October 1, 2024 - Algoma (Door Peninsula and Green Bay) - Tuesday

October 1, 2024 - Tuesday 

Algoma (Door Peninsula) Wisconsin 

We arrived at Algoma, Wisconsin, on the eastern shore of the Door Peninsula. We are scheduled to take the included excursion today with a drive across the Door Peninsula to Green Bay. Home of the iconic Green Bay Packers. And Lambeau Field is the focus of the trip. We really don’t know what to expect, but it is something to do. Neither one of us are big football fans. 

Our local guide that will be our escort on the bus before turning us over to docent guides at the stadium begins to tell us about the countryside we are driving through and a lot of basic information about the Packers and the stadium. A long time ago, the Packers were in financial trouble. Someone recommended that they change their business model. Get rid of the “owner” and turn it into a non-profit organization funded by shareholders. The original shares sold for $5. The shares do not increase in value, cannot be traded or sold. The purchase is a way to raise money. It worked. The sale of shares has been repeated a few times, but for the most part, it has been a very successful tactic. They are the only franchise in the NFL that operates this way.

Freshly cut corn fields. This is feed corn for livestock.

Our escort is one of those shareholders. He also is a beer seller at the stadium when the Packers are at Home. About 8 or 9 times a year. 

We arrive at the stadium and are handed off to docent guides. There is a main guide that does most of the talking, using one of the Viking headsets. We start off on the 6^th floor for a comfort stop and view of the field. Then go up to the upper level to get great views of the stadium. Down to one of the suites, then down to the locker room level. They sort of teased us intimating we would see the locker room. We got to see a wall sized photo of the room. The locker rooms are open to the players and support staff 24/7. So are unavailable on tours like ours.

Lambeau Field from the 6th level

Green Bay in the distance

The upper seats

A neighborhood adjacent to the stadium

It is claimed to be the largest G in the world. 40' x 60'

Exiting to the field from the Packers' tunnel.

From field level looking up at the bleachers

I wish I could regurgitate all the data they gave us on the stadium, its construction, the grass and all. It was fascinating. The stadium itself is impressive. It sits 81,000 fans. The population of the city of Green Bay is 107,000.

This is not a domed stadium. It is open to the elements. Every seat in the house is a season ticket. There are very few “seats”, The bulk of the seating is on aluminum benches. There is a waiting list to get season tickets that is over 100,000 people. Your spot in line can be passed to the next generation and on as well as the tickets themselves. 

The grass on the field is natural and is cut every two days. The field is painted before every home game. The field does not freeze, it is heated. 

After the tour, we could tour their Hall of Fame, and/or check out the gift shop. We wandered around in the gift shop for a few minutes, not interested in buying anything, but marveling at the sheer number and variety of items. You name it, it’s there with a great big green and gold “G” on it at ridiculous prices.

This is just inside the front door of the shop.

Everyone needs one of these. The price tag is only $5,000.

In the lobby - a 50' tall replica of the Vince Lombardi trophy.

The tender operation at the dock in Algoma.

Time to head back to the ship about an hour away. As we left Green Bay, the bus took a different route than the way we came in this morning. Eventually, we were back on the same road, but it allowed us to see a little more of the countryside. I think we were a little late getting back. Shortly after returning to the ship, we were underway. Our next stop is Alpena, Michigan.

September 30, 2024 - Mackinac Island, MI

September 30, 2024 - Monday 

Mackinac Island, Michigan 

I awoke sometime during the night to the sound of the anchor being dropped. So I knew we were just off Mackinac Island. 

When we awoke, we could hear a bit of wind and the lake around us was a bit choppy. We elected an Included tour this morning that is taking a horse drawn carriage ride on the Island. Our tour group time came, and we headed for the tender. A short ride into the dock, it is a clear but breezy morning. The Island is charming with mostly white houses, many of which are Victorian. As soon as we were ashore, we were loaded onto carriages. Most of the carriages we (Viking) were using held 16 people. Our guide/driver was Haley. She was very entertaining. We had anticipated a short ride up and down a few streets and that would be it. 

What we got was about 1-1/2 hours of driving around the island. We knew that automobiles were not allowed, but we didn’t anticipate the numbers of horse drawn vehicles we would see or the vast number of bicycles (many of them e-bikes). There are a few exceptions to the vehicle rule and that is a modern fire engine, a police car, and an ambulance. All product that is delivered to the island by ferry, is then loaded onto a horse drawn vehicle and delivered. We saw a vehicle leaving the Grand Hotel loaded with garbage. We saw a horse drawn street sweeper. With all of the horses this was very much needed.

One of our draft horses

The enclosed Carriage for guests of the Grand Hotel

The Grand Hotel and it is grand. Over 600 feet long. 402 rooms. All different.

