Alaska

So I haven't blogged for ages. Whoops. I get busy and forget I have this thing. I also feel a little silly writing this. Like seriously, does anyone actually read this? Anywho, I digress before I've even made my point. But this is MY blog. I DO WHAT I WANT. Sorry. I get carried away. But for real this time. Yesterday morning I got back from my last great adventure in the majestic state of Alaska!

When my mom first told me that we were going there on vacation, that clip immediately popped into my mind. Every time someone said "Alaska" while I was on vacation, I had to stifle a giggle. I love that movie. So our vacation started with me being a little wary. I had JUST gotten back from my freshman year of college, so I'm used to being on my own. My brother had gotten a job and moved out last fall, so he's SUPER used to doing what he wants to. And then my parents have both learned to live with themselves without us kiddos. How were we going to function on a seven-day cruise in a tiny stateroom, and then have two days in Anchorage after that, without killing each other? I don't know how, but we all made it through unscathed (Though I didn't get a lot of sleep. Why does my family have to snore?). So let me go back to the beginning.

We began our vacation with a 6 pm flight out of DFW to Vancouver. I finished rereading Eragon for the 5th time on the flight. Thank god I decided to bring Eldest with me. We got to our hotel and we were hungry, so we went down to the lobby for a snack. I had my first legal beer. Yay for Canada's drinking age!

Granville Cyprus Honey Lager. Pretty good, but kind of mild.

So after that, we went to sleep. Pretty good start to one of the best vacations I've had. But then again, The best vacation is the one you just got back from.

The next day, we woke up and walked around the pier where we would depart at approximately 4 pm. It was a little drizzly, but that's the perfect weather. After the two hours spent in customs, security, and check-in, we finally made it onto the ship. We ate a late lunch in the Windjammer Cafe, then headed to our rooms. Day one on the cruise was a little bland, but the views were spectacular.

The Centrum of our ship

Welcome Aboard table in the Winjammer Cafe

My mom and that really big bridge in Vancouver

Me and my dad at the bow during sunset.

Day two: our first full day at sea. I honestly don't remember doing much of anything. Me and my dad got up early for yoga, then I took a nap. A nice long nap. I explored the ship with my parents, then went on a digital scavenger hunt around the ship. My team (me, my mom, and a lady we met from Denton) tied for first place. The prize? Highliters! A step up from the keychains normally given out. Dinner that night was formal night, and afterwards, me and my parents walked around the promenade.

Formal night!

My brother wanted nothing for desert.

Day three: First day in port! Our first stop along the inside passage was in the lovely town of Ketchikan. I found it particularly cool because one of my really good friends used to live there, so she was freaking out at all the places she remembered, like her church and a really cool chocolate store called KetchiKandies. 

View of Ketchikan from the boat

The town from the docks

Wandering around

Me and my brother on the docks

I had a couple hours before my excursion began, so I got to wander around town for a while. After getting my fill of the tourist area, I headed back to the ship for my excursion: a wildlife cruise! There weren't many people on the excursion; 8 people total I think. We were on a small boat, and on the way out to look for bears, we saw lots of bald eagles, seals, and Canada geese. We ardently looked bears, and I had just about given up. The tiny boat was frigid after a little more than two hours, even though we had all bundled up. 

With a little time to spare, the captain spotted a black bear on the shoreline! We all gathered out on the bow of the boat, and slowly drifted closer. At first I thought he was crazy. The little black dot appeared to be a boulder. No way that speck was a fully grown bear. But as we drifted closer, I soon realized he was right. That tiny black dot was indeed a fully grown mother bear. As we approached the shore, we saw that she had two cubs with her in a nearby tree. I got several pictures (which I may or may not post later, I have yet to edit any from my DSLR), and once the bear had her fill to eat, she walked away into the forest with her cubs. I must admit, it was pretty cool to see a bear in the wild. After my excursion was over, it was just about time for everyone to be on the boat. Next stop: Icy Straight Point.

Day four: Arriving at Icy Straight Point, Hoonah, we saw lots of whales. It was our first glimpse of sea life (other than the seals I had seen on my excursion). And they weren't just swimming by the boat, they were bubble feeding. In case you were just like me, and didn't know what that means, I'll fill you in. Humpback whales (typically 4 or more) dive underneath a school of fish. They then begin to blow bubbles out of their spouts. These bubble confuse the fish, and the whale effectively trap their prey. They continue to release bubbles while swimming towards the surface. This culminates when the whales breech the surface, and gobble up their meal. It's pretty awesome to watch. So that was what greeted us upon arrival at our second port. From there, I had a little bit of time to wander before me and my dad went on a bike ride through town. While wandering around the shops by the docks, I made a new friend.

