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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!
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!
