What to pack for our day on the ATV? An ice chest with a picnic lunch was a given but I really didn't know what else to bring?
I finally decided to wear a small fanny pack and take some sunscreen, chapstick, tylenol (just in case......) and kleenex! And when Glenn came downstairs with a heavy sweatshirt on and another sweatshirt on top of that, I clearly asked him if he was going to change into a t-shirt instead - and darn it, he took my advice and did!!
I ended up wearing a t-shirt and ONLY put a sweater on top of that because Glenn said it was pretty cool outside - and threw a zip-up sweatshirt with a hood in the car and we were off! I had checked the weather for Teller County and it said between 54 and 65 degrees!! Pretty big range there but I opted that the temperature was going to get into the 60's! So my vision was of rolling through the mountains in our t-shirts - WRONG!!
I wasn't sure where we were going but we drove over to Park County, pretty close to 11 Mile Reservoir over a lot of bumpy roads (where I proceeded to spill my coffee all over myself - where are those darn to go cups when you need one!!) and soon we were where we supposed to be! I opened the car door and my first thought was : WIND - I forgot about the darn wind!! My 2nd thought was that we were in Park County, not Teller, and it was a heck of a lot colder there!
OH well - Glenn unloaded the ATV off the trailer which was pretty quick, I climbed up on the back behind him and we were off! And at that point I realized we had forgotten a MAJOR item, gloves for Glenn (and me!!) It was pretty windy since we were on the flats and even though the sun was out in full force, it was early enough that it was still pretty cold out! Riding the ATV at a fairly fast speed was COLD, VERY COLD!! I had my hands in Glenn's sweatshirt pocket and they were cold so I could just imagine what his hands felt like - popsicles I'm sure!!!
Glenn assured me the wind would lessen once we got into some trees and he was right - we only had about 15 minutes of super cold and then it was warmer............
Around the first bend, what did we see but 4 antelope on the hillside - of course my first reaction is to grab my fanny pack to get my camera but alas, does Becky have a camera at this point???? NO!!! (more on this in another blog) SO I mentally took a picture of the antelope (insert antelope pic here) and we continued on...........
I LOVED riding the ATV - the air was fresh and clean, the mountains were beautiful and the aspens were all budded out!! Around the next turn was this small, beautiful lake (insert lake pic here) so we stopped to get out of the wind and spent some time there!
In back of us were the Sangre de Cristo mountains with a ton of snow still on them (insert mountain pic here) and in front of us was the Pikes Peak range. It was all gorgeous!!
We drove and drove, stopping when we wanted to and just enjoying the beautiful day!! After our picnic lunch, we actually laid down in the grass and Glenn slept for a while! The sun felt SO GOOD on us and I almost fell asleep myself!
There were a few gates we had to open and close so when Glenn would jump off to open them, I would drive the ATV on through and at the end, I drove it on the last stretch which was pretty smooth! (insert pic of Becky driving the ATV)
We checked out a few camping spots along the way too but of course one of my favorite spots was a tough place to get to! The trail there was so steep and rough that I had to climb off while Glenn got the ATV up the rocky part and I can't imagine trying to bring a truck in there with a camper on the back!
All in all, one fantastic day and I can't wait to go again - next time though, we WILL bring gloves and extra clothing, just in case............and I WILL have a camera by then!
Monday, May 31, 2010
Saturday, May 29, 2010
Is The Checklist Done?
It's Saturday - it's mid afternoon - and I'm FINALLY done with the LIST which I've worked on today and last night till 9:00!
4 loads of laundry - check
3 salads, a dessert, and 2 dips made - check
steak marinading - check
windows washed in the loft and first floor, inside and out - check
entire house cleaned from top to bottom - check
deck swept, patio umbrella up, chairs cleaned - check
suitcase unpacked - check (yes, it FINALLY arrived on Friday!!)
ATV tag bought for tomorrow - check
and the most important - frozen peaches laid out for peach fizzies - check
I'm ready for two days of relaxation!!!!!!!
4 loads of laundry - check
3 salads, a dessert, and 2 dips made - check
steak marinading - check
windows washed in the loft and first floor, inside and out - check
entire house cleaned from top to bottom - check
deck swept, patio umbrella up, chairs cleaned - check
suitcase unpacked - check (yes, it FINALLY arrived on Friday!!)
ATV tag bought for tomorrow - check
and the most important - frozen peaches laid out for peach fizzies - check
I'm ready for two days of relaxation!!!!!!!
Wednesday, May 26, 2010
Routine!
As much as I love going on vacation, it's always a good feeling to get back home and get back in your "routine". I'm definitely a routine type of person - I know how each day is SUPPOSED to be and as long as that day goes somewhat as planned, I'm a happy camper!
To back up a little bit, Jessi picked us up at the airport on Saturday and we went back to Jaime's house to celebrate Glenn's and Kylan's birthdays! The whole gang was there except Gary - boo hoo - we always miss him when he's working! After a great dinner, presents, and cake, we drove on home that night and it felt great to sleep once again in our own bed!
Glenn had to work on Sunday as he had an installment that had to get done and I spent the day doing laundry and catching up on the mail!
And Monday it was back to work! It's always a couple of busy days at work after I've been gone but it's always nice to come back to a job that I love!
So this weekend is Memorial Day Weekend - and since I have a 3 1/2 day weekend, we ALWAYS go camping! But not this year - and that will seem pretty strange to just spend the weekend at home! Glenn must work after the long vacation and also because we're taking off again in a couple of weeks to head to Iowa - so it's work hard again until the next trip!
My plans for the weekend? I'm not sure yet - I'm hoping Glenn can take one day off so we can take the ATV out for the day - we haven't ridden it really since we bought it! My windows aren't washed yet for the summer so I'm sure that will be on the list too, along with a little bit of housecleaning! Otherwise - I might just enjoy being home............
To back up a little bit, Jessi picked us up at the airport on Saturday and we went back to Jaime's house to celebrate Glenn's and Kylan's birthdays! The whole gang was there except Gary - boo hoo - we always miss him when he's working! After a great dinner, presents, and cake, we drove on home that night and it felt great to sleep once again in our own bed!
Glenn had to work on Sunday as he had an installment that had to get done and I spent the day doing laundry and catching up on the mail!
And Monday it was back to work! It's always a couple of busy days at work after I've been gone but it's always nice to come back to a job that I love!
So this weekend is Memorial Day Weekend - and since I have a 3 1/2 day weekend, we ALWAYS go camping! But not this year - and that will seem pretty strange to just spend the weekend at home! Glenn must work after the long vacation and also because we're taking off again in a couple of weeks to head to Iowa - so it's work hard again until the next trip!
My plans for the weekend? I'm not sure yet - I'm hoping Glenn can take one day off so we can take the ATV out for the day - we haven't ridden it really since we bought it! My windows aren't washed yet for the summer so I'm sure that will be on the list too, along with a little bit of housecleaning! Otherwise - I might just enjoy being home............
Tuesday, May 25, 2010
HAPPY - HAPPY - HAPPY
OUR LUGGAGE HAS BEEN FOUND!!! HOORAY!! It's being Fed Ex'd to us today and we'll have it in a couple of days! When our travel agent called me late yesterday afternoon with the news, I literally started jumping up and down I was so excited! Now our vacation has a happy ending after all!
Sunday, May 23, 2010
The End of the Journey
When we awoke on Saturday morning, the ship was already docked in Seattle! Our vacation had come to an end - it was time to get back on land - re-enter the real world!
I had one last strawberry crepe for breakfast and before we knew it, our time had come to get off the ship - our time to disembark was at 8:30 and our luggage would be waiting for us in the HUGE building under the color green #3!!
It seemed like a madhouse in the building but yet it was very well organized at the same time - there was another cruise ship that was also unloading passengers so there were a lot of people around!
I sent Glenn into our luggage area to find our suitcases and he found the big black one right away but not the duffel bag! He looked and looked - I looked and looked - pretty soon there were hardly any bags left in our area - we looked in other areas -still no luck - by this time we had been looking a long time and knew that it just wasn't there - so I found someone to take a missing luggage report and she assured me that as soon as they found it, they would fed ex it to us!!
I wasn't a happy camper at this point - and I was frantically trying to think WHAT was packed in that bag, in case it's never found. I didn't care about the clothes and shoes but I had a feeling that it held a lot of other things that would NOT be replaceable.
Once we got home and I opened the suitcase that we DID have, my biggest fear WAS confirmed - 2 of the disposable cameras with my pictures from the last 3 days were in that suitcase! Our 2 coffee mugs that our travel agent had given us were in there, and packed inside them were 3 of my Christmas ornaments, along with an Alaskan scrapbook I had bought! And the list goes on....... So I will pray that our piece of luggage is found and shipped to us and make a mental note to myself to NEVER, EVER pack a camera in another bag!! It sure wasn't the best vacation for cameras!!
To sum up the vacation though, it was wonderful!! We really enjoyed seeing the little bit of Alaska that we did see and know it's a place we would love to explore further someday!
Would we ever do a cruise again? I would but Glenn is still a little undecided at this point - it was a little too confining for him I think - but you never know if you'll like something until you try it!
One more item crossed off my bucket list......................
I had one last strawberry crepe for breakfast and before we knew it, our time had come to get off the ship - our time to disembark was at 8:30 and our luggage would be waiting for us in the HUGE building under the color green #3!!
