Winnie has had to be patient for preschool. Since she has an October birthday, I knew she'd be home longer than her sisters before starting kindergarten, so I pushed off preschool. I had hoped she could attend last fall, but the high school didn't offer their child development class during the first or second trimesters, so we had to wait until they hosted a preschool this spring. The wait was worth it, though, because Winnie loved every minute of preschool.
The last day they invited the parents in (or grandparents, if the parents happened to be in Alaska) for a short ceremony.
Winnie wasn't quite sure what to do with Mrs. Child's outstretched hand.
Getting her backpack out of the cubby for the last time.
Both sets of grandparents helped tremendously while Seth and I were in Alaska. Seth's parents took the girls on the weekends, and my parents took them on the weekdays. Because we had booked the cruise a long time before, we didn't know at that time that we would miss several of the girls' activities. But our parents carted them around wherever they needed to go, and my dad took pictures.
First of all, Rebekah participated in the 6th grade track meet. Rebekah qualified for the mile run and the hop, step, jump. She didn't win a ribbon in the mile run against other elementary schools in the district, but she took 1st place in the hop, step, jump.
Rebekah's friend Haley, Winnie and Rebekah all sitting in the stands during the meet.
Hopping, stepping and jumping.
Winnie's turn on the track while all the 6th graders wait for awards.
Rebekah receiving her blue ribbon.
Winnie hanging out with the big kids. She's on Lily's lap and next to Haley and Bekah.
Back in November, Seth and I booked a cruise. Our first cruise. We booked it because when we paid off our mortgage last year, Seth promised that we could travel anywhere in the world. After the last payment was made, I started scoping things out, but I was completely intimidated. Where to go? How to get there? How long to stay? When it came down to logistics, we finally decided a cruise would be a good idea (just pick the location and itinerary and everything else is taken care of!) and Alaska would be our destination (I had never been; Seth had been twice, but only in winter).
After six long months of waiting, we finally we were off.
DAY 1 — Friday, May 12
See girls off to school
Drop Winnie off with Andrea's parents
Drive to Salt Lake City
Fly SLC to Seattle
Fly Seattle to Anchorage
Check into hotel
First view of Alaska outside our plane window. So many mountains!
Since we'd be gone for 9 days, we made sure to take lots of selfies to send to the girls.
Interesting points of the day
Both of our flights were on newer planes, which was nice. The seats had USB chargers!
We watched Inception on our flights and were reminded of what a good movie that is.
When we got to our hotel, it was after 9 local time, which felt like after 11 for us. But it was still light outside, so we got creative with magnetic clips and pillows to block out as much light as possible so we could sleep.
DAY 2 — Saturday, May 13
Wake up in Anchorage
Breakfast at hotel
Walk around Lake Hood
Lunch at Taco King (a short walk from the hotel)
Board bus to Whittier
Board cruise ship in Whittier
Dinner at the buffet
Played "Miracle Lyrical" with the cruise staff
Set sail from Whittier
Andrea and Seth next to Lake Hood. It's the world's busiest seaplane base. We saw several planes take off/land on the lake and on the runway next to it.
It seems everyone in Anchorage owns a plane.
Something (we determined it was the trees) smelled yeasty ... like rising bread. We got a little lightheaded breathing deeply on our walk.
View
from Beluga Point Lookout along the Seward Highway. We boarded the bus
in Anchorage and learned about the area and its history from our tour
guide. We also got make a couple of stops along the way.
Seth and Andrea at the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center on another one of our stops. We saw wolves, muskoxen, a fox, wood bison, elk, reindeer, grizzlies (including the one behind us here) and a black bear.
Video of the grizzlies and the black bear. It was incredibly windy right then.
Selfie by the cruise ship in Whittier. We learned that the city of Whittier is still around because of cruise lines and the harbor. Otherwise, this tiny city of about 300 residents (who all live in one building ... look it up if you don't believe me!) who probably have been abandoned a while ago.
Our cabin, room A747. We were in the very back of the ship on the 12th deck.
The view from our cabin porthole.
Andrea sipping a virgin piña colada and Seth sipping a virgin strawberry daiquiri. We splurged and purchased the drink package, so our trip was full of mocktails, hot chocolate, milkshakes and soda.
