Alaskan Cruise

So for the past couple years we've planned to go on this cruise with my parents and siblings.  Here's some pictures and explanation of what we did.


Friday, August 14th:  Seattle
Mariners baseball game with Russ, Lonnie, Mom, Dad and Cathi

We stayed at a motel on Friday night awaiting for our Cruise the next day.  We shared a room with Eric and Stacy.

Early the next morning Cathi and I got up for a 75 minute walk around the neighborhoods.  We saw this scary sign on the road near the end of the "workout":

Docked in Seattle.  You can see the space needle in the
background.

Saturday, August 15th: Boarding the ship

Boarding was fairly painless.  Finally got to our room around 12:30 or so.

We spent the day at sea and exploring the ship and all the cool things to see, and eat!

Sunday, August 9th - Day at Sea

We left Seattle heading for Juneau.  Sunday we spent on the ship enjoying the relaxation of it. Dad organized a little testimony meeting in one of the conference rooms.  Everybody shared their favorite scriptures.  Here's what I shared:  2 Nephi 4: 34-35

34 O Lord, I have trusted in thee, and I will trust in thee forever. I will not put my trust in the arm of flesh; for I know that cursed is he that putteth his trust in the arm of flesh. Yea, cursed is he that putteth his trust in man or maketh flesh his arm.

 35 Yea, I know that God will give liberally to him that asketh. Yea, my God will give me, if I ask not amiss; therefore I will lift up my voice unto thee; yea, I will cry unto thee, my God, the rock of my righteousness. Behold, my voice shall forever ascend up unto thee, my rock and mine everlasting God. Amen.

Monday, August 10th - Juneau

Excursion: Bike ride and tram ride
Rating: 4 stars

Fun, but we biked in the rain.  Very wet.  They provided rain gear which was nice and provided lots of details on the local plant life.  Ride was about 95% downhill so it wasn't really a workout.  Too easy for someone looking for an activity to burn off all that food the ship puts in front of you.

Saw Mom and Dad on their balcony from the platform in Juneau
and yelled up to them for a picture.

At the start of our Bike ride in Juneau.

Near the start of our ride.  Stopped to eat wild berries
in this bog type landscape.

Salmon were spawning.  Lots of dead ones.  Too bad they can't
be used for meat.

Near the finish our our ride.

It was such a leisurely ride, but beautiful country!

View of our ship from the top of the tram.

Tuesday: Skagway, Alaska

Excursion: White Pass to Bennett Lake
Rating: 5 stars

The countryside on this long ride up White Pass to Bennett lake is breathtaking.  It was pure awesomeness.

I took an opportunity to swim at Bennett Lake.  It was unbelievable how much fun it was and quite the memory maker.   Details and pics here.










The return trip back to the ship was by bus, where we got a different perspective of the country:

Wednesday:  Day at Sea - Glacier Bay

Video of some calving of Glacier (Skip to 1:40 on the video)  Keep in mind from top to bottom it's about 15 stories.  So the tiny little piece you see falling, is actually around 50 feet tall.

Some cool pics taken whilst at sea:

Thursday: Ketchikan, Alaska

Excursion: Great Alaska Lumberjack Show

This was a very affordable excursion that our whole family attended (minus Boyds).  It was fun and entertaining and impressive how these guys could perform various skills for the profession.

Friday: Victoria, Canada

Our excursion was cancelled (Orca watching) because of high winds and the danger factor, so we just walked to downtown with Eric and Stacy.  It was pretty uneventful.  Saw some shops much like in any metro downtown area.  Cathi and I shared an ice cream cone.  Today I started to notice some pain in my jaw behind my back right molar.  Stopped at the store for some dental floss.  I think I have some bacteria building up back there and I don't have my nifty tiny toothbrush to get back behind my molar.

Kind of a dud of a day.  But I got a couple of cute pictures of my lover.

Saturday: Disembarkation

Blah!  I had such a fun time, yet I was a little eager to get back home to my kids.  Just a little.  A 10 day cruise would have resulted in this desire increasing quite a bit, but 7 days is about perfect.

So glad I got spend this time with Cathi as well as my family.  What a fantastic way to reconnect with the woman of my dreams!