Skagway

Wednesday, July 30

Today we are in Skagway.  Thom and I started our day by sleeping in, so I'll start with Mom, Dad, and Drew's morning.

Here is Brian:
Kathy, Drew and I started our morning with the White Pass Railroad Train ride.  The train was waiting for us outside the dock area and we got right on the train.  It was a very scenic ride, even though it was overcast and rained part of the time.  The original train was built over 100 years ago but stopped being used commercially in the 80's.  It became a tourist ride in the late 80's and 20 locomotives make numerous trips each day.  The train "turned around" at the British Columbia border and made a much faster trip back to Skagway.  Numerous waterfalls and steep mountains were the highlights of the trip.

Back to Becca:
After waking up, Thom and I got hot chocolate and a latte on the ship before eating lunch. After lunch of a cheeseburger and pizza we headed to shore.  It just so happened that Mom, Dad, and Drew were getting off their train at the moment that we were getting off the boat so we met up with them.  We then proceeded to walk around Skagway. It is a very pretty town. Has an "old" feel.  There are many jewelry stores.  We kind of skipped many stores because we are finding they have a lot of the same souvenirs as the other ports.

When we were at the Harley Davidson store, the clerk told us of a waterfall that was a short walk away, so we decided to go to that.  It was about a mile and a half away.  To get to it you had to go through the Gold Rush Cemetery.  Then we climbed another 10 minutes or so to the waterfall. It was absolutely stunning.  It was very big. We were able to climb up next to it for some photos.  The rocks were a little slippery, but not too bad.  We both made it down safely.

We were then able to catch the Smart Bus back to town so we didn't have to walk overly far.  We then walked the other side of the street before heading back to the ship.

The town of Skagway is beautiful. It is my favorite of the ports.  The scenery is absolutely gorgeous and the town is quaint.

I forgot to mention that yesterday Mom, Dad, and I listened to Libby Riddles the first woman to win the Iditarod speak.  She talked about how much she loved her dogs and some of the difficult things she went though on the race.  The first day of the race, her dogs ran away from her and drug her 4 miles though the snow! She has a children's book that is her biography so I bought that for my class. I thought they would like to hear about her and I could use it in our biography unit. Also she signed it!

Thom is now working out on the ship, while I am at an Internet cafe on land.  Mom and Dad are walking around the town. I'm not sure if I will be able to post the next few days due to lack of internet on the ship, but hopefully look for a post on Saturday night.

PS. I love the 4th picture down.

Juneau

Whelp, I made a mistake this morning. Dad said we needed to be up by 7 to eat breakfast so we could get on shore. So I got up at 6:45....or what my phone said was 6:45 (really it was 5:45). Oops!

So we got breakfast at the Horizon buffet before heading into town.  When we got off the boat we hiked along the highway to another dock to get our rental car.  Once we got our rental car we headed to the Mendenhall Glacier. It was BEAUTIFUL!! We could not go up to the glacier, but I took many pictures.  There was also an amazing waterfall. You could walk out on the sandy beach below it and get really close to it. You could see the strong power of it.

We then went to a Shrine for St. Therese because we were told there was great whale watching happening there. Unfortunately we didn't see a whale. They had a nice trail up to the chapel.  The main purpose of the shrine is as a retreat house, so they had a chapel up at the top. It was a beautiful stone chapel.

After that we headed to the salmon hatchery.  It was very interesting. There were THOUSANDS of salmons. We found it interesting that after the salmons make their way up the salmon ladder, they cannot be used for food. They rot from the inside out so they cannot be eaten.  The ladder is approximately 450 feet and the salmon need to swim upstream it. As they go it prepares their bodies for spawning. It can take hours to weeks for the fish to reach the top. Once they reach the top they are sorted by what kind they are.  Then their eggs or milk are harvested and used.

We grabbed a quick lunch at Red Dog Saloon. They had sawdust floors! The food was good. Drew had the reindeer sausage pizza and Thom and I shared a delicious barbeque beef sandwich.

Thom and I are now at a coffee shop using their wifi. We don't have internet, so I'm sorry for all the late posts.  The internet isn't strong enough for the pictures to load so hopefully I'll find a stronger connection in Skagway.  We are all having fun! More to come later!

Update: After the coffee shop we were able to walk around the town of Juneau. We are doing a little scavenger hunt thing at each of the ports because if we answer all the questions right, we are able to put our name in for a drawing back on the cruise ship for an Alaskan themed treasure trove.

