Visiting the 49th State, Part 1

Alaska was everything that we had hoped it would be. Here is my travel log.

Let the adventure begin

The Chief and I left SLC at 9 a.m. and flew to Seattle. At the airport, our luggage was the first to come down the ramp! When does that ever happen? We took it as a positive omen for the trip! We then walked over to the Central Link Light Rail, where we bought our tickets for $2.25 each and rode to Pioneer Square in downtown Seattle. It was so easy, and so much cheaper than a taxi. On the light rail, we met Megan, who is a teacher from South Carolina. She was also going on a cruise, except she was going to work on a Holland America ship for 4 weeks, and work with the their kids' program. She was alone, meeting friends later in the day, so we invited her to hang with us as we went to lunch and to the Underground Seattle tour, which she had planned to do too. We got off the light rail, walked to our hotel (the Best Western at Pioneer Square) and checked in and dropped off our bags, and then grabbed lunch. I had a panina and it was so yummy! We then enjoyed the Underground Seattle Tour, which we both found really fun and interesting. We then said good-bye to Megan, and the Chief and I went back to the hotel to get a sweater as it was getting chilly, but no raindrops! The Chief was hungry again, and wanted to get a hot dog from a street vendor. There in Seattle, they serve them with cream cheese, and the Chief wanted the whole Seattle experience, so he was game! I took a bite too and it was actually really tasty! We then hopped on a city free bus and headed down to Pike's Market. It is such a fun place to visit! We loved watching the fish tasting, and couldn't refrain from buying a juicy pear from a vendor. We also bought a bouquet of flowers, which we gave to our friends, Doug and Mark. We decided to walk back to the hotel (about a 20 minute walk).

Then, we rested briefly and then Doug and Mark came and picked us up. They gave us a short tour of Seattle by car, and then we went to a nice dinner on the water. I can't remember the name because I was so happy to be visiting with Doug and Mark again. Doug is one of my oldest friends from BYU, and we don't get to see one another very often, but when we do, we are able to pick up just where we left off. After a yummy dinner of fish of course, the evening came to an end all too soon, and we were back at the hotel! We had an early wake up call!





Doug, Gretch, and Scott

Seattle, 2012

We caught a cab at 6:15 a.m. in order to get to the Amtrak station. From there, we boarded our train and rode to Vancouver, Canada. It was a 4 hour ride, and it was beautiful. We saw beautiful scenery, and even glimpsed some bald eagles. We arrived there, and were able to go through customs in about 2 minutes! We then got another cab, who took us the 10 minutes to Canada Place, where we met our Celebrity Cruise ship.

Everyone was so nice, and helpful! We were just soaking it all in! We felt like we were on a honeymoon, except with left our three kiddos at home!



We were on the ship within 30 minutes of arriving at Canada Place. We were overwhelmed with how big it was, despite it being a somewhat moderate size cruise ship. We found our stateroom, on the 2nd deck, and we were pleasantly surprised by how nice it was. Then we set off to explore the ship. We joined a ship tour, but about 20 minutes into it, we decided to ditch it as there were so many people trying to go on the tour, we couldn't hear the guide. We figured we would be able to disclover the place on our own, which we were able to do through the week on the ship. We decided to go up to the buffet on the 10th deck and have our first meal on the ship. I wasn't super impressed, but decided to forego judgment.



That first day was so exciting! The weather was beautiful, and we enjoyed being together. We laughed, we were silly, and we fell in love all over again!  That night, we ate in the dining room. We had chosen the Select Dining, which meant we could eat whenever we wished, and we would rotate our table each night. The Chief and I love to meet new people, and figured we would be able to meet lots of new people each night. It was something that we both enjoyed very much as we were successful 5/6 nights of meeting interesting and kind people. One night we struck out, but it wasn't terrible.

The dining room food was generally really good. I had fish almost every night, and I loved it! I attempted to eat new food, although I could not go so far as to order the fried frog legs, like the Chief did. I had a nibble, and it wasn't bad. Just couldn't get over the idea of it!



Frog Legs

We went to the show almost every night and really enjoyed them! The staff were so helpful and polite. The crowd was generally older...maybe 70 years old on average. But we didn't mind...they were kind and interesting to talk with.



The second day was the only day that it was rainy. It was also the day we went through the Inside Passage. It was so beautiful and green! We spent a lot of time up on the deck, enjoying the scenery. The next day, we arrived in Ketchikan. We had not planned any excursions there. It was still rainy...more drizzly really. That morning was the only day we ate in the Main Dining room for breakfast. Then I went and had a massage, that I had won on the first day on the ship. It was a nice way to start the day. It was also the only hour of the whole 9 days we were gone that the Chief and I spent apart. We loved being together and finding things to do. After the massage, we got off the ship, and wandered around Ketchikan. We went in and out of shops, and just enjoyed this little town.

The next day, we arrived in Icy Point Strait. Here, we had planned to go fishing with Captain Eric. It was a beautiful morning, with the sun shining. Captain Eric told us it had rained for a whole week, and this was the first beautiful day. We met up with another couple, who had also reserved the fishing trip, and off the 5 of us went. It was amazing to be on the water. I didn't even need my jacket. It was about 70 degrees that morning. As we approached our fishing spot, Captain Eric pointed out a bear on the shore. It was far enough away that we couldn't make out the details, but could see him moving about! Then we put the anchor down, and Captain Eric got us set to fish for Halibut. Within minutes of the Chief getting his line down, he had a bite. He slowly pulled him in and he had a 28 lb. Halibut! It was so exhilerating! We were all so excited! The other couple were also able to catch a few fish, but none very big, so they kept throwing them back. Finally, near the end, she caught a smaller halibut that she kept! I didn't get any, but still had a great day!



We could move to Alaska in a heartbeat!



Getting that fish!



Back on the ship, we enjoyed a formal night in the Dining Room. It was interesting to see what different people thought of for "formal night". There were some women in their 60s, who wore what looked like prom dresses that teens would wear to their prom. Thankfully, there were only two of these women that we saw dressed this way! It was fun to dress up and be on a "fancy date."

Formal Night

So, after Icy Point Strait, we then headed to Juneau. This was definitely my favorite place we visited. Look for Part 2 for more on our cruise to Alaska!