50 Years: Alaska!

 I know many couples choose exotic beach locations for honeymoon and anniversary trips. I have NEVER been inclined to choose a warm, tropical paradise for any of our anniversary trips. Maybe it’s because we live in a location where we sweat 90% of the time; and, I hate sand.  My two absolute FAVORITE locations are South Dakota and Alaska. Each place restores my soul and lifts my spirits. I am so thankful we were able to share this important milestone with most of our immediate family. If everyone could have been there, it would have been a dream come true. 

Having been there before, Ron and I were content to stroll around the towns of Sitka and Ketchikan while the rest of the family took various tours. We didn’t even leave the ship when we landed in Canada.  Just walking aimlessly, sitting on random benches to people watch, and looking out at the beautiful scenery was relaxing for us. Our favorite sites included: glacier ice floating on the water, rugged mountainsides and volcanic peaks, sea and wild life, gorgeous flowers, and cultural wonders. These few pictures simply do not capture the spiritual impact this great state has on me. 

The last picture is my favorite. If you look closely, you can see an eagle flying above the hedge. Simply breathtaking! Maybe we will go again for our 60th anniversary!

50 Years Part 2: On Board!

 I realize cursing isn’t for everyone. But, I love it! The gentle sway of the ship, unpacking your suitcase ONCE, never having to hunt for a place to eat, quality entertainment, interesting people, shopping, beautiful scenery… and so much more! These pictures were taken by various members of the family during our days at sea. It is just a small sampling of the enjoyable trip we had on our cruise.

Sailing away from Seattle gave us an amazing view of this beautiful city. We all had numerous opportunities to explore on our own and in groups. 

Standing at the back of the ship and watching the sun set is one of my favorite parts of each day at sea.

The ship offers so many different activities and forms of entertainment. The family used our time onboard to choose activities that appealed to individuals, as well as groups. Therefore, we didn’t spend every waking moment together.  But, we enjoyed catching up each evening at dinner.

Sometimes, I could even snap a picture of Ryan without a goofball expression!

Lots of shrimp for Sophia!

Special treatment and delicious cake on birthdays!

And, of course, opportunities to dress a little fancier than we usually do.

Some of each day at sea was spent napping. After all, this was a vacation! But, we also had time for hiding and hunting for cruise ducks. I have no idea how the tradition started. But, sweet Jamie made me some duck labels and I bought some adorable mini rubber duck from Amazon. The grands hid them around the ship. It was so much fun to sit a few feet away and see the excitement on children’s faces when they found one.

The ship had a wide variety of things to do: rock wall climbing, swimming, hot tubs, table tennis, dance parties, trivia contests, soccer competition, spas, gyms, bumper cars, karaoke, and of course free ice cream!

Trivia games…

Fantastic shows…

Ice cream…

Hot tubs and swimming…

Random photo ops…

Sweet notes of congratulations on our cabin door…

Bumper car battles…

Samantha could be pretty ruthless!

Poppy impressed the grands with his dance moves.

Scott took advantage of the time to skip shaving.

Gerson presented an award winning soccer performance.

Lots of family competition in the games area.

A bit of rock wall climbing.

Movie time in Ryan and Jamie’s suite.

Maggie and Sophie wowed the crowd at karaoke!

One final note. I have never had any inclination to go to Las. Vegas. But, one of the evenings onboard was Las Vegas Tenors night. They were absolutely amazing! Their harmony was spot on and their selection of music covered a wide range of genre. We might just have to travel to Vegas to catch one of their shows!

50 Years Part One

 When Ron and I celebrated our 40th wedding anniversary, we took a cruise out of Seattle to Alaska. We really expected it to be a once in a lifetime experience. However, when we reached our 45th anniversary, we decided to let our kids know that we intended to go again for our 50th. We told them we would love for them to go as well; but, there was no way we could foot the bill. I said, “ You have 5 years to start saving. If you don’t want to go, that’s fine; no hard feelings.” We were pretty darned excited when we made our reservations in early December. Ryan and Jamie, Scott and Molly, and Leslie and Gerson soon made theirs and the planning began! Unfortunately, Rebecca and Seth weren’t able to join us. They have had quite a few obstacles to overcome financially and it just was an impossibility for them.

There have been many anxious moments during the past few months. We have all been hoping and praying nothing would keep any of us from sailing. COVID exposures being our greatest concern. Not having cold weather clothes set off a shopping frenzy. Picking a date meant shuffling around so many work schedules for the kids. Dog care for 8 dogs needed to be arranged. Ron and I have been packing to move from one city to another. Just so many little obstacles! Plus, technology has become a real pain in the patootie when traveling. We have to have several apps and so much pre-cruise documentation has to be done through the apps. It really makes my brain feel old. Thank goodness, the girls have walked us through much of it.

We are now all gathered in Seattle, doing some sight seeing, enjoying the cool weather and beautiful Pacific Northwest scenery. We miss those who couldn’t come and wish so very badly we could share this experience with them. But, Ron and I are not letting it dampen our spirits. After a few years of major health scare, we are just so very thankful that we can have this amazing experience. We might not even get a 60th anniversary; so, we will enjoy every moment of this one.

I will most likely update the blog several times over the new few weeks. We are going to be so busy!