Mar·i·time (The Great Pacific Northwest Adventure of 2017)

The day after all the graduation party celebrations were over it was time for us to go our separate ways. Son Brian and family left for the airport before Hubby Tony and I rolled out of bed. It was strange to walk around in a quiet house. Tony and I dressed, ate breakfast, and put our things in the car. On our way out we detoured to a nearby church for Mass, then let Google Maps direct us to the car rental facility. Once the car was returned we took the shuttle back to the airport. However, our ultimate destination was not a plane. Instead, we walked over to a cruise ship desk and checked in for the shuttle to the Emerald Princess, our cruise ship home for the next week.

Right after we purchased the airline tickets we started talking about what else we could do while we were in the area.  We had visited Seattle and Vancouver in the summer of 2010 and felt like we had 'done' those cities.  However, an Alaska cruise has been on my bucket list for years.  When I threw out the idea Tony thought it was an excellent one.  I emailed our travel agent friend for suggestions, and a week later we were booked.

Tony and I have been on five other cruises.  The first one was in 1980 (for our honeymoon).  There were two with the entire family in the 1990s (organized by our travel agent friend), and two this decade (one with Son Brian and DIL Nicole, and one for our 35th anniversary). But they never get old.

Sailing away (thanks, Kenya!)

The transfer from the airport to the ship went smoothly. By 2:00 we were checking out our room, then we left the room to explore the ship.  That was easy, because this was not a new ship to us; we had cruised the Mediterranean on it in 2015!  Somewhere along the line it had re-positioned itself.

When we got back our luggage had arrived and it was time to unpack. I'm proud of the fact that I travel light, but even though I brought clothes that could mix and match, this time I toted a very full suitcase, since I had to bring clothes (and shoes) for pre-cruise events, casual ship time, formal nights, and chilly port excursions.

Based on what we've learned from previous cruises, I brought extra hangars, Ziploc bags, and dollar store laundry hooks for hanging the clothes I washed out in the sink.  Because I remembered that the room was short on electrical outlets, Tony brought a power strip to charge our electronics.  The room had plenty of storage areas for two people.  We divided the closet and closed storage areas in half.  Tony set his things out on the small bathroom shelves, but my toiletries were in a bag that could hang on the closet rod when not in use.

This cruise had four stops: Ketchikan (Alaska), Juneau (Alaska), Skagway (Alaska), and Victoria (British Columbia).  We also spent one morning sailing up a scenic fjord.   Surprisingly, the week before we left I found out that Kenya Johnson of Sporadically Yours was going to be on the same ship the week before us.  During her trip she sent me helpful emails from different ports giving us some tips on what was good to see and do.  Now that she's back I've enjoyed reading her posts on her experience.  (You should check them out.)

Five years ago today: Who Needs A Sauna...