Our Alaskan Adventure

George and I went on and Alaskan cruise with his parents Mike and Robbie, his sister Maggie, brother in law Justin, and their four girls Sophia Hannah Isabella and Mia.
I had never been on a cruise before so this was a new experience for me. We were on the Westerdam of the Holland America cruise line. The first day we met our floor attendant, Uhgi, who was amazing the whole trip. Anything we needed he was able to get for us and everyone who worked on the cruise was amazing. It was some of the best service I have ever had. The boat was beautiful and the only thing I can say that was bad was the amount of rocking. I know it is a boat and that is kind of a duh that it would be rocking however everyone on the boat who had been on a cruise before kept telling me that it was rocking more than most boats. I got a little sea sick but after I got a Dramamine patch from Robbie I was ok the rest of the trip.

Maggie and I took some girl time and got massages and facials which was awesome. The lady at the spa sold me the great product that I am going to order for Ginger. It is a kind of lotion that I put on my temples and my headache went away in a few minutes. Then George and I went wandering around the boat seeing what we could find. We found chairs that looked like the captains chair from Star Trek, a beautiful piano bar, a great jewelry store, and beautiful decks where we just sat and watched the ocean fly by. They had things to do every day on the boat they showed movies that were still in the theaters, they ran karaoke and bingo, we saw a really funny comedian, a musical revue, and George actually got 4th in a blackjack tournament the ships casino ran.
The second day we got off the boat in Juneau. We all went on a whale watching tour and then a hike to see a glacier. It was all spectacularly beautiful, we got some great pictures, and we had a great time hanging out with the family. After the tour George and I wandered around town shopping and taking pictures.

Every night we went to dinner in the Vista Dining Room and had a 5 course meal each time. We had steak, crab, lobster, and every other decadent food you could imagine. I think my favorite thing was when 6 year old Mia got very adventurous and tried escargot. The rest of the girls were a little horrified and we were all cracking up because she was loving it and not really understanding what she was eating.

We got off the boat in a place called Ketchikan where we went through the state park, saw about 30 totem polls, and got a pretty nice overall history of Alaska going to what they call the Russian Bishops House and through the Alaska Native Museum. We saw some of the largest leave I have ever seen in my life, the girls found slugs every few steps which was hysterical, and a fur bikini which was just bizarre. We also got to see the Raptor Center which was really cool. They take in injured and abandoned baby bald eagles, screeching owls, hawks etc, rehabilitate them, and release them back into the wild. If they are not able to be released then they become part of the educational program teaching people about them and their survival. We got to be in the same room with one and watch him get fed.

Then we got off in a town called Sitka. We got to see an amazing Lumberjack show which was tons of fun. We got to go shopping in a really pretty market called Creek Street which is a bunch of buildings on stilts.

All in all it was a great trip. We got to spend time with the family, see some beautiful places, and learn quite a bit about Alaskan history.