It seemed like a madhouse in the building but yet it was very well organized at the same time - there was another cruise ship that was also unloading passengers so there were a lot of people around!
I sent Glenn into our luggage area to find our suitcases and he found the big black one right away but not the duffel bag! He looked and looked - I looked and looked - pretty soon there were hardly any bags left in our area - we looked in other areas -still no luck - by this time we had been looking a long time and knew that it just wasn't there - so I found someone to take a missing luggage report and she assured me that as soon as they found it, they would fed ex it to us!!
I wasn't a happy camper at this point - and I was frantically trying to think WHAT was packed in that bag, in case it's never found. I didn't care about the clothes and shoes but I had a feeling that it held a lot of other things that would NOT be replaceable.
Once we got home and I opened the suitcase that we DID have, my biggest fear WAS confirmed - 2 of the disposable cameras with my pictures from the last 3 days were in that suitcase! Our 2 coffee mugs that our travel agent had given us were in there, and packed inside them were 3 of my Christmas ornaments, along with an Alaskan scrapbook I had bought! And the list goes on....... So I will pray that our piece of luggage is found and shipped to us and make a mental note to myself to NEVER, EVER pack a camera in another bag!! It sure wasn't the best vacation for cameras!!
To sum up the vacation though, it was wonderful!! We really enjoyed seeing the little bit of Alaska that we did see and know it's a place we would love to explore further someday!
Would we ever do a cruise again? I would but Glenn is still a little undecided at this point - it was a little too confining for him I think - but you never know if you'll like something until you try it!
One more item crossed off my bucket list......................
Day At Sea/Victoria
It was our last full day on the cruise ship! After breakfast we headed into the showroom to get instructions on disembarking the ship the next morning - we laughed and laughed when the cruise director gave the "Top 10 Questions Asked Aboard The Cruise Ship".
We were at sea most of the day so had a lazy day ahead - I even took a nap late morning - I think all the great food was starting to make me tired...............We did have to pack in the afternoon as the suitcases had to be put outside our door by midnight and we were getting off the ship for the evening.
So it was a lazy day reading and the most productive thing we did was to pick out our picture to buy that had been taken on one of the formal nights. It really did turn out nice and will be a nice remembrance of our cruise.
At dinner that evening, which we ate early, we had to say goodbye to our 2 waiters who we had enjoyed so much during the last week! With Glenn's birthday being the next day, they all sang Happy Birthday and once again, we received a cake! I had REALLY planned on skipping dessert that night but just couldn't turn down a piece of cake!
We arrived in Victoria, Canada early evening - each time the ship docks, the ship itself has to go through customs and most of the time it's a fast easy process but for some reason it took a little longer this time! Finally we were off the boat and onto our bus which was to take us to The Butchart Gardens! A couple of friends had been to this place and said it was amazing and they were right - garden after garden of beautiful flowers and shrubs! I have NEVER seen tulips as big as the ones there!
There was a sunken garden that was so pretty that it's hard to describe! We walked around and around, just enjoying all the beautiful colors - even though it was only May, there were lots of blooming flowers! Of course the rose garden was not in bloom yet but I bet that is a sight to behold!
Then it was back on the bus and our driver gave us a tour of Victoria by night - they have lots of beautiful buildings that are lit up at night and we enjoyed the tour!
It was late when we got back on the ship and we finished packing up and set our suitcases outside our door - we were now Seattle bound home!!
We were at sea most of the day so had a lazy day ahead - I even took a nap late morning - I think all the great food was starting to make me tired...............We did have to pack in the afternoon as the suitcases had to be put outside our door by midnight and we were getting off the ship for the evening.
So it was a lazy day reading and the most productive thing we did was to pick out our picture to buy that had been taken on one of the formal nights. It really did turn out nice and will be a nice remembrance of our cruise.
At dinner that evening, which we ate early, we had to say goodbye to our 2 waiters who we had enjoyed so much during the last week! With Glenn's birthday being the next day, they all sang Happy Birthday and once again, we received a cake! I had REALLY planned on skipping dessert that night but just couldn't turn down a piece of cake!
We arrived in Victoria, Canada early evening - each time the ship docks, the ship itself has to go through customs and most of the time it's a fast easy process but for some reason it took a little longer this time! Finally we were off the boat and onto our bus which was to take us to The Butchart Gardens! A couple of friends had been to this place and said it was amazing and they were right - garden after garden of beautiful flowers and shrubs! I have NEVER seen tulips as big as the ones there!
There was a sunken garden that was so pretty that it's hard to describe! We walked around and around, just enjoying all the beautiful colors - even though it was only May, there were lots of blooming flowers! Of course the rose garden was not in bloom yet but I bet that is a sight to behold!
Then it was back on the bus and our driver gave us a tour of Victoria by night - they have lots of beautiful buildings that are lit up at night and we enjoyed the tour!
It was late when we got back on the ship and we finished packing up and set our suitcases outside our door - we were now Seattle bound home!!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Ketchikan, Alaska
Ketchikan – the salmon capital of the world! This town is also built on a steep hillside with many buildings built on pilings over the water! The name Ketchikan comes from a native term, Katch Kanna, which translates into “spread wings of a thundering eagle”. Along with the many eagles around, there are also a lot of totem poles!
Our cruise director informed us there was an 80% chance of rain so to dress warmly and bring our umbrellas – good advice!
The ship docked right at their marina so it was easy getting off and we headed to our 3 ½ tour of the day which was the Crab Bering Sea Tour – we boarded the Aleutian Ballad boat and were on our way! The Aleutian boat used to be a commercial fishing boat and was featured on the show, The Deadliest Catch. But after a huge storm sunk the boat, the owners brought it up and decided to do tours with it to show people how the men actually fish on a commercial boat!
It was cold out – very cold – but there were overhead heaters on the boat, and they soon passed out long fleece-lined raincoats for us to wear! The boat was a little rocky heading out and I was hoping that my patch worked well enough so breakfast would stay down!
Our first stop was close to the shoreline and a great place to see eagles – we could see a few flying around and going up to a nest – soon the deck hands were throwing fish out and my did we get a show! The eagles would swoop down in the water and grab those fish almost faster than you could click your camera! They were amazing to watch and at one time there were between 15 and 20 eagles flying right beside the boat – what a sight!! I’m hoping my pictures captured it all!
Then we were off a little further into the ocean where they started hauling up the crabs!! WOW – huge cages full of 3 different kinds of crabs – they brought them out so we could hold them and take photos! The deck hands also gave us all kinds of information about commercial fishing and story after story of their experiences! All in all a fantastic tour!!
It did start raining when we got off the boat – but shopping was all very close and we ducked into a huge store where I found my ornament from Ketchikan, none other than a totem pole!! Because we had to be back on the cruise ship by 12:30, we didn’t have much time at all to look around but I was bound and determined to see a totem pole – so we walked around a little while and sure enough, we located a couple of them!
Back on the ship we grabbed some lunch and then went to a presentation on the Alaska Gold Mining – very interesting! For dinner, we had a special seating time and the waiters presented part of the meal dancing and singing!! We all wore chef hats and the meal was superb!! My favorite was the appetizer which was brie cheese covered by a puff pastry with crispy onions on top served with a cherry/apple sauce – very tasty!
And to end our evening, we went to the movie, The Mosquito Coast, an older movie that I had seen years ago but it was good the second time around too! Then it was back to the room to enjoy our chocolates, mail, the next day’s itinerary and a reminder to push our clocks an hour ahead! Our time is winding down………………………..
Our cruise director informed us there was an 80% chance of rain so to dress warmly and bring our umbrellas – good advice!
The ship docked right at their marina so it was easy getting off and we headed to our 3 ½ tour of the day which was the Crab Bering Sea Tour – we boarded the Aleutian Ballad boat and were on our way! The Aleutian boat used to be a commercial fishing boat and was featured on the show, The Deadliest Catch. But after a huge storm sunk the boat, the owners brought it up and decided to do tours with it to show people how the men actually fish on a commercial boat!
It was cold out – very cold – but there were overhead heaters on the boat, and they soon passed out long fleece-lined raincoats for us to wear! The boat was a little rocky heading out and I was hoping that my patch worked well enough so breakfast would stay down!
Our first stop was close to the shoreline and a great place to see eagles – we could see a few flying around and going up to a nest – soon the deck hands were throwing fish out and my did we get a show! The eagles would swoop down in the water and grab those fish almost faster than you could click your camera! They were amazing to watch and at one time there were between 15 and 20 eagles flying right beside the boat – what a sight!! I’m hoping my pictures captured it all!
Then we were off a little further into the ocean where they started hauling up the crabs!! WOW – huge cages full of 3 different kinds of crabs – they brought them out so we could hold them and take photos! The deck hands also gave us all kinds of information about commercial fishing and story after story of their experiences! All in all a fantastic tour!!
It did start raining when we got off the boat – but shopping was all very close and we ducked into a huge store where I found my ornament from Ketchikan, none other than a totem pole!! Because we had to be back on the cruise ship by 12:30, we didn’t have much time at all to look around but I was bound and determined to see a totem pole – so we walked around a little while and sure enough, we located a couple of them!
