Cruise Day 4 Juneau

We cruised into Juneau early in the day. We headed, by city bus, to the Mendenhall Glacier. It was a beautiful 85 degrees, no humidity and cool breeze from the glacier. It was a record setting day there. We walked the trails and they led to a beautiful water fall. We had to wade in glacial waters to get to it, our feet were numb. It was worth it though, so beautiful.
We saw bear tracks on the beach, but no sightings. They said the weather was too hot for the bears to be out and in 2 weeks the salmon would be running and they would be out in full force then. There were signs up on the paths that prohibited any kind of food to be out on the trails though. All of the rangers that are walking around had "bear mace" clipped to their belts. It was the size of a small fire extinguisher!
Our friend Heath took his clothes off and swam in the waters. We have pictures of him sitting on an ice chunk! There were groups of school kids swimming too! Some of the glacial lakes were a little warmer than the inlet the glacier is on.
All in all it was quite fascinating. Joe and I love to read everything and learn all about where we are. We are geeks like that.
As we were waiting for the bus to take us back some friends from the company drove up in the car they rented. They asked if we wanted to ride with them instead of taking the bus. We said "sure" and the four of us hopped into the back seat. Heaths wife Andrea is 5 months pregnant. I got to sit on Joe's lap for the trip. Andrea was hungry and cranky and wanted food. We ate at McDonalds-gag.

We then headed for a supposed whale watching spot called "the shrine of St. Therese".
We saw no whales but the shrine was beautiful. They had sculptures of "the way of the cross". The spot seems little known spot, all overgrown and such. The views were breathtaking, but no whales. I loved it though.
We headed back to the town(still on Joe's lap) and walked around, sat at a coffee shop and called home. We got some souvenirs there too.

I almost forgot, there are float planes everywhere. Juneau is the only state capital you cannot get to by car! The bald eagles there were very prevalent.
As we docked there was a large group of them near the pier. It was like gulls at the beach, they were flying around getting fish and then would head up to the trees. Very cool, we watched them from our balcony.

Cruise Day 3 at sea

The day at sea was relaxing. We had an awards ceremony for Joe. He got 1st place District Sales Manager. Quite the accomplishment! He got a trophy thing and recognition.
We then had the rest of the day to ourselves. We ordered room service for breakfast and lunch. I didn't like all of the lines and we liked sitting out on our balcony reading, and eating. We fell asleep out there too.

The shop came upon the Hubbard Glacier in the afternoon. The wind got a lot cooler and you could see ice chunks floating around.(like in Titanic) Since the weather was so warm and mild the ship could not get close to the glacier. It is not an ice cutter and can't hit an ice chunk bigger than a cereal box! We got within a mile of the glacier but that is it. We heard stories that they got really close the week before(it was raining). I would rather have the nice weather!

Cruise Day 2-Sitka

Our boat docked in the morning and we all headed out on an excursion. The company paid for us to go on a Wildlife and sea otter boat ride. This boat is much smaller, but the water there is much calmer. We got to see otters-so cute, sea lions- very cool, humpback whales, puffins, other kinds of birds, and lots of bald eagles. We were spoiled last year in Hawaii seeing SO many whales up close, breeching and flapping their tails. Here, we just saw their backs and some tails.the scenery was breathtaking though. Huge evergreen trees with Bald eagle nests on the top, they are so majestic. The water is quite clear too, we could see a lot of jelly fish everywhere. I would not want to swim in it. I kept thinking of Finding Nemo!

After the boat ride we went to the small town of Sitka. There are totem poles, and an old Russian Orthodox Church we toured. The town is rich with history. We ate at a mexican restaurant and walked around town. Joe got a chocolate shake in an old soda fountain that reminded us of Cook's. We took a lot of pictures and headed to get the tender back to the ship. I was almost not let back on the tender because my ship date had rubbed off of my seapass. They had to call the ship and make sure I was on the ships manifest before they would let me on! I went and got a new card the next day.

We then had our Formal night at dinner. Fun to get dressed up, I just wore a cocktail dress. Food was again OK. Joe and I are not food snobs and will eat anything. (hence our weight problem!) A lot of the people we were with were very disappointed. Celebrity Cruise Line is supposed to be a step above the rest. We didn't see it.

Cruise Day 1

We rode bikes, no tandem, around Stanley Park. It is just beautiful, and a good workout too. The trails, all paved, are very close to water. You see totem poles, light houses and their version of the golden gate bridge. We really liked Vancouver and would recommend it to anyone.

