This year's family vacation was a cruise to Alaska. We started planning, what seems like, years ago and then it was upon us. The party crew included me, John, Ed, Cheryl, Mom, Atticus, Pete, Judy, Cruzita, Norma and Sandra. We had enough people in our group for a baseball team! But that's the way to do a cruise, right?
This cruise was something special. Several years ago, we all went on a Caribbean cruise with my Godfather, Johnny Montanez. It was his desire to do the Alaskan cruise but, unfortunately, he passed away last year. But this wasn't a sad vacation. It was more a celebration of him. He was with us in spirit, for sure.
A little background: We booked our cruise through Royal Caribbean (this is not an ad!) sometime last year. We knew we wanted to fly in the day before because we didn't want to be rushed and I don't think there were any flights that would have gotten us there the same day. We booked our flight and hotel through the cruise line along with all of our transfers. I'll be honest with you folks, if you're going to do this cruise, book your stuff with the cruise line. They were amazing! They were waiting for us at the terminal and had our transfer to the hotel ready to go. The next morning, the shuttle to the boat was super easy.
Anyway, here's what happened....
Thursday we flew to Vancouver, Canada. Everyone was excited and upbeat. Why not? It's vacation!
Mom, Ed and Cheryl at DFW waiting to board the plane to vacation!
Atticus with a little snack before take off.
Once we arrived in Vancouver, it was a long haul from the plane to the bathroom...I mean the immigration line.
John and Cheryl at the Vancouver airport.
Sometimes when you're waiting, you do goofy things.
Vancouver! What a beautiful city! Unfortunately, we got there late in the evening so we didn't have a whole lot of time to explore. By the time we got to the hotel and got settled, we only had time to get a snack and a drink before we needed to head back to the hotel.
Canada is a beautiful country. Granted, I've only been to two cities and it was only for a short period of time but I definitely want to go back. My only beef with the Canadians is that when you go through immigration, they don't stamp your passport! I mean, come on! Even Mexico gives you a stamp these days. But I digress...
In Vancouver, on Friday morning, Atticus wanted to go to Tim Horton's. Apparently, it's the Canadian version of Dunkin' Donuts. We tromped around the city until we found one in the underground subway station.
A little coffee interlude in the hotel courtyard before board the bus to the ship.
Me and John with Vancouver in the background. We definitely need to come back and visit this beautiful city.
Meanwhile, the fam was on the shuttle headed to the ship, the Radiance of the Seas! This was our home away from home for the next seven days.
Lunch in the Windjammer before heading to our staterooms.
This is our room. We booked a balcony room so we could enjoy the scenery without having to leave our room. On this ship, everything was smaller. The rooms, the balconies, the public areas...they were all smaller than any of the ships we'd been on sailing from Galveston. That was a little unexpected.
The horn blows and we are off! Atticus and Ed watching the scenery.
Cocktails anyone? Mom enjoys a strawberry daiquiri as we are officially on vacation!
Just hanging out as we leave Vancouver and head for the great state of Alaska.
This would be the Canadian version of the Golden Gate Bridge. It's Lions Gate Bridge.
Saturday was a cruise day and what do you do on a cruise day? BINGO!!!
In order to survive Bingo with all the ladies, Atticus needs the fortification of a virgin Pina Colada.
It's the ladies of bingo! Mom, Judy (with her back to the camera), Cheryl, Cruzita, Norma and Sandra. We're all here with one thing in mind...to win some money! Cheryl won a door prize which included a shirt and nail polish that (theoretically) change color in the sun. (I say theoretically because we tried the nail polish out on Sandra and then followed her around in the sun. It did not change color).
Sunday we pulled into Ketchikan. It looked a little rainy and cold but it turned out to be a lovely day.
It was our first day with glorious internet! Everyone is checking email and checking in on Facebook.
This was for a boat tour that ends with all you can eat crab!
Headed out on the bus for our first shore excursion. Me & John, Ed & Cheryl and Atticus in the back.
This was our tour guide, Santo. He was giving us a tour of this beautiful lake and showing us how they caught the crabs.
A bald eagle diving in for a fish snack. Apparently, 1/3 of all the bald eagles in the US live in Alaska.
When Santo pulled up the crab pot, there were crabs. Atticus volunteered to hold the crab.
This house used to be in Vancouver, I think. Well, the owners wanted to move to Alaska so they put the house on a barge and floated it to Ketchikan! They had to wait for high tide to move the house from the barge onto land. This is where the crab feast was held.
There were seven of us: Atticus, Ed, Cheryl, Pete, Judy, John and me. It was all you can eat Dungeness crab. They gave us a salad to start with...waste of stomach space. Bring on the crab!
We ate all we could eat. It didn't help that there was a contest to see how tall you could stack your crab leavings. As much as we ate, we didn't win.