Back on the ship we grabbed some lunch and then went to a presentation on the Alaska Gold Mining – very interesting! For dinner, we had a special seating time and the waiters presented part of the meal dancing and singing!! We all wore chef hats and the meal was superb!! My favorite was the appetizer which was brie cheese covered by a puff pastry with crispy onions on top served with a cherry/apple sauce – very tasty!
And to end our evening, we went to the movie, The Mosquito Coast, an older movie that I had seen years ago but it was good the second time around too! Then it was back to the room to enjoy our chocolates, mail, the next day’s itinerary and a reminder to push our clocks an hour ahead! Our time is winding down………………………..
Thursday, May 20, 2010
Sitka, Alaska
If I thought yesterday’s waves were a little rough, I was way off base! Once again, we woke up to the rolling of the ship and I peeked outside – white caps – high white caps! And all I could think of was that this was Glenn’s fishing day – his ONLY fishing day!! And I was certainly glad I wouldn’t be on the boat with them!!
Since it was only 5:30am, we slept a little longer – and taking a shower proved to be VERY interesting!! Glenn donned his long johns and we both dressed in layers!! And soon Sitka came into view – what a cute town perched on the edge of this bay we were entering!
Sitka does NOT allow the cruise ships to dock at their main dock –I’m not sure why – possibly the water is not deep enough? But we knew ahead of time that the “tenders” (small boats from the mainland) would be picking up whoever wanted to go to town!
After breakfast we went to the theater to await our tender tickets – quite a few of the people had excursions right at 8:00, as did Glenn, so we were hoping to make the first boat and we did – Glenn and I were the last 2 passengers allowed on!
We motored on in to Sitka and met Jeremy, Glenn’s charter boat captain, and those 2 were off for the day! Glenn was excited when Jeremy told him he was the ONLY fisherman on board that day!
I asked Jeremy before they left if there was a camera shop in town and of course there isn’t but he DID say there was a Radio Shack!! ALL RIGHT!! Maybe, just maybe they could help me out! I found it but it didn’t open until 9:00 so I had about 45 minutes to spare – I walked around the town, taking note of the pics I wanted to take after I found out about my camera! In the meantime, the clouds rolled in and it was soon raining – lucky me – I got to try out my new umbrella!!
I showed my camera to the guy at Radio Shack and he said he would google it and see what type of battery it took, since of course I didn’t have one to show him. But the news wasn’t good news – that type of battery IS still made but Radio Shack doesn’t carry it any longer – he also advised me that the cost of the battery would be $50.00 and did I know I could buy a new digital for around $100??? I thought about that for a minute – but I chose NOT to buy one on the spur of the moment! I always like to do a bit of research on them to find what kind I really want before I buy one! So no battery and I was disappointed all over again!
Across the street from the Radio Shack was an honest to goodness, Ben Franklin!! I went on over to buy a couple of one time use cameras and of course bought 2 since each only holds 27 prints – not cheap either I might add but there was no choice in the matter – I wanted SOMETHING to take a few pics with!
Coffee was next on the agenda so I found a cute place to relax and then it was off to shop and see a few sights – in the rain! After taking a few pictures with my wonderful little Kodak throw away, I decided I better buy some postcards, just in case none of the pictures turn out!
I visited Saint Michael’s Cathedral and the historic Lutheran Church – and then climbed a LOT of steps to a place that looks out over the bay – it was beautiful! It was on this spot that the United States took possession of Alaska in 1867 for the price tag of 7.2 million dollars, less than 2 cents per acre – wow !! Because there was a Russian settlement here for many years, the Cathedral was built with the famous Russian onion domes!
Shopping was great – lots of cute stores to browse in and I loved the “Russian” stores! My Christmas ornament from Sitka looks like a Russian person with the name Sitka on it! I can’t believe how many Christmas ornaments are in the stores – they’re EVERYWHERE!!
I headed back to the ship about 11:30 for lunch and relaxation, hoping Glenn was having a great time!
What a nice afternoon I had just relaxing, blogging and reading! Until it was worry time……………… I had told Glenn SEVERAL times that the LAST boat leaving from Sitka was at 4:30 and he HAD to be on it! I know how often Glenn checks his watch – NEVER! So I donned my coat and decided to stroll along the deck, waiting for the last boats to unload! I watched and I watched and NO GLENN – OK – now I’m starting to panic – if he misses the boat, how does he get to the next port????
SO I race up to the room and turn on my cell phone and try to call him because there was service and I KNEW he had his cell phone as he had to call his guide on the way in! I dialed – straight to voice mail - now I’m REALLY starting to panic!! So I try again and he answers – relief – he’s on the boat!! A few minutes later he calls and CAN’T find the room and I’m thinking, hmmmmmmmmm, what did he have to drink on that fishing trip?????
He was just on the wrong side of the ship so he found the room – and he looked pretty green to me!! He’d had a great time fishing of course and did catch some fish but nothing large enough to keep and ship home!! But they went about 6 miles out and it was rough, really rough!!! So rough that he got sick!!! (now that’s always ME, not HIM).
He rested for a few minutes but we had reservations at 5:30 so had to get dressed and it was formal night again! A great meal – my favorite was the dessert – baked Alaska – it was heavenly!!
As Glenn was exhausted, he chose to go to the room and SLEEP, telling me he’d get up later – I knew better than that – ha ha!! So I changed to some comfortable clothes and went down to the production for the evening – it was 50’s and 60’s songs and I enjoyed it immensely!!
At 10:30 that evening they were doing the “dessert” showing – now that was something else – tables were set up all around the swimming pool with some fabulous ice sculptures and every kind of dessert you can imagine, all set out in an elegant display!! You could walk around and take photos until it was time to eat them!! I was still full from dinner so just opted to have some strawberries and chocolate from the fountain!
Are you enjoying all the great pictures that go along with this post??? It’s called “IMAGINATION” photos so whenever you think I would have posted a picture, just pretend they’re really there!!
Since it was only 5:30am, we slept a little longer – and taking a shower proved to be VERY interesting!! Glenn donned his long johns and we both dressed in layers!! And soon Sitka came into view – what a cute town perched on the edge of this bay we were entering!
Sitka does NOT allow the cruise ships to dock at their main dock –I’m not sure why – possibly the water is not deep enough? But we knew ahead of time that the “tenders” (small boats from the mainland) would be picking up whoever wanted to go to town!
After breakfast we went to the theater to await our tender tickets – quite a few of the people had excursions right at 8:00, as did Glenn, so we were hoping to make the first boat and we did – Glenn and I were the last 2 passengers allowed on!
We motored on in to Sitka and met Jeremy, Glenn’s charter boat captain, and those 2 were off for the day! Glenn was excited when Jeremy told him he was the ONLY fisherman on board that day!
I asked Jeremy before they left if there was a camera shop in town and of course there isn’t but he DID say there was a Radio Shack!! ALL RIGHT!! Maybe, just maybe they could help me out! I found it but it didn’t open until 9:00 so I had about 45 minutes to spare – I walked around the town, taking note of the pics I wanted to take after I found out about my camera! In the meantime, the clouds rolled in and it was soon raining – lucky me – I got to try out my new umbrella!!
I showed my camera to the guy at Radio Shack and he said he would google it and see what type of battery it took, since of course I didn’t have one to show him. But the news wasn’t good news – that type of battery IS still made but Radio Shack doesn’t carry it any longer – he also advised me that the cost of the battery would be $50.00 and did I know I could buy a new digital for around $100??? I thought about that for a minute – but I chose NOT to buy one on the spur of the moment! I always like to do a bit of research on them to find what kind I really want before I buy one! So no battery and I was disappointed all over again!
Across the street from the Radio Shack was an honest to goodness, Ben Franklin!! I went on over to buy a couple of one time use cameras and of course bought 2 since each only holds 27 prints – not cheap either I might add but there was no choice in the matter – I wanted SOMETHING to take a few pics with!
Coffee was next on the agenda so I found a cute place to relax and then it was off to shop and see a few sights – in the rain! After taking a few pictures with my wonderful little Kodak throw away, I decided I better buy some postcards, just in case none of the pictures turn out!
I visited Saint Michael’s Cathedral and the historic Lutheran Church – and then climbed a LOT of steps to a place that looks out over the bay – it was beautiful! It was on this spot that the United States took possession of Alaska in 1867 for the price tag of 7.2 million dollars, less than 2 cents per acre – wow !! Because there was a Russian settlement here for many years, the Cathedral was built with the famous Russian onion domes!
Shopping was great – lots of cute stores to browse in and I loved the “Russian” stores! My Christmas ornament from Sitka looks like a Russian person with the name Sitka on it! I can’t believe how many Christmas ornaments are in the stores – they’re EVERYWHERE!!
I headed back to the ship about 11:30 for lunch and relaxation, hoping Glenn was having a great time!
What a nice afternoon I had just relaxing, blogging and reading! Until it was worry time……………… I had told Glenn SEVERAL times that the LAST boat leaving from Sitka was at 4:30 and he HAD to be on it! I know how often Glenn checks his watch – NEVER! So I donned my coat and decided to stroll along the deck, waiting for the last boats to unload! I watched and I watched and NO GLENN – OK – now I’m starting to panic – if he misses the boat, how does he get to the next port????
