Last few days of Vaca

After Skagway we had another sea day. We were out in open waters and it was stormy, so it was so choppy!! The boat was rocking back and forth more than I have ever experienced. Its a good thing I came prepared and had Dramamine on board!! We slept a lot, and hung around the ship. I continued reading The Help and was getting sad the book was ending so soon (it's a fairly large book).

That night was another formal night. I already miss the dressing up part of the cruise. Even on the night that weren't a formal night, we dressed up more than we normally do! Dinner was especially good with the surf and tuf option --- Steak and Lobster. YUM!!











By evening it cleared up and we got to enjoy a beautiful sunset.


These are the photos the cruise took -- I took a picture of the picture, so it's not the best.






Saturday was another sea day-- that is, until we ported at 7pm in Victoria, BC. Saturdays' sea day was amazing, though, because it was no longer choppy, and it was sunny and warm (well, warm is relative when you are coming from AK!) So I perched myself up on the sun deck in my swim suit and spent some time in the sun. It was amazing. I even got a little bit of a tan!

Once we got to Victoria, we only had a few hours to spend there, so we decided to go see the Buchart Gardens I love gardens and flowers so I was especially excited to be "blown away" by this famous Canadian garden. And blown away I was. It got dark pretty quickly so we only got a few photos- but let me tell you, this place was gorgeous, and I have never seen begonias this big! I would go here again in a heartbeat.






Seriously, I couldn't get over these flowers. To give you perspective, they were about the size of my hand!




These gardens were created in 1900 by a quarry-man's wife. She thought all the limestone was unsightly, so she designed these gardens, which are impeccably maintained. I have never seen anything quite like it.




It was hard to get group photos because there were literally thousands of people there to enjoy the gardens with us. "Hey, nice tourist who is taking out picture-- can we get some more flowers in that shot?"





Just look at these roses. Ah, love.




Can you tell I loved the gardens??





The other cool thing about this place is the amazing fireworks show they put on after dusk. Its a 30-minute show, that is arranged with classical music. Definitely one of the very best fireworks shows I have ever seen.






Sunday morning we had a great breakfast in the dining room before heading off the boat. We were so sad to see the vacation come to an end. Thanks Jeralyn, for the great vacation!

Skagway

Our final Alaskan stop -- can you believe it? These cruises just go by so fast.

So, Skagway is an old gold-mining boom town. After the gold was found/not found it was basically abandoned. There are only 700 people who live there year-round! Its pretty crazy thousands of gold-hungry people flocked here in the late 1800's and climbed dangerous mountain ranges to get rich quick. Although, I do have to say, there is at least 1 person who struck it rich in AK-- Mr. Nordstrom. And I can personally say I am grateful for his find!!

Ryan and I went on an early morning run in Skagway as well. Although, we stuck to the city streets this time. It was SO WINDY and cold. I can't describe the wind to you in this place. It just about blew me over a few times.

We got stopped by the train




I love quiet streets in the morning.




We went on a walking tour of the town, highlighting all the hot spots. Somehow I got named tour guide . I'm not the best at reading a map, but it was fun to learn all the little details about this town that make it so cool.



While reading about the city tour, I read that there was a short 1/2 mile hike nearby to a lake. Everyone jumped on board to climb the mountainside, so off we went. Of course it was a much harder hike than we thought...but totally worth it.







I wish these pictures could do justice for how beautiful this lake is.




After the hike we headed back to the cruise ship to meet our bike tour guides. We were going on a bike ride through the rain forest. This has to be the coolest bike ride I have ever been on. We rode through what used to be a neighboring town to Skagway; but what has now turned into part of the rain forest.

Old cemetery for those who died in the white pass


Gorgeous Meadow






Family Photo:




What a great way to end our time in Alaska!!

Juneau

Juneau was a crazy day. We actually got an offer on our house that day---SO EXCITING, right?! So, as we got off the boat, the first thing Ryan did was call our Realtor. We were in negotiations back and forth for the first few hours we were in Juneau. Not exactly ideal. Also, on a side note, it was raining when we got off the ship, so think cold, cloudy, wet. Well, you don't have to think it-- look below.



So in between calls, we went with the family up the tram to the top of the mountain. I think we were 1800 feet up or something like that. We got to see a bald eagle up close-- this is Lady Baltimore. Her wing span is 7 feet.










And then we went on a little nature hike with some sweet lookouts over the city. Because of the rain and clouds the view was a little interrupted. The hike was awesome though and we even found a waterfall.








After going down from the mountaintop, Ryan and I split off from the group. We decided to do a little exploring Not to mention, signing the paperwork for our offer.



Since we didn't have $600 to go on a helicopter ride, our exploring was limited to seeing Mendenhall Glacier --that is, if we could get there!! All the shuttle buses had JUST left....so as we were walking around town, we were shocked to see a bus full of people to go the glacier. Somehow, I talked our way onto the bus, only to have the bus driver drop everyone off a few blocks later. The bus driver explained that he was driving out to the glacier only to pick up a busload of people. So, he would charge us 1/2 the cost, to just drive out to the glacier. We wouldn't have time to get off to even take a picture. At this point, Ryan was on the phone with our Realtor, signing papers, so he didn't know what we were getting into.

It was comical driving out to the glacier while Ryan was trying to balance talking to our Realtor and signing the papers. Soon enough, he was off the phone and we were almost to our destination. The glacier looked so incredible, Ryan and I jumped off the bus and decided we'd have to figure out another way back to the cruise ship. We ran up to the glacier and started taking pictures. I even got to hold a chunk of ice!!










It started raining, though, so we took a few more photos and then went inside the visitors center. Unfortunately the rain didn't let up, so we headed out by the buses to try and catch a ride back. The bus drivers all knew their passengers, though so we weren't in much luck. Until we had a bus driver look at us, label us as honeymooners and asked the bus if they'd mind if they gave us a ride back. We got razzed by the passengers ie: "why'd you miss your bus?... spending some alone time in the bushes??" They were funny and nice though and we enjoyed a scenic tour back to the city. We passed by a field of 20+ bald eagles, and saw the Governors house--aka Sarah Palin's old place.



Once we were back in the city we had a voicemail. We lost the offer as soon we had gotten it. The buyers buyers had to back out. Such a bummer. So, we hit up a local spot for some salmon tacos-- YUM. And then walked through the little shops through town. The rain stopped after dinner and it was a clear night so we decided to head up the tram one more time. I'm so glad we did-- it was clear and we saw a beautiful sunset. It was gorgeous. Perfect way to end our day in Juneau.

Tracy Arm

On Wednesday morning from 5am-10:30am we cruised through Tracy Arm, a fjord near Juneau. During the summer, the fjord has considerable floating ice ranging from the size of a three-story building to hand-size pieces. During the most recent glaciated period, this fjord filled with active glaciers. The Twin glaciers are at the end of Tracy Arm, and are the highlight of the cruise.

Since Ryan and I were already in a good habit of waking up early, we went up to check things out at 5:30am. Unfortunately it was a cloudy and rainy day, so we couldn't see much. We ate some breakfast and decided to go back to bed. We woke up at 8:30-- just in time to see the glaciers!!

We bundled up and headed outside with the crowds to admire the view.




I love to snuggle






The fog started to roll in just as we were leaving the glacier... lucky us.


check out those mountains.