And then, there's a bearded fetus.

It's been just under a week since our cruise ended. We got off on Saturday morning, but it seems so much further away. It seems like a lifetime since we walked the halls of the Koningsdam, or strolled through Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan. Since I stood looking up at the Mendenhall glacier, stretched between the impossibly large peaks of Bullard and McGinnis Mountains and felt a mix of awe and vertigo. It was like a cathedral to nature, and we'd all come to witness and worship. I felt something shift inside my chest and head. I would forever be the person I'd been before Alaska, and the one post Alaska. The whale watching with the whale who obliged us with a fluke shot was not the consolation prise.

Or the White Pass train in Skagway, which was a monument to man's stubbornness and ingenuity, and breathtaking in it's own way. I took a deep breath of the mountain air and stepped out to the platform to watch nature rush by beneath my feet. I'm not a heights person, and we were about 2,000 feet up, winding along the side of the mountain. And I looked down the mountain at the sheer drop while the train swayed, and it was amazing. Soon after, we passed into Canada, and reached the summit of the White Pass, snow still piled along the sides of the tracks. And I remember thinking "Is this really my life? Am I really a person who is in Alaska?

And then the tour we weren't meant to do in Ketchikan. While we were supposed to be eating our weight in crabs, we chose to just do our own thing. We'd have to have to killed ourselves to make the crab feast, since the boat docked late, so we just didn't. Instead, we took the sketchy cash-only tour, breaking every safe tourism rule in existence. And we saw such beautiful things. The waterfall, the taste of salmon berries. The totem poles and another ode to mankind's ingenuity, the Salmon Ladder that allows salmon to safely traverse upstream to spawn. It was amazing, and we nearly missed it.

And the ship! I love that ship. We had so many great moments. Some amazing meals, a decent massage, some time in the thermal spa. And of course, our vow renewal, which was amazing in a different way. After 26 years, I got to walk down the aisle and recite some very beautiful vows to the love of my life. They were the vows that are standard for Holland America, but they were perfect. Relaxing on the balcony and watching the waves and scenery slip by. So many enormous mountains raising to craggy, snow covered peaks, and the Dawes glacier right off our ship, where we sat with our hot chocolate (in Holland America mugs) and watched in wonder at another beautiful glacier. And of course, our amazing suite, which was opulent and a comfortable home for 7 days.

And of course, the most important thing, the staff. The hard working steward, Yusuf and Dov, the waiters who remembered our names and were happy to stop and talk with us for a few minutes, checking on on how we were enjoying our cruise. And of course, our concierges Sheryl and especially Rachel. I wanted to keep Rachel, so that she could sort out my life for me. She felt comfortable enough to tell us about her daughter, and made sure we got where we needed to be as first time cruisers. She walked us onto the ship, and went over everything that we had planned, and let us know what came with the suite. It was a little daunting. And then, she walked us to the gangplank for the first port in Juneau, so we'd know where to find it. And she walked us to our vow renewal, and took my camera to take so many pictures and videos, like the one linked above of our vows.

And now I'm back in the land of cardiac appointments and so many patients needing sooner appts, and no way to schedule them. It barely feels real, like a wonderful dream, but it happened and it mattered.

And now I can't wait for our California Coast cruise. It's 18months away, and I know it won't have the same magic as Alaska, but I'm hoping it'll have it's own magic. We're going so many new places. Disneyland (The Happiest Place on Earth) and San Diego. And then back on the Koningsdam for another amazing cruise with interesting ports. Ensenada, Mexico, Santa Barbara, and the jewel, two days in San Francisco. I've always wanted to go to San Francisco. And maybe we'll do a quick tour around Los Angeles before we head up to Disneyland. I'd like to see the La Brea Tar pits, and maybe the Hollywood sign. I don't really need much more than that in LA, I don't think. I wouldn't mind doing a studio tour, but I don't need to. I'd rather save my knees for Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure and San Diego and San Francisco. It will be the week after daylight savings ends, so we'll probably get to see everything at night, which will be cool.

I've got an appointment in July to see an Ortho about said knees. They won't do knee replacement on anyone over a BMI of 40, so I'm hoping some cortisone shots and maybe some gel cartilege could be slipped in, because even at my skinniest, my BMI was still 42.

So, we'll see what kind of shape I'm in come November of next year. If I need to, I'll rent a scooter for Disney and also in the San Diego Zoo. I plan to uber in the cities to minimize walking, so I think I'll be okay.

I might come home with my knees fucked up again, but it'll be worth it, just like it was this time.

I do need them to settle down, because in 2 weeks, we have our company picnic, and I do want to go, and I'd rather not need a cane. Last year, it was fun, though hot as balls. This year, the temp is supposed to be 81, which is still warmer than I'd like, but I'll manage. I need to look for my work ID so I can wear it and look official. Of course, it's an ID that states my old job, but I'm not willing to go get a new one done, since that would mean driving to the hospital in the city.

Got work today, then game tonight, a long postponed one. It should be fairly short since they're close to the final battle, but it was just enough that we couldn't get it in last session. Then tomorrow shall be Marchen. Sunday, we may go out to brunch to celebrate Jess' birthday. We did have Indian food delivered last night and cupcakes, but they deserve all the celebrations.

In that time, I'd like to start moving stuff into our storage unit. I took a half day off to spend mostly with Jess, but I did go over to the storage unit and get my keys. I did not realize when I rented it that it's in a row of two tier units. They're each about 3.5 feet high, and ours is on the top, which is going to suck, since we're going to have to lift our stuff into it. Not ideal, but we'll work with it.

After I got back, we watched a youtube video ranking all the rides in Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. It was actually really useful, and knocked a few rides I had been considering out of the list. What I've currently got is 8-10 rides in Disneyland and 6-8 in California Adventure.

I have a few non-negotiable ones, like Indiana Jones and the Matterhorn. I'm also thinking about Space Mountain. It's set up slightly differently than the one in Florida, which we didn't do because all accounts said it's difficult to get out of. This has a different car, which is not as bad, so I think I'd like to try it. And of course, Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion and the former Splash Mountain (Tiana's Bayou Adventure) I know we did them in Disney World, but these are the OGs. And at California Adventure I must do the Incredicoaster and the Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout. I know Jess loves them a good drop tower, and having survived the Tower of Terror in Disney, I'm game for it.

