Our Alaskan Cruise

I have finally caught up and am now blogging about the very thing that I started this blog for! Drum roll please.....OUR CRUISE!!!!

So, here is the history behind the cruise....This has been in the works and been talked about for a super long time. My mom and dad have been planning a "couples cruise" since before any of the four kids were even close to getting married. The plan was, that once we all had stopped having kids, they would take us on a family cruise. About 12 years later, we were officially boarding the ship. This could be a terribly long blog if I allowed it, but I will try and condense it down. So, Saturday, July 26th (the day after getting home from Rocky Point), Davids brother Ben, Amy and their son Isaac came to watch the kiddos (thank you, thank you again!!) and we headed down to Mesa. The next morning we carpooled to the airport at 5am. Super early! We all flew to Seattle, took a bus to the dock and got on board the biggest ship either David or I had ever seen! Our boat was called the Star Princess. Beautiful!! Each of the couples got there own cabin (pretty tight quarters, yet there was so much to do on board that you only were in your room to sleep, so it was perfect).

The highlights of the cruise were many. It was not a 'warm beaches' type cruise. In fact it was quite cold at some points. Early one morning our ship sailed into a fjord, and right up next to two glaciers! What a grand sight to behold. It took my breath away, and not just because it was FREEZING either!

There was much to explore, and too much to do on that boat. There were Broadway-type shows nightly, comedians, magicians, health seminars, classes, presentations, shops, etc..... What a great vacation! It would not be a cruise without mentioning the FOOD, FOOD, FOOD! In fact, my mom warned us that we would be gaining weight, and to pack a bigger sized pair of pants for the last few days of the cruise!! I think we both got off pretty lucky, but our clothes were a little bit tighter on our flight home, then they were on the flight there! The buffet was open 24/7, and David took advantage of that, at all hours of the night! The dining room was fancier then anywhere we have ever eaten. The food was unbelievably good, and the food presentation was amazing.

At one of the ports, we all went repelling and rock climbing. It was a lot of fun, and we managed to get quite a few "butt-shots" with the camera! It was quite a feat for my mom and dad, but they did great. I was pretty proud of myself for clawing my way up that cliff. And even more proud for stepping backward off the edge of it for a bit of repelling. Yikes!

Alaska is a beautiful place, with great little towns that are exactly what you would expect to see on a jigsaw puzzle. In fact, David and I kept saying, "I think we have done this puzzle before". All in all it was the best vacation ever. Even with a bout of motion sickness one evening, and even without the kids for a week (which is a GOOD and yet a sad thing for a mommys heart), I couldn't imagine a better way of spending my time. Very relaxing, very easy, and PERFECT. We have already started planning and saving for our next cruise, when Jay is about five. So, we have 5 years to get there, and we can't wait!!