Alaska - the short recap

We're back!

I'm so glad that we got to experience Alaska. It is a beautiful place, and the glaciers were amazing to see.

We almost didn't make the trip. The day before we were to leave, Mad woke up sick and was sick all day. By evening it seemed that she was recovering so we continued with our packing preparations. She woke up around 10 vomiting, and continued to do so every half an hour or so. Around midnight I was on the phone with the airline trying to get a later flight. They were closed, and we checked online and realized that all of the later flights were booked. At one am it seemed rather inconceivable that we would be getting up at 3:50am to go to the airport. I had nightmares of Mad barfing on the plane. I think she slept for about two hours before we got her up at four am. And she was fine. She was in good spirits, she didn't seem sick at all. So we chanced it, and I'm really glad that we did.

We flew into Vancouver and Mad slept nicely on both flights. We met up with her grandparents and Aunt and Uncle and had a good time exploring beautiful Vancouver. The next day we boarded the ship. It was a little more difficult than we imagined, having a baby on a cruise. There was a lot to do on the ship, and for the most part she was did pretty well. Dinner was difficult, but I guess you can't expect an eighteen-month old to sit still for two hours every night past her bedtime. Having family on the cruise was great, as we traded off babysitting so that Ryan and I could enjoy some alone time for a couple of hours after dinner. We even got to see a movie - Slumdog Millionaire, the first movie we've seen in maybe a year.

We stopped in Ketchikan, where I went on a ziplining adventure with Kyle and Karen, and Ryan and Mad went on a taxi tour with the grandparents. In Juneau we took a tram to the top of a mountain and hiked around in the snow. In Skagway we walked around and checked out the local shops. Madeleine proved herself to be quite the little shopper, and loudly protested if we walked by a store without going in.







Looking out the window in our "obstructed view" cabin.



















First formal night.





















Bald Eagle in Ketchikan





































Our ship, the Island Princess.
















































One of the best parts of the trip was have a fabulous "balcony" dinner in my parents' suite. Here we are enjoying some of the billion appetizers that they brought. Mad really liked the caviar.















Balcony dinner.
















This was our private waiter, he was the head of hospitality and his name is Sunny. He works for six months on the ship, and then goes home for a month or two.














At a coffee shop in Skagway.
















Glacier Bay National Park. That is a glacier.




























Saying goodbye to Glacier Bay and College Fjord glaciers.