ALASKA!!!

At the end of August Brandon and I went on a cruise to Alaska with my Mom, Dad, Aunt Nancy, and Uncle John. It was so much fun and Alaska is beautiful! I have hundreds of pictures from the trip. Here is just a sampler to help show all the beautiful sites.

The cruise began in Seattle so my parents came up the night before to see our new place and hangout out. (My Mom is very good at Mario Kart!) Saturday morning we all boarded the Golden Princess and set sail for Alaska. Here are some pictures from the bon voyage party on deck. Notice my Dad still working on the phone while he had reception. :) As you can see the weather was perfect and stayed that way the entire week. We were so lucky to have no rain! (well...maybe just a few sprinkles)

Sunday was a day at sea which gave my Dad plenty of time at the slot machines! ;) And everyone really got into dancing to YMCA by the pool.Monday we made it to Juneau, the captial of Alaska. It is a goregous town squished up next to towering mountains. There are no roads in or out of Juneau. You can only get in my boat or air. We took a tram ride up about 1800ft to the top of Mount Roberts. There we got a good view of Juneau.We went hiking around the top of Mount Roberts but only came across these friendly animals in the gift shops!Next we loaded onto a big blue bus and headed to Mendenhall Glacier. Brandon and I took a hike up to the top of a waterfall by the glacier.

Tuesday we were in Skagway. This was as far north as we would go. Skagway is a very small town that is famous for the White Pass/Yukon Route railroad. This was used during the 1848 gold rush. We took a ride on the train up into Canada. The train tracks lied right up against the steep mountain walls and crossed what looked like richety old bridges. Again, it was a gorgeous day and we got many great views of the city.

The next day we went up a narrow fjord cut by glaciers. We woke up early and stood at the bough of the ship in the freezing cold. The scenery was fantastic and well worth enduring the cold. At the very top of the fjord we came within a mile of Sawyer Glacier. We stood and watched as huge icebergs fell off the glacial wall and crashed into the ocean. It sounded like thunder when the ice hit the water. I have never seen anything like it.

Thursday we went to Ketchican. We woke up extra early and met a guide who would take us kayaking. I don't have any pictures from this trip (we took Brandon's camera) on my computer right now. Brandon will have to post some later. This was by far my FAVORITE part of the cruise. After we took a short boat ride to get to our kayaking spot we got in the water. The water was surprising warm and again the weather clear. Soon after we started we were about 100 yards away from about a dozen killer whales. I even saw one jump! The salmon were running and the water was full of jumping salmon. We saw bald eagles and star fish as well. I loved it!!!

Late Friday we arrived in Victoria, British Columbia. Even though it was dark we made our way to the Butchart Gardens. The gardens are beautiful with all the colored lights.

Saturday we made it back to Seattle and back to reality. We had an AWESOME time. Thanks Mom, Dad, Nancy, and John for being great company. Thanks again Dad for planning everything! It was unforgettable!