Highlights from Alaska

A trip to Alaska was a long time in the making and after a busy spring we were so eager to be on vacation!

We spent a weekend exploring Seattle before we boarded for our Alaskan cruise. 

We thoroughly enjoyed wandering around Pike Place Market looking in shops and trying yummy food.

Had to see the original Starbuck's.

We watched them throw fish and I told the kids the story of the famous thrown fish and how you can make any job fun if you choose to make it that way!

The day was beautiful with sunshine and perfect for eating outside. 

We were there on Father's Day and Dad chose this restaurant, Skalka, for breakfast. I will admit that I did not expect it to be good, but it was delicious! The food is Georgian (and not meaning the American Southeast) and we had the most delicious dish with soft, tender bread and a creamy, mild cheese. Wish I knew where to get this near us!

The guys enjoyed an outing to see the Mariners play! Always more fun when your team wins!

The girls went to the Chihuly exhibit and it was wonderful! Amazing to see the glass creations he and his team can do!

We joined up for a fun afternoon at the Space Needle. 

Another beautiful day with sunshine made for great views!

The kids really enjoyed the ferris wheel and Charlie chose to ride it at night to see the city lit up!

Who would have guessed we would love Seattle so much! 

Our ship was Quantum of the Seas. Dinner in the dining room is always one of my favorite parts!

We played games and cracked ourselves up at Scategories.

We dressed up for portraits on formal night. Sarah Graves was pleased to wear her dress from the spring dance again. 

We quickly changed into casual clothes and hopped on bumper cars! What a fun memory together!

We visited Sitka to do some whale and sea otter watching. 

We saw gray whales snapping their tails in the water! 

Our next stop was Skagway!

We learned about the gold rush, the gear needed to come to Alaska to look for gold, and the Iditarod. 

The mountains around Skagway made for beautiful views!

There was a mix up with emails and we were never informed we needed our passports for our excursion to visit a camp training huskies to run the Iditarod. It just so happened that I had our passports on me and there wasn't time for the rest of the group to go back to the ship to get theirs. So it was just the four of us on the excursion. 

The scenery was spectacular!

There was a baby moose running along the road!

We also saw a black bear out and about!

The kids loved getting to pet the huskies! Who knew the Alaskan huskies are not the fluffy dogs you envision, but rather are a mixed breed making them very strong for the tough conditions of the Iditarod. 

Our driver was full of information and told it in a fun way as we drove through the Yukon. 

I love that she loves to wear her cowgirl hat!

Whenever we had some free time, the kids and I headed to the covered pool deck for hot tub and soft serve!

When Lovie had free time, she headed for her favorite slot machine!

We woke up early to cruise through Endecott Arm and take in the glacier views. 

So nice to watch it all from our balcony!

The kids loved to go up to the buffet and who wouldn't want a cuddle with Lovie. 

Our cabin steward, Fredo, was great about leaving us towel animals each day. 

In Juneau we did another whale watching cruise and saw this calf breach over and over! I think it was putting on a show! We would watch for a while, go look at sea lions or look for other whales and come back to find this baby ready to jump again and again! 

We also went to Mendenhall Glacier and took a short hike to get up close to it. 

Charlie and Olivia loved rock climbing and tried to get out there any time the wall was open! 

On our last day we stopped in Victoria, Canada and visited the Malahat Sky Walk. It's a newer attraction that gave beautiful views of the river and surroundng area

The walk up was a curving ramp and offered these beautiful views. 

It was a great way to spend our last day! 

A lot of luggage to travel with this crew!

We had a wonderful trip! A great balance of seeing and learning about new things and relaxing and having fun! I am forever grateful that Lovie and Pops create these opportunities for us to make memories all together. 

Bonus! We did not come home sick!