SO I race up to the room and turn on my cell phone and try to call him because there was service and I KNEW he had his cell phone as he had to call his guide on the way in! I dialed – straight to voice mail - now I’m REALLY starting to panic!! So I try again and he answers – relief – he’s on the boat!! A few minutes later he calls and CAN’T find the room and I’m thinking, hmmmmmmmmm, what did he have to drink on that fishing trip?????
He was just on the wrong side of the ship so he found the room – and he looked pretty green to me!! He’d had a great time fishing of course and did catch some fish but nothing large enough to keep and ship home!! But they went about 6 miles out and it was rough, really rough!!! So rough that he got sick!!! (now that’s always ME, not HIM).
He rested for a few minutes but we had reservations at 5:30 so had to get dressed and it was formal night again! A great meal – my favorite was the dessert – baked Alaska – it was heavenly!!
As Glenn was exhausted, he chose to go to the room and SLEEP, telling me he’d get up later – I knew better than that – ha ha!! So I changed to some comfortable clothes and went down to the production for the evening – it was 50’s and 60’s songs and I enjoyed it immensely!!
At 10:30 that evening they were doing the “dessert” showing – now that was something else – tables were set up all around the swimming pool with some fabulous ice sculptures and every kind of dessert you can imagine, all set out in an elegant display!! You could walk around and take photos until it was time to eat them!! I was still full from dinner so just opted to have some strawberries and chocolate from the fountain!
Are you enjoying all the great pictures that go along with this post??? It’s called “IMAGINATION” photos so whenever you think I would have posted a picture, just pretend they’re really there!!
Wednesday, May 19, 2010
A Lazy Day At Sea/Glacier
I LOVE all the cute towel creations!
So many blues around that pictures just don't do it justice!
Lots of ice in the ocean!
Here you can see some of the "blue" from the glacier!
We woke up Tuesday morning to a rocking ship – boy, it was really rocking!! In fact, when Glenn got out of bed he decided to take some dramamine and it was probably a good thing as there was a lot of wind out that day and the ship was moving around a lot!After getting our buffet breakfast, we decided to eat in the area where the swimming pool and hot tub are as there are some great views out the windows which are all along each side! So we’re sitting there eating and we keep hearing wave noises – you know – the kind where you’re sitting at the beach and the tide rolls in??? It finally dawns on us what it is but I check it out to make sure!! The rocking of the ship is so bad that the swimming pool water has waves that are crashing up the side and into the hot tub – WHOA – now that’s some heavy duty wind outside!!
We did walk outside after eating just to see if we could do our walking but it wasn’t an option in the morning – the wind and cold were just too bad! So we grabbed our books and the laptop and headed to the library for the morning – of course, Glenn falls asleep within 5 minutes because he’s taken that seasickness medicine!! I’m blogging of course and TRYING to edit pictures – and at one end of the room, one of the speakers comes in and starts a presentation on acupuncture! And then Glenn starts to snore very softly – but it always happens that way right before a LOUD snore comes out so I quickly wake him up before it comes out!!
Glenn went upstairs to take a nap so I got some coffee and just read and blogged the morning away!
After lunch we bundled up good as we knew we would be outside for quite a while, watching the glacier – we walked a few laps and found the best spot we could and then just waited – and of course that’s when the “incident” happened! So I only have the far away glacier pics to post because I had no camera for the close up shots!
The Hubbard Glacier is HUGE!! We only saw the tip of it of course but it was amazing! It kind of gave you a weird sensation when we stated through all the ice – there were large chunks and small chunks and it was hard to imagine how COLD the water must be! The ship slowly pushed its’ way through all the ice and as we got closer, you could see the “blue” of the glacier on a lot of the pieces that were floating around!
After freezing for a long time, we came back up to the cabin and I sat on the balcony in all my misery because the wind wasn’t hitting there and it was quite pleasant!
We checked out our formal pictures (taken a couple nights ago) and there is one really good one of the two of us so I’m sure we’ll buy it at least! But they’re ALWAYS taking pics of us so there are quite a few to choose from –but really, how many pics does one actually need??? One or two will be plenty………
Dinner that evening was at the Italian Restaurant called Camaletto – a reservations only restaurant – it was a relaxing place with a nice atmosphere – I probably could have been in a little bit better mood than I was but hey, I had a right to be irritable!
Glenn wanted to play blackjack in the casino – I didn’t –it’s not that I mind watching because I find that very interesting but the main reason is that people are allowed to SMOKE in the casino – and I just can’t handle smoke at all – as soon as I walk in the place, I start coughing!
I decided to go see the entertainment for the evening which was a comedian – and let me say that he was fantastic!!! Of course there are some kids onboard so it’s all CLEAN material (that’s nice for a change!) – and I laughed and laughed till the tears were rolling down my cheeks, he was that good!!
Glenn was still playing so I just walked around a while – and then ended up back in the showroom as they were playing The Newlywed Game – and I got to laugh a LOT more!! By this time, Glenn says he’s going to play longer as he’s not losing so I head to the theater to see the movie “Dear John” – I liked the movie – Glenn, on the other hand, would NOT have liked it so it’s a good thing he stayed at the casino!!
The movie went till midnight – can you believe it – I stayed up till midnight!!!
Oh NO!! OH NO!! OH NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!
So gosh, the trip was going SO WELL up to this point!! And then it happened – and I’m STILL bummed that it happened but you can’t go back and change it so you just have to live with it!! Here’s the story:
We’re out at the railing of the cruise ship as we’re heading in to see the Hubbard Glacier – it’s windy and freezing outside so we have on all our layers plus gloves and hoods up!! Glenn has the binoculars around his neck and I have my camera hanging on my arm by the strap – I always have a fear of dropping it you know!
Glenn leans over and asks me if I want to look out of the binoculars and I say sure – so tried it with sunglasses on and gloves on and it just didn’t work –so I’m taking off my glove (not knowing that my camera has slid down on top of my glove) and bang – something dropped when I took off my glove and out of the corner of my eye I see something go over the side. Before I even look down, I’m thinking that gosh darn it, there went my sunglasses, my brand new ones at that. But then it dawns on me that the glasses are still over my eyes and that’s when I look down – it was the camera – and the force of the drop pops the side open and there is my cartridge chip for pics just lying beside it – and I’m thinking, OK, Jessi and Jill have both dropped their cameras before and THEIRS still work so I bend down to pick it up and put the chip back in – and that’s when it dawns on me –there’s no battery lying there - the battery bounced out of the camera, right into the ocean below! I’m not sure how long I just stood there in shock – and I looked at the guy on the other side of Glenn and he shakes his head and says, yep, your battery just went over the side!
Now this wouldn’t be a problem if it just used a couple of AA or AAA batteries – oh no, this is one of those flat special batteries – and nope, there’s not a second one in the cabin either.
All I could think of was STUPID, STUPID, STUPID – and then I got so angry at myself I could hardly stand out there and enjoy the glacier! And then the anger turned to disappointment because to me, that’s ½ the fun of the trip is to take pictures and scrapbook them.
Glenn was trying to be positive about the whole situation as I was in tears – said I could just order another battery when we got back home – which is true – but what was I to use for the rest of the trip????? That’s right – I would be reduced to using a throw=away one time camera – the kind where there are NO SETTINGS and NO ZOOM and NO CROPPING available – man, I really blew it this time!
So stay tuned for the next segment……………….
We’re out at the railing of the cruise ship as we’re heading in to see the Hubbard Glacier – it’s windy and freezing outside so we have on all our layers plus gloves and hoods up!! Glenn has the binoculars around his neck and I have my camera hanging on my arm by the strap – I always have a fear of dropping it you know!
Glenn leans over and asks me if I want to look out of the binoculars and I say sure – so tried it with sunglasses on and gloves on and it just didn’t work –so I’m taking off my glove (not knowing that my camera has slid down on top of my glove) and bang – something dropped when I took off my glove and out of the corner of my eye I see something go over the side. Before I even look down, I’m thinking that gosh darn it, there went my sunglasses, my brand new ones at that. But then it dawns on me that the glasses are still over my eyes and that’s when I look down – it was the camera – and the force of the drop pops the side open and there is my cartridge chip for pics just lying beside it – and I’m thinking, OK, Jessi and Jill have both dropped their cameras before and THEIRS still work so I bend down to pick it up and put the chip back in – and that’s when it dawns on me –there’s no battery lying there - the battery bounced out of the camera, right into the ocean below! I’m not sure how long I just stood there in shock – and I looked at the guy on the other side of Glenn and he shakes his head and says, yep, your battery just went over the side!
Now this wouldn’t be a problem if it just used a couple of AA or AAA batteries – oh no, this is one of those flat special batteries – and nope, there’s not a second one in the cabin either.
All I could think of was STUPID, STUPID, STUPID – and then I got so angry at myself I could hardly stand out there and enjoy the glacier! And then the anger turned to disappointment because to me, that’s ½ the fun of the trip is to take pictures and scrapbook them.
Glenn was trying to be positive about the whole situation as I was in tears – said I could just order another battery when we got back home – which is true – but what was I to use for the rest of the trip????? That’s right – I would be reduced to using a throw=away one time camera – the kind where there are NO SETTINGS and NO ZOOM and NO CROPPING available – man, I really blew it this time!
So stay tuned for the next segment……………….