Drew went for a looong run on the port. Approximately 11 miles he said.  Then we headed to the hot tub before dinner. For last night's dinner we went to Sabatini's, an Italian restaurant on the ship.  For appetizers they brought amazing bread with olive oil and vinegar, proscuitto with a foccia (spelling is wrong) bread, and olives.  Then we could order our own appetizers. Drew got a tomato soup with seafood, Dad got calamari, Mom got a salad, and Thom and I got the chef's pasta. The chef's pasta was spaghetti with calamari, shrimp, oysters, and mussels.  Very delicious.  For dinner, Dad, Drew and I got lobster 3 ways, Thom got the veal, and Mom got a steak. Again, all were wonderful. For dessert, we got an espresso creme brulee, an almond, hazelnut, piscaccio creme dessert, and a white chocolate mousse.

After dinner we were exhausted so Mom and Dad went to bed. Thom, Drew, and I went to the Explorer's lounge to watch the band Solutions. They were having a 50s and 60s dance party.  Then I went to bed.  Thom and Drew met up with some new friends that they have made on the boat.  On to Skagway!

Ketchikan- Monday

Monday, July 28

Ketchikan

Today Thom and I woke up after everyone else. We grabbed breakfast in the Horizon buffet before heading on shore.  When we got on shore we met up with Mom and Dad to catch the bus to the totem pole national park.  Unfortunately, we were at the wrong bus station and missed the bus.  So we shopped around for a bit.  As we were loading the ship on Saturday, we received a coupon book for the different ports.  Ketchikan definitely had the most coupons.

After catching the bus, we rode about 30 minutes to the totem pole park.  It was very cool to see the different poles.  A bear on a totem pole means teacher.  We saw the restoration area for the totem poles.  On the bus we met a nice family from Israel.  They told us about their culture. It started to sprinkle as we were walking around the park.  Raining is very common in Ketchikan. They don't measure their amount of yearly rainfall in inches, they measure in feet. In Ketchikan the locals have a saying, "if you can't see the top of the mountain, it is raining. If you can see the top of the mountain, it is going to rain."

When we made it back to town we walked around the shops. It really started to downpour as we walked.  There were a couple shops where you could get very inexpensive things or free things.  We had to load the boat by 1:30 to make it to Juneau. It felt a little rushed to do the port in just a couple hours, but we managed.

When we got back on the boat, I joined Mom, Dad and Drew for lunch while Thom got ready to work out.  After lunch I joined Thom.  The ellipticals and treadmills have TVs on them so it made the time go much quicker. When I finished working out I went to the lotus pool (indoor pool area) to watch the boat sail.  It was very relaxing.  When Thom finished his workout he got a couple pieces of pizza.  I think that may be one of his favorite parts of the cruise- pizza whenever he wants!

We then headed back to the room to get on our swimming suits.  Mom, Dad, and Drew joined us in the hot tub.  There was a cute little boy who kept coming in and out of the hot tub.  He didn't speak English, but of course, Mom tried to talk with him.

After swimming I headed back to the room to get ready for casual dinner night.  We got ready a little early because the Naturalist said between 6:00-7:00 would be a good time for whale watching. So, at 6:00 Dad and I headed down to deck 7 to watch for whales.  It didn't take long! The first whale we saw was relatively close. We saw his back and he did showed his fin.  The Naturalist said we saw Orcas, too--I can't tell the difference.  We saw about 6 or 7 whales total.

Then we headed to dinner. It was an Italian theme, so the waiters were in striped shirts.  For appetizers we had Pasta e Fagioli, herb and sea salt marinated seafood antipasto, and mixed greens and baby spinach with crisp bacon pecorino cheese and pine nuts.  For our entrees we had spaghetti con Polpette in Salsa di Pomodoro Fresco (spaghetti and meatballs), Filetto di Mahi Mahi alla Griglia, Capesante e Gamberi Gratinit (scallops and shrimp), Saltimbocca di Pollo (chicken with ham on it) and a bacon wrapped shrimp burger. For dessert we had creme brulee, lemon gelato, and a mocha ice cream thing.

When we finished dinner we went to the Wheelhouse Bar to meet with our Israeli friends.  It was very enjoyable talking with them.  They have two daughters who are with them on the trip and I talked with them quite a bit. The youngest daughter (6th grade) talked about her dog, friends, and school.  They invited us to Israel and we invited them to Iowa.  They are doing 6 weeks in North America. (Canadian Rockies, Alaskan Cruise, Denali, then Orlando for Disney).

When we departed from our friends I went upstairs to bed. Thom and Drew found the mini golf and played a game.  Apparently a bunch of other young people came in so they met some new people.  Tomorrow is Juneau!

