On the Sea Again

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Ok not quite yet but we’ll be boarding on Fri and thought I’d better get this blog started before the last craziness of getting ready and leaving. I have to work all day tomorrow and then we have an evening flight to Seattle. It's going to be a long day but it always sounds like a good idea to save a vacation day when I can. Now the day I actually have to work and then fly it doesn't sound like quite as good an idea. But we certainly didn't want to wait and fly out Fri morning and chance missing the ship.

Alaska

I hope everyone has a special place that makes you smile with just the slight thought of it. The kind of place you’re almost afraid to go back to just in case it’s changed because you don’t want to tarnish your memories. But you’re drawn to go back to as often as you can. That place for me is Alaska. A few places (Antarctica, Iceland, Norway, Greece) have come close over the past few years as I’ve traveled more but I don’t think that anything will ever take its place and that’s a good thing.

My first trip to Alaska was 25 years ago this week and that trip changed my life forever. My first husband Jim and I had celebrated our 10th anniversary in Jan that year and the plans for that trip had been discussed for years. Ok, actually when I first came up with the idea of doing a cruise for our 10th (which was before our 2nd anniversary because my parents did their first cruise for the 25th and I just knew I didn’t want to wait that long) I assumed it would be to the Caribbean since that’s really the only cruises people thought about back then. But somewhere along the way Jim said he’d only consider it if we did Alaska. I’m not sure he really thought we were going to do this but once I set my mind on it there was no stopping me and he could never say no to something I wanted. We had originally booked on a ship called the Rhapsody but it was sold before the ship and we were moved to the Regent Sea. We didn’t care we were going to Alaska.

It was the year of the World Expo in Vancouver so we went a few days early and enjoyed out time there prior to the cruise. Then when we boarded the ship it seemed like we were in a different world. In those days there was little connection to the outside world from the ship. No internet, no TVs, no cellphones. We both learned the real meaning of relaxing and enjoying a place that week. The cruise ended in Whittier and we then enjoyed a land tour of Fairbanks, Denali, and Anchorage. It was all wonderful and we totally fell in love with Alaska and cruising.

We knew we wanted to return but decided it would be more special if we didn’t go that often and decided we’d go back for our 20th anniversary. We did and it was another great trip. We also had a trip scheduled for our 30th but Jim ended up starting chemo that week and passed away before we could make that trip. Later that year I decided I needed to go the next year but wasn’t sure I could make that trip on my own. So I decided to take my parents for their 55th and all my brothers and sister and their spouses joined us. One was celebrating their 9th, another their 25th, and another their 26th all the same week. It was a great week getting to share this special place with them and spending time together which is rare since we are scattered all over the US. The memories of that trip are even more special since my father passed away the next year and it was the last time we all spent together.

When I first saw the 2 week Amsterdam itinerary 2 years ago I knew I wanted to do it and thought it would be a good 2nd cruise last year to go with the Australia/New Zealand one I’d already booked for that Jan. Well that all changed when I suddenly found myself in love and engaged to John and planning a wedding and Honeymoon cruise to the Mediterranean in Oct instead of an Alaska cruise in Sept. Ah but this year I kept thinking about Alaska and sharing with my new husband as we celebrate our 1st anniversary (ok it will be a month early but you can’t go to Alaska in Oct). He’s been to Fairbanks once on business but has not been on the coast. So we’ll both be posting along the way. John’s the much better writer so will be doing most of the posts and should give a good first timer’s view of this wonderful place (I’m that sure he’ll love it). I’ll add in my 2 cents now and again too. I’ve even scanned in some photos from 25 and 15 years ago to see how ports like Ketchikan and Juneau have changed over the years. Hope you’ll come along and enjoy the ride with us. We’ll post again from the ship on Fri night.
 

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