July 28, 2011

The rain continues today.  Breakfast and the library are the two morning routines.  Despite the rain and four cruise ships we decided to walk downtown.  We have been wanting to try the giant shrimp at a stand down by the ships and our time is running out.  It stopped raining while we ate, good thing because the only area there is to eat is outside. John’s looking pretty scruffy, eh?  Anyway, the giant shrimp were pretty good but not near as good as we anticipated.  Alaska cuisine is not developed in my opinio0n.  Perhaps I have not gone to the right places.  The Fox Cape was good though.  From there we went to the Tongass Merchant Co. I wanted to see if they had some particular socks and check their prices.  They had them but much more expensive than I can order them for on the Internet.  They certainly had a good selection though.  I also took a photo of these boots.  This is undoubtedly the official footwear for the state since most locals wear these; men, women, and children alike. From there we walked north and saw a few different things and decided to stop at a pastry shop we had read about called, Sweet Mermaids.  It was a hard decision but we each chose something to try and share; blackberry pie for me, cream puff cake for John.  They also had some giant cake pops, everything is big in Alaska I guess! It’s a quaint little place but we weren’t terribly impressed. One would think cruisers would not be eating in local restaurants with all the food cruise ships are well known for, but it seems a lot do eat here in Ketchikan.  Maybe they all want to try the local salmon dishes?  Speaking of which, I have seen the same cookbook a number of times in the shops, “Salmon Desserts and more” – Really?  As much as I like Salmon, in dessert just doesn’t sound like a good plan to me. 

Mid afternoon brought us back to the apt. and somewhat of a Star Trek marathon with movies that are here for tenants use. We ate our leftovers for dinner and did more reading.  Tomorrow will be our last full day here.  ’