ALASKA!

For our 15th Anniversary, Mark and I booked a week long cruise to Alaska. Neither of us had ever cruised before, nor had we ever left our children for more than a night, so this was a major adventure.

 

Mark's parents graciously agreed to drive from Pennsylvania to spend the week watching all five kids. They're the real heroes of the week (that's doubly true because the weather the week we were gone stayed at a sweltering 90+ degrees, which is brutal when you don't have air conditioning)!

We were dropped off at the cruise terminal Friday morning. It didn't take long before we were enjoying the luxuries on board. And by luxuries, I mostly mean food. So. much. food! Our room was minimalistic, an indoor cabin, but it was plenty adequate.  It took us a day or so to get the general feel for how cruises work, but once we got a feel for things, I think we did a good job of taking advantage of the ship's offerings.

For the first afternoon, and the following full day, we were at sea. That left us with a lot of time to explore the ship (which feels like a small city). We discovered the schedule boasted several daily trivia-based activities, many of which revolved around music. Since Mark is a trivia lover, we didn't miss many of those events.

After a few days, we found ourselves continually running into another trivia-loving couple, Andy and Brenda. We struck up a conversation and learned they were from Melbourne, Australia, where Mark served his mission. Soon, we dubbed ourselves a "team," and didn't do too shabby. We came home with all sorts of Celebrity Cruise swag as a result of winning numerous trivial contests. To be honest, Brenda and Andy were the true ringers, especially with regards to the music and movie questions. (Occasionally I fell asleep during the music contests because I was way out of my league).

Before we left home, Thane had a million questions about what we'd be doing and eating. Since we'd never cruised before, we didn't have great answers for his questions. He was most concerned that Mark would be able to have shrimp. Mark was pleased to report that he got to have shrimp on his very first day on board. The dinners in the "fancy" dining hall were indeed fancy - way beyond anything we'd ever before experienced. We determined to try foods outside our usual fare. I took a picture for Thane of Mark trying frog legs.

I tried duck, but wasn't a big fan. We usually ate in the main dining hall for dinners, but went to the buffet for lunches and breakfasts.

Aubree thought we were teasing her mercilessly when we told her we could get ice cream any time we wanted. Now she insists she can't wait to go on a cruise.

Sunday morning we had our first port stop in the town of Ketchikan, Alaska. Since it was Sunday, Mark and I decided we would walk to church to attend Sacrament Meeting. Sure, we could've taken a cab, but it seemed like an adventure to make the 2 mile trek on foot. The cold rain just added to the adventure, right?

We were amply rewarded for our efforts. The ward members were kind and welcoming, the speakers (one recently returned missionary and one departing missionary) shared powerful testimonies, and the ward building was unexpectedly gorgeous!

We learned that, back in the 70's, they'd been shipped the wood in a kit and ward members had built the log-cabin style church building. It's definitely one-of-a-kind!

After attending Sacrament Meeting, we shared a cab with other cruisers, and returned to the main part of the city to tour Creek Street. Creek Street is the main tourist attraction in Ketchikan, but is mostly just a collection of old brothels on stilts. Ketchikan is known to be the rainiest place in North America, and on this day it lived up to it's reputation.

 

While walking around Ketchikan I remembered that I had bought my kids a present to keep them occupied while we were away, but had forgotten to wrap it or tell them about it. Whoops! Luckily, we had a bit of cell service in the city, so I could text Aubree and let her know. She tracked down the gift, and later reported that the paracord kept them busy the whole week while they were stuck at home because it was too hot outside.

Monday morning we were up super early as we sailed down the fjord of Endicott Arms. The Captain insisted this was a view we did not want to miss, so we rolled out of bed and found a warm viewing spot in the atrium.

When we got to the end of the fjord, the ship completed two full 360 degree turns to give passengers excellent views of the glacier.

 

The Captain kept commenting, "This is the first day in 11 weeks that we've had sun while viewing the glacier!"

The whole area was stunning. Mark and I found a little island we dubbed "turtle rock."

