Alaska Vacation a Trip of a Lifetime
Check another item from our Bucket List…
Alaska... Our Trip of a Lifetime! Finally, after talking about going to Alaska ‘one day’ for years, we had our itinerary. We never actually had a specific year in mind, but it seemed like we’d had the same conversation with multiple friends – “Oh, you guys want to go to Alaska? Us to! Maybe we could go together.”
Fast forward to September 2017, we were having a birthday party for my husband and one of our friends evidently mentioned to him that they were planning on an Alaskan trip the following summer. He spoke up and said, 'Oh, Jane and I have been talking about going too – let’s all go together'. The next thing I knew, I was meeting our friend for lunch to see what material and ideas she had.
I’m so grateful how it all turned out, because, honestly – I would have simply booked a cruise to Alaska, probably from Seattle because that’s all I knew, without speaking to a professional. Thankfully, our friend had done her research and had other plans in mind.
By the end of lunch, I was contemplating a 7-day cruise from Vancouver followed by a 5-day land tour through Denali National Park. I truly don’t think I would have ever put together a trip as wonderful.
Planning our Alaskan Vacation
Within a few weeks, we met with a travel agent, who was wonderful. Our travel agent thought of things we wouldn't have considered. Like, which side of the ship was the best? The answer - the starboard side (right side) because we'd be able to see the coastline and potential wildlife during the whole cruise. She also added in extras that we may not have gotten by simply booking online.
We finally had our reservation – we were set to cruise out of Vancouver on June 25th. The countdown had begun. I was so excited. This was going to be a trip of a lifetime!! For us as well as our son who had not been on a cruise before so he was extra excited!
As we were getting close to our dream vacation, it was time to decide where we'd spend a couple of days before the cruise. Our friends were flying directly to Vancouver so they could have a few days to explore that beautiful city.
I had always wanted to take my husband to Seattle after having been there 8 years earlier with my daughter. Since I loved it then and thought my husband would enjoy it, we were flying to Seattle first for a few days. We’ve been devoted Deadliest Catch fans for many years so we were hoping a couple of the boats from the TV show would be docked in Seattle while we were there.
Also, since we're on a journey of visiting all 50 states, this would check off 2 states with a bonus of a first trip to Canada!
FIVE Items I will not travel without!
- Under-seat suitcase filled with essentials just in case there's a delay or luggage is lost
- Travel pillow for those long flights, makes napping much more comfortable
- Travel backpack with plenty of pockets for electronics and necessary paperwork
- Water bottle to stay hydrated. Get through security, fill your personal bottle. Reduce headaches from dehydration
- Wet Wipes to clean hands, arm rests in the airport and on the plane to try to minimize the germs
Vacation has begun, First stop - Seattle
We had an early flight to Seattle (from SW Florida) so that we would have time on the first day to do some exploring. We were due to take a train from Seattle to Vancouver on Sunday morning so we really only had approximately 36 hours in Seattle.
While there, we saw the Space Needle, of course. We went as far up as we could. The needle was under construction so we weren’t able to do a complete tour as I’d been able to do in 2010. When I was there with my daughter, we had eaten dinner at the restaurant at the top of the needle, but that is no longer available. We were able to see the city of Seattle from the stopping point and take a few pictures.
The Space Needle
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Mom & Alex - Space Needle -
Alex - Space Needle -
Family - Space Needle -
Space Needle - Seattle
Pike Place Market and the Gum Wall
I took my husband and son to Pike Place Market – what’s a trip to Seattle without visiting the Market? They thought it was kind of cool – especially the fish vendors. My husband is a deep-sea fisherman where we live in Florida (Gulf of Mexico), so he was really interested in seeing the fish they were selling on the Pacific Coast. We couldn't visit Pike Place Market without checking out the infamous Gum Wall that is just around the corner. It's pretty disgusting, actually!
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Waterfront - Seattle -
Pike Place Market -
Infamous Gum Wall -
Gum Wall - Seattle
Starbucks and Fisherman's Pier
Saturday afternoon, after checking out the Starbucks Reserve Roastery, we took an Uber to the Fisherman’s Piers, hoping to find The F/V Northwestern or The F/V Wizard. No luck! We had lunch at a café on the pier and asked the waitress if they’d been there lately and she told us they were probably out that day Salmon fishing. Bummer! We were really disappointed.
