Sightseeing Seattle

 It was great to be on land again (well, at least I was super happy after that last day of sea sickness) and it was even more fabulous to be in the Pacific Northwest.  It is a part of the U.S. that I had yet had the privilege of exploring so I was game for anything and everything.  First on our list, the Space Needle.

We bought our ticket and then realized that we would need to kill some time as our slot was at 1 pm.  Off to the Chihuly Gardens and Glass...

Chihuly is world famous for his glass-blown sculptures and his trademark swirls.  Born in Washington, he studied both in Wisconsin and in Venice before settling back in Washington State and founding his own glass center where he taught the team approach to glass making that he learned in Venice.  Leading the avant-garde movement in fine art for glass, Chihuly has collected awards and admirers around the globe.  Including me...

 

 The ceiling!  The pieces of colored glass rest on a flat plane of glass and color the whole room!

The girls loved the exhibit!!!

By now it was time for us to head over to the Space Needle.  Our tickets said 1 pm and I wasn't sure how we were ever going to get in by then as the line was snaking around longer than one at Disneyworld in July.  But they are nothing if not efficient and within 1/2 hour we were inside, upstairs and freaking out by leaning back on a glass pane 184 m (603 feet) above Seattle.

You might not see the terror in our faces here but believe me, it is there.  That bench we are sitting on tilts you back into the glass and it is disconcerting, to say the least.

At least for some of us - this one has no fear.

We then went down a floor.  To the glass floor.  That rotates.  If I thought that sitting upstairs was a bit freaky this was terrifying.  We took our picture (except for Nana, she just couldn't) and then got off.  Quickly...

Except for this one that would have stayed all day going around and around looking down.

 

Downstairs in the gift shop we noticed this VR setup.  It allowed you to bungee jump (virtually) from the top of the needle.  And it was free.  Sign us up!  Stinkerbell, MadHatter and I gave it a try and it was intense but fun.

Another bucket list item got a check mark.  But the afternoon was still young so we wandered over to see the very 1st Starbucks...

We didn't go in because a Starbucks is a Starbucks is a Starbucks...

And then we hit up the stalls of the Pike Place Fish Market.  Famous for their "Flying Fish" where the fishmongers repeatedly throw and then wrap customers purchases in very entertaining ways, the market is neither old (established in the 60's) or even the largest, but it is known worldwide for the antics of the workers, the games they play with their customers and for being one of the happiest places to work in the nation.  Personally, I loved it for the rows and rows and rows of fresh flower bouquets.

Gorgeous, right?

A short snippet of a flying fish.

The market was just about closing so we were headed back to the hotel for a rest when my friend J called.  Her family had just moved into their new house in Seattle (they relocated from Prague) and she invited the girls to a sleepover.  I couldn't resist as it had been almost a year since Stinkerbell and O (her best friend from Prague) had spent any time together.  We shipped the girls off with B in a taxi and the rest of us got ready for dinner.  Which all of a sudden would be an adult night out!  Win-Win.

It was a great first day in Seattle but tomorrow would prove to be just as much fun!

A Final Day at Sea

We had specifically planned the big anniversary party for the night before a full day at sea.  This way we figured everyone could sleep in and perhaps recuperate.  What we forgot to take into account was that we really did have one more stop on the cruise even though we didn't have to get off of the boat because we would be passing by the Hubbard Glacier.  And even though we weren't getting off the ship, we still had to be awake.  Because even if you didn't get out of bed to see the glacier, you were indeed going to be awoken by the captain and his horn blaring through the fog (I guess I understand the necessity) and the loudspeaker barking tidbits of information about the area.  And since we were up at the crack of dawn (or the crack of 8, it just seemed like dawn after last nights bedtime), we might as well go see what the ruckus was about. And this is what confronted me off my balcony...

It was cool but certainly not anything to get riled up about.  Especially if you have seen random blue chunks of ice floating past you before.  And I had.  We had taken a cruise through the fjords of Patagonia to see the San Rafael Glacier.  And since everyone else in my room was still sleeping, I also went back to bed.  But sleep was not to be found again.  B was kind enough to bring me coffee, so I got up and back out to the balcony.  By now, the rest of the family was up and out there also, so we had coffee together, on four separate balconies, all in a row, just waiting for the fog to reveal the glacier.