And now, I shall step out of vacation planning and reminiscing mode and get myself ready for work. Everyone have a most excellent Friday!

It's another hot day, with a bit of rain at the end to send us back into the 60's for a few days. I'm looking forward to that rain.

Yesterday was super busy. By the time I got in, I had 2,021 emails waiting for me. Most got wholesale deleted, and it still took me an hour to comb through them and make sure there wasn't something I was missing. After that, I worked on some callbacks and then settled in to work on checking the one coworkers appointments. Found a few errors, but less than they were making, so that's good.

That honestly was most of my day. The people who were checking got about four weeks behind, so I am swooping in to save the day. I'll have some more to work on today, but we're up to 5/7 and one of my coworkers is working from the other end and is working on the 14th, so we'll get caught up in no time.

I did some other stuff as well, but nothing deeply exciting. It was a nice way to ease back into work. Maybe 10-12 calls (three in, 7-9 calls out. I appreciated that.

I also worked on eating real food when no one is bringing it to you. I had a roast beef sandwich and a miso soup, plus some cheese and berries to nibble. Then at lunch, I had a Yellowstone meatloaf meal, which wasn't bad. After that, I ate way too many Ketchup chips from Vancouver. Ketchup Pringles no less. Those fuckers are addictive.

I also made Yoda's food and sealed it into the little bags. As usual, I forgot to put in the salmon oil and calcium powder, so I'll have to add that individually. He loves the food I make him, which is kind of gratifying. Goat (or lamb), chicken giblets and chicken liver seems to be the winning combination. It smells revolting, but the doggo like is. I boil for 2-3 hours til tender, and then pull all the bones and meat. Then I add veggies (either green beans & carrots, sweet potato or butternut squash) and a grain, either brown rice or rolled oats and cook until done. Then I add the meat in, crumbling the liver, which helps to make a thick gravy. It usually makes 8-11 meals, so I'm good for a few days until I have to do it again. Fortunately, I can start it at 7am-ish and then during my 10am break, I pull the meat, leaving a nice broth, and add the veggies and grain. I'll check it after about an hour, and usually will turn it off to sit until the end of the day when I will use my vacuum sealer and make little baggies weighing about 8 ounces. They go in the freezer, and we'll pull them out the night before to defrost in the fridge.

In the evening, I had mixed fajitas (have some left over for breakfast today), and made an appointment with an Orthopedist for my knees. I had to check a box that said I understand that I'm too fat for joint replacement, which gives me high hopes for the appointment, boy howdy.

It sucks, but maybe a steroid shot would help. I don't feel like it's bone on bone, it just hurts off and on, especially when I overdo it like I did this trip. I haven't been able to go out with Yoda at lunch or dinner because of the pain. Jess has had to walk him solo.

Today, I'll finish checking the appointments, and then maybe take some calls, maybe make some calls, we'll see what the day brings and if my coworker is here today. She was on PTO yesterday so we'll see.

One thing I've noticed since coming back, Alaska's air quality is far superior to Baltimore's. I barely used my inhaler on vacation, even with the cooler weather. Part of it might have been adrenaline from seeing things and doing things, but still, even on the boat, I was fine. It was very nice for a change. Aside from using the cane to spare my knees (semi-successful.) In the case of the knees, that was definitely a combination of pure stubbornness and adrenaline, because they really hurt now, and are impeding me from doing things. Topical weed cream has helped a lot, though.

We were watching videos last night about San Diego, and they mentioned that it's only 92 miles from Disneyland. That had me checking out my PTO situation. In 18 months, I should have plenty of PTO to take an extra couple of days to visit the happiest place on earth.

As it stands now, we'll leave on the 11/8, and fly into LAX, rent a car and drive to Anaheim. The 9th and 10th shall be Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. Then we'll either drive or take the train to San Diego, where if we used it, we'll turn in the car, and explore via uber, since a lot of the areas we wish to go are in the city with limited parking. We'll have 1/2 a day on the 11th and all day of the 12th to explore San Diego. On the 13th we board the Koningsdam for a seven night cruise. On the 14th we're in Ensenada, Mexico, the 15th is a sea day, then the 16th and 17th are San Francisco. On day one of San Fran, we're doing the Muir woods excursion. On the second day, it's off to the Japanese Tea Gardens. Of course, after the excursions, we'll have plenty of time to explore the city via hop on hop off bus. (Chants "Chinatown, Chinatown!") The 18th is a day at sea, then we hit Santa Barbara, where we have a whale watching tour. After that, it's bakc to San Diego on the 20th. We'll have all day to explore, and then we'll fly out on 11/22.

I am so excited about going to Disneyland. I mean, I was excited about San Diego, going on the ship, and seeing San Francisco, but throw in Disney, and I'm over the moon. I'm aware that they've done a lot of questionable things, but goddamn, I love me some Disney. And it's the one theme park that I can be certain that I'll fit on pretty much all the rides.

I have so much to plan! All the videos must be watched and our plan of attack shall be plotted to within an inch of it's life. One day in San Diego shall definitely be the zoo, and maybe the Museum of Us, since they're both in the Balboa Park area. I'd like to check out either Pacific beach or La Jolla beach and dip a toe in the Pacific ocean, just to say I did. Little Italy and old town look nice for food and souvenirs. I dont' know much about Santa Barbara, but it's a really short port visit, so we'll do whale watching and maybe a souvenir or two. I know nothing about Ensenada, but there will definitely be shopping. And San Fran, I'll need to research the hell out of. Disneyland too. I know it'll be a whirlwind tour, but that's about all I can manage with limited PTO. As it stands, I'll have 8 PTO days left when you consider both Confab and this vacation.

We figure the dog can go to daycare while we're away. My sister should be able to manage him up and down the stairs once a day. She can drop him at 7, and pick him up at 6pm. On the weekends, we'll see if any of the daycare workers would like to make extra walking him two or three times/day.

I had a little trouble getting to sleep last night, so excited about the vacation that's still 18mo away, and of course, the planning. I do love to plan.