Tuesday, May 18, 2010
Alaska Trip - Juneau #3
Our second excursion of the day was to ride the Mount Roberts Tramway! The tram goes up 1800 feet and the views at the top are amazing!! You can see for miles and miles and the day was clear and sunny so that was a PLUS!! 
The Mountain House at the top includes a bar/restaurant, a small theater, a gift shop (of course!) and a nature center! We took a couple of the trails outside and walked around a bit – in places there was still snow on the trails so you had to be careful not to slip and fall! Several of the trees had carvings on them! 
It was mid-afternoon by now and I was starving so we sat at the restaurant and split a hamburger and fries while taking in the fantastic views!!
The nature center has a real bald eagle on display – I didn’t catch the entire story about the eagle but I’m sure he was probably hurt at one time……….
Then it was back to the gift shop where I purchased my first Christmas ornament for the tree!
Getting back on the boat was again, something like the airport! Of course you had to show your ID and then put all your belongings through the x-ray machine but there wasn’t a wait so we headed right in and went to our cabin!
Dinner that night was later again and by the time we were finished eating, we were both exhausted and ready to hit the sack! And by the way, it’s light outside till 10:00! And light out in the morning by 5:00!
Alaska Trip - Juneau #2
Our first stop was to buy tickets for the glacier tour and the tram! We hurried to catch the bus to head to the Mendenhall Glacier and had a great bus driver who gave us lots of facts and figures about the glacier!
The Mendenhall covers an area of 1500 sq miles and is just one of 38 glaciers that flow from the Juneau Icefield! The glacier appears to be sitting perfectly still but all glaciers are constantly moving, flowing downhill out of the mountains like rivers. This constant movement gives the glaciers the power to shape the landscape as they go!
Glaciers put off a mystical blue color caused by a unique crystalline structure that absorbs and reflects light! The most intense blue occurs in crevasses and when the ice breaks off (which is called calving), the blue color fades as the ice is exposed to air and the crystalline structure breaks down!
Glaciers put off a mystical blue color caused by a unique crystalline structure that absorbs and reflects light! The most intense blue occurs in crevasses and when the ice breaks off (which is called calving), the blue color fades as the ice is exposed to air and the crystalline structure breaks down! 
We reached the glacier and walked pretty close to it but the views from a distance were actually better! They have a great visitors center where we watched a movie on the glacier and walked around learning all kinds of things about the Mendenhall! The temperature was 42 degrees!I purchased my first item there – a neat bookmark that has pictures of the wildlife in Alaska!
And next it was off to the tram…………………………
P.S. Once a bargain shopper, always a bargain shopper!! 1/2 price internet for an hour - whoo hoo!
Alaska Trip - Juneau #1
And another day dawns bright and clear! But first let me take you back to last night – Glenn fell asleep right away but I always type a little on the laptop and then read before shutting off the light! The ship was doing its usual “rock ‘n roll” but we were both were getting used to it so it wasn’t a problem – but the vibration, that was something else!
We’re not sure if we were going through some “washboard” waves or what but there was this hideous vibration that not only was loud, but kind of shook your entire body like you were actually going over a washboard gravel road! It would come about once a minute, last for about 30 seconds and then taper off until the next one came! BUT, I did fall asleep and slept great – and in the morning, it was gone!
Both of us must have gotten our “sea legs” overnight because we felt much better this morning and had no trouble with the wave sensations during the day!
Because we were up early enough because of the time change again, the main dining room wasn’t even open so we opted to head up to the Lido Floor to eat! Note to self: walk around the ENTIRE buffet and see what they have to offer BEFORE you stand in line and dish up! I was so hungry that I saw the scrambled eggs and bacon and fresh fruit and got a plateful and sat down! And then it happened – the lady next to us brings over this luscious looking strawberry crepe!! Oh my – my favorite breakfast meal – so I race over to the buffet and sure enough, down at the end is a crepe maker! Of course I made room for a delicious strawberry crepe!
After breakfast we grabbed our coffee and sat on the Lido deck, watching out the window! Overnight we had cruised from the ocean back into the bay and there was land on both sides of us –not just land, but some of the most beautiful, snow-capped mountains I have ever seen –kind of a cross between Colorado/Montana/Switzerland! WOW – no sooner had we started looking than we saw 3 orca whales playing around! It was heavenly, just sitting there with our coffee and watching the landscape!
It wasn’t near as windy as the day before so we donned our vests, coats and gloves and started our mile walk around the deck – but by the time you stop and look at the scenery, visit with people and take pictures, you lose track of where you even started!! The views were just amazing!! I could just sit hour after hour watching the shoreline!
It wasn’t near as windy as the day before so we donned our vests, coats and gloves and started our mile walk around the deck – but by the time you stop and look at the scenery, visit with people and take pictures, you lose track of where you even started!! The views were just amazing!! I could just sit hour after hour watching the shoreline!
Today was going to be our first port stop – Juneau – so we ate an early lunch so we would be ready to get off the ship, once it docked! The line was LONG getting off the boat but it moved pretty fast and soon we were back on land – and that felt great!!
Juneau is a unique town, built on the side of a mountain! The only way to get there is by boat or plane – imagine that!! Juneau is the capitol of Alaska so all government buildings are here! But in reality, it’s not a very big town at all! I love the Alaskan flag – it depicts the big dipper along with the north star and the blue background represents the brilliant Alaskan sky! The state flower is the forget-me-nots and I’m sure they’re plentiful in summer – we were just a little too early! 
The day was glorious, weather wise!! We brought our jackets as we knew it would be cold around the glacier we were going to see, but in the town, it was plenty warm! There were a total of 3 cruise ships docked in town so Juneau had a lot of tourists milling around! To be continued…………….. Shipboard Life
I’m getting the hang of this “cruise ship life” and wanted to share some of my impressions!
1) I had it in my head that most of the people aboard the cruise would be the “high society” ones – NOT – everyone onboard the ship are pretty normal looking – whatever that means in your book!
2) When I read about the dress code in the evenings, we had 5 “smart casual” nights and 2 formal nights – I of course packed WAY too many “nice” clothes for the smart casual nights – I had no idea that blue jeans and flannel shirts would be acceptable for dinner – it is – guess everyone will think Glenn and I are the “high society” types as we’re DRESSING for dinner each night!
3) I also believed that on formal night, we would look underdressed as Glenn wouldn’t be wearing a tie and that was SO FAR from the truth – most of the women had on nice slacks or skirts with a sparkly top and most of the guys just had regular suits on.
4) Except for the food which is included in the price of your stateroom, everything else on board COSTS!! I don’t mind paying for drinks or special coffee but really, you have to pay for a bingo card to play bingo??? $.75 per minute for the internet??? $3.95 to just get logged on to the internet!!! Photos taken by the ship photographer that are a minimum of $20.00 a sheet which is basically one 4 x 6 and a couple of smaller ones??? All I can say is BE PREPARED to spend some money!!!
5) I LOVE LOVE LOVE our room!! From the towel creations each night along with the chocolate, to having your ice bucket filled 2 or 3 times a day, to your bed turned down each night – I could get used to this!!
6) The bed is SO comfortable – we have a variety of pillows – hard, soft and medium so you can take your pick!! And my favorite – fantastic reading lights!
7) There is plenty of storage for all the hang-up clothes, lots of drawers and shelves – and a nice long desk that I can type at!
8) I couldn’t find the hair dryer at first and then later found it in a drawer in the desk – pretty strange place for the dryer – then I discovered why it was where it was!! There are no electrical outlets in the bathroom!! So you just dry your hair at the desk where there’s also a magnifying make-up mirror – cool!!
9) Every day we get mail – a daily program which describes everything going on for the day along with the times and locations! Info on shore excursions and anything else we might need to know!
10) SUPER friendly staff – everyone always speaks to you!
11) We rarely use the elevators as I figure we need the exercise going up and down the steps but we have used it a couple of times and guess what – the rug on the floor on the inside of the elevator tells you what day it is! Kind of keeps you on track because when you’re on vacation, you have NO idea what day it is!!
So I’m pretty impressed with the cruise line industry and have already made up my mind that this trip will certainly NOT be our last!!
1) I had it in my head that most of the people aboard the cruise would be the “high society” ones – NOT – everyone onboard the ship are pretty normal looking – whatever that means in your book!
2) When I read about the dress code in the evenings, we had 5 “smart casual” nights and 2 formal nights – I of course packed WAY too many “nice” clothes for the smart casual nights – I had no idea that blue jeans and flannel shirts would be acceptable for dinner – it is – guess everyone will think Glenn and I are the “high society” types as we’re DRESSING for dinner each night!
3) I also believed that on formal night, we would look underdressed as Glenn wouldn’t be wearing a tie and that was SO FAR from the truth – most of the women had on nice slacks or skirts with a sparkly top and most of the guys just had regular suits on.
4) Except for the food which is included in the price of your stateroom, everything else on board COSTS!! I don’t mind paying for drinks or special coffee but really, you have to pay for a bingo card to play bingo??? $.75 per minute for the internet??? $3.95 to just get logged on to the internet!!! Photos taken by the ship photographer that are a minimum of $20.00 a sheet which is basically one 4 x 6 and a couple of smaller ones??? All I can say is BE PREPARED to spend some money!!!
5) I LOVE LOVE LOVE our room!! From the towel creations each night along with the chocolate, to having your ice bucket filled 2 or 3 times a day, to your bed turned down each night – I could get used to this!!
