Shop Til You Drop

Shop Til You Drop in Ketchikan, Alaska

ByLynda Joy Smith, Freelance Writer

February 2008

Alaska’s spirit calls to travelers with her diverse abundance of nature, beauty and wildlife. Brochures extol wilderness experiences that take you the voyeur, into intimate moments that leave you wanting more. Northern Exposure indeed, the final frontier with a twist of danger that I wasn’t expecting.

Cruising the Alaskan Inside Passage as a pampered passenger aboard a five star liner is not a hard ask. Just living my dream of glacier kayaking, the feeling of a dramatic up and away helicopter trip to meet huskies for a gripping mushing sled experience, topped off by riding with history on the legendary Skagway rail.

Then the shopping god played her hand.

Prior to docking on the shores of the Tongass Narrows at the port of Ketchikan, the cruise line social director issued free / discount shopping coupons which then became the basis for my day’s treasure hunt.

Shops, Shops, Shops. Why didn’t anyone tell me that Ketchikan Alaska is a shopper’s paradise? Lock up your husband, or if that’s not possible, send him on a day trip. (The salmon fishing tour worked fine for me.) Just find a way to keep him out of your hair when you hit Ketchikan, armed and dangerous with credit card in hand. A little planning and you can cover a lot of ground in half a day.

Nine AM saw me front of the line at the gangplank queue tightly clutching recommended shopping brochures. Setting out on my course, time was of the paramount importance. How long would free offers last before stocks were depleted by bargain hungry shoppers flooding off the ships?

Starting at number 2 on my brochure, Del Sol offered a free ring that came alive in the sunlight, plus you could buy the nail polish or tee shirts that light up in the sun. Now I knew my niece would like that ring, plastic but pretty, and heh, it’s free.

I hit Number 3, Princess World Jewelers at approximately 9.15 AM. Not open, bugger, this could mess up my schedule. I’ll have to backtrack later.

Onwards to number 6, Diamonds International Alaska for my free earrings, small but cute. (Well, what did I expect?) Grab the opportunity here to sparkle for a moment with some beautiful diamond jewelry pieces adorning your body.

Back to number 3, still not open so off to number 7 where Tanzanite International advertised earrings for $5 USD. Choose from gemstones in hues ranging from soft purple to the darkest of blue. No problems here as my Aquarian daughter would adore those pale mauve earrings. Finally at my third try number 3 was open. They seemed surprised when I only wanted the coupon earrings, and being the only customer I did kind of stand out. (Now where did all those expected bargain hunters go?)

Dropping into number 16 on my map, Arctic Gold, didn’t include free offers, but a worthwhile stop to wonder at the collection of gold in quartz jewelry, and to delve a little into the exciting history of the Alaskan gold rush period.

Time for sightseeing led me to the famous Creek Street and the salmon. I was amazed at the schools of fish actually there, swimming upstream to spawn just like in National Geographic, and here I was walking in the footsteps of historical characters that I’d only read about. Throw in Dolly’s little red house and tee shirts, 4 for around $20 USD and you can’t go past Creek Street for an overview of history combined with shopping.

Number 18B on my map was the Frank Meisler Gallery, an incredible artist whose work left me awestruck. A Frank Meisler piece was chosen as the gift from the Alaskan state to commemorate the wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana. The artist’s visions in bronze, silver and gold are realistic offerings of magic, realism and humor. I was spellbound.

Number 19, Gems International of Alaska offered $5 USD gemstones. Gorgeous unset stones where I couldn’t resist picking up a couple for my daughter, but I did turn down the diamond tennis bracelet that I later realized was a good deal. Oh well, you can’t win them all.

The Scanlon Art Gallery at Number 12 is where my danger lurked. Many Alaskan artists are represented here and I discovered Kodiak Island (of the famous brown bears) artist Lisa Mc Cormick. I fell in love with a 22 carat gold necklace with Lisa’s trademark hand insignia reflecting that hands tell our individual story. (I think mine must be a long one). This purchase would shoot me well over budget and I wandered town trying to justify this personal indulgence. Soon I hightailed it back to the gallery, bought the necklace and haven’t taken it off since.

Art, jewelry, crafts, sculpture, gemstones, and Alaskan souvenirs. Why, oh why, hasn’t any guidebook or Internet site that I have browsed extolled the great shopping to be had in Ketchikan?

PS: My hubby did catch a salmon, and our wonderful crew cooked it for us to enjoy the next night.