September 10-18, 2009 we left for Seattle, WA to catch the inside passage
Alaskan Cruise.
Click on the pictures to enlarge. We were so excited for the fun. We met up with Spencer's old H.S. friend
Rachel and her cute little family in Seattle. They were so great and took us to see Mt. Ranier. What an amazing National Park. It's this huge, snowcovered mountain in the middle of the forest. So crazy. We loved Seattle and want to go back for a real vacation. Thanks Rachel, Sterling and Stockton for the great time.
CRUISING ALASKA:
Day 1: we
left Seattle to make our way towards Alaska. We saw our 1 and only sunset this night. It was
beautiful! (The flowers I got for $5 at Pike's Place Market in Seattle before we left)
Day 2: Was our first
day at sea. No pictures, no need. The boat was rocking so bad, going over 16 foot swells, let's just say that is NOT ideal! Melina threw up 6 times (after everything she ate) and Spencer just did not feel normal either.
Day 3: Our first port,
Juneau Alaska. We took a bus tour to
Mendenhall Glacier. We wanted to do a little hike here, but Melina wasn't fully recovered from the day before, and it was a little colder than we expected! We walked around the town, then got back on the ship.
Day 4: Our second port,
Skagway Alaska. This was our favorite port in Alaska. We had our full energy back and had a beautiful, sunshiny day. We started out on the
White Pass Railway tour. It was a bus tour that took us to the top of the railroad, then the railway took us down it's route. It was so interesting to learn about the Gold Rush and all the drama that went on back then! After this we went back and changed to some cooler clothes and did a little hike. It was so green, and being in the fresh air did us some good.
Day 5: The ship took us to a
Fjord, which is an inlet, to see a Glacier. Unfortunately, it wasn't the one on the schedule, and not as pretty, we heard. We were in there at 6 a.m. and left there at noon. So the rest of the day was a day at sea.
(we did not look forward to 1.5 days at sea). We got some cool pictures, and the glacier was neat, seeing all the broken ice in the ocean, but there was no wildlife.
Day 6: our second
Day at Sea. We played it really safe, not wanting to have another awful day at sea. We woke up and made it through breakfast. We found mid-ship where it rocked the least, and parked it there for the day. We took our books and labtop, read and watched a movie. We made it through the day not throwing up, but we still did not feel ideal, and on the brink now and then. See all the fun towel animals our stateroom attendant left us each night.
Day 7: Our last port in
Victoria, Canada. Again, we had a beauiful,clear day. Our main event here was to visit the Butchart Gardens. WOW, they are so worth it! We love flowers and landscaping, so it was perfect for us. Even though it was the end of the season, it was still an amazing sight. One day...hopefully our backyard will compare!
Day 8: We ended the cruise at
Vancouver, Canada. We wanted to spend the day here, so booked our flight for the next day. We were SO glad we had this extra day. We absolutely loved Vancouver. There is a ton to do, but we figured out a great game plan that allowed us to do a lot, and enjoy what we did. We laughed and lived up the last day of spending with each other on vacation.
In the end, this Alaskan Cruise was a little rough for us. We did not see really any wildlife we expected to see (dolphins, eagles). The mountains were cool, but we have awesome one's here. We had an awesome start in Seattle and end in Vancouver, with some high points in between, but this vacation took a little toll on us. We still love the idea of the cruise, and will go on another, but we'll make sure it's in mostly
calm waters...and I'm not pregnant! Enjoy the pictures. You can view these and lots more in our
picasa album.
Buses, Cable Cars and Trolleys. We most likely took every route and bus possible in San Fran! We prefer to take public transportation when they have great systems, and this place did.
The Japanese Tea Gardens. This was the only hour that we really felt like we were on a relaxed vacation. Spencer really likes the Japanese type gardens in particular, and we will most likely have a little splash of this type in our perinnial gardens here at home.
Lombard Street a.k.a. the Crooked Street. It does have like 6-7 bends, very crooked, but beautiful with hedges and large begonia flowers spread throughout. There are very steep streets in this city as well. 
Coit Tower, it's their overlook to the city. Definately not worth it. Most of the weather has fog, so you can't see too far. However, if it is for sure a clear day w/no rain, then it may be worth it.
Unfortunately, we didn't find as many great eats as we would've liked to, but by the last night we found the jackpot, and went back for lunch the last day.
Overall, it was a very eventful, successful vacation. We did almost everything you could do there, just like we usually do. From here on out, we have decided to slow down and try to relax and enjoy the city more. Traveling with a baby is DOABLE, just adds a bit more work and time needed to get from here to there. Oh yea, and a bit more stuff to take around everywhere with you. Another couple posts to follow...
Melina's Grandma and Grandpa. We love visiting them and their home.