6) The bed is SO comfortable – we have a variety of pillows – hard, soft and medium so you can take your pick!! And my favorite – fantastic reading lights!
7) There is plenty of storage for all the hang-up clothes, lots of drawers and shelves – and a nice long desk that I can type at!
8) I couldn’t find the hair dryer at first and then later found it in a drawer in the desk – pretty strange place for the dryer – then I discovered why it was where it was!! There are no electrical outlets in the bathroom!! So you just dry your hair at the desk where there’s also a magnifying make-up mirror – cool!!
9) Every day we get mail – a daily program which describes everything going on for the day along with the times and locations! Info on shore excursions and anything else we might need to know!
10) SUPER friendly staff – everyone always speaks to you!
11) We rarely use the elevators as I figure we need the exercise going up and down the steps but we have used it a couple of times and guess what – the rug on the floor on the inside of the elevator tells you what day it is! Kind of keeps you on track because when you’re on vacation, you have NO idea what day it is!!
So I’m pretty impressed with the cruise line industry and have already made up my mind that this trip will certainly NOT be our last!!
Alaska Cruise - Our Day At Sea
Well, how did we sleep on our first night of the cruise? Not too bad at all, except for the fact I had a hard time falling asleep!The biggest surprise to me on this ship is the motion – yes, the boat rocking back and forth –I had NO idea we would feel it as much as we do! All I can say is that I am SO GLAD I am wearing the seasickness patch or I’m sure I’d be hanging out in our cabin, mainly in the bathroom!! It sort of feels like a slow motion carnival ride at times – and you notice it the most when you’re just sitting! Sometimes we’ll be out just walking around and the ship moves enough that you have to catch yourself! I feel like a drunken sailor at times – ha ha!! 
Before we went to bed last night, Glenn and I decided to order some coffee and juice and rolls to just eat in the room while we were getting ready, so I filled out the form and hung it on the outside door! Glenn INSISTED that he would be up by a certain time so that was the time I marked! You can just guess what happened in the morning – we’re both sleeping away and the knock comes at the door – Glenn yells to just leave it outside the door but the waiter says no, he must bring it in. So of course Glenn is frantically trying to put his jeans on and clear off our little table at the same time!! I just pulled the covers over my head as I sure didn’t want anybody seeing me at that time of the day!! (we’re talking 6:30am). Well, Glenn can’t find any tip money of course so is asking me where the money is and naturally it’s in MY bag and I know Glenn will never find it so he brings me the bag and I have to pop my head out from under the covers to find the money to give to the waiter! It’s kind of funny now thinking about it but it sure wasn’t this morning!!
We sat with 2 super nice couples for breakfast – one was from CA and the other was from Austrailia so we all had fun swapping stories! Glenn and I decided to walk around the ship for some exercise – I had read that 3 ½ laps around made for a mile! We certainly had good intentions as we donned our vests and coats but we had NO IDEA the wind was so bad! We did make it around a couple of times but that was enough for us – it was FREEZING outside in that wind!! So the weather didn’t make for any balcony sitting! And we sure didn’t put on our swimsuits to head to the pool on the top level either! BRRRR!!
It was a nice relaxing day just being on the cruise ship! My favorite place is the library of course with the many, many books and the “coffee” place – of course I got a cup of fantastic coffee and just sat and read part of the day!
After lunch we attended a presentation on Furs, Feathers and Fins which was all about the wildlife in Alaska so was very interesting! And we also tried to do more walking on the outside deck but it was just too windy and cold!
Before we went to bed last night, Glenn and I decided to order some coffee and juice and rolls to just eat in the room while we were getting ready, so I filled out the form and hung it on the outside door! Glenn INSISTED that he would be up by a certain time so that was the time I marked! You can just guess what happened in the morning – we’re both sleeping away and the knock comes at the door – Glenn yells to just leave it outside the door but the waiter says no, he must bring it in. So of course Glenn is frantically trying to put his jeans on and clear off our little table at the same time!! I just pulled the covers over my head as I sure didn’t want anybody seeing me at that time of the day!! (we’re talking 6:30am). Well, Glenn can’t find any tip money of course so is asking me where the money is and naturally it’s in MY bag and I know Glenn will never find it so he brings me the bag and I have to pop my head out from under the covers to find the money to give to the waiter! It’s kind of funny now thinking about it but it sure wasn’t this morning!! We sat with 2 super nice couples for breakfast – one was from CA and the other was from Austrailia so we all had fun swapping stories! Glenn and I decided to walk around the ship for some exercise – I had read that 3 ½ laps around made for a mile! We certainly had good intentions as we donned our vests and coats but we had NO IDEA the wind was so bad! We did make it around a couple of times but that was enough for us – it was FREEZING outside in that wind!! So the weather didn’t make for any balcony sitting! And we sure didn’t put on our swimsuits to head to the pool on the top level either! BRRRR!!
It was a nice relaxing day just being on the cruise ship! My favorite place is the library of course with the many, many books and the “coffee” place – of course I got a cup of fantastic coffee and just sat and read part of the day! After lunch we attended a presentation on Furs, Feathers and Fins which was all about the wildlife in Alaska so was very interesting! And we also tried to do more walking on the outside deck but it was just too windy and cold!
Dinner was formal tonight – I was anxious to see if Glenn would be the ONLY male around with no tie on – of course he wasn’t!! We had our formal pics taken before dinner and looked at a few other ones that had been taken of us! 
Unfortunately, we had quite a wait before dinner – but we were seated at the same table as the night before when we FINALLY got seated so had the same 2 waiters and they’re a riot! The one waiter is in charge of reservations so is already going to book us for the rest of the trip in his section so he can wait on us!
We enjoyed shrimp cocktail for dinner tonight which was excellent РI also ordered a delicious fennel/tomato soup and surf and turf as my entr̩e and it was all very good and presented very nicely! Dessert was cheesecake with a fresh berry sauce Рyum!!
Then we headed up to the Crows Nest to listen to Karaoke which is always fun, before we headed back downstairs to see the evening production of “Love Broadway”! Once again, Glenn didn’t really enjoy it but I did – anybody that sings and dances always gets my attention!
We did find out that we have to set our clocks back an hour tonight –we had already set them back in Seattle and now it’s ANOTHER hour back – OK by me as it’s almost midnight now!! There was a beautiful sunset this evening and the other thing that is SO nice – it stayed light till almost 9:30! Which means when we turn our watches back AGAIN, it will be daylight till 10:30!
Unfortunately, we had quite a wait before dinner – but we were seated at the same table as the night before when we FINALLY got seated so had the same 2 waiters and they’re a riot! The one waiter is in charge of reservations so is already going to book us for the rest of the trip in his section so he can wait on us!We enjoyed shrimp cocktail for dinner tonight which was excellent – I also ordered a delicious fennel/tomato soup and surf and turf as my entrée and it was all very good and presented very nicely! Dessert was cheesecake with a fresh berry sauce – yum!!
Then we headed up to the Crows Nest to listen to Karaoke which is always fun, before we headed back downstairs to see the evening production of “Love Broadway”! Once again, Glenn didn’t really enjoy it but I did – anybody that sings and dances always gets my attention!
We did find out that we have to set our clocks back an hour tonight –we had already set them back in Seattle and now it’s ANOTHER hour back – OK by me as it’s almost midnight now!! There was a beautiful sunset this evening and the other thing that is SO nice – it stayed light till almost 9:30! Which means when we turn our watches back AGAIN, it will be daylight till 10:30!
Monday, May 17, 2010
Alaska Bound - Takeoff!!!!!
Let the cruise begin!!
Before boarding the Rotterdam, we had several checkpoints where we had to show our paperwork, go through security (very similar to the airport) and get our key cards which is what we will use all week! The procedure went quite fast and before we knew it, it was time to actually board the cruise ship!
Before boarding the Rotterdam, we had several checkpoints where we had to show our paperwork, go through security (very similar to the airport) and get our key cards which is what we will use all week! The procedure went quite fast and before we knew it, it was time to actually board the cruise ship! It looked just HUGE sitting there – it WAS huge! Neither one of us had ever been close to a cruise ship before and we were just amazed at the size! Lunch was being served on the Lido deck but we chose to check out our stateroom first! And all I kept saying to Glenn was: Oh my – Oh my!! It was all so much more than what I expected!
We walked into our room which was actually a little bigger than I thought it would be (but don’t get me wrong here, the rooms ARE pretty small) but of course the balcony made it seem much larger! Anyway, there on our little table is a darling arrangement of flowers and 2 wrapped gifts! PRESENTS!! I opened up the card and it was from Laurie, our travel agent – wishing us a Happy Anniversary and a great time on our cruise!! HOW SWEET!! The flowers were just beautiful!! She also had gotten each of us a coffee mug with a picture and name of our ship on it! How fun to have something like that waiting for us when we arrived!! 
Our luggage was actually outside our door within a few minutes so I quickly unpacked and before we knew it, we were exploring the ship! Good thing we had a pocket map to find our way around as these ships are HUGE!! We did find where they were serving lunch and ate a little bit (actually Glenn ate part of a meal and I opted for mousse with fresh berries) and then it was more exploring before ending up on the upper deck to get a drink and prepare for take-off! The weather was gorgeous and we just sat up on that deck and hung out until the ship went out to sea!