On the way back to the ship, we passed by historic Creek Street. We wanted to go back and check it out but it was a lot farther to walk than we initially thought. Anyway, it's a boardwalk with houses up on stilts. It used to be the Ketchikan red light district during the gold rush years. Prostitution wasn't legal on US soil, so they put the houses on stilts so they weren't
technically on US soil...
Also very prevalent in Ketchikan (and throughout Alaska) are totem poles. This is one on the way back to the ship. Our bus driver told us that it never gets above 60 degrees and it never gets below 30 in Ketchikan.
Our Moose has found a friend...
Alaskan treats anyone?
After a hard day of stuffing our faces with crab, we head to the bar for a predinner cocktail.
On Monday we stopped in Icy Strait Point. This was a beautiful spot. There was a replica of a salmon cannery from 1912 and this is where John, Ed and Norma
almost did the zipline.
The long bridge from the pier to the island.
Walking along the beach looking for shells.
Atticus with the ship in the background.
Cruz and Norma taking a walk through the woods along one of the hiking trails.
Me, Atticus, John and Cheryl.
The fam: John, Cruz, Norma, Sandra, Atticus, Ed, Cheryl and me. This is right after we walked over to the island. We look cold, and initially, we were but the weather was beautiful! There was a massive zipline on the island. It was an hour and a half ride up to the top and then a 7 second zipline down. Ed and John were both going to do it. I think Norma was just about to change her mind and go. But then they found out it was $179 EACH!
The views were amazing! Cruz, Norma and Sandra.
Atticus and John on the beach.
That boy will eat anything!
Walking on the beach.
One the way back to the ship, you could see all the starfish in the water. I'd never seen live starfish before.
On Tuesday we stopped in Juneau, the capital of Alaska.
Here's a view of the Juneau from the ship. Franklin Street is the main drag where all the stuff is. It's a cool little town.
We planned a tour to Mendenhall Glacier and then a salmon bake. John didn't make this one. The tour was sold out.
It was Ed & Cheryl and me and Atticus. And we're headed to the glacier! Glacier first, then salmon.
Mendenhall Glacier. Breathtaking!
John and his parents at Mendenhall Glacier. Instead of taking a tour, they took an Uber.
Me and Cheryl at the Mendenhall Glacier. I didn't realize that the glaciers came down the mountain. Apparently, they are made up of years and years of packed snow that turns to ice.
There was an amazing waterfall called Nugget Falls at the glacier site as well. It was about a mile to get out there. Atticus and I hauled our butts out there and it was well worth it. We got right up to the foot of the waterfall so that we were standing in the spray. It was fabulous.
Check out the rainbow at the end of the waterfall spray. Of course after enjoying all that beauty, we had to haul our butts back in order to catch the bus to the salmon bake.
The salmon bake was very similar to the crab feast. It was all you can eat. They had a buffet of sides: beans, cornbread, au gratin potatoes, salad and, of course, salmon. It wasn't really a salmon "
bake" as the salmon was grilled and they had a delicious glaze they would put on top. It was good. This was all I could eat.
At the salmon bake, they actually had a creek where they had salmon. They had this beautiful waterfall as well.
This is supposed to be an old mine cave. Is it really? You know that I wanted to check it out a little more closely but the sign said "Do Not Enter"...
Among the dessert options were marshmallows along with sticks and campfires in which to roast them. Ed and Atticus decided to try it.
Even Cheryl tried it. If only we'd had graham crackers and Hershey chocolate bars...
On the way back to the pier, we passed this boat. The story is that the captain didn't pay attention to the depth of the lake and he got marooned on a sandbar. He didn't want to pay the fine for not paying attention nor did he want to pay to have his boat towed so he removed the identification numbers from the boat and left it there. Nobody's seen him since. So the boat just sits there....
Once back in Juneau, we hooked up with the Chaneys. Well, some of us. Atticus bolted as soon as the door to the bus opened. He wanted to shop on Franklin Street.
The rest of us went to the Red Dog Saloon. The original saloon was opened during the mining days but has since been purchased by locals and is now a tourist site. This place is famous for a drink called the "Duck Fart". I did not try it...Norma, Sandra and Cruz were there earlier and they were braver than us. They did try it.
Waiting for drinks at the Red Dog Saloon.
Another Moose sighting!
This was our piano man. He was entertaining us with his bawdy songs and running commentary. He said he was 80 years old and saving up for retirement. He was hilarious!
In Juneau, there was this old shell of a building at the top of the hill. It looked really cool and I wondered what it was. Atticus was wondering as well. So, much to John's chagrin, we went to investigate.
In both Ketchikan and Juneau, they have these "streets" that are staircases into the hills so that residents can get to their homes. Atticus and I found this one that led up to the abandoned building. There were 129 steps. Once we got up to the top, we were disappointed because we couldn't go into the building. Meanwhile, John is looking around and urging us to leave. Turns out, there are all these sketchy characters hanging around that we didn't notice. We three hightailed it down the stairs and back to the commercial area.
Juneau at night. The town is closed because the cruise ships are headed out...Goodbye Juneau!
