Beautiful Alaska

It happens about every 6 months or so.  I get bitten by the travel bug.  Big time.  I love love love to travel.  See new places, try new things, eat different food and just relax.  Take a break from daily life and enjoy some time away from everything.  I’ve been very blessed to have taken trips to many parts of the world but my list of “must see” places continues to get longer and longer.  So many of our family and friends have been traveling to incredible locales in the past month or two such the Maldives, the Caribbean, Italy, Greece, etc. which is enough to make my mouth water.  I’m in definite need of a vacation but since that’s not in the cards right now, I decided to relive an amazing trip that I took back in June with my family.  We headed to Seattle and from there took a seven day cruise through Alaska.  Simply put, it was stunning.  So many areas that we went to seemed to be almost untouched.  The beauty of nature took my breath away.  Being able to see so many whales, bald eagles and seals in their natural habitat was amazing.  It was a week filled with great food (it was a cruise so I definitely ate my fair share and then some), gorgeous surroundings and lots of fun!




We arrived in Seattle a day before the cruise departed.  It was my first time in Seattle so we headed straight to Pike Place Market.

And, the gum wall.  Ewww, the gum wall.  This was the largest one I’ve ever seen. It spanned the whole side of a building both across and upwards.  It grossed me out to no end but it sure was colorful.

Goodbye Seattle!

Hello, Medenhall Glacier.  My mom and dad came here about 30 years ago and she was shocked at how far it has receded since then.

Next, we headed to Skagway which was freezing cold.  We spent the whole day driving a 4 x 4 through the Canadian back roads and had just enough time to grab a cookie and some warm tea before heading back to the ship.

Not a bad view to wake up to as we cruised through Glacier Bay on the morning of day four.

One of many whale sightings.

Ketchikan was my favorite stop (other than Victoria).  This town oozed character.

And our last stop was Victoria.  We were there for about 5 hours, so we only saw a small glimpse but I can’t wait to take a trip back here at some point.  And next time, I’ll definitely make it to Butchart Gardens.




And the best part?  Spending a whole week with my family.  It is very rare that I get that much time with them so I soaked it all in.  Here are a few of my favorite family snapshots from the trip.