And on that note, it's time for a video or two and to grab a shower. Everyone have a wonderful Wednesday! We're halfway there!

Home again, home again.

Today shall be a day of laundry and resting up and loving on the puppy, once we go get him at 7ish.

We headed out around 6:15 for the airport. The shuttle was fine, and got us where we needed to be. Slowdown at security, as after clearing the i'd checkpoint, we went through the jankiest machine, which decided that the crotch of my pants was too loose, so obviously I had something in there. And also that Jess' shoes were a problem. Jess had to run their shoes through the scanner, and I (lucky me) had to get a full patdown. The TSA agent wasn't bad, and it was accomplished quickly, but wow. After they ascertained that I had nothing hanging out in my pants, it was a trip to gate N6. We stopped for breakfast at the pub, and I ordered a Cobb salad. It was very good, but enormous. I ate a good chunk, and there was probably enough left for a whole other salad.

After a while, it was time to get on the plane. We had some turbulence, but not horrible. I felt bad, I had to pee like every 90min and since I was window seat, Jess had to get up. For once I slept a bit on the plane. It helped the flight seem much shorter for me. I've never slept on a plane before, so that was surprising.

Finally, we landed, and headed to baggage claim. It took a little while to get our luggage, but eventually, we moseyed out to the curb to wait for our car. It arrived within minutes of my text, and we were on our way home. A $200 tip later, the driver was helping us bring our bags in, and we were back home to our apartment.

Today shal be a liminal day, where none of us need to be at work, but it'll probably be a lot of work emptying suitcases and doing laundry. Tomorrow, it's back to the real world.

It feels weird to be at home again. It seems so small and plain after spending so long with the glaciers and mountains as our cathedral.

I only uploaded a couple of the pictures of our ceremony on the Vacation folder. but I now have the professional pictures, so I will put a few up. Also a picture of Maddie the cat who visited us in the Seattle hotel on day 11 of the trip.

( cut for lots of pictures of our vow renewal ceremony and some posed pictures from after the ceremony. And or course, kitty! )
As you can see, it was SO much fun. I always said that I didn't need the whole over the top fussy wedding, but I loved this. We had a 30 minute meeting with the entertainment director, and he was off and running. I love what he came up with. I felt like a princess. I'm so grateful to everyone who made it happen, from the florist and staff down to Rachel our concierge, who used my phone to take pictures and videotape the event. And of course Jayme and Captain Paul for being there for our special day.

The package that I purchased included a book, the pictures were laser printed on metallic paper, and they're beautiful.

The thing about the ship is that there are photographers everywhere. We were photographed at two separate meals, plus as we got off in each port. Sadly, we did not notice this in Juneau, but got shots in Skagway and Ketchikan.





Now that I'm back to reality, I feel like this trip changed me somehow. I'm not the same person who left 12 days ago. I learned the limits I could push my body to. (More than expected.) I learned that my asthma is not nearly as bad when I'm away from polution. I was barely using my inhaler at all, even with all the walking. We were flexible, and I got to do everything that I wanted to do. The scenery was magnificent, and the people were kind. The staff was the absolute best. I cannot imagine a better group of people to have taking care of you. Our concierge, Rachel, who is in the photos, putting on our boutonniere and corsage was just the best. She helped us so much, and made sure that we were where we needed to be when we needed to be there. We talked to her a lot. And whenever we went into the lounge, she would serve us, which I don't believe was in her job description, but it would have been multiple trips to carry things with the cane, so she just brought it to the table for us. There was our waiter, Cipvet who was excellent and made sure to say farewell as we came off the ship. There was so many more as well. I think, because we tipped well and often on everything, we quickly became favorites. Several of the waitstaff would stop us in the hall to check on us and see how we were doing. I appreciate every one of them.

The suite was bonkers.

Video tour of the suite here

Video tour of our balcony here.

It was way more than we needed, but it was awesome. I loved it so much and it was always nice to come home to. We had a standing order for pastries and coffee at 7am, which was lovely to have arrive. Thanks to our stewards, our room was constantly spotless, and we were kept with a steady supply of bottled water and sodas in our fridge. We spent so many hours on our balcony just watching the awe inspiring scenery slip by.

Apparently in a few days, I'll get a survey, and I can't wait to fill it out and tell the company just how awesome their people are, and how much we enjoyed the trip.

And now, I'm home with bilateral pissed off knees from all the walking, and sadly, I must get my own coffee and water. *sigh*

And now, we shall start unpacking. Everyone have an excellent Monday!

Our cruise is nearly completed. Even now, we're drawing closer to the Port of Vancouver, where they're going to make us get off this beautiful ship. From there, we'll be whisked down to Seattle, and tomorrow back home. I'm sad that it's ending, but happy to be heading home. I've missed my bed.

Yesterday was a quiet chill day, as all the activity and excitement, and maybe a little jet lag had finally caught up with us. We got up and went to Club Orange for another excellent breakfast. I as usual, had the full English and made quite a dent in it. Then, it was off to an enrichment talk about the ship and what it takes to run it. It was fascinating. Then, we came back to the room for naptime for a couple of hours. Then, it was off to our last lunch onboard at the Grand Dutch Cafe. I had the triple berry pannekoek, which was a tasty little rolled crepe with strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. We also had their most excellent fries with mayo and a bossche bol, which is an enormous creampuff covered in dark chocolate. So tasty!

After that, I picked up our pictures for the week, which are awesome. Then, we went back to the room for my naptime, while Jess watched Jurassic World Rebirth. Once I was again conscious, we decided to go to Tamarind for dinner, which is the Asian restaurant. It was very tasty, and our waitress was a total enabler, offering to bring us extra appetizers and main courses. I had a wok fried lobster, as well as the crispy duck, followed by a delicious passionfruit dessert.

Then, it was back to the photo gallery, to pick up my sister's photos. Our photo album from the vow renewal was ready, so I picked that up as well, and we headed back to the room to crash for real.

Now that we're speeding towards Vancouver, I have a moment to consider all the things we've seen and done this week. I think the things that will stick with me most of all is the Mendenhall Glacier, where I felt so small next to the majesty of nature and seeing that whale tail pop up as the whale we'd been watching dove deep, and the boat cheering in excitement.

