My Blog-Worthy Life: June 2016

The end of an amazing week was approaching, and we were heading back to Seattle. Out of the group of 26 LDS Singles that I’d gone to Alaska with, I’d been blessed to make some new friends – quite a few that I’m very certain that I will see again.

And, as a single woman, going with this group had been just the experience that I had hoped for. There was always someone to do something with, and I always enjoy making new friends. Some live and work just minutes from me – while others are scattered around the country. But none of that matters, and we had become friends – and now had to say our goodbyes. Just like in Casablanca, “But we’ll always have Alaska.”

And my Alaskan Cruise might be over, but not my vacation. I still have a few pretty good adventures ahead of me before I head back home.

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

PACIFIC NORTHWEST – Whale Watching in Victoria Canada

The last stop on the cruise was Victoria Canada. A bunch of us had booked the Whale Watching excursion, so we met up at the Excursion’s Office and walked down to the pier. Not wanting to miss a thing, a few of us headed out to the bow – so we could watch everything happening around us. It was a bit overcast, and as we headed away from shore the waters got pretty rough. There was so much hard bouncing into the waves that I decided to head out to the back of the boat, where the ride would be a little less jarring. Then it started to rain, and things got a bit rough – but fortunately it didn’t last long.

As the rain cleared up, we headed out for a close-up view of a Lighthouse – and saw a little Otter swimming around. I was a bit afraid that would be the only wildlife we would see. But the skies cleared, and we headed over to a new place – and there were 4 Orca Whales hanging out over there, along with a baby whale. They were feeding, so we got some peeks as they came out of the water – and it was amazing to be so close to them out in their natural element. Then they started to move off, and we followed them – and it was almost like they were putting on a show for us as they jumped and played in the water along the coastline for a while, before they headed out to open waters.

Monday, June 20, 2016

PACIFIC NORTHWEST – Tracy Arm Fjord

After Skagway, we headed to the Tracy Arm Fjord – this is where the ship turns around then continues down the Alaska Inside Passage back down the coastline. The Sawyer Glacier there is such an incredible sight, that even at 7am the Captain got on the intercom to announce our arrival so everyone could enjoy it. We got up early to go out on deck to see this glacier up close. The ship did a 540-degree turn (a turn-and-a-half) so that we could get a complete view of it from anywhere on the ship, and our captain was incredibly skilled and got us very close to the glacier.

It’s pretty amazing to be in such a large ship, yet still be so close to the shore – close enough to really get to see the beauty of Alaska as we continued to sail along the Inside Passage. I watched for hours as we passed snow-topped mountains and many waterfalls. And I truly believe that this is the very reason that a Cruise to Alaska is such a great way to travel – because you get to see so much of it that you simply can’t see any other way.