Favio and I got up early so we could go to a chili cook off that our friend was doing. First we visited my mom, since we were in town then we met up with Laura and John in Pescadaro for the cook off. The drive over there was perfect, no traffic, pretty good weather and nice scenery. It was nice to just hangout, talk, eat chili, play with the babies and relax. Its always good times when you have most of your friends with you all together in the same place.
After being at the cook off for most of the morning/afternoon, we wanted to make it to the beach before it got too cold. It was a perfect way to end our day, barring our feet in the sand and walking along the beach. We haven’t done that in too long, so it was nice to be together. The weather was normal coastal weather, not hot… but not cold… just a bit overcast.
After the beach we decided to drive down Main street in HMB to see if the store ‘Have To Have It’ was open. It was, so we went in, to have a quick look around. Its a really awesome store. Kinda on the pricey side, which sucks… but I like looking anyways.
Now we are at home relaxing. What a great day =)
I like to draw on the back of food menus at restaurants like a 5 year old. Buca Di Beppo for Chucks birthday dinner.
Always good times =)
Have I ever mentioned how much I love books? Hard covers or paper back, short and long. I love it all. The different smells between new ones and old ones. The new freshly cut, crisp pages waiting to be touched. The perfect sound the paper makes when I turn the page. A new story every time to take me away on a new adventure. There is no right or wrong way for my imagination to run wild. I read every page number to make sure I don’t skip a page. My book mark teases me to read more, chapters begging to be read. I carry a book with me wherever I go, hiding in my purse. My pile of books at home, that are waiting to be read, never gets too big but always seem like there aren’t enough.
I must say, It’s true… You can’t judge a book by its cover.
I made it back from my 10 day cruise, from San Francisco to Alaska. It was a beautiful and relaxing trip. I took quite a few naps, relaxed at the spa, watched more movies then I should have, played bingo, ate a million cookies and walked it all off by taking the stairs everywhere.
The cruise itinerary was: San Francisco, CA – Victoria, Canada – Juneau, Alaska – Skagway, Alaska – Glacier Bay, Alaska – Ketchikan, Alaska – Back to San Francisco.
I took a cruise to Alaska exactly 10 years ago (on a different cruise line). It brought back a lot of memories. It was sad to see the glaciers disappearing. The bright blue and white glaciers are melting away. It breaks my heart remembering what it looked like then and what it looks like now. Everyday more and more glacier cracks off and every year its getting smaller.
I took quite a few pictures on my trip. I tried to cut it down to the photos that I like the best, I don’t want to overwhelm anyone with too many pictures. So here it is, I hope you enjoy my adventure in pictures through Alaska.
(Please don’t forget to click the pictures to enlarge them. Some of them you need them bigger to see them better).
I do love SF. One of the things that I was MOST excited about, was being able to go under the Golden Gate Bridge.
Getting to SF was easy. I got to sleep in that morning. We took a shuttle to the ship and we were on it quicker then I thought we would be. Then we were off to sea.
No, I love your smile =)
View from the front of the ship.
It got real windy after we took off (about 15 minutes later). After we passed the GGB, it went away (kinda weird).
Getting close to going under the GGB.
People standing and waving on the bridge.
Here we go.
So if anyone was wondering, thats what it looks like to be under the bridge.
Goodbye SF, hello open sea.
Later that night it got a little bumpy, probably for the next 24 hours. I got a little sea sick the second night. I wasnt feeling well, so I took some sea sickness pills and went to sleep. I woke up the next day feeling better. That was the only time during the whole cruise that I didn’t feel well. I had to get my sea legs on.
Victoria was probably my favorite stop. I really do like Canada, I would love to go back to Quebec someday. It was a beautiful sunny day, perfect for exploring. My mom and I walked around and had a great time.
Population: 337,000
Hello Victoria.
Sea Princess.
Window.
Hanging out by the fountain at the Empress Hotel.
I took this photo for Favio cause these are his favorite flowers <3
I love my grandma.
Part of the Empress Hotel.
Another part of the Empress Hotel.
Took a break from walking, for a much needed Root beer float. Mmmmm.
Random run down building.
Beautiful view.
Parliament Building.
Feets.
First formal night dress.
In Juneau Alaska the weather wasn’t too bad. It sprinkled a bit, but not when we were outside.
My mom and I took a Historical Alaska Gastineau Mill And Gold Mine Tour. The tour started at the railroad level near the railroad superintendents house. From there we followed the route that the gold bearing rock took as it was crushed and ground until the final product, gold bars and a lead concentrate was produced. The highlight of the tour was the conveyor tunnel through which 12 million tons of gold bearing ore was transferred from the Coarse Crushing plant to the mill for fine grinding and recovery of the gold.
Population: 30,000
Hello Juneau.
This is what it looks like when I am riding on Edwards back (ya, I went there. lol)
One of the machines that moved gold and rocks around.
Railroad Superintendents house.
Coarse Crushing Plant.
Conveyor Tunnel. Inside the mines.
Hanging out in the mines for 45 minutes, I got a bit bored… so I took a picture of myself. Don’t judge me!
This board told the workers who was inside of the tunnel if there was an emergency.
Feet at Minor Rock.
Gold mining pans.
Gold panning station. I found gold! and I got to keep it. woot!
Walking around the grounds.
Part of the main mill building.
I didn’t have anything planned for Skagway. It is a very small town, with not much to do. I decided to go off on my own and walk around exploring. I was out and about for a few hours, then I went back to the ship and took a nice long nap.
Population: about 800.
Canoe.
Wooden Bridge.
Park.
Town.
Bicycle.
Town.
Train.
Train.
EssEmmBee in Alaska.
Hair.
Picture I took around 1015pm! They have some long days there in Alaska. Sunrise at like 430am and sunset around 10pm.
The inside passage was very pretty, it was a beautiful day to be there. There were bears (which I didn’t see), Bald eagles, Puffins, Otters, Seals, and Humpback Whales . Over 3.3 million acres of forest, inlet and shore, mountain peaks rising up to 15,000 feet, and of course the glaciers. Great rivers of ice that stretch over and between mountain ridges until they meet the green tidewater, calving building-sized icebergs with thunderous cracks into the sea.
Inside Passage.
Glacier Bay National Park And Preserve.
Glacier (everything that is white).
Glacier.
Typical tourist photo.
Hello big Glacier. The Margerie Glacier is about one mile wide, with an ice face that is about 250 feet high above the water line, and a base about 100 feet below sea level.
Goodbye big glacier.
Off to sea again.
Ketchikan was probably my favorite stop in Alaska. It was a cool sunny day, perfect for walking around town.
Flowers around town.
Fish House.
Tod-em Pole.
Sarah and myself, just hanging out.
Main street.
Water.
We got a little go car for an hour and drove around town.
I loved this area, it was so awesome.
Amazing.
Besides the stops in Canada and Alaska we had a few sea days to relax. We had two formal nights for dinner. And a lot of time to read and take naps. Im very thankful that I was able to go, spend time with my grandparents and my mom. It was nice to get back to Alaska again (10years later). It was so different then the first time, but a few things were still the same.
It is good to be home. I missed Favio and the kitties… and I missed the kids too. It will be nice to get back to work. Now I can start planning my next trip =)