But maybe even more than that is the kindness of people. The other travelers were kind and generous with their knowledge and for first time cruisers, it was much appreciated. But more than that, the kindness of the crew. Everyone was amazing, from Captain Paul down to the stewards, to Zam, the photographer for our vow renewal, who was funny and took amazing photos, which I will share once we're home. But most of all, I appreciated Rachel, our concierge. She has been amazing. She's showed up everywhere and led us through everything. Without her, our vacation would be much less rich. Even today, she's going to come and walk us to the gangplank and help us off the ship. It's so much more than I could have imagined, and I appreciate every minute of it.

All in all, I leave much poorer in money, but much richer in every other way.

And now, since my coffee is coming and I need to pack my laptop, I will bid you all to have an excellent Saturday!

Hello from the misty fjords outside of Ketchikan, Alaska! We are a little ways away, as we do not get in until about 11am. It's probably going to be a rainy day, but I'm a member of the don't care club. I'm going to be in Ketchikan! This may/may not be a tender port. That means if all the docks are full, we may use the lifeboats to get to shore. Then, when another boat leaves, our ship will pull in, and we'll be able to just walk back on. Not looking forward to the tendering, but we'll deal.

We've got a crab feast at noon, which is all you can eat Dungeness crabs, yum. Then we have nothing except walking around the town to get souvenirs.

This morning, I'm planning to grab breakfast, and maybe run to the shops to see if they sell suitcases. We've bought so much shit that we need a little more room to pack it all. Not a big one, just a wee one for bits and bobs. Either Jess or my sister will pack their fanny pack in their personal item, and then use that as a carry on. It'll be great.

We're back on the boat a bit early, as we have two appointments, but more on that later.

Yesterday was amazing. It was glacier day, as we went up Endicott Arm to get to the Dawes Glacier.

First up, when we went onto the veranda, there was a noticeable chill in the air. The mountains had become more jagged.



Here and there the rock was dotted with these lovely little waterfalls.



Just before 11, there was a knock at our door, bringing us steaming Holland America Mugs of hot cocoa. It was really good cocoa and the mug is ours to keep. I will be using mine for coffee. It holds the heat really well, and will be a reminder of this trip

Then, suddenly, there it was, the Dawes Glacier in all it's majestic beauty. We had a prime spot, and once in place, the captain began slowly spinning the boat in a circle, giving everyone a view. But as always, Pinnacle Suite got first look. Well, our side of the boat at least.

It was huge and beautiful and amazing, and every other adjective I can't think of. It was also cold as hell. Even from .5 miles away, you could feel the cold radiating from it. We snapped so many pictures and then just stood there and marveled.







None of those really do it justice. It was so immense.

After we bid farewell to Dawes, we headed down for lunch at the main dining room. Good choice me. The food was amazing, and as always they got us a seat by the window, so we could watch the snow topped mountains slip past.

I had a lovely salad topped with Dungeness crab meat, which was the highlight. It was so fresh. It was obvious that they had picked up the crab either in Juneau or Skagway. After that, we did some relaxing until tea came at 3. Tea was as always lovely. After that, we got ourselves prettied up for our renewal of vows.

Our concierge Rachel came to the suite promptly at 4:30am and walked us down to the art gallery where we could wait for them to be ready for us. Everyone we came in contact with seemed really excited for us to do this. Apparently they don't get many and they love doing them.

Before long, they brought me a corsage and Jess a boutonniere, which made them happy. The boutonniere was a real bitch to get on, but eventually it was mostly in place. Then, it was time for the ceremony. We met Captain Paul Adams, who is the master of the Koningsdam. He was lovely, and very intense. When you're his focus, you are the only one in the world for that moment.

The venue, which two days before was a tiny, kind of drab meeting room had been transformed into a fantasy wonderland.



Jess and I walked down the aisle, and Captain Paul did a short ceremony that was just lovely. The vows we repeated were touching and Jess and I both teared up saying them. Afterwards, we posed for pictures with everyone. Captain Paul, and Jayme our cruise director, My sister and brother in law, everyone.



There were a variety of appetizers, and we cut the cake. (More pictures, oh boy!)

A word about this cake. It is fucking enormous. When they said cake, I was thinking a little four inch cake. No, it was a ten inch monstrosity. It's so delicious, but oh lord, we have a lot of cake.

The whole time, Rachel, our concierge was right there with my phone, taking pictures and videos for us to remember the day.

After that, we headed over to a studio for, you guessed it, more photos. These were posed, and the photographer was amazing, and also a loon. We did some with my sister, a bunch of poses together and then a few of each of us solo. It was surreal, but a lot of fun.

Then, we hit the bar and got ourselves a smoked old fashioned. It was very yum, and I really enjoyed it. It was a fairly good amount of liquor and I was feeling it a touch at the end.

Then, it was back to the room for a bit, where the appetizers and cake had been magically transported. We nibbled a few appetizers, and relaxed until it was time to head up to Morimoto by Sea, which is the Iron Chef's collaboration with Holland America.

The food was magnificent. We started with the sushi platter, which had some amazing and fresh fish. After that came shrimp 3 ways. there was panko crusted with tartar sauce, panko crusted with a spicy gochujang sauce, and then teriyaki with a tonkatsu sauce. At the end of the meal they brought us another cake with Happy Anniversary on it. Not technically correct, but very sweet. Of course, more fucking cake.



Then, they brought out our actual desserts, which was a chocolate sphere, filled with marshmallow and chocolate sorbet. We also had gotten cocktails, which might have been a mistake on top of the Old Fashioned. We were all pretty drunk by the end of the meal.

When we got back to the room, our bedroom was decorated with balloons and a Congratulations sign and a big towel animal of two swans kissing.



It was the perfect end to a perfect day.

Like I said before, I really feel like this trip has changed me. I see why Alaskan cruises are so popular, and I see why people cruise for their vacations almost exclusively. The ships are amazing. Everything you could ever want at your fingertips all the time. Holland America has definitely been a good cruise line for us. It's not a party boat, just very chill and a bit refined, and just relaxing. The suite has been amazing. (Check our my Google photo album for a tour of the suite.
It's utterly ridiculous and I adore it.

