The Final Frontier - Part III

So the next few days we visited Glacier Bay, Ketchikan and Sitka....each and everyone beautiful beyond words....

They allow one cruise ship a day into Glacier Bay....they board a Native American that gives a talk about the sacred land and some of the history.....As we sailed into the Bay we passed lots and lots of scenic mini glaciers and mountains in snow....there was also a bear siting but it was just a dot on the horizon that moved - not close enough to get a good picture....

 Here is the huge Glacier - it was calving when we were there - they turned the engines off the ship so we could hear the thunder and watch the huge pieces of ice fall into the water....spectacular!

 These pieces of ice are the size of cars - I loved how they hit up on the ship....

 Ketchikan was beautiful and we hiked in the national forest where we found many totem poles and saw incredible scenery....

 These totem poles are huge and dwarf us as we stand next to them....

 Loved this picture of the ship with the Totam Pole in the foreground....next on to Sitka where we hired a local that took us to a place where they bait bears with scraps from the cannery - it was quite the negotiation for him to take us but worth everything to get to see these bears and eagles up close.....we stayed for hours and watched - we were close enough to see their giant paws and them wrestling for fish, etc.  The Eagles were/are amazing and much closer than our fly away shots....at one time we counted 15 of them in the trees where we were.

This was my most favorite find of all - not on any maps or tours....we hiked around and found this unmarked decaying house and totem poles - it was mesmerizing....I loved it.  We took lots of pictures and were in awe of it....later when we met up with a local she told us it was the Old Chief's house and tradition says that they must let their dwelling and totems decay into the earth so their spirits can stay there and be visited by the tribe....this was by far the most wonderful experience we have ever happened upon....

So a toast to you ALASKA - The Final Frontier - you were all we wanted to see and more......

The Final Frontier - Part II

Part II - Our first full day was at sea....so out our balcony we would see sights like these and we sailed along.....

so excited to see our first bald eagle.....little did we know at this time how close we would get to one!

We were a combination of exhausted/relaxed/lazy and spend most of the first day like this....

or like this.....

It was formal night and we are so over formal nights and lazy so we just went to the Lido deck in our cozy clothes and then went to the big show which was really good.   I have to say the entertainment on Holland is the best - live music everywhere!  We walked around the ship and Steve found in the Queens Lounge was a Rock and Roll band - it was packed - about 200 people or so and the live band was so good.  We found a place way in the back to sit and listened and Steve wanted to dance.  When we got on the dance floor we lost our seats (like vultures circling for a place to sit) so decided to dance a few and leave.  After a few dances they played the twist and we danced to that and started to leave and the cruise director grabbed us and two other couples and said we were going to have a dance off.  It was hilarious - we had to say our names, where we were from and then dance for about a minute.  We were couple number 2 and the first couple were like semi pro as we were watching them while we sat earlier.  Couple number 3 I think just met - they were funny....anyway after we all danced they did a clap vote and Steve and I were named Twist Champions and given this bottle of champagne which we decided to keep for the day we were at Glacier Bay....

Back in the room we re-enacted our moves that made us champs - yea, true dat, we had it goin on.  When I showed Adam he said it reminded him of Pulp Fiction - HAHAHAHAHAHA

The next day we were in Juneau.....we are not big on the organized tours with the ship - we like to gypsy around...however we did book one because we wanted to hike in the woods and do a camp out and do the gold panning.....it was so beautiful and fun and since we both love the outdoors and camping it was perfect for us!

(At this point in blogging I am really upset because it won't let me arrange these pictures right - grrrrr)  We did the hiking and gold panning first, then walked around Juneau and ended up at the Red Dog Saloon before we went back on the ship.....

The famous Red Dog Saloon where we met this lady who worked on the Princess Cruise line and spilled all the goods about cruises and the stores and tours they own in port.....she was pretty liquored up and ready to talk.....Steve ran into someone he used to date in Juneau something fishy about her!

I ran into someone I used to date as well - he hasn't changed a bit!

Gold Panning was fun....I am sure some of the streams are 'planted' and we were able to go off on our own and pan whereever we wanted....we love do do this!

This is where we hiked up to this old stream that they mined and panned in....we had fresh salmon by the campfire - we were in our element!

Beautiful waterfalls and everyone there is so nice...we would go back to Juneau!

The Last Frontier - Part 1

I still seem to be having trouble with the changes in Blogger.....sorry for the disorientation on this....when I have a few minutes I will study up on the changes......sigh......

So Last November Steve and I started planning our 25th Anniversary trip......we had plans with these friends and those friends and none of our scheduled lined up....so this being our 10th cruise and we are kinda over EU for the time being, Mexico is too dangerous, we have plans for Florida in October we decided to do Alaska....The Last Frontier....fast forward to May 2012 and our life is crazier than ever - the audit is requiring weekly if not daily responses; both Steve's work and my work is insanely busy with a Sr. Mgmt Meeting scheduled in Boston the Monday after our trip was over Sat night, my mom had her 3rd hip surgery blah....blah...blah....we could have easily cancelled this trip however we just wanted to go so bad we fit it in and we are so happy that we did!!!  Since we departed from Seattle we wanted to go see our niece Amy (our 3rd child) and had the best 2 days with her.  She picked us up and we give her a bad time as every time we go to see her in Seattle it is a pristine and beautiful day....we think she just makes up stories to us about the rain as we never see it!  As always, Seattle was sparkling when we were there....

