Two Weeks of Crazy - Part One

I'm not kidding, the last two weeks were just nuts. This was the scene at the start of the madness:

The Alaskan cruise departing from Seattle followed almost a year of planning, driving, flying and coordinating.  The night before, my mom and stepson had arrived at the campground at which we were staying.  We slept, badly in my case, got up on the 22nd and drove the 33 foot RV through the narrow streets of Seattle.  It's not for the feint of heart.  I hope to never repeat that experience.  The only cities I'd guess could be worse are Washington, DC, New York City and San Francisco. 

The cruise was, as imagined, amazing.  Every aspect, from the size of the ship to the size of the glaciers, was overwhelming. I'm sure I'll be processing each memory over and over for the next decade. After a first day at sea, we caught our first glimpse of Alaska in Ketchikan:

 A more charming view, I simply can't imagine. The entire town is just, plain "cute".  We had excursions planned, and they exceeded expectations.  One of the highlights for me was spotting an eagle nest with a couple of hatchlings in it.  They were just starting to leave the nest.  As we watched, mom came back and chewed them out.  Not so different from humans, I suspect. 

Mom: "I said, get back in there!  You do not have permission to be out here!"
Kids: "But we're hungreeeeee!"
Mom: "I said now, and I mean it."
Kids: "But mooooom!"

This went on for a couple of minutes before mom flew off in disgust, probably to find more fish, poor woman.

The next day was Juneau, also amazing.  Then, it was time to see a glacier.  Yes, the glaciers are rapidly receding and that alone was pretty scary.  But faced with one, it does not seem possible that there could be more ice.  It simply took my breath away.  Our captain was delightful and did a "donut" in front of this monster so that everyone on board could get a good look:

After Skagway, we headed back down south to Victoria and the Butchart Gardens.  "Spectacular" could cover it, but I'll add "sweat" to that description.  The maintenance and upkeep simply defies explanation. 

So, would we go on a cruise again?  Definitely.  My advice for anyone wanting to do it would be to just get the best package you can afford, right off the bat.  It's nice not to have to think about what drinks you can or can not order.  We went through a fantastic travel agent, and would not do it again without her help. 

We saw humpback whales bubble feeding, a baby bear and a beautiful national forest.  We ate, ate and then ate some more. I spent quality time with my kids, my husband, my stepson, and my mom.   And we ended the week dizzy from the experience. 

But it was only to continue the following week with a charter sailing experience. See the next installment for that!