Interesting points of the day
We learned about the mud flats at Turnagain Arm as we drove from Anchorage to Whittier. People occasionally try to walk across them at low tide but get stuck in them and drown as the tide come in.
As we boarded the boat, I was completely overwhelmed with the grandeur and scale. I almost wanted to run back off it, but I'm glad I stuck around.
"Miracle Lyrical" was a game where teams of up to 6 had to guess the next lyric of a song. We joined up with a couple from Raleigh, NC, and a couple from Britain. My only contributions to the 20 songs featured were lines to "I Just Can't Wait to Be King" (From The Lion King), "So Long, Farewell" (from The Sound of Music) and "Dream Believer" (by the Monkees). Gratefully other members of our team knew the other songs, and our team ended up winning. We scored Princess lanyards and magnetic clips.
DAY 3 — Sunday, May 14
Breakfast at the buffet
Naturalist lecture about glaciers
Sacrament in our cabin
Lunch at Trident Grill (hamburgers and hot dogs)
Read books, sip hot chocolate
Nap
View Hubbard Glacier from the aft hot tub
Formal night in the dining room
Attend "The Voice of the Ocean"
Andrea and Seth dressed up for formal night.
Our fancy-shmancy dessert in the dining room.
Walking around on the promenade deck.
Evening stroll and ocean sights.
Hubbard Glacier in the distance.
Seth sings "Round Here" by Counting Crows as part of the "Voice of the Ocean" auditions. He didn't move on to the finals (everyone who did either sang a country song or was at least 60 years old), but he had fun.
Interesting points of the day
Seth had received permission from our bishop to bless and pass the sacrament to the two of us while on board. It was a neat experience to partake in our cabin.
Many people looked at us like we were crazy as we sat in the hot tub looking at glaciers. "Aren't you cold?" they'd ask. I don't think they're from Idaho.
Our first experience with our dining companions in the formal dining room was interesting. We had already been seated when another couple was brought to the table. The husband started heatedly talking to the waiter about how he and his wife and requested a table for two. The wife sat down as called her husband a choice 7-letter name. We were stunned for a little while, but as we visited with Mike and Faye from Chicago, we really enjoyed getting to know them. I assume the feeling was mutual, because they ended up staying at our table for the rest of the cruise.
DAY 4 — Monday, May 15
Breakfast in the formal dining room
Spotted otters and seals from the deck
Listened to the National Park ranger's lecture about Glacier Bay while sipping hot chocolate and eating donuts
Lunch at the buffet
View Margerie Glacier from deck
View John Hopkins Glacier from deck
Nap
Dinner in formal dining room
Watch the rangers leave the ship
Listen to Irish songs
Listen to ship band play 70s music, dance
Video montage of Glacier Bay, including Margerie Glacier calving and the park rangers disembarking from the cruise ship.
Margerie Glacier and a smaller boat in lower right quadrant. That should help with the scale. (In other words, the glacier is huge.)
Seth taking pictures of the glacier with his phone.
Andrea sipping on a virgin strawberry daiquiri while looking at glaciers through our cabin's porthole.
Seth, Andrea and the John Hopkins Glacier. Even though it looked close to us, it was still 5 miles away. Our ship couldn't get any closer this time of year due to iceburgs.
Seth sitting on a deck chair while the ship spins in circles so everyone can get a good view of John Hopkins Glacier.
Interesting points of the day
Breakfast in the formal dining room means you're seated with people who aren't your regular tablemates. This time we were introduced to Pete and Janice (from "N'awlins" ... "On TV they never get the Louisiana accent right," Janice tells us) and a nice Canadian lady whose name I didn't catch.
If I could, I would eat the fried calamari served at the lunch buffet every single day of my life.
While we were viewing glaciers from the deck, we watched a film crew shoot footage for a reality TV show. Although I didn't give the "reality" much merit before this experience, I give it even less now. "Pick up your daughter, look at her lovingly." "Now we'll go change clothes and get more footage of you walking around the ship."
While on a cruise, it doesn't matter if you can't dance. Just go for it and the cute little lady from the side will tell you you're adorable.
DAY 5 — Tuesday, May 16
Breakfast from room service
Port in Skagway
Lunch in Skagway (crab cakes and halibut)
Souvenir shopping, sightseeing, museum in Skagway
Dinner at the buffet
Read books in the lounge
Watch a local perform folk songs and tell about the history of Alaska
Listen to the cruise band perform
Watch the second set of auditions for "Voice of the Ocean"
Andrea and Seth on the train headed to White Pass.
