Emailed to JW from BM on 6/9/11:
Hi, JW. I wrote my thoughts on the trip. This is long, so you can edit, delete, or break it up into smaller posts - no problem for me. This is it:
JW and DW did a wonderful job with the blog. I am completely technologically challenged, and I am amazed at what they put together. I'm hoping they add more of the incredible pictures they took on the trip. JW asked us to add our thoughts to the blog, so here are some of mine.
Comments on previous posts:
Day 1: I would like to tease the J family about their multiple travel crisis's, but I have no place to talk, since I once got halfway home from the airport with some stranger's luggage. The adventure of getting there and back is half the fun.
Day 1 Footnote: We were worried about the short layover time in Seattle, so we were hustling off the plane, and there was DJ with her sign. I laughed so hard. I wish we could have visited, but we were literally rushed on the tram to get to our connecting gate. As it was, they were already boarding the plane when we arrived at the gate. (My own footnote: It is really helpful if a fellow traveler needs a wheelchair - not that DC uses one regularly, but you do get to board the plane early and get rides between gates. Thanks, Mom.)
Day 2: If there was any part of the trip that I could be disappointed in, it was the first hotel in Fairbanks. We were told ahead of time that Alaska hotels are more rustic than those in the lower 48, and I was okay with that; I'm not a first class kind of girl. However, the number of issues with the rooms left a bit to be desired. Again, that would be my only complaint. Still, I think we're a pretty easygoing group, and the disappointment didn't last long.
I enjoyed the land tour. We were with the same group of people for the entire five days (which made for some great people-watching and commenting). The group adventure on the paddleboat was interesting, and panning for gold was fun, although what was left in my pan was not going to fund my retirement, sadly. I also learned the difference between reindeer and caribou (reindeer are domesticated caribou). It was a full day, and a good time overall.
As to the difference between sisters' sides of the room, for the first time ever, KC and I did not have that issue. I suppose KC was on her best behavior, since we shared a room with Mom DC. She impressed me.
Day 3: I will always remember this day as the day I discovered that my Aunt CJ has a wicked sense of humor. She made the funniest comments and even though the majority of the time they were at my expense, I didn't mind. She just cracked me up. Notice I am referring to myself in the first person, rather than BM, as JW and DJ called me in their posts. Aunt CJ picked right up on the whole BM thing. Priceless.
The river rafting was a blast. We were rafting down the river that originated from the same glacier Uncle RJ, JW, and DJ were visiting by helicopter. We were dressed in dry suits (amusing in itself) so we wouldn't get hypothermia if we fell into the 36 degree water. The ride seemed kind of tame for a while, and then we started hitting some white water. Mom DC was in the front of the raft, and she was taking waves from both sides. 36 degree water is a shocking cold splash in the face. JB got bounced pretty high off the raft and ended up wet through the dry suit. It was a fun ride, but I'd like to do a higher level of whitewater, if I did it again. I think Aunt RW and Mom DC had a good time. Mom DC doesn't know how to swim, so we were ordered by our brother Bill, aka Mama's Boy, to text him immediately after the ride. He pretty much said if she went overboard, KC and I had better be right behind her, dry suits or not.
Day 4: If I ever doubted the extra cost of a land tour, this day put it out of my mind completely. Denali National Park was amazing. I can't see grizzly bears, moose, caribou, or Dall sheep at the San Diego Zoo. Alaska is absolutely beautiful. In the evening, KC and I went with Uncle RJ, Aunt CJ, Aunt RW, and Mom DC on a horse-drawn wagon trip to dinner. I could listen to Uncle RJ talk about farming in the old days all day long. I now know what gee and ha mean. Dinner was pretty amazing, too.
Day 5: DJ left out the part about having lunch in Wasilla, where our guide pointed out the house that Sarah Palin once owned. Woo hoo! Time to board the ship. Once again, putting the octogenarian in the wheelchair paid off!
Day 6: We had a pleasant first day at sea as we all got our sea legs. I went to a cooking demonstration and then harangued DJ into attending a flower arranging class. Let it be known that I did offer to leave about ten minutes into the class, but to my amazement, DJ was enjoying herself so much, she refused to leave. Oasis has a new meaning for me now. I expect DJ has been secretly practicing ever since she got home.
Day 7: Glacier Bay was amazing. Pictures don't do it justice. The size of the ice flows were incredible. I was really glad we had the balcony space. I wish we had seen a calving, but the cracking noise was awesome anyway. The cupcakes at the cupcake tea were tiny little bites - 10 different kinds, but we didn't have them all. KC did try her best with the pinkie, but it became evident that we could not take her to another tea - the embarrassment and humiliation of being associated with one so uncouth would certainly ruin our standing in high society.
Day 8: The narrow gauge train ride out of Skagway was scary. I had to ride on the mountain side of the train because I could not look down into the canyon as we climbed the mountain. I can't imagine how much work it took to build that railroad in the 1800s. In the afternoon, KC and I went with Uncle RJ, Aunt CJ, Aunt RW, and Mom DC for a boat ride tour of Chilkoot Lake. This was the only excursion I was disappointed in. It was described as a spawning ground for salmon, with grizzly bears onshore. Well, it turns out that happens in August. We did not see the kind of wildlife we were hoping for. Still, it was a beautiful lake surrounded by gorgeous mountains.
