Back on Dry Land

Darrell and I in front of Mendenhall Glacier...so gorgeous!!
A waterfall in Ketchikan. This is my actual birthday and I feel so lousy I could barely stand up.
This is our new friend Judy. She and her friend Linda were some of our "tablemates" for dinner. Judy and I hit it off right away. We both love shrimp and chocolate...
The dinner before we went ashore in Victoria, BC they sang Happy Birthday to me and gave me a little cake. What you can't see is that there are about 12 waiters, wine somaliers, maitre'd's and assistant waiters singing! There were 2100 guests on the ship and 975 staff members.
We disembarked the ship yesterday around 7:30...after having one more buffet breakfast, man I loved those homemade waffles!! We walked around Pike Marketplace in Seattle for a few hours and the were headed home. Our plane was late and our luggage took almost 45 minutes, but Larry, Nate, and Molly were waiting for us...and we were SO glad to see them!! Mom had cleaned the house, done the laundry, and had dinner in the oven. We cannot thank Mom and Larry enough for taking care of our "babies." I hope you know how much we love and appreciate all you do for us. It made our vacation stress-free to know the kids were taken care of...probably better than when we're home!!!

This is just a couple of my favorite photos from the trip. We took hundreds of photos...this is just a small sample. We had a FANTASTIC time, but it's always great to be home.

Hubbard Glacier, Mendenhall Glacier, and Ketchikan

We are having an AWESOME time in Alaska. One huge bummer is that I have been sick for the past 2 days and laid in bed most of yesterday...yes that was my actual 40th birthday, laying in bed in a 6 feet by 6 feet cabin. We did go into Ketchikan we toured the beautiful city and went to a Totem Pole village. It was fascinating. The day before we were in Juneau and toured the Mendenhall Glacier and a Salmon Hatchery. It is amazing to Darrell and I how environmentally friendly they are up here and in Seattle. It is also really weird to be walking and look up to see a Bald Eagle. Beautiful! We'll give you more photos when we get home. Tonight we'll be in Victoria, British Columbia...we're excited about that. We're taking a double decker bus tour throughout the city. The weird part is that we're there from 7 p.m. to midnight!

We miss the boys but are having a great time. We eat every hour or so...I am not exaggerating...Darrell has been keeping up with his workouts!!

SITKA, ALASKA

We are sailing away from Sitka, Alaska at the moment and we're heading for Hubbard Glacier. We have already eaten enough meals to last until October!! The ship is gorgeous and the staff is extremely attentive. Last night I dropped my napkin on the floor at dinner time and before I could reach down at pick it up the waiter handed me a clean napkin and took the dirty one off of the floor. I will miss them when I go home!! Today in Sitka is was raining and cold. We still went into town and walked around for awhile and saw St. Michaels Cathedral, took in the sights and a few shops. We were lucky that yesterday was a beautiful day during out "at sea" day. I know this is a bit choppy, but I am just typing like I am thinking because the internet access is very expensive and we have only a few minutes until the ventriloquist show!!

By the way, if you are turning 40 and you wanna feel young, I would highly reccomend this ship. Darrell and I are the "spring chickens" onboard. I feel lucky that I do not need a walker, wheelchair, motorized scooter, or oxygen tank!!!