Almost Ready to Head North Again

---

It has been two years since we were in Las Vegas to pick out all of the options for our new home in just three days before heading for our biennial Alaska Cruise. Now we’re enjoying that home on the eve of our departure to what awaits us to the north. The heat has yet to settle in as it had last year at this time, and we’ve enjoying temperatures in the 70’s and occasionally 80s for almost 2 months (well there was one day at 99). Projections predict the mercury should be well into the 90’s next week, so maybe Sharon’s plans to escape what she can of the summer heat here may be coming to fruition in a well-executed plan.



Sharon has copiously documented every last detail of our itinerary, down to who get what tips when, who eats with whom where, confirmation numbers and phone numbers, even what breathtaking glacial view we will see. The only thing she hasn’t accounted for on this trip is polar bears; but, it might be just as well since that one day excursion would have added almost fourth thousand to our already burgeoning budget.



Our bags are packed and we each have a bag already at the 50 pound limit, which I guess means we won’t be bringing back to many souvenirs; well, maybe a hat (but I could wear that).



We will start with a shore-side visit with Sharon’s mom for a late Mother’s Day weekend, and Sharon has already checked the weather reports and verified that we should have pleasant wind-free/rain-free temperatures in the 70’s, unseasonably nice for this season in Oregon. We’ll see. We then cross the border by train heading for Vancouver, where we will finally get a chance to spend a few days. Our plans to do this two years ago were curtailed by our last minute Las Vegas detour. We’ll board the Zaandam for the first of two 7-day cruises aboard this ship, disembarking in Seward. Then comes the land portion of our Alaskan Adventure, where we will spend a few days in Anchorage before making our way to Fairbanks by train, to the North Shore by plane, and back down to Fairbanks by van travelling on the highway made famous by “Ice Road Truckers”, and eventually to Denali and then back to the sea by train to reboard the Zaandam for our return 7-day journey to Vancouver.





The whole journey will take just over 5 weeks. Our neighbor Cathy will again be taking us to the airport tomorrow morning to begin our adventure. Hope you’ll follow along.

---