Montage of the ride up to White Pass summit and back to Skagway.
The train headed to its first tunnel. After the train got up to speed, passengers were allowed out of the platforms to take pictures of the scenery.
Long exposure of the train coming out of one of the tunnels.
The amount of snow at the top of the summit. We went from sea level to 3000 feet above.
Posing majestically on the train.
Eating delicious seafood for lunch in Skagway.
Cool old building (originally the Arctic Brotherhood Hall, now the city visitors' center) in Skagway decorated in driftwood.
View of the ship from Skagway.
Interesting points of the day
We learned about the Klondike gold rush while traveling by train, including the town villain (Soapy Smith) and hero (Frank Reid), Dead Horse Gulch where the bones of many horses can still be seen, double jacking (three men hanging from ropes, one with a drill bit between his knees, the other two hammering the end of it and turning it a tiny bit after each hit followed by stuffing the hole with dynamite and swinging out of the way before the explosion), and two men and their mules who died with a huge slab of the mountain fell down on top of them.
When we reached the summit, Seth mused that we'd have to face backwards on the way back down since the train cars don't turn around. Imagine our surprise when we were given instructions to flip the back of the seat up over the seat so everyone could face forwards both directions.
In Skagway we bought T-shirts, necklaces, finger puppets and pyrite for the girls; sea salt caramel popcorn and taffy for us to snack on; a book for my parents and a necklace for me.
During the second half of "Voice of the Ocean" auditions, anyone who had performed during the first night could perform again, so Seth sang "Old Man" by Neil Young.
DAY 6 — Wednesday, May 17
Breakfast from room service
Port in Juneau
Whale watching in Auk Bay
Mendenhall Glacier
Andrea takes a nap; Seth does the laundry
Dinner in formal dining room
Watch ship's comedian perform
Explore ship and find the art gallery, internet cafe/library, casino
Snack on eclair and hot chocolate
Clear off throwaway pictures from cameras
Whale watching turned out to be fantastic. We had six adults and two children on the boat (our captain, our naturalist, Seth, me, a couple from Japan and their two kids), and we saw countless humpbacks. They spouted, showed their backs and showed their tails. We also saw porpoises, bald ealges and sea lions.
Montage of whale watching. It was hard to pick between shooting stills and video, but we saw enough whales that I could do some of both.
The blowhole of a humpback. This one got so close to our boat that when it spouted, we all smelled its breath. (It's really stinky, by the way.)
View of a whale tail from the bow of the boat.
View of Nugget Falls and Mendenhall Glacier. After the whale watching, we caught a tour bus out to the visitors' center and walked the 2 miles to this beach.
A rock spiral placed on the beach by someone else.
A nice girl from Kansas took this picture of us in front of the falls.
Kayakers getting closer to the glacier.
Falls spray and glacier.
Glacier, waterfall and visitors' center.
Seth vlogging while Andrea naps.
Interesting points of the day
We lucked out when it came to whale watching. Sometimes the captain has to drive the boat 45 minutes away from the dock before they see any whales, but we were lucky enough to have them a lot closer.
Lenny our bus drive on the way to Mendenhall gave us the lowdown about the glacier. He said to hike straight to Nugget Falls for the best views and then spend your time looking at/doing other things. We're glad we followed his advice.
DAY 7 — Thursday, May 18
Breakfast at the buffet
Watch ship dock in Ketchikan
Port in Ketchikan
Sea kayak in low tide
Eat lunch in Ketchikan
Sightseeing, museum, shopping
2nd formal night at the dining room
Watch cruise staff production show "Gotta Dance"
Watch cruise band perform a tribute to Billy Joel
View from the back of the ship as it docks in Ketchikan.
Silly selfies on the deck before it started raining.
Foggy, rainy sea kayaking. Apparently this is typical Ketchikan weather.
Seth touching a rare purple sea star.
Andrea and Seth sea kayaking at low tide. See all the sea stars below the water on the left? We got to hold one.
Headed back to Ketchikan. We had to pass in front of all the cruise ships. "It looks like the Ruby Princess is about to leave, so we have to paddle fast to get across," Gillian, our guide, told us. (We made it in plenty of time.)
Us in all our sea kayaking gear. It rained on us the entire time, but it was a blast.
