The Rest of Alaksa

So I realized if I tried to separate each day of the trip I would never finish. So here is the rest of the Alaska trip. Starting with our first day in Juneau. We visited Mendenhall Glacier. It was impressive. After the bus dropped us off we were greeted by this sign. I think Caleb expresses my sentiments exactly.
Missing Travis

After viewing the glacier we went on a hike with Regan, Mena, Boni and Andre. We were able to look at the glacier and little closer and see some beautiful scenery. including this super cool waterfall
That night we got a cute little armadillo for our towel animal.
Our next stop was Skaggway. I loved this little town and it was just the beginning to one of my "perfect days." To start with, the weather was fantastic. The town was surrounded by beautiful views. We started the day by finding some fantastic 50% off deals at the Alaska Shirt Company. Later we met up with a tour guide for some hiking and river rafting. At our first stop we saw some sea otters swimming and a bald eagle on the shore. Our next stop was a hike through a very lush forest. For someone who hates mushrooms I certainly took enough pictures of them. I was amazed at how many different kinds I saw on this hike.

The most exciting part was the bear tracking (thanks Andre). We saw so many prints and droppings we knew they were close by. I kept hoping to see one, but not too close of course. I loved how these ducks were all lined up on this log. On the trail we got to stop and sample some Mountain High Cranberries. YUM!Here Caleb is documenting some of the fresh bear dropping we saw. YUCK!! After seeing so many signs of bears we were super happy to finally see one. With the help of Andre's binoculars we saw our first grizzly. Super cool!
At the end of the hike we got on some rafts to float down the river and savor more of the amazing weather. How do you like our rafting get-up?
We were so happy to see our first bear but, were really excited to see two together. These two are known as the brother bears. Normally bears are solitary creatures, but apparently these two are always seen together. They have been nicknamed the Brother Bears. We stopped in the raft for a bit to watch them fishing. It was so neat to watch them pounce into the water and come out holding a fish in their mouths.

Here is the necklace bear. We were hoping to see one bear and we saw total of FOUR!!! Our guide said only about 30% of her trips even see one bear. I think someone on our boat carried some good luck with them; or definately remembered to rub a rabbit's foot that morning.

After the rafting we stopped to snack on some smoked salmon (very yummy)and crackers. We also met up with a Chinese tour group. Caleb got to practice a little of his Chinese skills. He quite enjoyed it. After the tour guide dropped us off we still had a few hours to kill, so The six of us hiked up to a lake. I can't remember the name. Once again not shocking, it was a beautiful hike. We then returned to the boat for another gourmet dinner. It was also on this night we stayed up late with Regan and Mena on the deck hoping to catch a glimpse of the northern lights. I am 60% sure we did, but just not a clearly as I hoped. Regardless, the best part was just hanging out on the decks chitty chatting, laughing, meeting new people and having hopes and anticipation of seeing the lights. One added bonus is that I met a guy that was friends with one of my cousins. What a small world. After that we made our nightly stop at the Solarium Cafe for our bedtime ice cream cone(s). It was the perfect end to one of my favorite days. The next day began super early. I think we got up around 5:00am to see glaciers. The ship was sailing into Endecott Arm you can see all the chunks of ice floating. It was quite the experience to be out on the deck bundled up sipping hot cocoas and watch the ship sail through all the ice getting closer and closer to the glacier. I loved it. And just in case I thought that would be as good as it got. Boni and Andre, Regan, Mena, Caleb and I stayed on the deck hoping to see some whales. WE DID!! It was so neat to watch them swim right next to the ship. I loved to see them flip there tails. I even saw one come out of the water. I saw the white underside. I can't remember how many we saw, but I think it was around ten. I loved spotting them in the distance and then watch them get closer to the ship. They were so close I even heard one of them. One batch would swim away and we would watch another batch come in. Absolutely fantastic. I would love to do that again sometime.
Here are our super fun waiters. The one on the right called me Miss Drew which made me smile. So he naturally got a bigger tip. :) The one on the left reminded me of my brother in law Tyler. (what is your opinion Aimee?)

They were both fantastic waiters and fun to spend dinner with. Although,I can attibute some of my 5lb gain to the one in the gold. Eveytime I debated between two deserts his solution was "get them both." It was fun to have the same waiters take care of us the entire week.

Missing Karla

Our next stop was the Butchart Gardens in Victoria, British Columbia

I think each couple made a stop at the "Kissing Bridge" as we affectionately named it. This picture can speak for itself. One word comes to mind.......goofs!

Later we met up this this character. Look at the affection a little money can buy. Priceless...although I must admit super cool yet creepy. It is my first experience hugging a living statue. I can distinctly remember the feel of the half man half statue. Weird!

Another interesting character and Caleb's new favorite musician. Darth Fiddler. Who by the way loved Caleb's shirt.

A stop at the Parliament building to listen to some debates and we were on our way back to the ship. I enjoyed this place. I would like to return again someday. That night we spent the night dancing away at the Disco with Regan and Mena and savored our last night at the Solarium Cafe for ice cream cones. I quite miss that little tradition.

Our final stop was Vancouver. At this point my memory card was full. So I have nothing, but memories. However, we toured Stanely Park. We saw some neat Totum poles, a movie crew driving trough, we listened to a Chinese musican, drove through China town, and ate lunch at a super cool market with a wionderful bakery. I thought the city was remarkable. I would like to return and spend a vacation in this city alone.
This was our trip in a nutshell. It was a fun fun fun trip. Thank you Clark and Aldeen and Happy 50th anniversary.

Off to Juneau Alaska

Day At Sea

We spent the first day at sea. In the morning Caleb and I spent some time exploring the ship and enjoying views and sunshine. Unfortunately most of the family was sick in bed. However, we soon met up with Regan and Mena and tagged along with them. It made for a fun day at sea.

You win some.....

...you lose some.

But if you have never attempted ping pong on a rockin' ship I highly recommend it. It makes for some interesting play and takes pInG PonG to a whole new level.

It was on this day at sea that Caleb discovered his cure for sea sickness. ICE CREAM! We lost count after 20, but it seemed to work. He was up and about all day; he didn't' get sick.

After a fun day relaxing, eating, chatting, games and savoring the fresh air we returned to our cabin to find the first of our adorable little towel animals. I am not sure why I liked the towel animals so much, but it was fun to come back at the end of the day and find which animal Gene had left for us.

Tonight was the first formal night on the ship. It was fun getting dressed up and enjoying a nice fancy dinner. After dinner it was off to the show. A few more ice cream cones and it was off to bed. We would arrive in Juneau in the morning. I quite enjoyed my first day at sea.