From the far left our balconies were ours (not shown), then Chris and Pam (shown but she is out of the picture), next was Bre and Max (hands can be seen) and then Pat and Sarah (you can see Pat).  And then the Bridge, from where the captain was making his announcements.

 Now, this was a fun piece of ice floating past...

At this point, we all got dressed and headed over to Nana and Grampa's room because the captain was maneuvering the boat into position for their side of the ship to be facing the glacier.  We opened their balcony up and listened as the glacier calved massive icebergs into the water at a rate of about 1 every 2-3 minutes.  It is incredible to watch the ice fall and then hear the crash seconds later.  And it is also interesting to note how loud it really is!

The glacier itself is about 122 km long (90 miles) and, contrary to so many other glaciers in the world, it is still advancing.  And calving - which just means that pieces of ice fall off the front of the glacier and into the water, creating icebergs large and small.  Interesting to note, it takes almost 400 years for the ice to make it from the back to the front of the glacier, so the ice falling into the water in the video above and the photo below is over 400 years old.

You can only stare at a stationary object for so long (it's like watching grass grow), so we all headed back to our rooms for a little more rest because we still had about an hour left before we could navigate our colossal ship back out into the open waters.  And if you remember the fate of the Titanic, you do not want your captain to move too quickly in iceberg-infested waters.

 My final view on the way out.

 We hit open waters mid-morning, and that was the end of my cruise.  For the rest of the day, I fought off sea sickness like none I have experienced before.  My patch was no longer working, the medicine I picked up from the doctor was worthless, and I even tried the wristbands to no avail.  I did make it upright for the wine tasting at 4 pm but couldn't get anything down, so I headed back upstairs to lie down.  I attempted dinner also but had to leave before my meal was ever served (not that I would have been able to eat it anyway).  I bid everyone farewell, laid down in bed and slept fitfully.  When the ship finally stopped at 4 am as we docked in Seward I eventually fell into a deep sleep until we had to wake.  Which was early because we had to catch a bus to Anchorage and then our flight to Seattle.  We left about 7 am and drove 3 hours to the capital, passing some of the most gorgeous scenery imaginable...

  Somewhere just outside of Anchorage.

Help keep the bears away...No Fish Guts.

Moose!

 It was a whirlwind as we all said our goodbyes and took off in different directions towards home.  Or in our case, to Seattle for more vacation time.  It was a truly epic vacation.  A grand celebration.  A once in a lifetime.  And a cruise we won't soon forget!  Thanks for the great time Alaska.  Hope to see you again soon.

Partying like it's 1968!

It was party time!  The whole reason for the cruise was to celebrate Nana and Grampa's 50th Anniversary.  50 you guys.  That is quite the accomplishment.  Definitely a reason to celebrate.

We had booked the venue and ordered the cakes...

Now it was just time to eat, drink and be merry.  Which we did.  In abundance.  The kids even got in on the open bar action and ordered every single kiddie cocktail they could.  

The adults didn't do too shabby either.

I didn't bring a camera except for the one on my iPhone but we couldn't resist getting a family shot even if we knew it was never going to hang on our walls.

Towards the end the cake was cut..

The dances were danced...

And the toasts were made...

And then we took all of those underage to the kids club (this was my view as I walked them there)...

Headed to Nana and Grampa's room to meet up and while we were waiting we got this surprise...

And then we hit the bars.  We played some darts, we had our nightly shot in our spot and then ended up in the casino before calling it a night.  And what a night it was!

Happy 50th Nana and Grampa!  We all love you so!

Kayaking Chilkoot

Our final day of excursions and it was an early one!  We were off the boat before 7 am, and it showed.

We had a long boat ride, and then an equally long bus ride to get to our final destination which was a Chilkoot lake.  There isn't much else to say about our kayak trip other than it was a fun 90 minutes on the lake but not so fun 3 hours getting to and fro.  And I don't have a ton of pictures as I didn't bring my camera and I didn't get to take any with my phone as I was too busy paddling.  The few I do have are below...

It was still hazy and cold over the lake in Haines.

Outfitted and ready to go.

Papa and MadHatter starting off.  S, Stinkerbell and I were in another kayak.

Our group.

The gorgeous scenery was all around.

S admiring the lake.

The brown color is the glacial ice melting and leaving sediment in the blue waters of the lake.

Back at the boat by mid-afternoon.  We had to hurry though because tonight was the big party!!!