Day 6: Big Bear Baby Bear State Marine Park
A daily stretch class is offered before breakfast each morning. My teenage daughter wanted to go all week, but just couldn’t pull herself out of bed in time for it. On Day 6, she finally managed to do it. She enjoyed stretching with the group, all of us a little sore after several days of outdoor activities.
Breakfast was a tasty one. Our choices were chilaquiles with chorizo, potatoes and egg or an omelet with goat cheese, spinach and tomato.
We had a few hours of downtime after breakfast before our scheduled skiff tour of the area. We’d been running hard all week so we weren’t quite sure what to do with ourselves. There’s not much to do in the cabins, so we convened in the lounge and played cards, waiting for our turn on the skiff.
We met our skiff companions in the Pesky Barnacle and got our life vests on. We headed out with Andrew. The water beneath the boat was so clear that we could see to the bottom. We saw lots of salmon jumping. We also spotted some bald eagles. With all of the fish in the water, we thought we might see some bear on the shoreline, but no such luck. Our guide pulled a big piece of kelp out of the water. We took bites of the leaves, which were quite salty. Then he let the kids blow into the end as if it were a trumpet.
Because of our late skiff tour, it was lunch by the time we got back. We had chili and cornbread. My son (the picky eater of the family) gobbled up every bite. He loved it so much we asked the kitchen to reserve a bowl for his dinner. For dessert, we ate apple fritter with caramel sauce served a la mode.
Our afternoon adventure was another bushwhack lite. We headed to shore with a large group and two guides. We followed them into the forest. Right away, my son found a large scattering of deer bones, signs a hunter had been there before us. We also came across lots of banana slugs. My daughter carried one in her hand for much of the afternoon until she found a suitable spot to deposit it. She placed it on a mossy log stretched across a bubbly creek. It looked like something out of a fairy tale, it was bright green and so picturesque.
After a few hours in the woods, we took the skiff back to the boat. While we were away the engineers provided tours of the engine room on the S.S. Legacy. Although we missed that, we took advantage of the opportunity to visit The Bridge. Alex, the 2nd mate, gave us a tour. She showed us the combination of new (radar, sonar, monitors) and old (maps, telephones, flashlights) technology used to navigate the ship. We learned there are four different ways to steer the ship, one of them being a giant wheel. My son felt like a big deal sitting in the captain’s chair.
Related: How Big Should Your Kid be for a Small Ship Cruise?
KidTripster Tip: UnCruise has an “Open Bridge Policy”. You’re invited to visit the bridge whenever it’s open, which is often. I recommend bringing your kids by to check it out.
From there we headed back to our favorite hangout, the lounge. It was once again time for happy hour. There was a crab roll and asparagus wrapped in prosciutto. At news hour, we learned about the day ahead, our last full day aboard the Legacy.
We were excited about dinner because it was crab night! When we arrived at the dining room, there was a big empty bowl on the table. Sitting next to it were tiny forks and tools for cracking crabs. It seemed daunting at first, but once the crab arrived at our table we figured it out quickly. Crack, dip in melted butter, eat, and repeat. We managed to fill the bowl with shells like champs. We had several helpings of crab and we were some of the last people to leave the dining room. It was time for dessert after all, peanut butter pie was being served in the lounge.
We hung around for trivia night. We joined a group of other passengers, who (appropriately) named their team “The Old Guys”. The game was played in the style of Jeopardy and the categories pertained to Alaska wildlife and nature. Although it wasn’t looking good at the beginning, The Old Guys pulled into the lead and won the game! The winners walked away with a deck of UnCruise playing cards and bragging rights the next day.
Click below on “7” to read about how we spent our last full day aboard the S.S. Legacy.
