This summer has been all about our graduate getting to do epic things before she leaves for college. Her requests were Alaska and the giant redwoods of California. I got to add the Young Living Lavender Farm and seeing coastal areas along the way. Although the Pacific Northwest is not what I would call my perfect beach, they are beautiful and rustic and something that I am glad that I got to experience.
When I last updated about the trip we had reached Seattle. We spent a couple of days visiting family and seeing the area and then we loaded up on the Explorer of the Seas.
We had wonderful weather on the trip. Not as cold as it was in years past and a lot more sunshine. We spent our first day at sea. This was a great time to just chill and watch the ocean. It was cool enough that you needed to wear jeans to be out on the balcony but you didn't have to have a heavy coat. I ate breakfast out there and it was wonderful.
Our first port was Juneau. We decided not to book any tours on this trip and boy am I glad that we didn't. We walked around Juneau and then took the bus out to Mendenhall glacier. AC was hoping that we would be able to walk out on it but you aren't that close. There are some well kept trails that allow you to walk to a waterfall and then out to the ocean. The weather decided that we needed to experience what the locals call "liquid sunshine"... it started to sprinkle on us.
Our next stop would blow you way... literally! Skagway means strong winds and windy it was. The locals we visited with said that gusts can get upwards of 50 miles per hour, but we were there on a calm day. HAH! The winds gusts were 10-20 miles per hour the day we were there. We ate lunch in a local bar/ restaurant before we did a walking tour around the city, found a t shirt and head back to the ship.
Next up for us was Tracy Arm and what we thought would be Steward Glacier. The captain informed us that there was too much ice and that we would try the Dawes Glacier instead. I was sad that we couldn't get very close to this one either. The last trip we took we say Steward Glacier and got what I would consider really close. The best part about this glacier was getting to see the seals and their pups from our balcony.
Our last stop was in Victoria, Canada. Again we didn't plan a tour so we walked around. The walk over to the center of town was beautiful! We saw the Parliament Building, the harbor, China Town, and The Empress hotel. We found a pub overlooking the harbor and had lunch. It was a nice break from the ship.
IF you have never traveled to the western US or up to Alaska, add it to your bucket list! This is the most beautiful area! The landscape is so different from home and Alaska is stunning.
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