Today, we have two meetings after Ketchikan. First is to look at our wedding pictures and see what we want to buy. Second is to meet with cruise consultants and see what kind of deal they can get us for next year. After this, we've decided that we want to do it again. This time, we'll do the California Coast, which is out of San Diego. It's another 7 day, on the same ship, which I now affectionately consider "our" ship.

So, instead of Hawaii, where the room would cost half as much as the cruise, we'll have everything catered to us, and save on food, since it all will be provided. It's also in November, so I'll have a bit more time to save up on PTO.

That's important, because I think when we get back I am going to go to the ortho and get my knee looked at. It hasn't slowed me down, but it has hurt quite a bit, and I'd like to fix that if possible.

Tomorrow shall be our last day at sea, and then back to reality on Saturday. We'll head down to Seattle and fly home on Sunday. It's been so amazing that I really don't want it to end. But alas, all good things.

I go home with a boatload of memories, and SO many pictures and souvenirs. I'm so glad we took a step out of our comfort zone and did this.

And now, I shall get dressed and ready to face the day. The guys we made friends with are coming over at 10:30 for cake. (You will eat some of this freaking cake. I might grab breakfast before then.

Everyone have an outstanding Thursday!

It's 5:48am and it's feeling early. We didn't get to bed until around 11:30, so I don't have a clue why I'm upright, but whee, lets start this day.

Today, we have Skagway and the White Pass railroad. I'm sure it's going to be amazing, but it's got a lot to live up to after Juneau.

We didn't arrive to Juneau until about 1:30, so we packed it in on the ship in the morning. First up, we headed up to the Lido deck and grabbed breakfast. Jess had a berry crepe, which they said was amazing, and I had an eggs Benedict and a hashbrown. Plenty of food on the buffet, which was very tasty. After that, it was off to the thermal spa, where they have heated lounge chairs and a giant jacuzzi with two waterfalls that you can move to pound on your neck, shoulders or lower back.

We baked ont he loungers for a bit, then relaxed in the tub for a while. Then, it was back to the room to get ready for the day. After that, we relaxed on our verandah and watched the mountains slip by.



Being that this was our first cruise, we were not sure where we needed to go to get off, so I asked Rachel in the lounge what to do. Not only did she let me know it was on deck A, but also said that when the time came, she would walk us down.

True to her word, she came and led us down to the gangplank, and before we knew it, we were setting foot in Juneau Alaska.

I had rented a car, but it was at the parking lot on the other side of town, so we hiked. It was near a restaurant called the Twisted Fish, so we decided to sit and eat there. Good choice, tired me. The food was delicious. We all got fish and chips. Jess had codfish, we had halibut, and it was phenomenal. The fish was obviously super fresh, and was just delicious.



After that, we loaded up into our baby blue Toyota Highlander, and headed out. My sister was struggling a bit, so I drove her to the shopping, and circled, which also gave me a feel for the car. Nice car. Not the newest, but it ran beautifully. Once shopping was done, we headed for the main even, and I drove us out to Mendenhall Glacier.

I...don't really have words for how amazing that was. Standing in front of this enormous glacier stretched between two mountains...It was honestly awe inspiring.



The picture doesn't do it justice, because it was massive, to the point that it was giving me vertigo looking up at it. I took plenty of pictures, but it was definitely one of those sights that leaves an imprint on your soul. It was just fucking gorgeous.

Then, it was back to drop the car off (which was money well spent). I don't care that they charged me for a full day, it was worth it. We headed back to the ship and relaxed by the port for a few minutes before it was time for whale watching.

We got a group picture on the back of the boat, which was cool, the Mendenhall Glacier was behind us, and I love it.



That was a bumpy ride, but a lot of fun. We saw a few whales, including one that kindly waved their tail at us.



It was super cool, and when that tail came up, the entire boat cheered. I had paid for the private tour, so it was just us and two guys we met on the Facebook Page, who were lovely. The captain was a younger guy who was just as enthusiastic as we were.

On the way back, we circled around a buoy, which some adorable sea lions were basking on.





Then, it was back to the boat to order room service and collapse into the bed.

It was an amazing day, and one I'm going to remember for the rest of my life. Aside from the day I met Jess and the days I married them, it was 100% the best day of my life.

And now, my morning coffee should be here soon, so I will sign off and prepare for Skagway, and the White Pass Railway. It's also going to be epic. Everyone have an awesome day!

Greetings from somewhere in the Pacific Ocean, near British Columbia, Canada! The water is a little choppy and we've definitely got some movement. Not enough that I'm sorry I ate breakfast, but it's definitely a touch moving some. The BIL has put on a seasickness patch to prevent further nausea, but overall, we're okay.

Yesterday was another somewhat frenetic day. We started out with a lovely breakfast at the Pan Pacific Club Lounge, and then called for our baggage to be transported to the ship. They came up super fast, so then we stared at each other for an eternity, waiting for the time to go. We ended up leaving super early, and got to the port about 45 minutes early. They settled us into wait, and eventually a lovely Holland America rep came to escort us onto the ship.

Security was basically a non issue. We passed through super fast, and we're on the boat by 11:15. Our suite was ready, so we were shown to it. this thing is bonkers. I uploaded a video to the Alaska folder of it, but it's totally overkill. Our concierge, Rachel is super sweet, and went through all the perks with us. It was a bit overly enthusiastic. My sister says it's aggressive hospitality. It's been a lot. After that, we went to the concierge lounge for a bit of snacks to hold us til dinner. We had a meeting at 3 to discuss our vow renewal ceremony, for more aggressive hospitality. There were so many things to choose, flowers, cake, vows. We went with the standard vows, lily's for flowers and a vanilla cake with raspberry filling. Then we came back for sail away, and sat on the balcony as we pushed off from the dock and were on our way. We cracked open our complimentary bottle of champagne and drank as we sailed.

Sailing under the Lionsgate bridge was amazing, and kind of surreal.

We headed for dinner and I had the best Peruvian Chicken. Again, our suite number got us more over the top hospitality, and attention. We got another glass of complimentary champagne with dinner, which tasted amazing. I will definitely be getting more of that.