Day 9: Our day in Juneau was possibly my favorite day of excursions, although it is hard to choose. Seeing a humpback whale with her calf was awesome. I don't know how many individual whales we saw, but it was plenty. I was hoping to see Orcas, but I was not the least bit disappointed with the humpbacks. The Mendenhall Glacier is hard to describe, it is so impressive. It is blue and white, 1 1/2 miles wide at the face, and the ice flow is 60 miles long. There were blue icebergs in the water. I wish we had planned an excursion with a longer time at the glacier. We could have hiked closer to the face, but we didn't have enough time. Yes, it was my birthday, but it was totally embarrassing. DJ was being facetious (I think). It was just another day, and one I wouldn't have remembered if DW and JB didn't keep bringing it up. Just remember, I'm still younger than almost all of you. Neener, neener, neener.
The rest of the trip:
Day 10: I think we planned well for this part of the trip. We were in port at Ketchikan for just 5 hours. We could have gone on an adventurous excursion, but we decided to take it easy. Ketchikan is a cute town, with a main street made up of old-time wood-sided buildings painted in beautiful colors. We ended the afternoon with The Great American Lumberjack Show. I've watched competitions on ESPN, and all of these guys were champions. What they did was incredible. It was an entertaining show, and DW got to take a little piece of Alaska timber home with her.
Day 11: This was our last day at sea, but another gorgeous day weather-wise. It was really nice to end the trip with a relaxing day.
Day 12: I was sad to leave Alaska, the ship, and my family. Boo hoo. The vacation was over. Mom DC took her place in the travel wheelchair, and we had an uneventful flight home.
General thoughts and memories:
The weather was absolutely beautiful the entire trip. Everywhere we went, the locals told us how unusual the perfect weather was. Alaska is a gorgeous state. For the majority of the trip, we were surrounded by mountains that never ended. You would see the end of a mountain range up ahead in the distance, but by the time you got closer, you would see another range right behind it. The wildlife sightings were a highlight of the trip for me. Amazing. I also loved the towns. One thing I noticed right from the beginning in Fairbanks were the hanging flower pots everywhere - residences and businesses alike. This was true all the way to Ketchikan - very clean, very quaint.
I thought the ship was incredible. I had heard from our travel agent ahead of time that Holland America caters to a senior grey-haired crowd, but that was okay with me. This trip was for our parents. It turned out to be partially true. There were very few young families, but there was a large population of baby boomers. I did not feel out of place at all, even at my tender young age. Our room was beautiful and spacious. I was so glad we had room enough for visiting and hanging out on the balcony. The food on the ship was delicious (except for that one orange-ginger pork thing Mom DC and I had and the Indonesian lunch that made KC sick just thinking about it). It was nice to be able to try foods you wouldn't order in a restaurant. You certainly would not go hungry on that ship. It was especially nice to not cook, not do the dishes, not make my own bed, not clean my own bathroom - you get the picture. We were waited on hand and foot. We learned our bread plates were on the left (although not until later in the cruise), and JW was able to use all gazillion pieces of silverware before the final course. It was probably a good thing that all ten of us were at our own table.
I think JW had more experiences on the ship than the rest of us. I'm not sure she ever slept (it's really weird that it never gets dark). She was like the Energizer bunny, and I'll bet she knew every nook and cranny of the ship before we disembarked. I enjoyed Bingo (apparently, I enjoy losing, too). The first time I played, the J family sat behind me, rooting me on. When the games were over (and I lost), I turned around to say something, and they were all gone! They abandoned me. Maybe they would have stayed if I had won. I'll never know. They did come out to watch me play again, though. KC played, too, and came closer to winning than I ever did. Still, no cigar. The cousins also played Name That Tune a couple of times. I really, really wanted to win, but some stinking baby boomer group kept beating us. I think the competition was rigged.
There is something else that JW experienced more frequently than the rest of us: Shopping! She started in Fairbanks and never quit. She actually shipped stuff home from Ketchikan! As someone who can't stand even going to the grocery store, I was impressed.
The other thing that impressed me was my birthday gift from DW, aka Martha Stewart. She tatted a beautiful doily for me (is that what you would call it?). Honestly, it had to take hours. My Mom DC is very creative, but I would have to say that gene wasn't passed on to me, and the apple fell very far from that tree. Martha, I'm amazed.
I was asked when I got home what my favorite part of the trip was. First of all, for sightseeing, I couldn't really choose a favorite; every experience was unique and beautiful. Truthfully, though, my favorite part of the trip was being with my family. KC and I promised our dad we would take Mom DC to Alaska. When her siblings decided to come, too, I knew it would be the trip of a lifetime. I loved spending this time with my mom. My sister KC is my best friend, and we jokingly said we called a truce and were nice to each other, but I actually enjoy doing stuff with her. We got to share this time with our mom, and that is a memory we'll have forever. I love my cousins, and it was a pleasure and a lot of fun to spend this time with them. I was so impressed with the love and care they showed their parents. As for Uncle RJ, Aunt CJ, and Aunt RW, I love them to pieces. They are the best of my childhood memories, and I absolutely loved being with them.
So, what are we doing next time?
