Our 50th state. The frozen tundra. The land of icebergs and polar bears.
Back last summerish my dear friends Mary and Pete invited us to join them and a group of their friends on an Alaskan cruise. Sure. Always say “yes,” right? But isn’t it amazing how slow time goes when you’re looking forward to something you’ve booked a year in advance?
June and I decided to make the most of our trip by flying into Portland, Oregon, driving southwest to then drive up the coast with Seattle, Washington as our pre cruise destination. Portland is a delightful city. We enjoyed a delicious food truck breakfast, a walk through a beautiful rose garden and a couple hours enjoying a Japanese garden. We also may or may not have visited a dispensary. Ahem.
Along the coast we saw a tremendous amount of breathtaking sites including the Sea Lion Caves, Seal Rock, Otter Rock, Devil’s Punchbowl and Haystack Rock. Clearly a bunch of rocks. But beautiful ones. Our last stop in Oregon was in Astoria at the gorgeous Cannery Pier Hotel.
We met up with our people in Seattle where we spent two days touring THAT lovely city. Pikes Market, Chihuly Gardens, The Space Needle, a Seattle Underground Tour. Then finally…off to Alaska on the NCL Bliss.
Have you done a cruise before? Do you like them? I’ve been on a couple – all to the Caribbean and Mexico and have decided while it’s a great way to see Alaska…I’m done with them. Too many people, too many stupid people, and ultimately, just too many people.
So back to Alaska…a quick itinerary rundown…We saw the Magnificent Misty Fjords on a seaplane in Ketchican, visited the Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls in Juneau, took a bus tour into the Yukon (and June and Mary ate parking lot crab legs, but that’s another story) in Skagway, and we explored the gorgeous city of Victoria, British Columbia. We did see icebergs at sea near Sawyer Glacier. Little icebergs. Nothing that would have put The Titanic in peril, but beautiful. We saw seals, and whales but no polar bears. Apparently they’re a little further north in slightly colder climates, not where we were enjoying 80 degree Alaskan weather on the pool deck. Go figure.
It was a beautiful trip with wonderful friends – old and new. And look at that – three more states on my quest to get to all 50!
Suggested by Mary Drinkwater
Completed 6/16/18