Monday, September 15, 2008

Our Alaskan Adventure


Finally, two weeks later I've gotten my act together and I'm going to help my sweet friend Amy out with the blog. As you know my husband and I had the opportunity to travel to Alaska...little did we know how much publicity the state would be receiving while we were there(hint:Vice President). It was certainly a trip of a lifetime...probably the only trip to Alaska by boat in my lifetime! The seas were a bit rocky which didn't sit too well with me, but I survived. I've not used the word "beautiful" so many times in one week...ever. I was just in awe at God's creation...just breathtaking.
It was exciting to wake up morning after morning and be at a new place. We would look out our window and see monstrous sized mountains...some with snow caps others with fishing camps nestled at their feet. We visited the ports of Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan in Alaska. The towns were very similar yet we found new things to do at each one.

<
In Juneau, my sweet husband...he's the adventurous one, I'm a little more cautious...had a float plane tour lined up for us. You know these are those planes that take off and land on water!??? So I was a trooper and went for it. He sat in the front with the pilot, I sat in the back with my hands clutched to the seat in front of me...white knuckles and barf bag in lap. It was a bit scary but the scenery well worth the trip up. No, I didn't get sick...that patch thing does wonders!


The next day we toured the glaciers by boat. Amazing...I mean how did God ever come up with that one? These chunks of ice weren't just chunks of ice...mountains of glaciers...massive and a beautiful blue in color. I never thought I would enjoy staring at ice for two hours but I was mesmerized by it. Something everyone needs to experience.

At our next two ports we saw lots of salmon. You know, where the salmon is jumping out of the water as they try to swim upstream. Delightful! There were thousands of salmon...No Kidding!


Fortunately for me there were no bears watching the salmon with us, however, my husband would have been thrilled to experience that. We did see a black bear from a distance...a very good distance... at a salmon hatchery. I spotted it! My hubby was proud. Bald eagles were everywhere as well as sea lions and whales. We got our fill of wildlife that week. It was cool!


Our last Alaskan port we opted for a lumberjack show...a bit corny maybe, but we enjoyed it. There were some seriously strong lumber"jills" at the show that simply amazed me with their strength and ability. We hooped and hollered for them and took lots of pics. I thought I might be able to sneak a lumber"jack" home but he was just too heavy!!


Our very last stop was in Victoria, Canada...what a beautiful city. The parliament building at night looked like something from DisneyWorld with all its' lights. The city was so clean and beautifully landscaped. Lots of shopping too.

All in all we had a great trip. It was a little cool for my blood, but hey, we were in Alaska right?! I was completely taken a back by the awesomeness of that place. The Lord truly is the creator of ALL things and, man, is HE creative!!

Blessings to All,

Rachel

6 comments:

Jerri Lynn @ Southern Sassyness said...

Rachel - it's absolutely beautiful! I would love to tour Alaska one day. We went to Victoria a couple of years ago and I definitely want to go back...the Beauchart Gardens there in Victoria is something spectacular!

Anonymous said...

Love the pics looks like a great trip!!

Anonymous said...

Awesome! Thanks for the pix! I might have to visit myself one day! Glad you had a great time! Julie

Mary Beth Carlisle said...

Beautiful pictures!

becky said...

Thanks for sharing your beautiful pics and God's awesome majesty!

Kelly said...

Just found your blog- love it and your ideas! I need to stop back when I'm not working so I can catch up on the older posts! :-)

I was so excited to hear about your Alaskan cruise, as we are just beginning to plan a (hopeful!) trip next summer. Do you mind me asking which cruise you went with and if you would recommend it? So glad you had a wonderful time... I would never have been brave enough for the seaplane trip.