Alaska

The last week of June and into July Connor, Kirk, and I took a long awaited Alaskan Cruise.  We went with my mom and dad and my brother and his wife. I have to give Connor credit for celebrating his 17th birthday on the boat as the only teenager in the group.  He was a trooper and had an awesome time.  Carnival has the  O2 Club for 15-17 year olds.  Connor had not planned to go except for the first night.  Well he went every night after that and met about 60 other 15-17 year olds on the boat.  They had activities all night for this age group and they can come and go as they please.  Connor was out until 1:15 each morning ( the O2 events ended at 1:00 AM), so Kirk and I became very sleep depraved.  He had an awesome time so it was all worth it.  Here is a summary of our activities and pictures of a beautiful land:

Day 1 and 2 Relaxing days at sea.  We slept, ate, read, ate, gambled, ate, went to the SPA, and ate again! We also saw a glacier and whales from our room.

First Formal Night

Deborah and Lloyd

Momses and Papa

Connor's Birthday

So Handsome!

The Glacier at the very middle- very foggy

Cold, Rainy, and Foggy

Beautiful Glacier Ice

 Day 3- Skagway- We took an excursion on a train which went through the gold miners trail and enjoyed a Salmon bake at the end.  We also went into Canada on this excursion.

The Yukon Express and White Pass Trail

Beautiful Country

We are in Canada!

On the train!

Day 4 - Juneau- We went on a whale watching tour.  What wonderful animals these whales are.  We saw probably 15 to 20 whales.  It is hard to get good pictures these days because of the laws and staying away from the animals.  I loved watching them from a far!

 Day 5 Ketchican- My parents and I went on a float plane to a small inlet to eat fresh crab.  I got to sit up front.  The crab was delightful as well as the beer!

My parents at the back of the plane.

Our Host for the day.

We celebrated my mom's birthday on the cruise as well.

Connor's favorite part of dinner- the Russian cocktail waitress who took special interest in him.  She  kept his Mr. Pibb glass full! 

 Day 6 Victoria- We were only in Victoria in the evening.  Kirk and I just walked around downtown.  We will never forget Maple Cookies!

The Port of Victoria

It was a fabulous trip.  I consider myself so blessed to get to vacation with my parents and reconnect with my brother and Deborah.  We are already talking about our next trip.  

Count Your Blessings, Bella

"To the lover of wilderness, Alaska is one of the most wonderful countries in the world."
- John Muir