Family Weekend

My mom and Sandy made their annual fall visit earlier than normal this year. The weather was awesome, in the 80s the entire time. We spent the day in Chaska at the University of Minnesota Arboretum. We walked around the pathways viewing all the different plants, trees, shrubs, flowers and grasses. It was downright hot but a great day.

We began our evening with a wine tasting with cheese and chocolate pairings I tried to put together. For dinner Sandy brought the extra-large shrimp she had just caught in Alaska last month and made us an amazing dinner.

Saturday we visited my cousin Melissa at the 20,21 Restaurant in the Walker Art Center, as she is a pastry chef there. We tried the tasting menu and sampled her creative desserts. We were so proud and impressed. Later that night we had plans to go on a dinner cruise on the St Croix and what an awesome night. They had a bluesy rock band and the local liquor store provided us with samples of beer and rum and Jeremiah Weed and another vodka all night long. It was a blast.

It's always fun when my family visits and we were sad to see them leave Sunday morning.

Seward, Alaska

We spent the last two nights of our Alaskan vacation in Seward. I really like this town. It's quaint but has a lot to offer. We walked all along the harbor and visited the Sealife Center where they display all kinds of fish and birds but also take in Sea Lions, Harbor Seals, Sea Otters, Puffins, etc when they need some TLC. It's a really cool place to visit if you get the chance.

Our main goal was to get in a fishing trip before we left Alaska so we woke up early on Saturday morning, ate breakfast, found a place to make us a box lunch and set out to catch some Halibut. We were on our way by 7:30am. We took a 2 1/2 hour tour to our location, fished in a dud spot before we found our final destination. We each caught at least two fish but started throwing too many back by the time we realized we needed to be keeping them.

This time of year I guess maybe there are not as many big ones but we caught some decent Halibut and Chad and Clarence even caught a Ling Cod each. We headed back to Seward and made it back around 6pm. We brought our fish in for processing and then got cleaned up for what was maybe the best meal we'd eaten in Alaska at Chinooks in the Harbor. I ordered halibut and Chad had the Salmon, along with Le. It was truly phenomenal and now I need to learn how to make the fish that way.

It was a great and rewarding day. None of us were up for being entertained so we went back to our motel rooms and went to bed.

Final Cruising Day

Day seven started early. We arrived at the Hubbard Glacier around 6am. Chad and I were up to the top deck to view it closer to 7am but we still had an entire hour to enjoy it. It was awesome. We were able to get really close and we really had the best weather Alaska had to offer because even the week before they could not get close enough and it was really foggy. We had no obstructions and it calved the entire time.

There was a naturalist on board talking about the glacier and then the captain started talking over the loud speaker and encouraged us to all yell at the glacier at the same time causing it to pick up it's action. That was so cool. Speaking of cool, the temperature near the glacier is super-duper cold, that's why we all have our hats and gloves on for the first time all week. It was pretty awesome and I love glaciers, isn't this one beautiful?

Well, we ran out of time to look at the glacier and needed to head to Seward where the cruise ship would dump all of us 2000 and some passengers and pick up another 2000+ passengers all within eight hours time the next day.

We went to breakfast and did our own thing again. Chad had his Karaoke Superstar finals and we had some big BINGO prizes to play for. It was a casual dinner, actually calling for Alaskan attire, I had my puffy vest on and we even saw some sweatpants in the formal dining room. People were starting to wind down.

I didn't make it past dinner again, Chad tried to find some trouble but just about everyone else on the ship was in their rooms for the night too. Must have been the comfort food themed dinner that really sealed the deal for us.

The cruise was really a great experience. It was a lot of fun. I would go on a cruise again and I never even thought I'd want to do one. I had a blast, Alaska is so beautiful and it was great to share the experience with Chad's parents. We keep hearing that they may just do another one and that would be wonderful.

Icy Strait Point

We tendered to Icy Strait Point this day. It's a small port where we would need to get on a boat to get to shore and then take a bus to the town. We had a great view of the bay and watched people drop 3000 feet on a zip line in front of the boat. That was good enough for us, we stayed on the boat all day.

Our day six was pretty lazy and I don't think any of us feel bad about it. We woke up, Chad and I were enjoying the breakfast room service option in the mornings, we kind of did our own thing, met for a quick breakfast with Le and Clarence and then went our separate ways.