I count six stories. Massive, but perfert proportions

Delivery wagon waiting for the garbage wagon to leave,

Street Sweeper

Presidential Carriage for VIP guests of the Grand Hotel.
5 US presidents have ridden in this carriage.

The island is heavily wooded. We spent quite a bit of time in the woods, listening to stories of the Island. Frequent stops to let the horses rest for a moment or two, a stop by their barns to get a drink, it's obvious the horses are well cared for. The vast majority of horses used on the island are two breeds of draft horses. There are 3 cemeteries on the island, all in a group. A Catholic, a Protestant, and a Post cemetery for those passing at Fort Mackinac. The Post cemetery has many graves that are unidentified, so they fly the US flag at ½ mast always in honor of these Unknown Soldiers.

A touch of Fall

The protestant cemetery. "our walls are more holey than others"

The Post Cemetery - you can see the flag at half mast.

A little more color

Arch Rock

We made a brief stop at Arch Rock to take a quick look at the Arch as well as a comfort stop for anyone needing it. While we were there, the horses were watered again and given a snack. We continued to snake through the woods until reaching the Fort. Our tour included entrance to the Fort. It is quite a compound with excellent views of the town. We walked back to the town from the fort, bought some of their famous fudge (there are at least 14 fudge shops along the main street). We got back to the pier just as one of the tenders was about to leave. 

Beautiful view of the town

The wind has come up a bit so the ride back to the ship was a little bumpier than usual. Back on board, we had some lunch, then relaxed in our room and I continued working on this blog. We have been so busy with daily activities; it has been hard to get caught up. In the past I’ve also been able to easily post these blogs to my Facebook page. However, Facebook has decided that I am doing something bad and will not permit me to post. 

In the afternoon, we attended a lecture on the polar regions. This lecture was primarily for selling future cruises, but 2 members of the Expedition Team were there adding their perspective of what it is like to visit the polar regions. We didn’t learn a lot, although it confirmed a lot of the information we have gotten from other sources. 

This was followed by the Daily Briefing. We then headed to The Restaurant for dinner. We were placed at a table with a delightful British couple. It was a very nice evening. At 7:45 pm we headed to Deck 6 as we have a weather balloon launch tonight. The Expedition Team tries to release one balloon per week (weather permitting). This is in conjunction with NOAA. The Octantis and Polaris are the only two commercial vessels releasing weather balloons. All other vessels are either research only vessels or military vessels.

The smaller sphere in the middle is the balloon.

And it's away

Rising quickly. Data is already streaming in. you can barely 
see the balloon towards the top left of the photo.

The data from the weather balloon was transmitted back to the computers on the Octantis and immediately uploaded into NOAA's data banks. The data immediately becomes part of the data used to predict everyday weather forecasts. As is the case with any kind of event on board, the wait staff were milling about among the guests offering some sort of libation. 

Time for bed. 

September 29, 2024 - Soo Locks Scenic Sailing - Sunday

September 29, 2024 - Sunday 

Soo Locks Scenic Sailing 

We will be transiting the Soo Locks today on our way to Lake Huron. After the locks, we’ll have a face to face encounter with US Customs. 

The Soo Locks were built to bypass rapids on the St. Mary’s River. The locks on the US side of the River were built and are owned by the US Army Corp of Engineers. Passage is free. The first lock built on the River was in 1798. It was built by the North West Company to facilitate the fur trade. That lock was destroyed in 1814 during the War of 1812. It was rebuilt, and today it is used exclusively for recreational and tour boats. 

The Poe Lock that we will be using was built in 1896. It was updated in 1968 to accommodate the larger freighters that are being used in the Great Lakes. 

It is another beautiful day. Very sedate sailing. We were supposed to enter the lock at about 9:00 am. As we approached, there was a huge ship just creeping up to the lock. It was guessed that it was probably loaded with grain. It inched it’s way into the lock, finally lowered and then just sort of sat there for what seemed the longest time before finally exiting the lock. The gates closed and the lock began to fill for our turn. A good portion of the passengers were on the bow and on deck 4 in front of the Explorer’s lounge. Staff were passing out glasses of spiked coffee topped with whipped cream. Very tasty.

 

Our lock is still filling but we are getting close.

Yumm - Really tasted good.

Through the lock and headed downriver

The actual transit through the lock is pretty boring. But it was fun to mingle with other passengers on a bright and sunny day. Once through the lock we continued to creep along. The Special Ops boat was dispatched to retrieve the US Customs officials. Since we were over an hour late getting through the lock, the Customs people were more than a little late. 

Viking took our passports when we checked in, in Duluth. They will handle Canadian Customs for us, but the US is a bit more strict. So deck by deck, we were called to the foyer of The Restaurant where we were given our passport, we continued into the Restaurant, handed our passport to an officer, he scanned it, took our picture, compared the two photos, handed back the passport, we handed the passport back to Viking and we were done. 

