16Sept2009 - Day 41

Ketchikan. I really liked Ketchikan. Until, Ketchikan ate $25. Let me elaborate. Susan elected to stay on board with her father as we arrived in Ketchikan on a chilly, rainy morning. Dad, Donna, Taylor and I were going to go ashore and explore the town. If Sitka is a small, sleepy fishing village, then Ketchikan is a larger, slightly less sleepy fishing town. We arrived, stroller rain cover on and all. Taylor was fast asleep in her morning nap as we navigated various streets of shops filled with whale bones, native art, and smoked fish. We arrived to Creek Street, which was not a street (although, it was named as a street with a sign and all) but a boardwalk of shops that meandered up the side of a creek. The creek was directly emptied into the larger bay area of the marina where the ships were anchored. We walked in and around the various shops, and the rain let up and eventually stopped. Taylor awoke, in a cheerful disposition, as we watched in awe of the tens of thousands of salmon swimming upstream to spawn. What luck! This doesn't happen all year long, and how exciting that we were here when it was. There was also a seal, named Spot as we learned from one of the shopkeepers. He lived there year round, but I'm sure this was his favorite time of year. It was an amazing site, and they would jump out of the water to get farther up. Very cool. We learned from the same shopkeeper that this was not a good time to catch and eat the salmon because all of the valuable nutrients were being stored in the reproductive areas for spawning. So, we're walking back towards the ship when someone compliments Taylor "Oh what a cute baby!" followed immediately by "But, she's lost a shoe!" OH NO! We looked around the stroller, under her, under the blanket, in the diaper bag. No shoe. Who knows when she lost it? She is constantly taking them off. Usually I catch it when she flings one from the stroller. I had no choice but to retrace our steps through the town completely. I did, and it didn't take too long; but the trip was totally fruitless. There was no shoe to be found. I was devastated. Angry, frustrated...the shoes were fifty dollar shoes. They were the only pair of tennis shoes we brought, they were her first shoes! Well, I rationalized, if this was the worst thing that happened...thoughts of diving overboard to catch a falling baby came to mind and I was calmed. We can always buy new ones. Looking back, it's kind of funny. But, I'm still mad that I didn't find it. Where could it have gone? More than anything, I just want to know where it is even if I can't have it back.