In May of 2025, my husband and I went on a trip of a lifetime. An expedition cruise on the Inside Passage of Alaska with UnCruise Adventures Small Ship Cruising. It's like a Nat Geo trip, but featuring daily adventures. As one of the guides put it; Nat Geo = summer school, UnCruise = summer camp.
On our first full-day adventure, we began the day kayaking in calm, clear water with plenty of starfish and white-plumed anemones. It was a stunning morning.
After chaining our kayaks together to prevent escape during high tide and having lunch on a log next to a waterfall, it was time to start the afternoon portion of the day, a bushwhack through the woods.
For safety, we had a guide at the front of our group and another at the back, with bear spray readily available. To make our presence known, we made noise by reacting to a callout of the guides' choice.
The callout was from Happy Gilmore, when Adam Sandler arrives and the movers are taking his grandma's couch. Guide: You can't take my grandma's couch, Hikers: she's old!
My husband and I were in the middle of the pack, and after exchanging puzzled glances, we proceeded with our bushwhack in the Alaskan wilderness, now and then prompted to shout 'she's old!'.
Navigating the moss-covered logs and marshy conditions in muck boots, the phrase stung almost as severely as the threat of grabbing Devil's Club, which was prevalent in the woods that day.
That evening, during a bonfire on the beach, featuring a fantastic sunset and a stunning rainbow over the boat, I had the chance to talk to the guide.
After letting her know how magical the day was, I explained I was disappointed in the phrase she asked us to repeat, which prompted a group of 60-70 year olds to shout 'she's old'. After a quick lesson about internalized ageism, she was truly mortified and apologetic.
The best part? The next evening at dinner, someone at our table mentioned that our guide apologized to her group that day, explaining that a guest had made her aware of the ageist phrase.
See what I did there? Gave you a taste of our amazing trip, plus an example of how to speak up when you witness ageism; even in the Alaskan wilderness.
