No Impeding Glaciers to Report!

(Stolen from here for blogger viewing pleasure: http://www.alaskalandandsea.com/photos/GlacierBay-ship.jpg)

We have made it back safe and sound on U.S. soil. No ship or airplane issues! We didn't get home until 1AM this morning, so needless to say, I haven't quite had the time to dump the cameras yet! Hopefully the pics will be ready to go for an awesome Wordless Wednesday this week!

The landscape was beautiful, the ship was superb, the food awesome, the wine delightful, and the excursions FAN-TAB-U-LOUS!

Our Trip Summary

• Saturday - Seattle, WA - Took the Underground Tour. If you are ever in Seattle, this tour is worth it. It gave a great history of Seattle! Walked through Pike Place Market They throw fish in the air! We had dinner at a little sushi place.
• Sunday - the ship departs from Seattle
• Monday - Sea Day - watched a martini demonstration (the making and the shaking), played Pictionary and went to a Wine Tasting; VERY rough seas - the ship was getting tossed around like a toy boat!
• Tuesday - Ketchikan, AK - crab cakes and salmon in town, Adventure Kart Expedition. This was like a 4 wheeler ride through the mountains, but more like on a souped up Dune Buggy 4x4. We had to wear rain gear as it had been raining earlier and there were lots of mud puddles to splash in!
• Wednesday - Glacier Viewing - Initially was supposed to be the Tracy Arm fjord, but per the Hol.land Amer.ica ship cruising ahead of us, the glacier had broken off several large pieces making the channel impassable, so we visited another glacier instead. The ice was so blue it looked turquoise! Juneau, AK - Dog Sled Summer Camp - super fun! There were about 120 dogs at summer camp for training. We got to meet a ton of them and 14 of them took us on a little ride. It was also very informative about mushing and what it takes to be a musher and what it's like to race in the snow! This is a really good kid tour! Mount.Roberts.Tramway - gorgeous scenery, but kinda pricey - $25 per person! Beer at The.Red.Dog.Saloon is a must!
• Thursday - Skagway, AK - Hike and Float - Hiked 2 miles up into the mountains, then floated 2 miles down a river. (What mountains and what river? It's escaping me at the moment). This scenery was also gorgeous, but this trip served another purpose. It made me ever so aware that I am in terrible shape! We climbed up to about 1800 feet before making the descent. After about the 3rd leg of nothing but UP, I was DYING. Seriously I thought I was about to stroke out. D said my face was ashen and I was completely out of breath and sweating like a pig (could have also been due to the long sleeved T, sweatshirt and rainproof jacket, but still...) So after the mountain hike, I decided to go on a diet and join a gym (on the way home TODAY). It was only cardio - GEEZ! But I also start Met.formin today (how convenient my cycle coincided with my vacation schedule, EH?!) and one of the "side effects" is weight loss so let's get this party started!
• Friday - Sea Day - VERY rough seas; more ship tossing; another wine tasting/wine club. This one was with the more expensive wines. The most expensive I have ever tasted for sure - $168!! But alas, the $72 was better tasting!
• Saturday - Victoria, BC - Love me some Canada, eh?! Took a pedicab (some poor guy had to peddle our cruise food leaden asses around for 2 hours uphill!!) tour around the city through some historical neighborhoods, downtown, by the warf, by Parliament...
• Sunday - Seattle, WA - was expecting a long, drawn out embarkation, but it was over in a jiffy and we were at the airport by 9:30AM....too bad our flight wasn't until 5:30PM!! So we people watched and read a book while waiting for our plane...

It was amazing! I was nervous at first since Alaska cruises are typical blue hair type activities, but there was a wide variety of age groups there as well. Thanks again to Papa AJ Travel for setting us up with a great vacation! We will never forget it!