Page 282 - WINE DINE AND TRAVEL MAGAZINE FALL 2023 DISCOVERING TURKEY

“Come with us!” I said. And they did! wanting to miss a thing, or the shore excur-
When the other couples had booked this sions.
cruise, they did not realize that coincidentally “We have an avid interest in the history of
Carl and I would be aboard among 2,000 pas- World War II in the Pacific, so we signed up
sengers. What a nice surprise to connect! It for the tour of Fort Stevens in Astoria,” Karen
was fun catching up aboard ship with everyone explained. “That was the scene of a bombard-
over lunch at O'Sheehan's Irish Pub, drinks in ment--about 17 shells--by a Japanese subma-
Bliss Ultra Lounge, and dinner in one of the 10 rine on June 21, 1942. Very little physical
restaurants. damage was done in the attack, but the psy-
The crew were excited to be back to work af- chological damage on people on the West
ter months idled by the pandemic shutdown. Coast of the U. S. (and Canada) was immense,
We marveled how the staff—from so many dif- leading to the problematic internment of Ja-
ferent countries--got along so well. Wouldn't it panese Americans (and Japanese Canadians)
be great if world leaders could do the same? in camps for the duration of the war.”
Carl and I usually sign up for several shore Karen and Kenzo were also moved by a “na-
excursions, but since this cruise was basically ture tour and crab feast” excursion in
a repeat of others we have done, we opted to Ketchikan: Their bus driver related a story
stroll the piers on our own, or enjoy spa treat- “about four generations of a Japanese Ameri-
ments, including a couple of massages. Carl can family who ran a grocery store in the small
even had a haircut, one of his favorite things town from 1916 to 2020.
to do on a ship, relaxing and gazing at the “They spent World War II in internment
great ocean view. “I can't have this experience camps in other states but, most unusually, af-
at my neighborhood barber's,” he explains ter the war was over, they returned to
with a smile. Ketchikan and got their property back from
Karen and Kenzo, on the other hand, dove the people who took care of it for them,” re-
into their inaugural cruise experience, not called Karen. Reportedly the townspeople

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