Late in the afternoon, The Hangar was opened for tours. In groups, we were allowed down into the Hangar where we could look at all the toys, ask any questions we had, then in groups of 25, we were allowed into the Laboratory. The lead scientist and 2 visiting scientists were there. They gave us an overview of what they were working on and the significance of these projects and the benefits of being on a cruise ship. Very very impressive. One thing that continues to strike me is the passion the Expedition Team (which includes these scientists) has for what they are doing.

One of the two 6-passenger submarines onboard.
The bubble seats 3. 1 bubble on each side.
Pilot sits between the bubbles.

The Special Operations Boat. Each seat is on
a shock absorber. Can't wait to try one.

A couple of kayaks stored in the Hangar

Just some of the toys - kayaks, zodiacs, all tightly packed in

Viking is developing collaborations with a number of scientific
organizations. This is just one example.

We had signed up to dine with two of the Expedition Team for dinner. They do this frequently and the event is limited to 6 guests. We had a great evening chatting and getting to know each other,

September 28, 2024

September 28, 2024 - Saturday 

Silver Islet, Ontario, Canada 

We sailed from Thunder Bay to Silver Islet in the wee hours of the morning. It was only 3 or 4 hours between the two. 

We took a brief walk around the ship while it was still dark. The sun was just coming up behind what is known as “The Sleeping Giant”, a rock formation in what is known as the Canadian Shield (dating between 2.5 and 4.2 BILLION years ago.) It is the earth’s crust. The shapes were formed during glaciation (melting of the glaciers at the end of the ice age.   

 

Then the fog rolled in and everything was obscured for a while. We don’t have anything planned for today until 3:00 pm. That will be our first Zodiac ride and we are really looking forward to it.          

Spent some time working on the blog to work towards getting caught up. Posted 2 episodes to FB, felt great, then within 15 minutes, got a message from FB that the posts were removed. It sounds like they think I am somehow benefitting from the posts. The only benefit I receive is knowing that friends and family that have requested updates on our adventures are getting the information in an easy and efficient manner. 

By 3:00 pm, we were on Deck A ready to go out on our first Zodiac ride. Everyone on board has special life vests in their cabin. These life vests are specially designed for the rides on Zodiacs, Special Ops Boats, and the submarine. They are smaller than what we are used to but are designed to self-inflate if you go into the water. But they aren’t overly bulky before that. However, we learned very quickly that they weigh enough that you are very aware of them.

Our guide starts out with a bit of a safety briefing. He seems to really enjoy his job as he made light of much of it. Getting the message across, assuring us on safety procedures Viking takes with these toys, but also making it fun. Once the 3 Zodiacs on this run are all on the water, he gets a message that he can proceed. We head for Silver Islet at a sedate pace. The water is pretty close to being as smooth as glass, so it is a very comfortable ride. He gives us the history of the island and the activities (mining) that used to take place here. We get close enough to see the mine shafts and the logs from the breakwater that was built to protect the island during storms.

Clear water

The mine was located on this tiny dot of land just offshore. It was only 50 square meters. The silver vein was discovered in 1868. The company expanded the size of the island with crushed rock from the shafts to over 10 times its original size. They also built numerous buildings associated with the mining operation. By 1883 the silver was pretty much played out. The crowning blow was a load of coal needed to run the pumps to keep the shafts dry was not delivered before winter in 1884. Over the winter, the shafts flooded and could not be drained. During it’s brief operation they harvested about $78 million (today’s dollars) in silver.

The dark hole mid-ship is where people load onto Tenders and zodiacs.
The large opening towards the stern is where toys are launched.

We then headed towards the mainland to see a formation known as “Sea Lion Rock”. It was an outcropping of rock that had the silhouette of a Lion. Over time the head of the lion crumpled leaving only the body and front legs. The passengers on our zodiac thought it looked more like a backhoe. Still fun to see.

More clear water

 

After a bit of time enjoying the scenery, it was time to head back to the ship. Our voyage was to have been 45 minutes, but it was after 4:00 pm when we got back to the ship. The ride back was the first opportunity for us to see the Octantis from a bit of a distance without anything obstructing our view. The dark holes you see in her stern and sides are doors and openings used to deploy the toys and to transfer passengers to the toys and tenders.

Zodiak unloading

And at 5:00 pm the Captain and his senior staff hosted a cocktail party for the 38 guests aboard that will be going all the way to the Antarctic. The reception was very nice, lovely hors d’oeuvres. The event was held in the Hide. The Hide is a bar/lounge that typically opens around 9:00 pm. I believe you can use it during the day, but the bar facilities aren’t available until later. One funny side note was that just as they started the introductions, the anchor was being raised, and the chain goes through two large metal pipes that are in the Hide. Raising or lowering the anchor creates a great deal of noise. And it must have taken them 10 minutes to raise both anchors.