Ahoy, Alaska

Hello Everyone.  So I have been an absentee writer for awhile now, but let me assure you...it was with good reason.  I was with my husband and his family on a week long cruise to Alaska!! I read somewhere that its not entirely safe to post for the worldwide web to see that you are going to be gone for awhile, so that's why there was no lead-up.  Bam! Blindsided you with my trip, suckas.


Anyway...(btw I just took a cookie break).  So I decided to do a picture-laden blog to tell you about the trip.  I was very judicious in my picture choosing and that is saying a lot since I have about 300 pictures.  PS Alaska is BEAUTIFUL.


Okay.  So last Thursday, Jordan and I flew to Anchorage with his family (which included his parents, and most of his siblings...making a party of 12) and we crashed in a hotel for the night as it was about 1:00 am (not that you could really tell...the sunlight was still kinda visible).  The next day we took this HUGE stretch limo to our ship in Seward and for the rest of that day, we ate food and explored the awesome ship (the Celebrity Millennium).


On Saturday, we were at sea the whole day, but the coolest part was the Hubbard Glacier we got to see.  Our captain got us pretty close, and the most memorable moment was when I woke up from my nap and saw ice chunks floating in the water a la Titanic.  

Ridiculously beautiful, no?  On Sunday, we were in Juneau, where we went to church in the morning and then later that day, we explored the town before our "shore excursion."  Jordan and I decided to go whale watching and to see another glacier in the area, called Mendenhall glacier.  For those Superman fans out there...the glacier was blue and it looked a lot like the Fortress of Solitude.  Just sayin'.

 

This is an Orca, or a killer whale.  We also saw humpbacks, sea lions, and eagles.  It was amazing.

Okay, so you can't tell about the blue ice in the picture, but I swear.  

The next day, we were in Skagway, a tiny town of about 800--but it was booming during the gold rush.  We went to a salmon bake in an outskirt town (can a population of 800 have an outskirt?  Apparently) called Liarsville.  Then Jordan and I went with a few others from our group "To the Summit!" in a mini-bus tour.  It was actually really amazing.  We climbed so high and the landscapes were incredible.

Then we checked out the town and had lunch with a friend of mine who is performing there, Kristen (how crazy is that??).  I have more pics from the town, but this one is probably my favorite:

Those Alaskans don't mess around with the environment...

This is our Huge ship docked in Skagway.

I know there are a ton of pics in this post, but that's way better than me writing anyway.  Deal with it.  Here are some more from the bay in Skagway.

Jordan and I sailing away.  That's Skagway in the background.  Also, its about 9:30 pm in this picture.  Yeah.  I brought my sleep mask. Thanks for asking.


Anyway, Tuesday we docked at Icy Straight...but we opted to stay on the ship that day.  Gearing up for the dessert extravaganza....

This is just one of about 8 table full of sugary goodness.  Yes, I did gain weight on this cruise.  But isn't that kinda the point?  ps creme brulee was available EVERY NIGHT. 


Wednesday was adventure day.  Jordan and I, with my sister-in-law Nicole went Kayaking in the Tatoosh Islands near Ketchikan.  It was awesome.  I have never done that and we saw a bajillion eagles soooo close to us.  More pictures to come of this amazingness.

That's me looking in the trees for.....

This freaking EAGLE!

Thursday was a sea day, and I haven't really described the food thus far because I don't want to make you jealous.  And I won't go into detail, but the great thing about a cruise is the way you can eat whatever you want, whenever you want.  The dinners every night were 4 courses and incredible.  I tried frog legs.  'Nuff said.

Friday we finished our cruise in Vancouver, British Columbia.  Before we hit the airport, we went to the Capilano Suspension Bridge, which  means that it jiggles A LOT when you cross it and you are over 200 feet in the air.  I am such a daredevil.

Do you see that thing?! It is so long!!!!  But the other side had pretty much the coolest, biggest, most Robin Hood-style treehouse I had ever been in, so it was worth it.  

Plus, it had these huge trees!! And, really, who doesn't like to hug trees?  :)

Well, that was our trip in a nutshell.  Obviously, it was beautiful and fun and amazing.  I loved it!!!!!