The shops on the docks

My new friend

The bike ride was nice. Mostly flat with a few little hills. Along the way, we stopped in at a local artisans shop. There he made huge wood carvings, such as totem poles, canoes, and a piece as large as the side of my house. After our bike ride was over, me and my dad made our way up the mountain for the Ziprider. Over a thousand feet up and about a mile long, it was an incredible zipline. I nearly lost my sunglasses, but I managed to keep a hold on them.

That was when I really had my first "oh my god Alaska is awesome" moment. From there, things only got better.

View from the docks

Day five: Juneau. This was my favorite day, hands down, no questions asked. Today was probably the closest we ever got to doing all the same excursions. Me, my brother, and my dad all went on the same excursion in the morning, then my whole family went on the same excursion in the evening. The day started early with a bus ride to Mendenhall Glacier. Our tour guides were awesome. Both of them were knowledgeable about the area, and were eager to show us the trail. It was a beautiful day, and the guides were jealous that the one day we were in Juneau, it was perfect weather. Our excursion group split up into two groups of ten, and from there we started our hike. I was in the first group, and right off the bat, we saw a porcupine climbing a tree. It was surprisingly large, and really calm. He didn't even care that we were there. He just kept munching on whatever he was eating. 

From there we hiked on, and learned about the forest. We got to see the different stages of growth following a glacier receding. Our tour guide taught us MASH, for the stages of growth. After the glacier has receded, the first sign of life in the area is moss. Moss lives on practically any surface, and as the moss grows over itself, it creates dirt. The dirt allows other life to start, and leads us to the next stage, the Alder tree. The tree grows well in the shallow soil with nothing else competing. When the Alders get large enough, then it is time for the Spruce trees to begin growing (the next stage). The Spruce trees thrive in the shade of the Alders, and soil continues to build up. Over time, the last stage comes about, and the Hemlock tree grows. And those are the stages of forest growth after a glacier. 

We continued on our hike, and our tour guide kept pointing out these huge boulders that weren't the same kind of stone as the rest.

I like that boulder. That is a nice boulder.

He later went on to tell us that this different kind of stone was left by the glaciers recession. It's basically granite before enough heat has been applied. Pretty soon after, we arrived at our first scenic lookout.

First glimpse of the Mendenhall Glacier with my dad and my brother

As we continued through the loop, we met a pair of hikers going the other way, saying that a group was up ahead waiting on the bears. We traveled quickly and quietly to maybe get a peek at the animals, but to no avail. As we continued along the path, I kept noticing our guide acting a little fidgety. Like he kept hearing things in the woods. At first I thought it might have been wishful thinking, but then I started hearing rustling too. I didn't think anything of it, however, until we turned a corner and saw a mother black bear standing not twenty yards in front of us. We stopped for a while, then continued on quietly and slowly. As we got closer to the bear, we saw two cubs chasing her down the hill. After the bears were out of sight, we excitedly chattered away to our next scenic view. 

At our second outlook, we noticed the same bears as before down the hill. The mother bear was at the base of a tree as her young climbed. We got all excited again, and started taking pictures. Next thing I knew, I was standing less than ten yards away from two one-year-old juvenile cubs. We took that as our cue to leave, and left the bears on their way. As we walked to our third and final scenic view, our guide informed us that the last black bear attack near the Mendenhall Glacier was more than several years ago. Since humans frequent the area so much, bears just find us as a curiosity, rather than the source of a meal.

View from the second scenic outlook

As the tour progressed, I talked to the guide about my photography. He mentioned that he keeps meaning to get a good camera, but he has too many hobbies and not enough money, which I think is true of most of us. It's at least true for me. But anyway, we got to talking about how awesome this was, and how excited he was that this was his summer job. He then mentioned that if I didn't do anything during the summer, I might consider a job as a tour guide for one of the photography tours, since they're always needed. So after the hike was over, he gave out business cards to everyone, and I decided that that should be my job next summer. I know I have a great job here, but honestly, I can't think of anything more awesome than being paid to walk around in one of the prettiest places ever and take pictures and teach others to do the same. The company has already filled the photography positions this summer, but next summer I'm jumping at the bit.

So after we got back from our hike, me, my dad, and my brother ate lunch on the ship, then went back out into the great city of Juneau to shop. We didn't find much, but we did find a few noteworthy shops.