At 630 we boarded the boat for the cruise. We had a grand room, with a balcony and our own butler. First thing we did was unpack all of our things into the dressers and closets, I can't stand to live out of a suitcase. We then explored the boat a little and got ready for our 830pm dinner. The boat was much smaller than the Royal Caribean one we cruised on a few years ago. This cruise line was Celebrity Cruise Line. Very clean, but old-1997. It is going up for sale after this season. It didn't seem old, it was well taken care of.

We got dressed up for dinner and got to sit with the CEO and his wife. All of the #1 winners sat together with their spouses. It was a fun night, the food was just OK. We went to bed after dinner which didn't end until 1030, which was 130 back home. Some of the others went to the casino, the dance club or just out drinking at one of the bars.
Our room had chocolate covered strawberries waiting for us when we got back. YummY! The company also gave each agent and their spouse a Columbia jacket for the trip. (Amy has taken mine since we have been home-it must be cool!)

Book reviews

I read 3 books while gone. Boy was it relaxing! I am so boring, reading on the balcony of the ship is my ideal! I did get some sun too. I am sure my Vitamin D level is good!

1. My Sisters Keeper by Jodi Picoult
Very good book, and will be a great movie. My only complaint was the use of the "F" word multiple times. It was not needed and could have been replaced with another word with the same effect. I know I am a prude(this was evidenced multiple times on the trip!) but come on! Amy's teacher recommended the book to her and she read it for a report in school. I can't keep up with all of her books and read them before her. This really frustrates me.

2. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
Great book, very sad. I am also looking forward to this movie. It is the Holocaust in the perspective of a nine year old boy. Quick read.

3. The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch
Great book and I want to see the video of the actual lecture. Good ideas for living, but not anything spiritual. I could have been seen crying on the plane ride home.

4. Dear Mom by Melody Carlson
Not finished yet, but over half way. This is a book on raising teen daughters written like a teen wrote it. She took lots of letters she has received and put them in a helpful book form. Amy looked at it and approved me reading it. Amy loves Melody Carlson's teen fiction series'. Great perspective, I have already learned a lot.

Home

We got home Sunday night about 1030pm. I am still trying to get things unpacked, washed and put away. I worked all day yesterday, so that threw us all for a loop. We have basketball camps, swim meets and getting ready for Cooperstown. I got quite overwhelmed with life last night. Every room in the house was a wreck. Joe was working in the office all day while I was at work. Good Lord was it a wreck! The kids had a check list of things to do and did not do any of them. So today, I feel like a drill Sargent. I am sure they are real glad I am home:)
I will post more about the trip soon. We have to set up the external hard drive before I post any pictures. They are breathtaking though. I am sure the photo will not do it justice.

Day 2

I didn't bring the cord to download pictures, so you will have to wait until we get back to see those.
We got up and ate my favorite breakfast of eggs Benedict and fresh fruit. We then headed to Capilano suspension bridge where we crossed a huge gorge on a swaying suspension bridge. I am proud to say, I had no problem doing this. The views were breathtaking. Think "A river runs through it" with snow capped mountains in the background. We didn't see much wildlife here though.
We headed back after about 2 hours of hiking. We then headed to Granville Island to the huge city market. On the way there we visited the beach, not real impressive, rocky. The kids would have loves watching a dog beach though. About 10 dogs frolicking in the water was cute. We took a ferry boat across to the island. It was a huge farmers market. Lots of food options and arts and crafts items. Joe's mom would have been in heaven! It was very crowded and had street entertainment too. We ate lunch of all the samples we encountered. From smoked salmon to fruit, to nuts and chocolate. We took city transit back and stopped at a mall for a bit- just like a castleton.
We headed back and relaxed for awhile and then had to get ready for dinner at The Italian House. I watched HGTV and am glad we don't have it at home or I wouldn't get anything done! The restaurant was yummy, but dinner got over at 1230 am our time. I was pooped! We went to sleep instead of going out.
Today we are going biking at Stanley Park. I think we are going to get a tandem, Joe and I don't have a great history with bikes so maybe this will be safer-ha!
We then get on he boat this afternoon and it is off to Alaska. The weather has been beautiful and the stories we hear of this cruise has us excited.
Probably no more posts until we return.
BTW my headache is mostly gone and I feel much better. Just in time to get on a rocking boat! I do have Dramamine with me.