To the top of the world

Alisha, Heidi and me in Seattle . . . we just had to do it!

Our summer was filled with travel as we ventured to the two largest states in the union. We took a family trip to Alaska in July on the Norwegian Pearl. Matthew and I wanted to travel to Alaska to celebrate becoming debt-free as we paid off our student loans in 2011 but we postponed the trip for a year so family could come along. Of course we were no longer debt-free because of the recent purchase of our home, but Dave Ramsey doesn't discourage Home Loans. :0)  The highlight of our trip was our fishing charter in Ketchikan.

Turbot

My 11 lb. halibut

The winner at 23.8 lbs!

Mattie's, mine, Matt's Mom's and Matt's Dad's

Alisha in Ketchikan after a motorcycle ride

We reached our limit for Halibut before our 6 hours was up with our guide, but it didn't happen before catching other creatures like a turbot (used as bait), a couple sharks, and a rat fish. Matthew was proud to be the winner at 23.8 lbs. I was happy with my 11 lb. fish, especially since you have to bring it up from about 300 feet below.
















Other highlights from the trip: Pike Place Market and the space needle (Seattle), riding public transport and walking to the Mendenhall Glacier (Juneau) total cost: $4 per person!  $2 for Alisha because she was a student, riding the White Pass Railway and disc golfing (Skagway), cruising beautiful Glacier Bay and seeing Matt's cousin Kelsey ashore (she studies wild life) via camera lenses and binoculars, and riding bikes around Victoria, British Columbia. We also enjoyed the wonderful sights and eats while aboard the ship. I believe the hands down favorite dessert was the warm bread and butter pudding with caramel topping. We shared this amazing vacation with Matt's parents, my dad, sister and brother Steve, Matthew's sister and brother-in-law, Matt's other sister Heidi and Matt's cousin Jeff.

Our hotel lobby in Seattle

We stayed one night in Seattle before the cruise.  Woke up at 4:30 A.M. to leave for our flight. We were up until about 2 A.M. our time while sightseeing in Seattle.  It was a whole vacation in itself!

The View from our hotel room at Hotel 5. Awesome!

 



Pike Place Market - Pretty!

Maple bacon donuts . . . ? YES!

Sweet shade in our room. Look closely - it took me a while.
Hotel 5 2200 Fifth Avenue and Blanchard Seattle Washington
98121. I think it was built in 1976 and remodeled in 2011?

View from the Space Needle

Steve got caught in a street act!

Elevator at our Hotel

Next we were off to Juneau . . .

Mendenhall Glacier

Steve had to climb up a very wet cliff to get here.
Thank goodness for a zoom lens so I could catch this

Skagway was next. It was the longest stop we had - about 12 hours. Train ride, disc golfing and venturing around this very small town.

You could stand outside on the cars. Fun!

 

The White Pass Railway

Around Skagway

How often do you get to disc golf with
THIS in the background?!

Neat Restaurant

This group shot did have a mountain back there...

haha!

Running and walking path with exercise stops.
This scenic view gives a little motivation I guess.

Cruising Glacier Bay. Amazing. And these pictures cannot even come close to capturing God's extravagantly beautiful creation.

Chunk from Marjorie Glacier with a zoom lens

 Around the ship . . .

If at all possible you NEED to travel here sometime in your life!