By that afternoon we were in Juneau, Alaska. As we left the ship, we were again greeted by locals insisting, "this is the first sunny day we've had in weeks!" We hopped on a shuttle to the Mendenhall Glacier, and within five minutes had caught our first glimpse of a black bear. Apparently, the salmon had just started spawning the previous week, so the bears had arrived in abundance. We stopped by the Visitor's Center and discovered a nearby mountain called "Thane Mountain."

Then we started off on a hike to see Nugget Falls and get a closer look at the glacier. We hadn't gone far when someone called, "Erin?" I halted quickly, and found myself face to face with a friend from high school. I hadn't seen her in 20 years, but we happened to run into each other in Alaska! Crazy world.

We didn't have long to catch up, and soon she went back to her cruise ship and we continued on our hike.

After our first hike, we turned around and set out on another hike, the "Trail of Time." It took us through the woods where we could see where the glacier had extended over the past 200 years. It also provided additional excellent views and photo ops of Mendenhall Glacier.

When we were almost at the end of the hike, we came around a corner and heard a ranger yell, in a startled voice, "Stop! There's a bear! Back up slowly!"

We slid to a stop and did as she directed, though all the while I was trying to pull my phone out of my pocket. As we backed up, the bear came down through the woods into the exact spot Mark would've been standing if the ranger hadn't stopped us. Once the bear hit the trail, she turned, looked at us, took a few steps toward us, pooped, then continued through the trees down the hill. Talk about a close encounter!

Tuesday was another day, and another port stop, this time in the small town of Skagway, Alaska.  First, we explored the town's main drag and enjoyed the museums talking about the Yukon Gold Rush. The stories about these gold rushers are astounding. They were required to carry a year's worth of supplies with them, which usually meant the supplies had to be carried on their backs via multiple trips.

In the afternoon, we boarded the White Pass Train. We'd heard it was a "not-to-be missed-excursion," but we were a bit underwhelmed. 

 

Other passengers did seem awe-struck; They kept asking, "Have you ever seen anything like this?!" And while the scenery was breath-taking, the honest answer was, "Yes, this looks a lot like Washington!"

I liked the historical aspects of the trip the most. It was fascinating to see the trail the Yukon gold rushers blazed over 100 years ago still visible.

We had deliberately boarded a specific train car in the hope we'd be car nearest the ship when we returned. Our calculations paid off and we were able to avoid waiting in a line with 800 other cruise passengers all trying to get back on board at the same time.

Wednesday, and most of Thursday we spent at sea again as we headed back towards Seattle. We did a bit of whale watching, and saw a few. We didn't get pictures, though I did snag a shot of this cool white rainbow.

We again enjoyed the ship's amenities, this time with the added bonus of having Brenda and Andy joining us as official friends. Most nights we attended the ship's featured entertainment. Some nights were great (their main headliner, Jesse Hamilton, was really fantastic), others were mediocre.  One night there was a comedian who really liked to interact with the audience. Mark insisted we sit far in the back to avoid any chance of being heckled. At one point, the comedian mentioned that he had kids late in life and was not parenting a toddler. "Anyone here also have a toddler," he asked. I clapped in answer to his question, but soon realized ... I was the only one clapping. "How old are your kids?" he asked. I replied, knowing that I was just giving him fodder for his comedy. Mark melted in mortification.

Before returning back to Seattle, we had one final port stop in Victoria, Canada. I'd visited Victoria once before, with Aubree when she was six, but we'd never visited the famous Butchart Gardens. Brenda and I twisted Mark and Andy's arms a bit, but in the end, we grouped together to share a cab to visit the gardens.

The gardens really are spectacularly gorgeous, and we visited at just the right time of day when the heat was dissipating, and the light was gentle.

It was a lovely way to end the trip.

Overall, our cruise experience was wonderful.  It's definitely something we would do again, though perhaps not back to Alaska. I really missed my kids, and often found myself thinking, "they would love this experience!" However, I also enjoyed the no stress experience of not having them there and getting to spend time with Mark. And Mark, despite being a self-proclaimed home-body, also loved the cruise experience. Hurrah! Here's to the next 15!