We could see Sarah Palin's house from here

It was actually a shop for some guy's web comic. We still went in though.

Then in the evening, we all met back in front of the ship to go to our "family" excursion: a salmon bake. After five days of eating similar food on the cruise, this new dinner was amazing. The salmon was pretty good, and the sides were delicious. There were also two fires where you could roast marshmallows after dinner. It was so peaceful. The marshmallows weren't bad either.

By the fire. I could have stayed here forever

After the salmon bake it was time to be back on the ship, and off we sailed to our last port, Skagway.

Day six: Rock climbing on actual rocks. We got in to Skagway and my excursion was at 7:30. Super early, but also super worth it. There were 7 people on the excursion, and it was about a twenty minute ride to where we would be rock climbing, ziplining, and repelling. Once we got to our destination, we all got suited up and hit the rocks. I was the only person in my group who got to climb the was twice, and I wish I could have stayed there all day. I had a blast, and I definitely want to find some places (and people) close by for rock climbing. Too bad I live in Texas and there are no mountains within a 5 hour drive. 

Where we climbed

So after we climbed for a while, we all got to do a little ziplining, but after the 60 mph ZipRider in Hoonah, they were really tame. Still fun, but tame. Our last activity was repelling from a 70 ft wall. It was my first time repelling, and going over the cliff backwards was terrifying at first, but once I saw rock in front of me I was fine. 

So after rock climbing I had time to wander through the town, then have lunch with my mom at a Thai restaurant. The food was really good, and afterwards, we went shopping in the stores. We got lots of chocolate at the Alaskan Fudge Factory, and random other little things along the way. Pretty soon after, it was time to return to our ship and sail off. 

This little guy was in our room waiting for us when we came back from port.

Day seven: Hubbard Glacier. I swear I saw too many glaciers to count on this vacation, but the Hubbard Glacier tops them all. We weren't able to get that close, but it was still majestic. All 30 stories of it. Hearing the glacier calving was intense. It sounded like thunder and shot guns rolled together. It was definitely a sight to behold.

Hubbard Glacier

So after a morning spent at the glacier, we had a full day at sea ahead of us, so I found a nice little place to hide out and read.

One of my many reading spots

Out last day on the ship was relaxing. Really, all I did was read. I was sad that our trip was almost over, but a little ready to be back on dry land.

Day eight: Seward. Three more days in Alaska left. We had woken up and finished packing, then left the ship for the last time. We had the day in Seward before we left for Anchorage. There was a fiasco with my bag, however, which tarnished my day considerably. It was lost for a while, but it was waiting for us at our hotel in Anchorage that night. While waiting for the train, we explored Seward. It was less touristy than the other ports, and I enjoyed it thoroughly. Our first thing in Seward was to visit the Exit Glacier, which was still covered in snow. We couldn't get farther than 10 yards into the trail before it turned to snow.

Lots of snow

Since we couldn't get to the glacier, we headed back to town and visited the aquarium there.

King crabs are BIG

So are sea lions

After our day in Seward, we hopped on a train to Anchorage. The views were pretty awesome.

A frozen lake

We got to Anchorage around 10:30 pm, and the sun hadn't set yet. Then I realized why Alaska is called "land of the midnight sun." We checked into our hotel and fell asleep pretty quickly. It was the best I'd slept since before we left Texas.

Day nine: Anchorage. I got to sleep as late as I liked, which was nice. Then I met my parents at a farmers market/artist fair across the street from our hotel, and had breakfast and lunch, then walked to a used book store to find Brisingr. I already owned a copy at home, but I had finished Eldest and really wanted to keep reading. We still had another day plus the flight back home. The used book store didn't have it, so me and my dad walked 35 minutes to the Barnes & Noble to get it. We had Starbucks while there, then called a cab to take us back to the hotel. We had sushi for dinner, then watched videos of the Aurora Borealis. I thought it was a ripoff, seeing as I've seen more exciting videos on youtube for free, but it was something to do. After that, our day was done.

Day ten: Anchorage and home. We checked out of our hotel, and got on a tour bus. We spent our day driving along one of the most scenic highways in America, and ended up at a wildlife reservation. It wasn't as fun to see animals in cages as it was to see them in real life, but it was still interesting.

Brown bears

After our tour was over, we were dropped off at the airport, then it was Texas-bound from there. The flight was uneventful, and now I'm falling back into my everyday routine. I can't wait to see what my next great adventure will be.