After dinner, more watching the scenery, and then Jess and I went wandering a bit. We walked around deck 11 and looked more at the scenery, and then headed to the pizza place for a late night snack.

Finally, after a long day, we crashed out and slept until this morning. In about 30 minutes we'll have game. We did a test discord call that was fine, so hopefully, it holds out properly.

After that, it'll be an Alaskan Brunch, and then I think I'm going to the thermal spa for a while. We have a hot stone massage at 5:30, and then the Captain's welcome and maybe a show.

No pictures today, as Dreamwidth is being a bugger. I will have them all up shortly in the google photos album right here. .

For now, everyone have an awesome day!

Greetings from beautiful Vancouver, BC Canada.

We landed in SeaTac airport at about 9:30am PST, after a smooth flight. There was hardly an turbulence at all. The six hour flight wasn't fun, but it wasn't bad either.

We hit the ground running, collecting our luggage and then going forth to meet our driver, who was a character. He drove us to the Space Needle, which BIL looked at and declared that it was too high to go up in, so we drove on past. Then we went to Pike Place Market, which is HUGE and very hilly.



We didn't get to do everything this visit owing to physical limitations, but we did get some excellent ginger beer (Caramelized pineapple for me and white peach for Jess.) and we also got to Pike Place Chowder, which was excellent. We got various types of chowder, so we got to try them all. My favorite was mine, which was a seared scallop chowder. Jess had a coconut lime chowder, which was likewise amazing. We also went to Mee Sum pastry and got some enormous Hom Baos. Both were good, though not as good as the chowder. On the way back, we will try to get there again and stop at Piroshki Piroshki and maybe the crumpet shop. We walked through the market, and ended up at the Seattle Bag company, where we got Jess a fanny pack, as the one we had gotten at home did not fit well.

After that, we drove to a park with an amazing view of downtown Seattle for pictures.



Then, it was the 2.5 hour drive to Vancouver through some lovely mountains. Our border guard was seriously hardass, and peppered us with questions, but ultimately let us into Canada. Vancouver is gorgeous, and I loved it immediately.

The hotel...words fail me. It's beautiful, and our rooms are spacious and overlook the harbor. The view of the mountains and the water is spectacular. We relaxed for a few minutes, and then headed up to the club lounge for their appetizers, and promptly made dinner out of it. To be fair, they had an enormous spread, including garlic soy chili popcorn chicken (tasty, but a wee spicy), sundried tomato arancini (Very good for combating the burn of the chicken, and then plenty of meats, cheeses and a couple of small bites, including a crostini with minced salmon and creme fraiche (I'm not a huge salmon fan, but these were fire) and the topper for me, smoked duck breast on an endive leaf with radish and microgreens (Jebus, so good. I had like five of the little things).

Then, Jess and I came up to the room and decided that we needed to use the hot tub and pool. I wore my goth bikini, you'll be happy to know. I was brave. The hottub and pool were lovely and let us soak off some of the travel aches.

After that, we relaxed, and I showered. Then, we went to bed. I woke up to use the restroom about three, and our amazing view had mophed into something magical.



This morning, I'm a little achy from all the walking and travel, but I'm ready to explore Vancouver, with the help of the Great Canadian Hop on Hop off Trolley. Grantville Island, here we come! First, breakfast in the club lounge, and then we'll make a plan of attack for the day. I'm planning to come back to the room early, so maybe I can make use of the hot tub again. Then off to dinner with hopefully soon-to-be friends, and finish the night with Mortal Kombat.

Tomorrow, our ship will be in, and we'll be ready to sail out tomorrow! I can't wait!

It all still seems a wee bit surreal. When we pulled up to the Pan Pacific, it was just strange. I've watched a hundred (at least) videos, but this time it wasn't on a screen. The people at the hotel are just the sweetest. And this view. I was watching some cruise ships coming in and thinking "tomorrow that will be our boat."

I'm a little bit anxious about embarkation. My sister's physical endurance is much lower than I thought, so we might have to stop now and then. We'll manage, though. Soon enough, we'll be on a boat, sailing away for Alaska!

I will end it there, as I need to get dressed for breakfast. Everyone have a fabulous day!

T-minus 24 hours til we leave for vacation! *vibrates silently in place*.

I was mistaken. What it took to feel real was to get a call from the concierge on the Koningsdam checking to see when we are planning to get to port. She was very lovely and sweet, and they were having a drill while we were speaking, and I heard the captain's voice in the background and it was very surreal. We discussed our arrival, and she assured me that all we need to do was find a Holland America employee and say the magic words of "Pinnacle Suite," and they'd take care of us from there. We told them 11am, so the person who will escort us onto the ship will be waiting for us. I totally had a "technology is so awesome," moment when I realized that she was calling from a ship in the inside passage of the pacific ocean. But yeah, I hung up and it felt suddenly real and imminent.

Earlier, I had emailed our cruise consultant to check if the escort was something they were still doing, because I know that skips some of the walking, which might be good for my sister. He quickly replied, and assured me that they did, and then took it a step further and added a note to our cruise portfolio, so they will minimize our standing and walking. Which was awesome, but still felt like something that would happen in a while, not three days away.

I was productive yesterday. I made Yoda's food, and worked, and on lunch break, I picked up my prescriptions and got gas. Then afterwards, we had some cuddle time, and loved on the puppy, storing up for the long stay at sleepaway camp. I'm going to miss that stupid little dog. Hopefully, he has fun and will be very excited when we pick him up.

Today, I shall work, and at lunch I will go to the bank to request some small bills for drink tips. Hopefully, I can accomplish that in 40 minutes. I'm not going to stress on it too much, though. If I'm 5 minutes late, they'll deal. I don't think either bank I'd go to will be a problem. After work, I shall pack my headset, and silently vibrate with excitement until it's time to go to bed. I'll pack my final thing tomorrow, which is the sound machine. In the meantime, all my other stuff has been packed. I'm going to have a lot to drag into the airport, considering my big bag, my carryon suitcase and my bento bag personal item. Once you add a laptop, that bento bag gets heavy. It's definitely going to be riding on my suitcase as much as possible. Jess is also packed, save for the Tylenol ad Ibuprofen bottles.

