Ketchikan - Day 7

We deboarded our cruise ship in Ketchikan and jumped on another boat right away. We cruised along to an island were we went atv'ing. Adam said that this was his favorite day, and I almost agree. I drove first, but we were stuck behind this old couple who would brake everytime they saw a puddle or a rock in the road. I was going absolutely crazy. We drove for about 2 miles up to the top of a mountain where I picked some blueberries and we took some pictures. Then, the guides let us move towards the front of the group so that we could go as fast as we wanted. Adam drove back. He definitely had a great time freaking me out, getting me soaking wet by driving through every single puddle and going uber fast.



The day was so beautiful too! Apparently, it rains more in Ketchikan than anywhere else in the U.S. and so to have it beautiful and sunny was great!!

Juneau - Day 6

Adam and I went whale watching in Juneau. It was sooooooo cold! The first part of our trip was going to take a look at Mendenhall Glacier, and then we boarded a boat to go look for whales. The glacier was really beautiful, but we were happy to get on the boat and start looking. We had a slow start, found an island with hundreds of seals, and then found a group of about 5 whales, eating to their hearts' content in the middle of Auck Bay. It was so awesome to watch them cruise around, and the dive for their food for about 5-10 minutes, then come back up and do the same thing again.

Skagway - Day 5

We entered Skagway early in the morning. Adam and I were supposed to catch a small train ride up to a flag stop. At that stop was the head of a trail that leads to Laughton Glacier. We were hoping to make a day of it. When we went hiking on Sunday in Anchorage, our guide (who we didn't need) asked about our bear safety. It got me thinking. I started to freak out, honestly. Adam and I know nothing about bear safety. What would we do if we encountered bears or moose on this hike in the middle of nowhere?

We ended up missing our train (my fault) and then proceeded to walk around town trying to figure out what else we could do. I saw an Avis Rental Car out of the corner of my eye, and we decided to just drive around and explore. We heard that a lot of people drive into Canada from Skagway and head up to Emerald Lake. It was a 2 hour drive - a nice way to fill our 12 hour day. We ended up getting a really nice Highlander and took off for the Canadian border. We ended up taking about 400 pictures between the two of us. The country-side was so incredibly beautiful and I can't tell you how much fun it was to schedule our own day and go at our own pace. Plus, Adam showed me a new technique with the camera, so I went a little crazy taking pictures of his ear... as you'll see below.

Days 3 & 4 - Cruise

Monday night we boarded our ship and settled into our cabin. It wasn't very eventful. We explored the ship and unpacked our stuff so that we wouldn't feel like we were living out of a suitcase. Tuesday and Wednesday were days at sea. I think the first day we were at a loss as to what to do. There were so many options, and we were not really... relaxed yet. We actually ended up spending a lot of our time eating and watching movies. Wednesday was a bit more eventful. We sailed through Glacier Bay, which was wonderful. Adam and I both took tons of pictures and enjoyed watching the beautiful scenery. We ate a lot too. :)

Not much to report, but here are some pics from those first few days.

Days 1 & 2 Alaska

Adam and I are getting ready to leave out hotel room in Anchorage. We'll drop our rental off at the airport and take a shuttle to Whittier and then board our ship!!!

Yesterday we went exploring. :) It is incredibly beautiful here. Everywhere you look, it's beautiful. We went driving on a coastal highway on our way to go hiking in a temporal rainforest, and ended up stopping so many times to take pictures, that I lost count. Here are some pics from our first, wonderful day.





After hiking through the rain forest, we took a tram ride up to the top of Mount Alyeska. I have to say that I think I'm a bit afraid of heights, but the views are so worth it.

Did I forget anything?

I've been asking myself this question all morning. Adam and I managed to get almost everything done, which is wonderful. We're waiting around for my brother to get here to take us to the airport. My dogs think that we're taking them... poor things.

Anyways, just wanted to say "Bye!" to you all and I'll try to keep updating this as much as possible. I told Ash that I would "back blog", following Noelle's example, if I don't have consistent internet access.