They were having a safety lesson at 3:30 which is actually mandatory so we found our lifeboat place and listened to the training in case of a disaster – I REALLY felt like I was on the Titanic then!
We explored a LOT – but still seemed to get turned around all the time – I guess time will tell if I figure out this boat from front to back!
I did forget to mention earlier that before we left, I got a prescription for a patch to wear for motion sickness – my nurse friend had told me I should really wear one since I’m SO prone to seasickness and boy am I glad I did! I’m amazed at how much the ship does rock at times – luckily, it’s not making me sick at ALL, thanks to that cute little band-aid behind my ear!
We sat on the balcony for a while – read all the info in our room so I could really be informed on everything – checked out the internet café where most of us will be spending our hard earned money as there is NO FREE internet on the ship – would you believe about .55 per minute and that’s IF you buy your time ahead of time???? WOW – guess I won’t be sending too many emails!! But also from our travel agent was a book of coupons to use on the ship and one of them is for so many minutes of free internet – I’ll DEFINITELY be using that coupon!!
We had opted for “open dining” on the cruise which basically means we do NOT have a set time to eat dinner – you can make reservations if you would like to but otherwise, you just show up and may have to wait a few minutes! Dinner was great –I chose a fresh fruit medley for my appetizer which was papaya, melons, mango and strawberries, drizzled with a cream sauce and a hint of mint! Soup was a corn/cheddar/crab chowder and my main dish was a parmesan crusted chicken with veggies and potatos – very good!! Our waiter brought us a dessert menu so we were ready to give our order when he came back and said he had a note that we were celebrating our anniversary and he would be giving us a cake to eat! So he brought this cute little cake (not really little though as we couldn’t eat it all) with an edible “Happy Anniversary” sign, stuck a candle in it and 3 of them sang us Happy Anniversary in their native language, Indonesian!! Of course, we couldn’t understand a word of it but it was sure a cute song! After that, the violin player from the dining hall above us, played a tune just for us too!!
We ended up going to the production of “Nothin’s Gonna Stop Us Now” – singers and dancers – Glenn didn’t enjoy it as much as I did though! Of course the bed turn down was completed when we got back to our room with chocolates waiting for us – a perfect end to a perfect day!! Now if only the boat would quit rocking enough so I can fall asleep!!
Could It Be - There's No Internet At Sea????
Before I blog about our first full day of the cruise, I need to tell you about yesterday’s blog – since the internet is SO expensive to use on the cruise ship, I opted to write it out in WORD and then paste it into my blog! Easier said than done!! I tried every which way to do it but just couldn’t get it to paste! I finally tracked down the computer expert onboard (who is usually hanging out in the library) and asked him to help me! He had a hard time figuring it out too so I didn’t feel so bad then!! BUT each pic has to be downloaded all by itself and that is frustrating waiting for that to happen and knowing that the dollar signs are just ticking by as I wait!!
Then I tried to move my paragraphs around the pics and that proved to not be an easy process either!! So forgive me as all of my pics will either be at the bottom of the blog or the top!! Where’s my tech person when I need one????
Then I tried to move my paragraphs around the pics and that proved to not be an easy process either!! So forgive me as all of my pics will either be at the bottom of the blog or the top!! Where’s my tech person when I need one????
Sunday, May 16, 2010
Seattle Bound
The day had finally arrived – we were off to Seattle to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary aboard the Rotterdam Ship for a 7 day Alaskan cruise! I could hardly wait!
But first things first – a flight to Seattle! Aboard none other than Alaska Airlines! I even packed well as both suitcases that we checked were way below the allotted weight limit – I was sweating it as there were no t-shirts or tank tops to pack this time – it was long pants, sweaters and jackets!
But first things first – a flight to Seattle! Aboard none other than Alaska Airlines! I even packed well as both suitcases that we checked were way below the allotted weight limit – I was sweating it as there were no t-shirts or tank tops to pack this time – it was long pants, sweaters and jackets!
Jaime dropped us off at the airport and after grabbing our usual cup of Caribou Coffee, we were Seattle bound! One of my good friends, Carrie, who had moved to Tacoma/Seattle last fall was waiting at the airport to pick us up and we headed over to her apartment which is only a block away from the bay – amazing views!
Even though we arrived at 7:00 Seattle time, there was plenty of daylight left so we drove along the bay water and both Glenn and I couldn’t believe all the trees and vegetation - it was gorgeous! Dinner was at Steamers, a great little seafood place where we gorged ourselves on fish, chowder and fries! Being as how it was 9:00 Colorado time, we were starved!
We headed to Carrie’s apartment after dinner and made ourselves at home in her cute little apartment which is in a historical building – very unique! She spent the night with a friend so we had the place to ourselves!
Saturday morning dawned bright and clear and we were up early to explore Seattle before we got on the cruise ship! Our first stop was the Rhondendron Garden – these beautiful bushes were in bloom all over town in shades of pinks, reds and white!
We drove along the waterfront again which is actually called Puget Sound and walked out on the dock so Glenn could pretend he was fishing! The Seattle skyline was amazing! Oh, and did I forget to mention Mt. Rainier in the distance! It was amazing on Friday night when we flew in and I should have taken a pic that evening before it got dark as it was hazy out on Saturday! The coffee stop was at a place called Tully’s which is a franchise – excellent coffee – and it was there that we mapped our way to the cruise ship port dock.
We ate lunch outside at Salty’s, a fish’n chips place, and enjoyed watching the boats in the harbor! It was just a glorious day – and perfect in every sense until I sat on my sunglasses which promptly snapped them in two! Good thing there was a Walgreen’s close by so I could buy another pair!
Before we knew it, we were at the docking spot for our cruise and said our good-byes to Carrie for a week! FINALLY, it was time to board the cruise ship!!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
This 'N That
When I'm scrapbooking and I have a few random pictures that don't go with anything, I do a page called This 'N That - so these few random items don't go with anything so they are going on a This 'N That page!!
Saturday - Why do I tend to take my DAY OFF to go to Colorado Springs to shop when I DESPISE shopping (most of the time) and HATE dealing with traffic and crowds!! Beats me - but that's what I did last Saturday and by the time I got home, I was one crabby woman!! The main purpose of the trip was to get Kylan his birthday present (which will be celebrated the evening we fly back from our trip) and after looking all over, I did NOT, repeat NOT find what I was supposed to get him. So I ended up buying him something else which I know he'll love - but it was maddening not being able to find what I wanted! The only redeeming part of the day was that I had loaded up all of my books and went to my used book store - I could have spent hours in there (but I didn't have hours) so I picked out about 40 books which always excites me!
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What IS it with this weather? After mid-April teased us with all this warm weather, it's been downhill ever since - wind, snow, sleet, and cold weather - it's hard to believe it's already mid-May and I have NOT started walking outside in the mornings yet!
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I am SUPER excited about our upcoming cruise to Alaska - in fact we fly out tomorrow to Seattle and my good friend Carrie who moved to Seattle last summer, will pick us up at the airport, show us around Seattle that evening and the next morning and then take us to the cruise ship pier for our trip! I'm taking the laptop and my goal is to blog daily (vs. writing in a journal) about the trip!! The exciting news is that Jessi showed me how to download pics off my camera right onto my laptop so I may even post pictures with the blog!!
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Packing - this has to be the worst part of the vacation! It's just hard for me to decide what to take and since this vacation is a "new" type for both of us (we've NEVER been on a cruise and we've NEVER been to Alaska) it was a challenge for me to decide what to pack! I FINALLY have all the clothes ready to pack in the suitcase and the bad news is we'll have to take the LARGE suitcase along with a smaller one! We usually try to pack pretty light when we travel but packing for Mexico is a whole lot different than packing for Alaska!! Somehow, all the jeans, sweaters, shoes and evening clothes take up a lot more room!!
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So as of 4:30 today, I'll officially be on VACATION!!! Glenn will still have to work 1/2 day tomorrow while I do the packing but he's OK with that! Bon Voyage!!
Saturday - Why do I tend to take my DAY OFF to go to Colorado Springs to shop when I DESPISE shopping (most of the time) and HATE dealing with traffic and crowds!! Beats me - but that's what I did last Saturday and by the time I got home, I was one crabby woman!! The main purpose of the trip was to get Kylan his birthday present (which will be celebrated the evening we fly back from our trip) and after looking all over, I did NOT, repeat NOT find what I was supposed to get him. So I ended up buying him something else which I know he'll love - but it was maddening not being able to find what I wanted! The only redeeming part of the day was that I had loaded up all of my books and went to my used book store - I could have spent hours in there (but I didn't have hours) so I picked out about 40 books which always excites me!
##############
What IS it with this weather? After mid-April teased us with all this warm weather, it's been downhill ever since - wind, snow, sleet, and cold weather - it's hard to believe it's already mid-May and I have NOT started walking outside in the mornings yet!
##############
I am SUPER excited about our upcoming cruise to Alaska - in fact we fly out tomorrow to Seattle and my good friend Carrie who moved to Seattle last summer, will pick us up at the airport, show us around Seattle that evening and the next morning and then take us to the cruise ship pier for our trip! I'm taking the laptop and my goal is to blog daily (vs. writing in a journal) about the trip!! The exciting news is that Jessi showed me how to download pics off my camera right onto my laptop so I may even post pictures with the blog!!