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Starbucks Roastery Reserve -
Starbucks - Seattle -
Fisherman's Wharf - Seattle
Next stop - Vancouver
Sunday morning it was time to take the train to Vancouver. Our son, Alex was pretty excited to be able to add a Canada stamp to his passport. The train ride was approximately 4 hours, but actually, sort of relaxing.
We met up with our friends in Vancouver and the excitement was with all of us as the following day we’d be boarding our home for the next 7 days as we cruised through the inner channel North into Alaska towards Seward, with stops in Ketchikan, Juneau, and Skagway.
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Train to Vancouver -
Lunch in Vancouver -
Enjoying Vancouver
I’ve been on several cruises since being married 17 years ago, my first being on my honeymoon. Most of the cruises I’ve done have been long weekend trips to the Bahamas, but every time I board a ship – I can’t explain the excitement that fills me up! The reality that I’m about to embark on a new adventure or just a weekend of making memories. This trip to Alaska was going to be an adventure!
Our TRIP OF A LIFETIME!
The Norwegian Jewel
Boarding the Norwegian Jewel – especially with my son who had never been on a cruise ship before (as well as our friends), gave me such a feeling of elation! Watching my son’s face as he realized just how BIG this hotel-on-water was, was so much fun!
Our son was 14 when we took this trip so we were going to give him some independence (with rules). This trip changed him a little. He grew up a little during this vacation.
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Excited to be aboard the Norwegian Jewel -
1st lunch on our 1st day -
Getting ready to sail away from Vancouver -
Leaving Vancouver
Our friends and my husband and I got together to discuss the excursions we were going to sign up for earlier in the year. We realized that their level of fitness and outdoor activity was more advanced than ours so we planned different excursions.
Other than eating together during the 3 nights we were provided ‘formal’ meals, we were enjoying our own vacations while on the ship. Although our staterooms were next to each other, so we checked in periodically while watching in AWE, the landscape as we passed it by on the inner-coastal.
Cruising the inner coastal of Alaska - BEAUTIFUL
Let me tell you about the landscape… First of all – our travel agent was wonderful! She specifically placed us in staterooms (with balconies) on the starboard side (right side) of the ship so that we would be on the correct side to see the coastline of Alaska while cruising north.
A client of mine who had taken a similar trip to Alaska years earlier told me that it had ‘changed her life’!
I didn’t understand what she meant. On our 2nd night at sea, looking at the beautiful coast line, the mountains, the sky – light, as if it was 5 PM when really it was 10 PM was awe inspiring. Truly! It was a bit chilly and I was cold, but I couldn’t walk away. Just standing at the rail of our balcony and staring at the beauty that was passing by. I’d NEVER seen anything so naturally beautiful!
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Beautiful from the ship -
Beautiful from the ship -
Beautiful from the ship
Ketchikan, Alaska... As seen on TV
As soon as I opened the curtains to our balcony, seeing the coast of Ketchikan, it was surreal. We've watched so many TV shows that take place in Alaska and I knew I'd seen this scene many times on some of the shows and now we were there.
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Ketchikan, Alaska -
Ketchikan, Alaska -
Ketchikan, Alaska -
Sean Dwyer - one of the fisherman from Deadliest Catch -
Ketchikan, Alaska
Our excursion in Ketchikan was taking a ride on a Crab Boat. As mentioned earlier, we’re long-time, avid fans of Deadliest Catch, so seeing this as an option was a No-Brainer! We wanted to see what it was like to be on one of these crab boats that we’ve been watching on TV for so long.
Although the boat was converted to hold 30+ people rather than actually fish for and catch Crab, it was a really cool experience. The guides were very entertaining and provided a wonderful day teaching us about what it’s like to Crab on the Bering Sea.
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Crab boat Excursion -
Crab boat Excursion -
Waiting to learn about Crab Fishing -
Crab Pot -
Enjoying the Ride -
Learning about fishing in Alaska -
Eagle Siting -
Checking out the fish on board -
The Eleutian Ballad - Crab Boat -
Pic with the Fisherman
Juneau, Alaska
Our next excursion was in Juneau; a bus tour to a Salmon fishery, beautiful gardens, and Glacier Bay. While the Salmon fishery was interesting and the gardens were beautiful, Glacier Bay was unbelievably awesome! We were able to see a Glacier right across the bay. Our son, never afraid of the cold actually took off his shoes and socks and dipped a toe in the freezing water.
The GLACIERS are magnificent!