My big bag comes in at a whopping 43lbs. My sister outdid me at 47lbs. Jess is pulling up the rear with 32lbs. I know which suitcase all the souvenirs are going in. lol.

Of course, I'll be able to loose a good chunk of the paperwork that I have in the bento bag, so that'll open up some space.

Right now, my brain is on logistics for the morning. I'm getting up at 2am, having possibly gotten 6 hours sleep. (Maybe. I doubt it.) I'll do my journal entry which is sure to be very coherent. Alternately, I could wait and write it on the plane. Either or could work. I'll see how I feel first thing. Then, I will take the chain and deadbolt off the door for BIL to arrive at 3am.

Then, we shall all stare at each other until the car comes at 3:45am.

It's so close, and I am so unmotivated today. I just want to get through work and get my suitcase to the car. Once Jess is up, I may open the big bag and take out a pair of shoes. I don't really need two pairs of dress shoes. One is fine. I expect to wear then a few times, but the flats are fine, I don't need the half broken in Mary Janes. I do however need the very heavy slides. I swear, they're a good pound and a half on their own.

Maybe I'll give my clothes another quick look. I really feel like I overpacked a lot, so I might winnow some of it down, but I'll see. I still need to pack the rain ponchos somewhere, so that might be in Jess' suitcase, too. Fortunately, they don't weigh much. Or I might be able to fit them in my carry on suitcase.

I will have a little more room in both cases going home, because a good chunk of my stuff is disposable. Do I plan to bring the tiny fan home? Nope. Cheap binoculars? Probably not.

That's two boxes that'll be out of the luggage at the end, to be replaced by something fun.

I'm going to put the link for the google drive again, in case you want to follow along with the pictures. Photos will be found here and should show up starting Thursday afternoon. I'll probably take a bunch in Seattle, which I can upload on the drive to Vancouver.

I realized that I'm looking forward to all the options I have for swimming/soaking. First, there will be the hotel's glorious salt water pool. Then on the boat, we have a jacuzzi on the balcony and a big jacuzzi tub in our bathroom. Then, in the ship, there's two pools, though one is outside, so we'll probably stick to the indoor. And then, we have the thermal spa with it's jacuzzi with waterfall feature. (It has other things like a steam room and sauna, all of which I plan to use. I am 100% a water baby, and I need to immerse myself.

And the food. So much glorious food, starting tomorrow at Pike Place Market. I have a semi plan of attack for that. I'd like to start with Piroshki, Piroshki, work my way through Beecher's mac and cheese, and Pike Place Chowder, and maybe get some ginger beer. If I can manage it, I also want to go to Mee Sum and the Crumpet Shop, but that will be dependent on stomach capacity. Then, we shall be off to the Space Needle, so we have some time for that to digest before we get in the car for the long drive to Vancouver.

Then, more good food of the Canadian beef variety at Hy's steakhouse. I'm torn on what to get there. On one hand, I love a good dry aged ribeye, but on the other, the Steak Diane sounds amazing, too. I definitely want to do the tableside Ceasar salad. And maybe the tableside banannas foster for dessert.

The next day, Granville Market shall provide lunch, and then the Tap & Barrel shall provide dinner. Saturday, we shall be on the ship and all bets are off. SO much food. I cannot wait to try it all.

Lunch may be a Pizza or Hamburger from one of the smaller venues, since the lido buffet is bound to be bugfuck. You can preorder both, and then pick up when ready, so I plan to do that. Or, we could see if they could deliver room service. That's included, so might as well.

Dinner shall be in the special dining room for suite guests. We shall eat together the first night, and after that, aside from a few booked meals, they're on their own. If we do eat together, awesome, if we don't, that's cool, too. I have a feeling that we'll be eating together most of the time, though, but we'll see.

So all in all, yes, it's starting to feel like something that is happening, not just a nebulous thing that might happen in the future. I'm so excited! Still a little bit anxious, but that's just my natural state.

I'm still not looking forward to the 6 hour flight. It's long and boring and I probably won't be able to sleep, even with anti anxiety meds. But it's a means to an end, and it'll be worth it when we get there. Hopefully, Alaska Air is good to us. I've never flown on them before. The inflight breakfast sounds good. Parmesan eggs with home fries and bacon sound delicious. I don't care if they're rubber, I'm going to eat them, mind you. It'll be something that breaks up the monotony of the flight. I have SO many new books to read, and maybe a journal entry to write. That would certainly eat up about an hour of the flight, so I might go with that. I'm hoping for the BIL's sake that the turbulence is light. He's a bit of a nervous flyer, and his Valuim only lasted a couple of hours when he did a test run.

Seattle and Vancouver are supposed to be overcast/mostly cloudy tomorrow, but Vancouver will be sunny on Friday and Saturday, so we'll have a good sail away. The ports are still showing rain, but that'll be fine. We can get wet and still have fun.

I just want to fast forward to tomorrow. I'm going to be utterly useless at work. I have no idea what we're having for dinner. We cleaned the fridge entirely out. and I am not cooking, so it's either going to be delivery or carry out. Wherever we order, it needs to be less large portions, so we're not throwing out a ton of food. Jess is planning to take our suitcases down today and put them in the car so that we don't have to clatter them down the stairs at 3:30am. They're very considerate. I feel like I'm missing something, but I don't think I am. I have planned for this trip like Hannibal crossing the Alps.

I put the passports into the carryon bag, so that won't be forgotten. Everything else, I think it set. That will be the last thing I check for my sister and BIL. "Do you have your passport and meds?" Everything else, we can buy new if need be.

Okay, I should stop babbling now. I'm rehashing the plan again, and that's not going to help speed the day up. But wow, I have a concierge, y'all! Everyone have an amazing Wednesday!

Nothing like, four days from vacation, the stomach bug coming roaring back. Jess spent all yesterday vomiting, so that was peachy. (Don't apologize again, bb.) I'm hoping if I'm going to get it that it's going to be today or tomorrow instead of Wed or Thurs. My stomach is a little crampy this morning, so here's hoping that if it's going to be something it does it asap. Honestly, unless I am actively barfing, I'm getting on that plane with a mask.

