Alaska and Back: A Vacation to Remember

Alaska Cruz : May 23rd. First of all for those who haven't flown In a while it is a eye opener! There is absolutely no regard for the human race even the terminal was packed with people! So many that even Tamy mentioned how it was such a safety hazard! I couldn't have felt more like a calve being forced through the shoots at the feed lot! Day 1: After being directed to the wrong terminal we found out by the airlines that our flight was changed to a completely different airline!  left Phx at 11:30 should have been 10:40. Good flight of 3 hours. Cloudy and 52 degrees. Quite a change from 105. Rented a vehicle from enterprise who had no record of our reservation.  After 45 min of phone calls we got it straightened out. Only 15 min to get to down town Seattle tried checking in the hotel Vintage and again no record. They were over booked but some how managed to find a room??? By this time I'm actually starting to loose my patience. Tamy asked me why don't I use a travel agent? I didn't even know there was such a thing with all the technology we have. We decided to walk about 7 blocks to the pier. Big mistake when it came to walking back to the hotel, it was all uphill, straight uphill! We had dinner in a place called Elliotts on the pier, good but over priced, the total meal including the tip was $85.00.  Day 2, May 24th Weather was great 68 degrees no wind. Sun shining and very few clouds We pretty much took the day at leisure, we started with some warm up shopping at Nordstrom's and Nordstrom's Rack, had a great lunch at a Chowder shop. Clam Chowder and sandwich Probably the best I have ever had. Did a little driving around down town and finished the day at Benny Hanas with all you can eat sushi!  Day 3, May 25th Headed over to drop the rental off at about 12:00 Whole foods was right by the rental return, so we had a great lunch, that Whole Foods was the most impressive one I have ever seen! got checked on to the ship and the entire process only took about one hour. Sailed at 4:00  Day 4, May 26th We both woke up late about 9:00, I went and worked out in the fitness center, met Tamy for lunch and now I am in the process of updating my journal. It has been cloudy and rainy since the first night we left Seattle.  had dinner in the Grand Dinning room for the first time, they have a 4 course dinner that you can pick and choose from, but for the most part it was very good! Later that night I snuck out at 11:00PM to see what the midnight buffet had to offer! For the first 24 hours the ship serves you to lessen the chances of germs, I had some fruit, cheeses, and ice cream. Retired about 12;oo and Tamy was sound asleep. Day 5, May 27th We woke up at 7:00AM to the Captain welcoming us to Juneau Ak. The view out our balcony was surreal!  Everything in sight was calm! The water, the air, and even the sounds were all so peaceful. We disembarked about about 8:00 after having a little breakfast on the ship. Took a somewhat private tour of the city and the glacier from a local guide that had lived in Juneau all of his life. He had a lot of knowledge along with some very interesting stories. The most interesting thing for us was Mendenhall Glacier and Water Fall where we got very close, had lunch about 2:00 at the Twisted fish Co. I had the Halibut fish and chips (no grease and extremely tasty and Tamy had a bowl of clam chowder $45.00 but it was very good! Back on the Ship at 3:30, I jumped in the jacuzzi for 15 minutes, we went to dinner at 6:00. We have an open time dinner ticket which means we can eat ant time between 5 and 9. the whether was somewhat mild got in the 50's with no wind. we ended up at the nightly show. Bed about 11 for Tamy but you know me! I went to the late buffet. Day 6, May 28th Woke up the the Captain in Sitka  again a very calm, beautiful view out our balcony, from the ship it looked like Sitka was comprised of little islands that are close to the city, they commute  by their own boats, Lots of neat clean cabins, We shopped a-little, I had sushi at a new little restaurant, we didn't have much time so we took a few pictures and got back on the ship about 2:oo My routine was about the same, jacuzzi, dinner. It was just a little colder than the previous day and a tad more wind. We could feel that there was some kind of a storm based on how the ship was rocking, during dinner everyone was looking like they were getting sick, i wasn't effected by it and it was the worst that I have ever been on. We rented a move, Tamy didn't make it to the end. Day, 7 May 29th Woke up in Ketchacan after a major rough night on the water, Not sure exactly how big the swells were but I know they had to be at least 15 feet,the water was splashing up onto our balcony and we were on the sixth floor. Ketchacan Was even colder and windier. Low 40's and 35 MPH winds. We made it to the store that sends salmon to your house. We ordered a variety of smoked salmon. We were able to taste it before we ordered it, sat down to a large cup of hot coco. we finished what little time we had left by shopping for you know who! That's correct the grandchildren! Headed off about 6:00 for Victoria BC Canada. Tamy and I walked into the movie theater just in time to see the end of Bringing Down The House with Dolly Parton! I'm just glad I don't have to sit through the whole thing now! We have been retiring about 11:00 each night, Tamy was normally asleep by the time I snuck off to the midnight buffet!  Day 8, May 30th Woke up about 9:30 if you can believe that? It is true. I have been trying  to visit the gym everyday and followed up with a Jacuzzi. It has been a great part of my routine! We wouldn't be in Victoria until 7:30 so we went to lunch, played some cards, went to a live game show called the Wedding Game, it was funny and entertaining! we wanted to wait and eat dinner in Victoria, which we did Tamy wanted to eat a steak and I had a sea food penne. Very pricey $95.00 inc the tip. We also split a Caesars Salad. The place was named Ric's and I will never be back. Tamy ordered a filet minion and it looked like a piece of top sirloin, and the twice baked potato was terrible! I'm not complaining but just being honest! Victoria was avery beautiful and interesting place, at least of what we had time to see, real estate there is very high just like Vancouver! Unfortunately we received a call from our oldest son Blake to inform us that his Father-in-law Ken Ellsworth had passed away for a brain hemrige that he acquired while being attacked by his neighbors bull, they were trying to load in a trailer. We heard about the accident the day prior and were deeply saddened by this news! We both couldn't get the tragic news off our minds. We hailed a cab down and hustled back to the ship ware we had to be packed and have our bags outside our rooms by midnight. Tamy and I took care of some last minute items but made it on time.