Liquid Sunshine in Ketchikan

Passing Norwegian Pearl in Revillagigedo Channel enroute to Ketchikan.

Ketchikan lies on the west coast of Revillagigedo Island. You know you're getting close when you start passing cruise ships!

We left Bullhead Cove Friday morning around 11:15 and about 3.5 hours later we had Ketchikan in our sights when we were stopped and boarded by the U.S. Coast Guard for a safety check. That's a first for us -- and I guess we passed -- 20 minutes later we were back on our way, passing three cruise ships in town and making our way to our guest dock in Bar Harbor.

Sadly, the cruise ship industry seems to own Ketchikan. There were a total of five ships in town.

The town begins at the waterfront and carves its way up the mountainside.

With a population of 13,000, and an average rainfall of 162 inches a year, Ketchikan is known as the Rain Capital of Alaska. Of course, they  prefer a more optimistic weather outlook and refer to precipitation as "liquid sunshine."

We will remain in Ketchikan until Tuesday morning, and will be joined here by our friends Scott and Lora. We will  then leave for a two work cruise that will take us to Petersburg, and eventually end up in  Juneau.