. The payment for their rental allowed the local people to get a very good deal on the hot tubs that were used in "Whatever" town, Crested Butte. Gunnison, 30 miles away saw increases in their motel occupancy for two weeks before the event and a week after the event. There was even some people who attended the party that thought they may come back and enjoy the area after all of the hoopla as over.

As reported in the Gunnison Times, when the town was reconstructed as the party town, gigantic cloth barriers were raised to disguise advertising down mainstreet that would take away from the tone or the focus of the revelers. Local people were invited to some events but not others. The disco and the music venues were strictly reserved for those who had won the contest and were supported at the party.

So what did they do in the heart of the city at 9,000 feet above sea level. If they drank just a little like my father, they were falling off the bar stools from just one beer. No these were people that represent main street beer party drinkers. This is the crowd that Bud light is hoping to widen their appeal. This age is quickly discovering "craft" beer and they have to find a way to make their beverage one that represents this"carefree" lifestyle. So.. rent a town in the middle of rockies, develop a carnival atmosphere, have parades, silly contests, and loud crazy music. Invite the people you want to be seen drinking your beer. Film it, chop it, have people report about it on the internet, and make a thousand cool commercials that get people to ask about what it is all about and you have accomplished your mission. Its the new music video advertisement. It is one way to gather those lost souls and say... you really belong to us. Have a bud light.

This advertisement for Bud Light stands in the wake of the Miller lite ads that claim precedent in the light beer march, claiming that they represent the very reason through a lightly plausible string that young middle age people even exist.... baffling.

With Bud light's investment in Crested Butte, the big question will be... for how long will we see pieces of Crested Butte show up in their ads.  Was it worth it for Bud Light?  Time will tell.