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Salmon Hatchery Tour -
Juneau, Alaska -
Salmon Hatchery -
Glacier Gardens -
Upside Down Tree - Glacier Gardens -
Upside Down Tree - Glacier Gardens -
Family - Glacier Gardens -
Glacier Point -
Glacier Point -
COLD Water - Glacier Point -
Glacier Point -
Glacier Point
The following day, while coasting along the inner passage, the captain took us slowly, up to a couple of glaciers so that we could take our time and enjoy the scenery! I LOVED every second of it. We also got to see some cute Otters playing in the water off the side of our balcony. My son has a fascination of Otters so he thought seeing these little animals was awesome.
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Beautiful Alaskan shoreline -
Beautiful Alaskan shoreline -
Beautiful Alaskan shoreline
Skagway, Alaska
Our final excursion was in Skagway. We had originally scheduled a Hummer tour which would provide us with our own Hummer to drive behind a guide through the terrain which sounded really fun, but I was notified earlier in the week that due to a lack of interest (not enough reservations) they’d canceled it. So, the only thing that was still available and seemed to fit in with our interest and ability was a full-day bus tour up into the mountains.
This would be the first of MANY bus tours still to come (land tour in Denali), but it was very interesting, hearing about the history of this area. Our tour guide did a great job of sharing all about Skagway and the territory around it.
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Entering the Yukon Valley -
Sites along the Skagway tour -
Train ride -
Skagway Tour
I didn’t schedule a whale watching tour because I trulythought we’d probably see whales off the side of the ship while cruising – we sawa few pods of young Orca’s but nothing large.
After 7 days aboard the Norwegian Jewel, we were approaching Seward to disembark and board a bus that would be our transportation for the next 5 days while touring through Denali National Park. This next leg of our trip was going to be a surprise to me - I was really completely in the dark about what this portion of our trip was going to entail. I left our travel plans in the hands of our friend and trusted her judgement.
ALASKA - One of the MOST beautiful places I've ever visited!
Denali National Park - 5 Day Tour
While 5 days spent on the bus was A LOT of sitting in small seats with a small bathroom and a teenager who’s patience level was being tested – Denali National Park was beautiful! We learned that it was unseasonably warm at that time so we were not able to see much in the way of animal life (as we’d hoped), but we saw some more beautiful scenery.
Our tour guide was wonderful- full of information and did a great job of making the time on the bus fun.
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Bear at Denali Conservation Center -
Bear at Denali Conservation Center -
Bear at Denali Conservation Center -
Beautiful sites through Denali National Park -
Beautiful sites through Denali National Park -
Beautiful sites through Denali National Park -
Alyeska Resort -
Alyeska Resort -
Alyeska Resort -
Alyeska Resort -
Alyeska Resort -
Alyeska Resort -
Alyeska Resort -
Sea Planes - most popular mode of travel in Alaska -
Dog Mushing Camp -
Dog Mushing Camp -
Dog Mushing Camp -
Beautiful sites through Denali National Park -
Beautiful sites through Denali National Park -
Dinner at the Miner's Plaza Resort -
Dinner Siting - Moose across the river -
Miner's Plaza - Denali -
Miner's Plaza - Denali
One of our stops was at a National Park in Denali. While looking around the gift shop I saw a National Park Passport book. I'd never seen one before and didn't know that we could begin keeping track of the National Parks we visit during our 50 state travels. I bought one for my son and told him that we had a new challenge - how many National Parks could we visit while travelling around the US?
Our bus delivered us to a train that would take us into Anchorage where we would fly home. The train ride was also an adventure in itself. It was a dome top train that took us through the countryside of Alaska with another guide telling us about the history of this area. We got to Anchorage on Friday evening with our flight scheduled for the following evening.
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Breakfast on the train to Anchorage -
Beautiful sites along the way -
Elderly couple off the grid
Anchorage, Alaska
We walked around Anchorage a little bit – had some good food, but honestly, by then – we were all ready to get home. 2 weeks was a long time to be on vacation, living out of suitcases, riding on buses and trains!
While I was in Alaska, I really felt like, if given theopportunity – I’d love to go back, for maybe a month or so to be able to exploremore than the small coastal communities we visited. I don’t know that Alaska changed my life, butI do have a much better realization of the Natural Beauty our country has tooffer.
I live in a city that many consider Paradise – Naples, Florida. What I realized in Alaska was that while Naples is beautiful – tropical, coastal with a mild climate with county managers that make sure our city is kept neat and clean – our beauty is man-made, manicured. But Alaska is NATURAL BEAUTY! Something I could not have imagined before this vacation and something I’ll never forget!
With Serenity,