Come Sail Away! (Sunday)

Sunday, July 27

The first sleep on the boat was good! I woke up around 8 and Mom and Dad were heading to deck 7 for a walk.  I grabbed a muffin and cinnamon roll and sat on the deck they were walking on. It was cool outside, but the spot I found had a heater blowing on it, so I was perfect.

At 9:30, Drew, Mom and I went to Zumba.  It was a little slow moving because she taught all of the moves between each dance, but she said it would pick up the more the week went on.

After that I headed back for my first cruise ship shower. The water pressure was actually decent, but boy, those showers are tiny!

After showering and getting ready I met Mom, Dad, and Drew for lunch (Thom was working out in the big fitness room).  I had shrimp fried rice, pot stickers, macaroni and cheese, beef and broccoli (minus the broccoli), and a big salad.  The selection of fruits and veggies is nice here.

Once we finished lunch we headed to the atrium for the "treasure hunt" drawing. We didn't win. Then we went to the "Everything is $10 or less" sale.  They had scarves, clutches, watches, hats, and ties.  Drew got a new running watch.  It is black and yellow.

After that I went with Thom to get a "create your own pizza" by the pool.  He said it was very good.  Drew and Mom went to the slot tournament (Drew is currently in 2nd place-as of 2:16pm). The finals are tonight at 10.  I found the concept interesting. The whole point is to press the button as quick as you can for 5 minutes straight.  If he gets into the finals he gets a hat. The first prize winner wins $500 cash!

While Drew and Mom were at the Casino, Dad went to hear the Naturalist speak.

After walking around the ship for a bit, Thom and I decided to take a dip in the pool before getting ready for formal night.  We were the only ones in the pool so that was nice. After the pool, we met a couple from North Carolina who were taking an anniversary trip.  Then it was formal night time!

The food, again, was delicious. For appetizers we had crab quiche, french onion soup, Caesar salad, an arugula salad, and asparagus soup.   For dinner we had tiger shrimp on a bed of vegetable rice (Shrimp "Daniele), pan-seared barramundi with chive and mustard seed, medallions of beef tenderloin with madeira-truffle demi-glaze, and crustless spinach and potato flan with spicy tomato.  For dessert we had bananas foster, creme brulee, and an oreo peanut butter pie.

After dinner we went to watch the band, Solutions in the Explorers' Lounge.  However, we got there early so we got to watch some of the karaoke singers.  After listening to music and dancing (just a couple songs) we decided to call it a night.

Anne and Nolan- we keep thinking of you guys and wishing you were here! Anne, mom and I joked about how we could see you doing the zumba with your big belly. Nolan, Thom commented on how if you were here you could use his anytime drink package because you two look so similar that no one would question it! Hope you're having fun in San Diego!

All Aboard!!!

Saturday, July 26

We woke up this morning excited to load the boat! We had McDonald's for breakfast, before packing up our stuff for the cruise! The boat said it loaded at noon, so we went early to the port. We arrived at the port around 10:30.  We were able to go right through security, checking in and dropping off luggage.  We then waited in a  holding area for approximately a half hour before we were able to board the boat.  They took our picture as we came on the ship for their security.

Once on board we checked out our rooms. We have interior rooms on deck 11 (Baja).  On the boat there are multiple hot tubs, pools (although the main one is not filled), restaurants, and lots of fun things.  We went to the Horizon Court Buffet for lunch.  Nana-there are about 8 different types of bread to try at each buffet.  The buffet had a nice spread of food.

 To become familiar with the ship Thom, Drew, and I did a "treasure hunt".  We had to go to a few locations around the ship to get stamps, once we got all the stamps our card went into a drawing for prizes on the ship.  We were able to see the spa, fitness center, pictures places, galleries, shops, and a couple restaurants.  We got a bingo card to play bingo.

We then hung out for a bit before our safety instruction with the life jackets.  The safety thing seemed to take awhile. We had to wait for others for like 20 minutes before they could get started. It was interesting because in the previous cruise I've been on the safety instructions were right under your potential life boat, however this one was in a formal restaurant and it just talked about how to put on your life jacket.

After putting our life jackets away we went to the deck to watch the ship take off. We went under a big bridge and people were waiting there waving at us.  We sat on the main deck for awhile because they had a band and dancing.  Drew got a veggie burger. Then we moved to the lotus pool which is indoors (it was much warmer).  After that we headed back to our rooms to get ready for dinner.