So, that was our quiet day. It was quiet and relaxing, punctuated with bad noises from the bathroom. I had time to dye my hair, so I'm one tone of purple. I was going to leave the sides gray, but I got a drip on my temples and it just didn't seem worth it, so I dyed the whole head. The gray will come back soon enough. I love the Madison Reed color, it always leaves the hair softer. It's way pricey, but it does cover the gray well.

I was also productive enough to make another batch of Yoda's food. I need to do it one more time, so I Will have enough for the time we're away. I thankfully don't need a ton, just about 5-6 packs. The last two packs have made 11 each. He's going to need 22 to cover the time we're gone, I'll probably toss an extra one or two, just in case the flight is running late coming home.

That however was the extent of what I did during the day. Other than that, it was being worried about Jess, and being a couch potato.

Today, I shall work, and maybe throw some dishes in. We had a small glass shotglass that fell into the sink drain, and was shattered by the garbage disposal. I went spelunking in there, and got every peice I found, but now the disposal is locked up and the water isn't draining well. I figured I'd call maintenance on Wed, and let them come while we're gone. Once we get back and it's fixed, we'll do all the dishes that need to be done. I'm afraid to run the dish washer, as it drains into the sink, and that could lead to flooding. It'll be annoying to leave that for when we get back, but I don't see any other option. We're definitely getting food the night we get back and maybe the next day, so it shouldn't be a problem.

I also need to take the dog to the groomer. He's got a bit of a poopy butt, and we're trying to make it easier for the doggy sleepaway camp. So he'll get his butt shaved down, and hopefully that will help to keep his ass poop free. Understandably, his tummy has been a bit ick as well, with some diarrhea. I'm just putting that down to the switch between camp and home. I added a bit more rice to yesterday's batch, so hopefully that will help keep him regular.

We'll see if I want to make the final batch today or tomorrow. As long as it's done and packaged by Wednesday morning, we're good.

Jess' carry on is due today. so hopefully that comes. I also need to go get the psych meds sometime after Jess' appt. Since I'm taking the dog at lunch, it's definitely going to be about 6pm before I can get there, but I will get there. Hopefully, by the time I get back, Jess' case is here and we can skip right to packing them. I know I will be!

Tomorrow, I don't think we have anything to do except maybe a load of laundry. I found a top of mine that I'd like to wear to the airport, so I need that washed. Plus maybe wash the support hose for the flight. I'm definitely gearing up for this flight. I will load a couple of sets of ear buds in the case I have for cords, so if I want to listen to something on my phone or laptop, I can do that. I need to plug in the smaller laptop so it has a full battery for Thursday. I could technically take the big one, but I think I'm taking the older, smaller one for vacation, so if it gets dinged up, I don't feel horrible. I can charge that overnight. Then I need to get charger #1. #2 will be added the morning of. I already packed one of the two Apple chargers that I have. I know I can charge off of a USB-C cable, but I like to have the separate one, since it's faster.

Wednesday morning, we'll take the dog to his sleepaway camp, and then we'll be ready to go. I don't know that there's anything else I will need to do on Wednesday. I'm just going to suffer through work, eat dinner and go to bed by 7pm. I figure that's the only way I'm getting anywhere close to enough sleep. That's assuming I'm able to sleep at all. I'll need to get up at 2 if I want time to do my morning post. Or, I could do that on the plane once we reach cruising altitude. I don't know yet. We'll see how the "actually sleeping" project goes.

Work is going to take roughly forever this week. Especially Wednesday. I expect that day to feel like roughly 18 hours long.

Then, Thursday, at 3:45, our car will arrive, and we shall be heading down to the airport.

We're going to get there about 3 hours early so as to avoid any security woes. I know things have settled down a bit, but I want to be safe. We have access to the airport lounge, so we can just relax in there until it's time to head for the gate.

Then, Air Alaska will be our chariot on a direct flight to Seattle. And then our adventure will begin. I'm looking forward to seeing the Rocky Mountains as we fly over them, and of courset he Pacific Ocean. Right around the 4 hour mark, I will be the furthest west I have ever flown.

I feel like there's so much left to do, but there's really not. I've planned well, so that we only have minor things to do. The kitchen is a bit of a mess, I suppose. I need to find time to tidy that up a touch, mop the floor and wipe the stove off. Maybe tomorrow after I cook Yoda's last batch of food.

I am feeling so unmotivated for work. I just want to skip ahead to the good stuff. I know we'll get there, but I want it noooow.

Today, we have some small stuff coming in. We needed more laundry pods and I ordered some disposable ponchos so we can all wear the gear we need to, and then toss a poncho over it to keep from getting soaked. It's looking like we'll have at minimum scattered showers at each of our ports. Some of them are more than a week away, so here's hoping that it changes. Though, each of our major things is under cover. We've got whale watching in Juneau in a covered boat, and then the train in Skagway, and the crab feast in Ketchikan. The only things that are outdoors is the Mendenhall Glacier and the town in Ketchikan and maybe Juneau. I'd say Skagway, but there's not a ton that I need to see in town there. Plus it's a bit of a hike from the ship to the town. I think they do have buses, but we'll see if we really go in or no.

The BIL has decided that we are a plague house, and he is not coming over until Thurs at 3am, just to be safe. He's probably not wrong. Since he's doing that, we'll be bringing our luggage down the stairs at 3:30am. Going to have to try to be quiet. That could be tough with our big ass heavy suitcases.

I dont know how people go 7 days in just a carry on. Maybe that works for non-Alaskan vacations, but with needing gear for cooler weather, it just isn't happening. Also for small people. Fat people clothes are by nature more fabric and take up more room. Even so, I feel like I'm overpacking. I don't know what I could take out, but I feel like I've got a lot. I'm just hoping that the storage in the suite is up to holding clothes for four of us. There's a wardrobe that appears to be four sections, so hopefully that'll take care of it, even if it's a tight fit. Also, hopefully there's room to store our luggage. We might have them tucked into the corners.

Okay, time for me to get myself in gear. Everyone have an amazing Monday!