ALASKA

Every year we take our kids on a family vacation to one of the 50 states in hopes that before they graduate, they'll have seen all 50.  This year we decided to go to Alaska.  I well remember the snowy, depressing day we decided to visit Alaska.  It was January of this year and typical of January, it was dark and cold and boring.  The holidays were over and not much more than cold weather stretched ahead of us.  So on a frolic, David and I started looking at trips using an online travel agent.  Most people would have looked into vacationing in Florida or Arizona, but not us - we looked at Alaska.  And that seemed just the type of thing we could look forward to to get through the winter.  So we booked an Alaskan cruise knowing we had until June 15 to cancel.  In the interim between January and June, I researched the web, trying to figure out the best way to see the most of Alaska and felt confident that for a first trip with kids, a cruise was the way to go.  So we paid our money and waited for the embarkation day to arrive.

I don't have time or room here to tell everything about our trip, but let's just say we had some of our family's greatest highs . . . and probably some of our lowest lows.  There were things we saw that we'll probably never see again - places that can only be reached by boat and that truly took our breath away.  We laughed a lot and enjoyed each other's company like never before.  And then there were moments when we really, really needed more space than two tiny ship cabins.  But all in all, we're so glad we went and I'm sure the good memories will only become richer with time while the bad moments will surely fade.

Day 1: Embarkation
We got up at 3:30 a.m.  David's brother, James, arrived at 4:00 a.m. to take us to the airport, and we flew out at 6:10 a.m.  We had breakfast at the Seattle airport before catching the shuttle to Port 66.  Once on board, we had lunch before spending the afternoon exploring the boat and enjoying the rock wall.

Day 2: Day at Sea

Sure enough, the girls and I all felt sea sick and all ended up taking Dramamine.  The Dramamine knocked me out for a couple of hours while David entertained the kids.  The girls were fine.  After I awoke, we participated in a family game show and lost.  Guess we don't know our kids as well as we think we do.  We tried attending the ship show that evening, but when we walked in and Mary yelled, "They're naked,"(Vegas-type entertainment), we turned around and walked back out.

Day 3: Juneau

Whales, whales, and more whales.  And yes, they really were this close to our excursion boat.  An unforgettable day!

Day 4: Skagway

We rode a train into the mountains while learning about the Klondike Gold Rush.  Most of the family crossed the suspension bridge at the top (try to figure out who chickened out at the last minute due to a fear of heights).  And built a peace tower on the way back down.  But in the end, the best part of the day for some of our family was the time spent at a local park :).

Day 5: Glacier Bay

By far, my favorite day.  I won't even attempt to describe what it's like to watch a glacier calve and hear the ice crack as it falls into the ocean.  Day 5 was a perfect day.  The scenery was breathtaking and peaceful, the kids were kind to each other, and the activities were fun.  And it was my birthday.  The kids didn't really remember, but it felt like God did because truly everything went right that day.

Margerie Glacier, 21 miles long, 1 mile wide, moves 7 feet per day

The Bay

The scenery

Family Pizza Making

Family Dodge Ball

Hip Hop Class for All Ages

Day 6: Ketchikan

Watched the salmon run upstream at Creek Street, enjoyed the Alaskan Discovery Center, and attended the Great Alaskan Lumber Jack Show.

Day 7: Victoria, BC, Canada

Visited the beautiful Butchart Gardens.

Day 8: Seattle

Took the "Best of Seattle" Tour which took us around the city with a brief stop at the Space Needle and Pike's Place Market.  But in the end, our kids thought the 'best of Seattle' was chasing the pigeons while we waited for our bus to return and playing rock/paper/scissors on the bus.

We loved every minute, but we're glad to be home!  Oh, and my house feels like a mansion.  Did I mention how tiny those ship cabins were . . . :).