Our first night at dinner was "Smart Casual".  We tried lots of amazing food. For appetizers we had trio melon (honey dew, cantelope, and watermelon), spring rolls, shrimp cocktail, and red snapper mojito.  For soups we had wild mushroom, chicken broth with tortellini (single. one tortellini.) and spinach (again single. one piece of spinach).  Mom got a salad instead of soup. Her salad was like they cut the head of lettuce in a one inch slice and that is what they served. It was a neat presentation.  For dinner we had, prime rib, fettuccine alfredo in a parmesan cheese bowl (yum!), a mushroom burger, and crawfish.  We all agreed the best was the crawfish.  It was in a red pepper sauce of some sorts. It was really good.  For dessert we had a flourless chocolate cake, New York cheesecake, mango cheesecake, creme brulee, and the Princess Love Boat.  Overall the dinner was fantastic.

The people at a table near us had a funny gadget.  It was for taking selfies. She would put her phone on this pole, and stretch it out like 4 feet to take a picture. We thought it was hilarious.

After dinner Mom and Dad went to watch Monument Men while Drew, Thom, and I went to watch a comedian/ impressionist.  I'm not a huge fan of comedians, but he was okay.  His best impression was of Eddie Murphy.  We then went to the Explorer's Lounge to watch a band.  After that we met up with Mom and Dad and headed to the casino. Drew lost $30, I lost $20, Thom didn't gamble, and I don't know how Dad did (I think he is ahead).

At around 11:30 we decided to walk the deck to see what was going on. Surprisingly, most people were in their rooms. There weren't many people out and about! Then we headed to bed.

We don't have internet on the ship, so I'll be posting these in chunks when I can on the ports. Sorry!

Friday in Vancouver

This morning Mom, Drew and Dad went to IHOP for breakfast. By the time Thom and I got up they were already done, so we just got McDonalds.  After breakfast, Thom and Drew went for a 7 miles jog around town while Mom, Dad, and I went to Shoppers Mart and the Liquor Store.  We can take 1 bottle of wine per person onto the cruise ship so we went to get it. Alcohol here is so much more expensive! For a 24 pack of Coors it is $48!! We tried to get wines that we had not seen in the US before.

Around 11, we took the hotel shuttle to Bridgeport (SkyTrain station).  Then we loaded the SkyTrain to Waterfront Station (which is right by the cruise port). On our way, Thom found a poster of a Drew-look-alike.  We decided to scope out where we would be traveling tomorrow. On our way to the port we stopped at a Mountaineers shop.  Dad met a retired mountain ranger who wrote a book about his years in the Yukon.  Dad bought a book that the man signed.  Then we headed to Canada Place (the port).

At Canada Place we saw where we would enter and go through security.  We also took a trail around the port.  There were many beautiful and fun things to see around the port. There was a public piano to play, two cruise boats, and a beautiful harbor.  Mom and I played the piano.

After the walk, we took a shuttle to the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park.  It was great! When we first got there we got lunch. Thom, Mom, Dad, and I got  burgers and Drew got a grilled flalafel pita. There was a band playing while we ate lunch. Then we did the Cliff Walk which goes around a cliff.  Then we walked across the suspension bridge, which was VERY wobbly.  I felt safe, but it was freaky! Then we walked across the tree tops above the tree canopy. The entire park was amazing.  It was very beautiful, a little packed, but beautiful. The trees were interesting because they came out of the cliff sideways and then grew up.

After the park we took the shuttle back downtown.  We then chose to walk around downtown to find Chinatown (which was recommended to us), however Chinatown was not as great as we thought.  So we kept walking to Gastown.  This was much more enjoyable.  We stopped at a bar called The Blarney Stone for a quick drink. Thom, Drew, and Dad shared a "jug" (pitcher) of ShockTop and I had a Flirtini.

After we finished our drinks we made our way back to the SkyTrain station.  We then went back to Bridgeport because we were told there was a market that would be fun to go to.

SIDENOTE: the population of Vancouver is majority Asian. I'm not sure why, but it is.

Anyway we went to the market and the only food they had was very interesting Asian cuisine.  The most "normal" thing was chicken on a stick.  But even that was strange because there was chicken heart on a stick or chicken liver on a stick.  We had a curry chicken waffle, some sort of spring rolls, shrimp dumplings, noodles of some kind, a hot dog with a weird topping, and a pork sandwich with apple slaw. Mom and I shared a strange ice cream cone. It was like the cereal corn pops in a strange shape with ice cream.  They also had a lot of little retail vendors to look at.

We then made our way back to the hotel. I just finished doing a quick load of laundry before heading to bed. Tomorrow we go on the boat!!

Lynn-thanks for the texts! I can't text back, but wanted you to know I got them! I looked into the zoo-now I wish we would have gone!