The cruise to Alaska was great! We really enjoyed relaxing on the cruise and spending time with mom and dad. I was surprised that there really wasn't much ice and snow. Since it is the end of the summer, most of it had melted. The towns along the coast don't get much more snow than we do here in Kansas but in the mountains they can get feet and feet of it (in the Fjord, they said it can get as much as 100 feet!!)
We arrived in Seattle late Monday night and on Tuesday our bus driver that we got to take us to the cruise ship took us on a tour of Seattle as well. We went to the Space Needle and walked around the city a little then we made a stop at Pikes Market which is a huge market with food and crafts. This is also where the first Starbucks is.
Once on the cruise ship we cruised for 2 days and on the 3rd day we went through Tracy Arm Fjord... it was pretty chilly there... about 48 degrees but the views were spectacular. The iceburgs in the water were really amazing because the tightly packed ice was a glowing blue color.
Pictures of Seattle, cruising, and Tracy Arm Fjord:
https://picasaweb.google.com/115639023178791141355/SeattleAndCruisingThroughTheTracyArmFjord
The next stop was an adorable little town called Skagway. Here we took a train ride up the mountains and into Canada. The train ride was very nice but it was quite foggy. Then, Lance and I took a bike ride tour for 15 miles down into the town of Skagway. Brrr.. it was still pretty foggy and misting so it was a chilly bike ride. I really enjoyed it, though. The views were awesome. Once back in Skagway, we had a tour of the town called "Ghosts and girls" tour where we learned about the history of the town, some ghost stories and how the women in the brothels had a lot of power back then.
Pictures of Skagway:
https://picasaweb.google.com/115639023178791141355/FirstStopSkagway
The next stop was Juneau Alaska. Another cute little town (although much bigger than Skagway). Mom went hiking on top of the Mendenhall Glacier (the famous glacier in that area) and dad took a float plane fishing. Lance and I went Kayaking at a lake about 9 miles away from the Mendenhall Glacier.
Pictures of Juneau :
https://picasaweb.google.com/115639023178791141355/JuneauAlaska
Then we make a stop in Ketchikan, Alaska. Here we hiked through one of the largest rainforests in the world. The tour ended at a Salmon hatchery where we were able to see a BEAR! Then we got to pet a real reindeer, see an injured owl and eagle close up, and watch someone work on building a totem pole.
Pictures of Ketchikan:
https://picasaweb.google.com/115639023178791141355/KetchikanAlaska
Our final stop was for just a few hours in the evening in Victoria, BC Canada. We toured a gorgeous castle. Lance loved all of the detail of the woodworking and Mom was in heaven with all of the antiques!!
On our ride back we stopped at the parliament building which was all lit up with lights! So pretty!!!
Pictures of Victoria:
https://picasaweb.google.com/115639023178791141355/VictoriaBCCanada
The next morning we arrived in Seattle and began our trek back home. It was an awesome experience! :-)
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