June Adventure part 4 Alaska Cruise

 The last week of June my mom and I took a cruise to Alaska. It was on the Star Princess which took us on an inland cruise of Alaska. Our stops were Ketchikan, Tracy Arm Fjord,Juneau, Skagway and Victoria B.C. Eric and the boys dropped us off at the dock in Seattle, then headed back to Yakima to hang with family til mom and I got back. Once we got our cards, which acts as cabin key, and allow us to purchase things that get put on our account, we set off on our adventure.

(Hey mom I don't have pics of the cabin!)

 Our first dinner on the boat. This was much nicer than the buffet place we ate at when we first got on. Mom thought that was the main restarunt and ate there twice!! Glad we found out that there were other options. For dessert I got the Love Boat. Brownie topped with chocolate moose with a fudge shell. It wasn't as sweet as I hoped but looked very good.

The Mendenhall Glacier. So much cooler in person than the pics show.

 Also saw this Harper seal who was just content to hang out on the ice.

 In Juneau we went on a dog sled tour. These dogs weren't the big clean looking huskies that movies show. These dogs were mutts and the rain and mud didn't do anything to enhance their appearance. Much to mom's dismay, she didn't read the pamphlet and thought we were going on a sled ride in the snow pulled by "movie dogs"! We road around the area in this special made cart by 14 dogs. It was fun.

One of my parents missionaries got us a free tour with his group that went up to the Yukon area. It was so pretty up there!

 Alaska "state bird". I got bit three times!!

No joke these bugs were HUGE!! I first thought they were flies but mom said they were mosquitoes! If you know me that single M word makes my skin crawl.

At Emerald Lake

 On the way back down to Skagway we saw bears at the side of the road. They were blacks bears that are "mainly" leaf eaters said our drive Shane. We all had to stay in the bus but it was so fun to see wild bears.  

 Pictures really can't show how much fun the cruise was. Seriously I have took 200 pics and you're seeing only 10% of them. Poor mom got sick with a cough and cold on the first day and was fighting it the whole week. But she got better enough by day three that she was up and going out with me. When she was resting I explored the boat. Some info in the boat (mainly for future reference if I ever go again). There were 16 main decks, 2100 passengers and about 1000 crew. Main stores/ restaurants were in the middle of the boat on decks 4-8, with pools, spas, and activity centers on decks 14-16. My cousin Shelia slipped me a wad of cash in SFO and said it was for mom to get a massage on the boat. "Oh and there's enough there for you too!" We soooo enjoyed our massage! Mom told me about her "full body" experience, complete with her masseuse walking on her!! 
I walked the boat each evening and enjoyed the calm of the ocean. I could walk from stem to stern and often after dinner would have the whole area to myself. Most people went up to deck 14 to walk around, I stayed on deck 7/8 which was closer to the water, and though loud around the stern, was more fun for me.

Sunset on the first evening.

This is the bow of the ship. At the time I took this I was too timid to go and get a shot right at the rail. By the end of the trip I had no problem getting close and envisioning the Titanic scene.

 We passed by this little island on the way back to Seattle. I thought it was cute that there was a house and a dog house all on this very private, little island.

Other cruise stuff:
-Lumberjack show
-Didn't get off the boat in Victoria. Nothing we wanted to do there. Plus we got in after dinner time and only had about 4 hours before we left again.
-Saw lots of bald eagles, spray from dolphins and the back of a humpback whale. But no one will believe me since I couldn't get a pic any of them!
-We were told that you gain 2-3 pounds each day you're on the cruise! In effort to less the effects I walked up and down the stairs as often as I could. Our cabin was on deck 12, we usually ate on deck 5/6. That meant getting a good work out before and after each meal. Plus then I would walk around the boat before heading in for the night.
-We saw some fun shows. I also got to look around the stage at the end of the cruise. I have a whole new respect for those performers. Not much room to perform and even less behind the stage.
-No sea sickness at all while on the boat. I had to chuckle at seeing people where patches behind their ears to help with the motion sickness. However I had a hard time once back on land. I had to keep moving or I would get nauseous. Took about 2 days to adjust back.
-Note to self: bring stuff to do. I checked out a few books from the boat and bought 2 others while at dock. There's enough down time to make you bored.

Ok that's it for June! At some point I'll take the time to go over and proof read the posts. For now I just wanted to get everything up before I started to forget details. Needless to say we had an amazing adventure!