The delicious dungeness crab Seth and Andrea shared for lunch after kayaking and running back to the cruise ship to change.
Talking to the girls outside the restaurant. Our phones had no service at sea or on land, so we had to rely on the internet of shops to make contact with them.
Seth at the totem pole in front of the Ketchikan library. It depicts Raven stealing the sun. We also visited a Native Alaskan art museum.
Andrea at Creek Street.
A cute little otter with a fish at Creek Street.
Interesting points of the day
Because it was low tide when we went kayaking, we got to
see sea stars, sea cucumbers and tubeworms. We also saw more bald
eagles.
We came into kayaking feeling some trepidation. Neither Seth nor I had ever been kayaking before, but we figured with our limited experience with canoing and rafting we'd be okay. Turns out we were okay. :-)
Jack and Gillian, our kayak guides, were very informative. Gillian tried to persuade us to move to Ketchikan since we love hiking, hunting and fishing so much.
We bought a necklace for Grandma Susan, a necklace for me and malachite for Seth.
DAY 8 — Friday, May 19
Breakfast in the formal dining room
Hot tubbing on the back deck
Go on photo safari around the ship to show the girls
Lunch at the buffet
Watch naturalist program about animals of Alaska
Nap
Pack luggage and place it outside the cabin
Dinner in the formal dining room
Game with the cruise staff: "Are You Smarter than the Cruise Staff?"
Drinks, pizza and the cruise band in the lounge
Walk around on the deck, watch Sting concert on the big outdoor screen
Hot tubbing on the back deck.
Seth recording a video when we realize it's his brother's birthday.
Some of the many pools on the ship. The big one is inside, the others are out.
Food, food, food. Desserts on display at the buffet, the buffet, the ice cream corner.
Looking off the bow and the bridge.
Inside the ship: the super long hall leading to our cabin at the very back and the stairs we vowed to take all week long rather than the elevator.
Places we sat: the lounge (also where Seth sang), the auditorium and the other lounge.
Places we didn't spend a lot of time in: the piazza lined with shops (top 2 images) and the casino (bottom 2 images).
Seth vlogging some more.
Watching Sting on the big outdoor screen.
Interesting points of the day
We got to meet more people at breakfast: Lily and Charles from L.A. (originally from Hong Kong) and Betsy and Charles from Tennessee.
We made a list of all the mocktails and drinks we ordered on the ship: strawberry daiquiri, piña colada, cranberry nojito, hot chocolate, ginger ale, root beer, diet coke, sprite, Bahama mama, mucho mango (which, apparently, is just mango juice when you remove the alcohol), dirty banana, Key West cooler, sunshine daiquiri, lemonade.
We made a list of places we met people from: Australia, England, Japan, Singapore, Chicago, L.A., Wisconsin, Atlanta, Cedar City, Salt Lake City, Ogden, Kansas, Louisiana, New Zealand, Canada, Raleigh, Philippines, Colorado, Washington, Florida, China. I'm sure there were people from many other places as well, those were just the confirmed ones.
We ALSO made a list of all our favorite foods from the trip: crab, lobster tail, smoked haddock, halibut tacos, halibut fish and chips, pheasant, all the food on Italian night, cream of wild mushroom soup, okra coconut curry, smoked gouda.
DAY 9 — Saturday, May 20
Finish packing, leave the cabin for the last time
Breakfast at the buffet
Walk around outside
Call home and find out how the girls are
Wait in the lounge for an extra hour since the ship was late docking
Leave the ship, walk from the Vancouver cruise port to the subway station
Arrive at airport, go through customs
Fly Vancouver to Seattle
Fly Seattle to Salt Lake City
Check into hotel for the night
Last vacation selfie taken from the ship in Vancouver.
Interesting points of the day
Seth and I both had to apply for passports for this trip since we'd be flying out of Canada. Seth was disappointed when nobody pulled him into a room and grilled him about his purpose in their country.
We had to fill out paperwork to be in Canada. We fretted over whether we should declare our dried berries as fruit, then watched the lady take our paper without even looking at it and shove it into her fistful of other papers.
DAY 10 — Sunday, May 21
Breakfast at the hotel
Drive from Salt Lake City to Idaho Falls
Turn onto Jennifer Lane to see Grandpa Dennis bringing our girls home from church