 This has always been one of my favorite shots of Seattle and I know I take one every time, but I love it...

 ...and on this sunny day the Chuly glass was glistening at us as we drove by.....

 We at at Pat's Trinidad - recommended by a friend and also featured on Diners DriveIns and Dives....the lunch menu is different than the dinner menu and I loved mine but the others were luck warm on this choice...

 Here is our sweet girl fixing wine for us as we prepare to spend the day in the sound with her and her friend Steve....

 Uncle Steve played captain of the ship but the really captain was Amy's friend Steve....so it is fair to say we had a Captain Steve!

 Here is Steve and Amy, our wonderful hosts on the perfect day on the Sound......

 Cheers and Thank You Steve for hosting us!

 We bobbed around and floating and ate and drank all day and this was the beautiful nighttime skyline when our fun day was over...

 The next morning we had some coffee and sat and enjoyed Amy's lovely place before we headed off to the port....she is the best hostess, great decorator, super personality and most awesome cook ever....

 So Amy dropped us off at the port and we headed up to our room....it was a great size and we had a balcony which is like an extra room.....

 I know you will tease me but this bathroom also had a bathtub....which was so perfect for me...usually we don't have one!

 And my sweet Sister Deb sent us a great bottle of wine for our 25th!

 So we went up to the top of the ship for the sail away party.....a perfect day leaving Seattle as well....

 We had lounge chairs in the back and watched the lower 48 disappear in the horizon....

 Every time I see Mt. Rainier I think of when we took Dylan to Seattle when he was about 3 and he knew about volcanos and did not want Mt. Rainier to erupt....the hotel room had a huge window looking out at Mt. Rainier and when we opened the drapes his eyes popped!  He said, don't worry GiGi...I know it is 'Stinked' (Extinct)....I smile every time about that....

 ....and we stayed out until the sunset....a beautiful start to our getaway!



Crazy May - Mom's Surgery and Back to Idaho

Life just can't get crazy enough.....I was home about 5 days from our Spring Road Trip and headed back up via Southwest for a week to take care of my mom during her 3rd hip surgery and got home yesterday and have 3 days until we leave again......and thought I would do a quick blog update and found that they changed the entire format.....so here is what I have been up to this past week - all out of order!  Thanks for your patience!!!  I promise next time I will have more time to make it more readable and consecutive!!!  Every a.m. I would walk about 2 miles from my moms to my sisters to have coffee and then she would drop me off to get ready and head out to hospital....one morning I came upon this mommy out with her ducklings....isn't this sweet?

Got a little thrifting in....found this for $5.00 for Kristens little resale business....great find.

 Always love finding old barns....want to do a coffee table book one day on old barns - this will be on the list....

 The day I arrived and before my mom had to check in the hospital we went to a great French buffet in this restored old house....it was so charming....sad to say they are closing at the end of the month as the economy has hit them so bad....I am bummed for them....they tried hard for 5 years =(  That is my sister and my little mommy out front....

 They served 'Scorched Eggs' with basil....different and good.....

 and I could tell I was in the country as everywhere was pickups and this rig in front of me...a truck with a trailer with a ATV that had gun mounts and guns mounted on the handlebars....knew I was not in San Diego anymore!

 During my moms surgery my sister and I set up a Craft Corner - the 5 hours she was in surgery we worked the whole time on our crafts and got so much accomplished!

 sooooo out of order, but when we got home we celebrated with El Torito Brunch for Brians birthday!

 Dylan is really into drawing and is drawing a picture of our house and backyard

Uncle Adam gives Dylan his Lego Space Shuttle....every kid should have an Uncle like Adam....

 Brody and his Handy Manny work glove was busy make notes on his future projects.....

 The day I left my sisters church had a ladies tea.....this is our table....it was beautifully decorated by my sister and so many other really incredible tablescapes....over 135 ladies attended.

 My sister and I....we had to wear hats so I made a 'Fascinating Fascinator' for 34 cents!  My sister looked beautiful in CSK creation

 It had rhinestones on it that matched my skirt....

 my sister took me to the strangest thrift place - you go in and find these bins and pick out what you want and pay by the pound.....we bought a door frame and metal cupcake holder for her and a Fisher Price play mat and vintage checkerboard for me and the total was $3.22.....we were all dressed up and everyone else had old clothes and gloves on.....still not sure if I would go back....a bit edgy....

 One day my sister and I were invited to go mushrooming on the afternoon my mom had a major PT and OT meeting for patients only.....I found these right off the bat!  (Morells).  The scenery was incredibly beautiful and I may or may not have gotten lost in the forest and thanks to my fantastic instincts (and hours and hours of watching Man vs. Wild) I found a road and found my way back to the car!

 so so so pretty and out in the middle of nowhere - no phone service and we drove to the very top of the hills....still a lot of snow!

 So these are the pictures that should have come first....my moms hip xray showing what needed to be done and the singing chaplin that came in right before surgery and sang Johnny Cash songs....no, I am not making this stuff up!

My mom's room was on the 9th floor and the life flight helicopters were non stop!

 so a little rattled post like me the little rattled poster.....til next time!