Alaska called... I gratefully answered!

Sometimes life really does just work out, not only perfectly but also in the most wonderfully perfect imaginable. That's kind of how my visit to Alaska came about nine years ago. From as far back as I can remember, I have dreamed about exploring Alaska, living there even! My whole life has been spent living for long winters filled with cold and snow and camping out the rest of the year while waiting for wintertime to find me again. Alaska just sounded like my perfect match. But I married someone who doesn't like cold and snow, who doesn't like camping and who didn't have the slightest desire to even glance upon a poster of Alaska. I was pretty sure my dreams of Alaska were to remain just so... dreams.

Then there came a day when friends of ours asked if we would go on a Mediterranean cruise with them, leaving out of Rome... Now, since I had tried for years to get my husband to take a vacation together and had given up after failing at least 57 times, I almost fell over when he had instantly agreed. He wouldn't travel with me before and he hasn't been willing to travel with me since, clearly I'm the one he want's to avoid vacationing with but who cares....... we were going to Rome! For me, it was a pretty big deal and I was worried, straight off, about having to fly overseas; flight travel doesn't agree so well with me and I feared a flight that long might not be able to handle all the puke bags I was sure to fill beyond full. Still, I was game. I was super STOKED about a real, true vacation and I'd never been to Europe but it was old hat to our friends and even to my husband since their lives had all been spent travelling back and forth to Italy visiting their relatives still living there. I couldn't wait to see it all, especially the Palermo Catacombs!!

It was only a few days later when we were booking our trip that our friends realized they couldn't make the dates work for the Rome cruise but they wondered if we would consider the Alaskan cruise that they could make work. ALASKA??!!! Yes, yes, YES!!!!! And my husband had already said yes to a cruise so he couldn't back out even with this welcomed change in plans!!

Alaska had found it's way into my plans, when I wasn't even planning it, at all. I was meant to go to Alaska and the universe was making it happen.

I took a lot of pictures but didn't take a TON of pictures. I wanted to feel being there, to experience it with all my senses. It was different than I had imagined it would be. Being on a ship makes it a little harder to get to know the land because on the port stops, time passes like lightning and there just isn't enough time to settle into all the beautiful that's waiting. But we were going and I was going to revel in every single second of ever single day in Alaska!

The ship was beautiful but like flight travel... it just didn't agree with my tummy. Most of our ship days I spent in bed desperately tring to make it all stop!!!

This is the ship we were on...
I was violently-pukey sick almost every moment spent on board but it was a very beautiful ship!

Juneau was stunning!

Juneau was the first port we docked at and it sure was gorgeous!

As we hiked up for our first view of a 'real life' glacier, I found myself
completely entranced with the massive salmon fighting to get upstream; half
in the water and half out... he was going to make it!



And then there was a GLACIER!!! my heart was already feeling at home.
Next time... I'm totally kayaking these waters!

 

I totally fell in love with this little Posse of Perfect!
I, so badly, wanted to swim over and give them all pillows
for soft, squooshy sleepies in the sunshine... 

 

I... was... FASCINATED by the massive noses on the the backs of the humpback whales! Who knew they had NOSES
on their BACKS??? Okay, probably everyone else knew... but I didn't know until I took this picture. So cool BEYOND coolness, I can't even tell you!

And the power of those massive nostrils... let me just say..... I wish for that power now, every single time
I find myself with an annoying sinus cold. Whales really do have it all!

And then we were back on the ship again... more puking, more upchucking, more hurling..... until we arrived in Ketchikan!

Ketchikan was a really quick little stopover and I was a little bummed that we didn't have much time to explore. But we did find a great little Lumberjack Show that was lots of fun to experience. I also fell in love with the houses in the hills all sided in different perfect sea-side colours... I loved it so much I brought a little of it home by siding all our camp buildings in different colours so I can kind of feel like part of me is still there.

 

My absolute FAVOURITE part of Ketchikan were totally the water taxis!!! I could have just sat and watched them
all day long. Loved them! And I mean SERIOUSLY... LOVED them!!!
I just SOOOOOO want to call a water taxi to go and get some groceries!

 

Glacier Bay was as sad as it was fascinating. As we entered the bay there was a silence like none other I had ever known. The deck was full of people but the quiet overtook every soul on board, it seemed. We all stood on the deck, stories above the water line, yet miniaturized next to the glacial walls that had almost suddenly appeared before us.

It was really interesting to watch how the
hush fell... from talking to whispering in a heartbeat!

Suddenly from the silence, came a loud clap that sounded like a rifle shot... followed by a loud crashing. The gunshot sound was the cracking of ice. Pieces of the glacier were being forced to let go as they crashed into the waiting sea. I felt sad as the gentle current caried the lost pieces away and the waves from the crashing settled in wait for the next claps to bear another offering. Most seemed to think it was 'neat' but the glacier was changing right before me and it was hard to have to watch.

Skagway was our next stop and there we had a full day of adventure planned!

Everyone we knew who had been to Alaska told us we HAD to take the train excursion
in Skagway... so we did. It was nice and relaxing but it was so much like home that I wished
I had chosen another tour instead.

 

We did get to visit an old gold mining camp along the train route
that was fun so, it wasn't at all disappointing! I even found some flakes of gold
while trying the age-old art of 'panning'... I ended up doing panning for almost everyone there
because it got old for most pretty quickly and they would all bring me their pans because
I was having such a blast!!!

 

My absolute FAVOURITE part of Skagway day was the helicopter glacier excursion!!! I have no words that can describe
it... but I will never be without those moments in my heart. I just felt so at home.

 

Tracey Arm went far and above any hope I had ever held for Alaska. It sucked me in and I wanted to stay there forever.

It was cold, it was windy and it was exactly where I needed to be... it's where I still need to be.....

Coming into Tracey Arm was like a gift of too much beautiful...

I was cold, I was a windblown mess...
and I was filled with nothing but incredible, immeasurable joy!

Can you tell which one of us was maybe not so
incredibly, immeasurably filled with joy???
 

The floating icebergs were nothing short of stunningly mesmerizing...

I wanted so badly to just jump ship, swim on over and spend the rest of my entire life livng on this sailboat with whoever
was on it... all that mattered was staying there and the details could be worked out later...



Instead... I stayed where I was. Grateful that I had been blessed with those
Alaskan moments that will live in my soul forever.

 

I'd love to know of the places that feed your soul... Where is it that you feel you're supposed to be??