The boys hung out in the hot tub, they really liked it there, which you can't blame them, it was in the open Alaskan air. Le found a lovely lounge chair in the Arboretum which is nice and warm with windows to the surroundings, and I found an outside deck chair and lounged, I thought I was going to read just like Le but the fresh air and sun got the best of us and we both slept. I slept almost all day. Chad and Clarence did better and found some activities.

It was our last formal dining night so we were dressed for it, the theme was Chef's dinner and they really out did themselves this night and we were able to view a number of the kitchen staff on parade. It's amazing how many people work on these ships for us.

We attended another evening entertainment which featured our Royal Caribbean singers, dancers and orchestra. We had a battle of the sexes activity that evening and the men actually won. Then it was 50s and 60s Rock 'n Roll Prom night. That was so much fun because it was really a special night. Lots of people were dressed up and showed up to show off their dance moves. Then we all attended a special buffet in the casual dining room where our chefs prepared a fabulous mid-night buffet of chocolate, desserts galore, sandwiches, fruits and other wonderful things.

It was another wonderful day of cruise life.

Skagway

We arrived in Skagway day five. This is the starting point for many adverturers during the historic Gold Rush of 1898. It became our favorite port. At least for Chad and I because it was not nearly as commercialized as Ketchikan and Juneau.

The town is partially preserved by the National Park Service where they have an office and museum right in town and keep up and preserve a number of buildings around town. We took their hour long park ranger guided walking tour of downtown where we learned ALOT about the Klondike gold rush and found the whole ordeal these gold-rushers went through to have been tremendously difficult.

We took a bus tour to the White Pass. It was so beautiful. The road gets very high and the edge is very steep. Gotta love those mountain passes. The air grew very cool and the plants and lakes were beautiful. So few people actually live there that the land is practically untouched and remains in it's natural state it's been in for decades. My pictures should show how much I enjoyed it.

That night was the Mystery Dinner Theater performed by some of the Royal Caribbean singers and dancers. It was held at Portofino's, the ship's Italian restaurant. The dinner included a performance, wine and a five-course menu. It was a nice meal but the theater was pretty cheesy. We still had fun as we were able to meet some of our fellow cruisers and chat during dinner which we all enjoyed.

Juneau

Day Four on our cruise brought us to Juneau, Alaska.

We took a shuttle bus to the Mendenhall Glacier which was an awesome color of blue. The visitor center was very nice and we learned that the glacier had retreated 1.75 miles since 1958. It's too far from the visitor center to see it calving. Chad found a hike that might get us a closer look so we hiked about three to four miles round trip through a beautiful part of the Tongass National Forest and did not get a really close look but we did get a closer view of the waterfalls on the right side of the glacier that just became exposed this year. How cool is that?

Clarence suggested we visit the Red Dog Saloon where Wyatt Earp's gun is displayed. We had reindeer sausage and cheese and a drink which was much needed after our hike. Then we headed back to the ship to get some rest and get ready for dinner.

It was a casual night, we were able to get a shower before dinner and I think this is the day we all went back to our room to rest before the show because we devoured our food quickly and then we fell asleep and didn't wake up til morning. Clarence saw the nightly entertainment and the rest of us were out cold. Must be something about that fresh Alaskan air.

Ketchikan

Day three we awoke in Ketchikan, AK. This town is known to see over 150 inches of rain a year, but luckily we stayed nice and dry.

We had a flightseeing tour planned with a local floatplane operator at 9:30am. It was a one and a half hour tour over the Misty Fjords with a lake landing where we were able to stand on the plane floats and experience the silence and beauty of a glacial lake. It was so amazing. I took lots of pictures as you can see.

When we were finished with our tour we walked around town, there were spawning salmon going through the city river and that was really cool to see. We also walked along Creek Street which is an original boardwalk set up during the gold rush which housed many cathouses during the time. They've been turned into tourist shops but Dolly's House is available for touring, so we did.

Our dinner time was at 6:00pm so we had time to get back to the ship have a little lunch with free time and get ready for the night.