Also, Adam bought me a new camera for our anniversary (sorry if I already mentioned that!) and so I'll make sure to take lots of fun pictures while he's capturing panoramic views of glaciers and whales.

See you all soon!

Correction...

Hey all... My flight is 5 hours apparently. Adam and I were chatting this morning before he left for work and I was like "Just so ya know, I'm taking a bottle of benedril on the plane." His response was "Oh, by the way, our flight is only 5 hours, not 9..."

Haha. So... yeah.

Can I just tell you all how much I love my husband?? God has blessed me with an amazing guy. I can't believe it some days. We haven't had the perfect week, and tension has already reared it's ugly head a couple of times, but I'm almost more grateful for those moments because of how they were handled. It's a great reminder at how far God has brought us along. He truly intervened in our, at first, troubled marriage and continues in His faithfulness to bring us closer together. I appreciate him more today than I did two days ago. What a great way to go into a vacation celebrating our lives together so far. :)

Today's "To Do"

Thanks for the encouragement and helpful ideas in my last post, girlies! I think I'll take Rachel's suggestion and knock myself out for the trip up.

Today I went running on my own, which proved to be challenging. I was so focused on not stopping that all I could think about was stopping. I think I ran a whole mile though, so I was happy. Yes, that's how out of shape I am...

I also had a piano lesson this morning with one of my most enjoyable students. I hate admitting that some lessons are more enjoyable than others, but this student happens to be particularly wonderful, so it was a great way to start my day (after my somewhat pathetic run).

Then my dear friend Ashley cut my hair and showed me some fun ways to style it on my cruise. I am horrible at doing my hair. So bad, in fact, that I'm proud of myself when I achieve a semi-cute pony-tail. So, I was sooooooooo grateful to her for showing me a couple of things that even I can do. :)

Now, I have 4 lessons this afternoon, which will probably be somewhat challenging and then our life-group, which will probably be fun. :) Not much done for the cruise, but today's a busy day. Tomorrow will be more productive, as far as getting cruise things done. I still have to organize my office and that will be my last major house project before we go.

As far as my political views... I say we stop talking about lipstick on pigs or hockey moms and get back to the issues!!!!

It's early...

Well... not that early, but I'm tired today! It was a busy weekend and it's going to be an even busier week. Adam and I are preparing for our 5th wedding anniversary trip. We leave this Saturday to go to Alaska and we're both so excited.

Did anyone have the same experiences before a trip? We both seem to remember our families freaking out because nothing was really ready, or something wasn't added to a "to-do" list, and so the last few moment before leaving were somewhat hectic and stressful. We remember things being pretty tense at times before a trip - and both feeling like "What the heck! We're going on vacation! This doesn't seem right..." Adam would like to avoid that scene all-together, so we're working hard this week to avoid stress the morning of. However... ya never know what will happen! All I know is that we have a 9 hour plane ride to make up if anything does happen, and 2 weeks of crazy fun.

Gotta go get ready for my busy day... I wish I wasn't so tired!!!

Smart Girl Politics

I'm kinda getting into the elections now. It was really hard at first, because there just simply wasn't a candidate that I liked. I was so annoyed that none of the candidates could express an original opinion. It was all fluff and "change and hope" and nonsense.

However, Sarah Palin definitely has me interested. So does the Constitution Party. I was half resigned to switching my politcal alliance from the Republican Party to something else... anything that would fit my values and beliefs. I happen to be what you might consider "ultra-conservative" on economic and social issues. I'm a big believer in safer borders, the Pro-Life movement and smaller government, in general. The Republic Party doesn't really seem to value those things anymore. It's more of a "who can be the most moderate" race.

Sarah Palin was a breath of fresh air. I'm 100% certain that she's not perfect. No one is. There are probably things that she's done that I'll be very unhappy with, but it's great to see someone that I can actually relate to in the politcal arena.

I'm interested in Chuck Baldwin also. He's the Constitution Party's candidate, and I have to say that he's pretty impressive. Thank goodness I have a couple of months to make this very difficult decision. Do I take the high road and vote for someone who I almost completely agree with, or do I vote for the person who will have the best chance at winning - even though they only represent a few things that I believe in? The debate begins...