Anyone up for a BBQ?

We splurged today. We somehow got it into our minds that chicken tastes better straight off the grill. So, we went out and bought little Weber grill. I am sure the 70 degree weather and sunshine helped with this decision. We had the chicken marinading while we went out in search of the grill. We brought it home, set it up, and fired it up. We then enjoyed yummy moist BBQ chicken, and hopefully we will have many more chances this summer to grill.


A man and his grill

Alaska Cruise - day seven - Victoria BC Canada

Victoria was a late stop. We didn't arrive at this port until 7pm, so we had most of the day at sea. We slept in a bit, then joined up with the Beggs to play Catan and cards. We had our last fancy dinner on the boat after packing our bags, then headed out to explore. This was the first port where we weren't immediately at the center of downtown as we stepped off. We picked up a map, and chose the shortest walking tour to town (30min). Once we got downtown we had a beautiful view of the Empress hotel and parliament buildings along with the setting sun. We walked back in the last rays of daylight, then headed to bed. Tomorrow morning we will be back in Seattle, and that will be the end of our cruising adventure...for now :0)

Alaska Cruise - day six - Ketchikan

Ah, another Alaskan shop 'til you drop massive tourism town. The town was a little bigger and a little busier than the previous two towns, but there wasn't a whole lot to do except for shopping. The streets were lined with jewelry stores and souvenir shops, so after an hour of wandering around we decided we would prefer relaxing on the viewing deck of the boat. From the viewing deck, we watched a bald eagle fly by and land on the roof of a house nearby. We also watched the crew on the next cruise ship over participate in emergency water raft maneuvers in their outdoor pool. We stayed at our perch while our boat left the docks in hopes of seeing whales. We saw some porpoise, but finally gave up on seeing whales. While we were in the middle of the boat, we heard people talking about the hundreds of whales swimming right by! We ran out to the deck to see, and caught a glimpse of the end of the pod swimming by...mostly just tails and fins, but still very cool.

Alaska Cruise – day five – Juneau

Today was a stop at the mining town of Juneau. We woke up, had room service deliver breakfast to our room, then headed out to the town in search of Chad and Sarah. We found them, but split up again to do our own tour of Juneau. We took a tram up the mountain side, and marveled at the views from above. We could see our cruise boat along with three others at the dock, and had a great view of town. After hiking about a bit up top, we came down and window shopped for a bit before heading back to the boat. We then relaxed in the viewing deck area and ended up seeing three sightings of whales! However none of our pictures turned out that great of the whales…they were hard to catch on film (or should I say memory card ;0)) We took a gamble, and gambled at the casino this evening. We bought in with $10, won some more, but left with nothing. Oh well, it was a fun use of ten bucks. After some games with the Beggs, we are now heading to bed.

Alaska Cruise – day four – Hubbard Glacier

On this icy cold adventure, we weren’t actually able to get off the boat. Basically, our captain slowly pushed the boat through an ice mat (chunks of ice that are floating close together) into an area with three glaciers. And yes, I think the Titanic was on everyone’s minds. Doug and I secured some chairs from the indoor viewing deck at the front of the boat, but Doug actually went to an outside deck for most of the glacier tour, only to come back a popsicle (but a popsicle with really good pictures). From our perch we were able to see Turner Glacier calving (big hunks of ice breaking off), and some wildlife (harbor seals, birds, and we did not see them, but they were within our view, bears). After viewing this amazing spectacle, we enjoyed dinner and games with friends, then watched the Newlywed, not so Newlywed game show at one of the clubs…very funny.

Alaska Cruise – day three – Sitka

We planned on having a late breakfast this morning so we wouldn’t have to eat much off the boat (i.e. the not free food ;0)) But we were hungry when we got up, so we went and had a light breakfast, then had breakfast again about two hours later. Then we headed off the boat to Sitka. At this stop, the boat had to put anchor down in the bay, so we had to take a tender boat ashore. Sitka was the site where Russia sold Alaska to the US, so needless to say, it had a lot of Russian influence. We explored the quaint town of Sitka for a few hours, including a stop at the Russian Orthodox Cathedral, then stopped for fish n’ chips which ended up being more of a meal than a snack. After exploring a bit more, Doug and I headed back to the boat while Sarah and Chad explored a little more. We met up again for dinner, then played a few games before heading to bed.

This picture is of us all on Castle Hill overlooking the bay. That is our cruise ship in the background.


This is the Russian Orthodox Cathedral (We thought of you Biddie as we toured the Cathedral)

Alaska Cruise – day two – At sea

Today we were cruising at sea all day long. Doug is pleased at the amount of rocking. Chad is green. Sarah and I are fairing, but found that walking in heels on a rocking boat is more difficult than it looks. Doug and Sarah saw an Orca this morning. Chad and I were there, but missed it, and it didn’t jump again so we could take pictures. In the afternoon, we went to the game room and played Settlers of Catan. This evening was the first formal dinner. The food was excellent and beautifully presented. However we only paused long enough to take pictures just prior to dessert. It comes in courses and we get to choose each course. There are five courses in all…every night!! We even did lunch in the dining room today and again we were offered five courses of our choice. Don’t get me wrong, I am looking forward to seeing Alaska, but so far the adventure has been all in the food :0) Here are some pictures from today:

Alaska Cruise – day 1

Well, after packing for what seemed like an entire day, we finally shut and sealed our suitcases only to reopen and unpack in our cruise ship room merely a few hours later. We had an uneventful embarkation and so far have found our cruising experience to be quite pleasurable. They really do feed you as much as is rumored!! Below are pictures from our day.

Our manditory emergency drill

View from our port hole (aka room window)

Us on the deck our the Infinity

We joined up with Chad and Sarah for a tour of the boat, then a truly gourmet experience in the dining room. We followed up with a variety show that introduced us to the many talented people on this ship. Seems like we have been going strong all day long, and with this large meal on our bellies, we are ready to fall into bed.