Coffee in the atrium as we wait to dock in Skagway.
On Wednesday, we stopped in Skagway. So far, the only "remote" place was Icy Strait Point. I thought both Juneau and Ketchikan were pretty cool. It surprised me that I liked it enough to go back. Skagway was a little different. Only 950 people live there. When the cruise ships come in (and there were four of them), the population increases by a million percent! Okay, not quite that much but it's a huge increase.
This was the view from the dock as soon as we got off the ship. It looks like a postcard.
A selfie with that beautiful background.
We had to run back on the ship to get Pete and Judy who were joining us for the train tour. Mom was there to see us off.
The boys waiting for the train to board. I like the sign that says "This way to town". There are maybe two streets....
The tour is a train ride on the White Pass Scenic Railway.
On the train ready to begin our adventure.
Shortly after our adventure started, the slow rocking of the train put one adventurer to sleep.
The views from the train were pretty amazing. We took a 20 mile journey up into the mountain to White Pass Summit. Apparently, this is mountain is what the miners traveled over to get to British Columbia to mine for gold. That splash that looks like water is another glacier.
Our train going around the bend.
The train as it enters one of four tunnels.
This rickety old bridge was falling apart. We bypassed that bridge, which is good because I don't think it would have supported us. It was built back in the late 1800's.
Another view of the old bridge which was only taken out of service about 50 years ago. But it's still standing.
The Skagway River.
Beautiful views of from the Skagway train.
Mom and Dad enjoying the train ride.
The platforms were open so Ed went out to take photos.
Beautiful sunset as we left Skagway.
Thursday, we cruised to the Hubbard Glacier. That was the coldest day of the entire cruise.
On the way to the glacier.
Watching from the common area outside the Windjammer (Ed and Atticus).
As we got closer, John and I went back to the room to watch from the balcony so we didn't have to fight for a good view.
And then there it was. The Hubbard Glacier. It's about 400 years old. Most of the glacier here is underwater and pieces of it calve off into the water creating iceberg, which can be as tall as a ten-story building
The glacier is 76 miles long.
The splash that's in the first groove of the glacier is the ice calving off into the water. When that happens, there's a loud booming noise that sounds like thunder. We watched it several times. It was beautiful.
The ice coming down from the mountain is part of the glacier. All the dots in the water are chunks of ice that have calved from the glacier. Our room attendant, Everton, said this was the closest he'd seen the ship get to the glacier. The plan was to pull into the area and then spin the ship around once so that everyone on all sides of the ship could get an amazing view of the glacier. Before he finished, the captain announced that we needed to leave because the water was getting too icy to be safe.
I think that was the highlight of the trip. Where else in the world would you see something so amazing and beautiful?
Friday we docked in Seward and had to be up early so we could catch the train to Anchorage. It was a three hour train ride. Somehow, we didn't all end up in the same train car. Norma, Sandra and Cruz were in the first car. We didn't even see them that morning. Ed, Cheryl, Mom and Atticus were in another car. Then Pete, Judy, John and I were in a third car.
Here are some random photos from the train ride to Anchorage.
The mountains were beautiful.
Here's another glacier. There were three glaciers on the way to Anchorage.
This is an actual whistle stop. I'm not sure how you get picked up from here but...it's in the middle of nowhere....
Our train going around the bend.
Snow on the mountain tops
Another glacier. You never get tired of seeing these!
I'm not sure where this bridge goes but it looked pretty cool with the glacier behind it.
Once in Anchorage (the biggest city in Alaska with a population of 350,000), we went shopping at the moose lodge. We never did see any wildlife. That was a little disappointing but with all that we did see, it was well worth the price of admission.
Below are a few photos from the formal nights. I borrowed some photos from Ed and Norma
This was the first formal night.
This one of John and his parents came out great!
This is the second formal night. From left to right: Atticus, Cheryl, Ed, Mom, John, me, Cruz, Pete, Sandra, Norma and Judy. Everyone looks fabulous!
The last night on the cruise. Cruz, Sandra and Norma with our wonderful waiters, Stanley and Francis.
As you know, on a cruise, your dining room waiters can really enhance your cruise experience. Our guys, Stanley (on the left) and Francis (on the right) were fantastic. They both had a great sense of humor and entertained us with jokes and magic tricks.
At the table behind us, they were celebrating a birthday. One of the waiters dressed up as Elvis to come and sing Happy Birthday.
My mom and Cruz. They have been friends since they were in the first or second grade.
Norma and Sandra. This is a great photo of them. I borrowed some of Norma's excellent photos for this blog. This is the first time we've spent any amount of time with them and we had a blast.
Ed and Cheryl. They are always fun.
Me and John.
Mom and Dad on the second formal night. They clean up nice.
Mom and Dad with Stanley and Francis.
The week went by fast. Before you knew it, we were in Anchorage waiting for our flight home. It was a great cruise and we all had a wonderful time. The only one missing was Johnny.