##############
Packing - this has to be the worst part of the vacation! It's just hard for me to decide what to take and since this vacation is a "new" type for both of us (we've NEVER been on a cruise and we've NEVER been to Alaska) it was a challenge for me to decide what to pack! I FINALLY have all the clothes ready to pack in the suitcase and the bad news is we'll have to take the LARGE suitcase along with a smaller one! We usually try to pack pretty light when we travel but packing for Mexico is a whole lot different than packing for Alaska!! Somehow, all the jeans, sweaters, shoes and evening clothes take up a lot more room!!
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So as of 4:30 today, I'll officially be on VACATION!!! Glenn will still have to work 1/2 day tomorrow while I do the packing but he's OK with that! Bon Voyage!!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Mom's Day - 2010
Such a special day for all us moms!! But nothing is as special as spending that special day with one of your daughters and her family! I was disappointed not seeing Jill or Jaime on Sunday but they were both down the weekend before to spend time with me!
Glenn pulled the ATV out from under its cover and gave Evan a ride - I don't think I've ever seen such a wide smile from Evan!!! He was SO excited to go for a ride!! Of course Kenzie got her nose bent out of shape as she wanted to ride too but seemed happy just to sit on the ATV with Papa!
Evan fixing Papa's tires!!
Jessi and Kenzie who couldn't wait to get in the hot tub!!
Kenzie and her beads strolling her baby on the deck!
Because Kenzie had been sick, we weren't sure they would get to come but she rallied and they drove down on Sunday morning!! We had a jam packed day that included church, hot-tubbing for the little ones (and Jessi) in the afternoon, looking at scrapbooks, a walk, strawberry dacquiris, glazed donuts, AND a gift - after all it was Mother's Day!!! All 3 girls went together and ordered me the SECOND edition of "Rollin With The Flow" - a hardback book of my blogs written between March 09 and March 2010!! I LOVE IT!! The cover is done in a beautiful blue with a picture of the beach from our trip last fall!! THANKS so much girls - you're all the best!!
Glenn pulled the ATV out from under its cover and gave Evan a ride - I don't think I've ever seen such a wide smile from Evan!!! He was SO excited to go for a ride!! Of course Kenzie got her nose bent out of shape as she wanted to ride too but seemed happy just to sit on the ATV with Papa!
Evan fixing Papa's tires!!
Jessi and Kenzie who couldn't wait to get in the hot tub!!
Kenzie and her beads strolling her baby on the deck!Evan just loving the hot tub!!
My special book!!
My special book!!
What a great weekend with the Keppys'!! Now don't forget to come back!
PS - I DID forget to mention that Kenzie SLEPT THROUGH THE NIGHT at our place!!! It was so nice to not hear a peep out of either child during the night!! HOORAY!!!
Wednesday, May 5, 2010
Cripple Creek Mine Tour
One of my good friend's husband offered us a private tour of the Cripple Creek Gold Mine on the day they would be pouring "gold". Monday was that day!
2 carloads of us ventured over to Victor/Cripple Creek for the tour on Monday, slipping and sliding our way over there as it had snowed the night before - for those of you that have been to Cripple Creek, you'll know it's an extremely curvey road alongside of a mountain! But we made it safe and sound and soon Larry picked us up in a van for our tour!
Our first stop was the machinery shop - WOW - the size of these machines are amazing! For the large ones (pictured below - and note the trucks are so large I couldn't even get an entire one in the picture!), cost is 3.4 million per truck! They each hold approximately 240 tons of crushed rock!
Take a guess at how much each of these tires would cost if you needed to replace it - hopefully you guessed around $30,000 per tire! We felt pretty small next to them! Guess you wouldn't want to get in their way! We also got to climb ladders to get to the top of the truck - yes, it's pretty high up!
Our tour continued at the crushing plant! Each of the large trucks dumps their tons and tons of rock into this huge pit and a crusher crushes them into smaller pieces and then they go through a couple more crushing procedures - it was all totally amazing to watch the procedure!
Larry gave us all kinds of facts and figures (which of course I can't seem to remember) and our final stop was the actual place where they pour the gold into "buttons" as they're called! The heat from the kiln was pretty darn hot and it was exciting to watch the gold pour into the bucket - they cooled it off and before we knew it, the gold "button" was sitting on the table!
We each got our turn to pick it up - all $650,000 worth of it - but because it weighed a little over 42 pounds, some of us with no arm muscles had a hard time picking it up!!
All in all, it was a fantastic tour and I learned a LOT about the process of mining gold!
2 carloads of us ventured over to Victor/Cripple Creek for the tour on Monday, slipping and sliding our way over there as it had snowed the night before - for those of you that have been to Cripple Creek, you'll know it's an extremely curvey road alongside of a mountain! But we made it safe and sound and soon Larry picked us up in a van for our tour!
Our first stop was the machinery shop - WOW - the size of these machines are amazing! For the large ones (pictured below - and note the trucks are so large I couldn't even get an entire one in the picture!), cost is 3.4 million per truck! They each hold approximately 240 tons of crushed rock!
Take a guess at how much each of these tires would cost if you needed to replace it - hopefully you guessed around $30,000 per tire! We felt pretty small next to them! Guess you wouldn't want to get in their way! We also got to climb ladders to get to the top of the truck - yes, it's pretty high up!
Our tour continued at the crushing plant! Each of the large trucks dumps their tons and tons of rock into this huge pit and a crusher crushes them into smaller pieces and then they go through a couple more crushing procedures - it was all totally amazing to watch the procedure!
Larry gave us all kinds of facts and figures (which of course I can't seem to remember) and our final stop was the actual place where they pour the gold into "buttons" as they're called! The heat from the kiln was pretty darn hot and it was exciting to watch the gold pour into the bucket - they cooled it off and before we knew it, the gold "button" was sitting on the table!
We each got our turn to pick it up - all $650,000 worth of it - but because it weighed a little over 42 pounds, some of us with no arm muscles had a hard time picking it up!!
All in all, it was a fantastic tour and I learned a LOT about the process of mining gold!
Sunday, May 2, 2010
It's May!
Happy May!! Seems like the months are just flying by! Isn't it WONDERFUL how long the sun is staying up? I sure seem to accomplish a lot more this time of the year than in the dead of winter!
We had company for the weekend! Jaime, Rayna and Kylan came from Denver and Jill and Aleah headed down from Ft. Collins! The weather didn't cooperate a lot this weekend as it snowed off and on most of the weekend but the mornings were sunny!
Little Aleah is at such a fun age - she just learned how to crawl and got her first tooth the day before they arrived! She's an extremely laid back baby and is content to just sit and watch you! Aleah also is a great sleeper - not a peep out of her during the night!
I had computer projects for Jill and she didn't disappoint me! I FINALLY now have my digital photo frame set up and I found the perfect spot for it - on the shelf in front of my kitchen sink - after all, where do we women spend most of our time????
Jaime, Jill and I hit the hot tub late Friday night - it was a gorgeous night out and we're always amazed at the thousands of stars in the sky! Of course Rayna was left out that night so I told her she could get in the next day with me - unfortunately I was fighting a headache all day long so just didn't feel like getting in but told Rayna she could get in and I would watch her - it didn't take long for Kylan to come out and decide he wanted in also!!
I had bought a cute fishing pole for the boys to use when they come down so got it out and Kylan and Rayna had a ball with it!! They loved being in the water, except when the jets came on to heat and Kylan couldn't crawl out of that tub fast enough - it was hilarious!
Papa took Rayna and Kylan to the other property on Sunday morning and then to the playpark - which meant us 3 girls and Aleah could head out for coffee - yum!! Glenn also helped Rayna make some pine cone suet and peanut butter bird feeders and hung them from the trees!
We had company for the weekend! Jaime, Rayna and Kylan came from Denver and Jill and Aleah headed down from Ft. Collins! The weather didn't cooperate a lot this weekend as it snowed off and on most of the weekend but the mornings were sunny!
Little Aleah is at such a fun age - she just learned how to crawl and got her first tooth the day before they arrived! She's an extremely laid back baby and is content to just sit and watch you! Aleah also is a great sleeper - not a peep out of her during the night!
I had computer projects for Jill and she didn't disappoint me! I FINALLY now have my digital photo frame set up and I found the perfect spot for it - on the shelf in front of my kitchen sink - after all, where do we women spend most of our time????
Jaime, Jill and I hit the hot tub late Friday night - it was a gorgeous night out and we're always amazed at the thousands of stars in the sky! Of course Rayna was left out that night so I told her she could get in the next day with me - unfortunately I was fighting a headache all day long so just didn't feel like getting in but told Rayna she could get in and I would watch her - it didn't take long for Kylan to come out and decide he wanted in also!!
I had bought a cute fishing pole for the boys to use when they come down so got it out and Kylan and Rayna had a ball with it!! They loved being in the water, except when the jets came on to heat and Kylan couldn't crawl out of that tub fast enough - it was hilarious!
Papa took Rayna and Kylan to the other property on Sunday morning and then to the playpark - which meant us 3 girls and Aleah could head out for coffee - yum!! Glenn also helped Rayna make some pine cone suet and peanut butter bird feeders and hung them from the trees!
It was a fun weekend for all of us - and hopefully the next time they come down, Glenn will have the fort done so they can play in it!
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