This night was smart casual, we made it to the entertainment which was a singing impressionist. Shortly after our 9:00pm show, Le and Clarence went to bed and Chad and I went to the 70s Disco Dance Party. It was crazy, the whole ship seemed to be in the Centrum singing and dancing. The village people made a performance, at least their look-a-likes did and women were going crazy. We tried to go dancing afterwards but we were already starting to lose our ability to stay up late. The 70s Disco Dance Party was the most fun I saw everyone having the entire week. The cruise entertainment again really came through.

Cruise to Alaska Day Two

Day two of our trip was spent cruising from Vancouver to Ketchikan where we would not reach port until early morning of day three.

This time was used to take advantage of what our ship had to offer. I made it to the gym to work out and later Chad and I attended a yoga class. Chad and Clarence played dodge ball and Le and I attended a scrapbooking class. We also participated in trivia at the Schooner Bar. Our on ship entertainment group was awesome. They were a smaller group of about 4-5 but they remembered our names all week and made sure we always had a smile on our faces, they were wonderful.

Dinner that night would be our first formal night and also was our Captain's welcome. We dressed up and had a great night. The food was amazing and the captain spoke, he's Norwegian, and was hilarious.

Many of the ship's guests stayed in the Colony Club after the captain spoke where they held the 'Finish that Lyric' contest. I came in 2nd. Chad and I competed in the first Karaoke Superstar competition. Chad, of course, made it to finals but I did my best Madonna and became known for that around the ship for days to come.

We were becoming quite the popular couple. In fact, I only sang the first night, this night during karaoke and the lyric contest and was recognized off the ship a week later as part of the singing couple. That may be how it works when you are 40-50 years younger than many of the guests, we were probably also the 'young' ones.

They ship offered a show every night, this night was Piano Man where the Royal Caribbean singers, dancers and orchestra performed hits from Billy Joel, Elton John, Barry Manilow and another composer. This was probably the best show they performed all week.

Then it was also 80s night at the dance club so we made an appearance and danced until we couldn't dance anymore. I'm not sure how we were still going after such a full day.

Cruise to Alaska Day One

Our first day on the cruise ship was fun. None of us had ever been on one and we were having a great time touring the ship and visiting it's many amenities.

The first dinner was casual and afterwards we made our way to a spot we would frequent every night, the Schooner Bar where our waitress was from the Philippines and her mother's name was Litta too. What a strange coincidence.

We stayed up later than many of the other guests so we were able to practice our karaoke and make a name for ourselves early on as 'the singing couple'.

Pre-Cruise Vancouver

We landed in Vancouver, BC around 10:30 pm and took a taxi to our hotel. It was nice, cozy and quiet. It took us awhile to rest because we were just too excited about what we were doing the next day.

We woke up early, ate breakfast and walked around the neighborhood which included Gastown and Chinatown then we took a taxi to Granville Island which was really a cool place. It was a perfect morning waiting to board our ship to Alaska.

Campaign for Jackson Hole

Girls soon to be invited to Annual Jackson Hole Ski Trip. Trip is usually only attended by men and Jay's mom and I am on a mission to change that. I am dedicating three months of my life to skiing on a smaller hill called the Schweitzer Mountain resort so I will be good enough for that jagged mountain in Jackson Hole, WY. Possibly, if I'm not an embarrasement on the mountain here I'd be a shoe-in to ski in Jackson. I've even taken a trip to Colorado to hone my skills skiing long runs, powder, wind and frigid temps.

It's been quite a journey so far. I had the "outfit". That was really a number one priority for me (I took care of that three years ago). I've also purchased two pairs of ski boots, finally finding my perfect pair this year. I found my ideal long johns and helmet and invested in a brand new pair of K2 skis, called Lotta Luv and I can guarantee, I do have a "lotta luv" for this sport.

Jackson Hole in 2010 with Women. Why wouldn't you invite women is what I want to know? Heather, Jay's wife, and I are more than just a pretty face, we have a great sense of humor and enjoy tanning whenever we know there is potential to be seen in a swimming suit. We would smell better than most of the usual attendants. Plus, we've been known to bake cupcakes for special occasions such as this one. This all spells the best Jackson Hole trip the men have ever seen.

You be the judge and let me know why we shouldn't be in Jackson Hole in 2010.

From Heather's Bachelorette Party

Love ya!!