The 2 choices we came up with were an Alaskan cruise, or book a cabin in Colorado or somewhere up North. After talking about it we decided on the Alaskan cruise, once you factor the price into everything it included like the room and board and food 24/7 it was the best option. This was also something we've wanted to do ever since we took our first cruise to the Bahamas almost 6 years ago.
There were a lot of options when choosing this cruise. First of all Alaskan cruises don't start until May, which worked out good because April is the end of hockey season. The cruise we chose was the first Alaskan voyage for this ship. We left from Vancouver Canada, did the inner channel, then docked in Seattle. So not only did we get to see all the ports on the cruise, we also got to visit 2 different cities we probably wouldn't have otherwise.
Vancouver Canada:
Was amazing! I think this may have been Josh's favorite spot. It was an uber bike friendly town, and the hotel we stayed at gave us complementary bikes for 3 hours. We rode to Stanley Park, which is a must do in Vancouver. It was so beautiful and different than FL. The park was HUGE. It took us the whole 3 hours to just ride around it, and that was at a pretty steady pedaling pace (stopping a few times).
The start of our Stanley Park trial
Some nice other tourist took our picture and we took theirs
Totem poles were really big in the Northwest
Another view, this is about 1/2 through our ride
We rode along side these giant rock wall, there was a sign that said "beware of falling rocks"
Vancouver's "beach"
There was also a lot of large installation artwork pieces all over Stanley Park.
These looked like giant diamond rings to me, Josh said upside down dreidel
This was on the "beach" part, so if the tide came in I don't know how far it would come to this piece
These were slightly creepy, Josh thought they were cool
We only had 1 full day in Vancouver. I didn't realize that's how I booked until we had 5 days in Seattle. I think we made the best of Vancouver though. After our 3 hour bike ride we took a breather and then went to explore Granville Island, and more importantly, the brewery. You had to take a little ferry boat over to the island, or walk to and over a giant bridge. We opted for the ferry. The hotel gave us 2, 1-way commentary tickets for the ferry. The ride there we hopped on the wrong one, and just paid our way, the way back we found the correct ferry. Now we either forgot the camera or got so caught up we did take many pictures.
At Granville Island Brewery
My 3 tasting choices. We so wanted to bring 1 of them home as a bottle, but I wasn't sure how the cruise boat did that, so we left empty handed.
While on the island, we also visited a little mobile pet shop that had mostly hand crafted items. We got the cats a little felt cap nip ball and a welsh corgi x-ing sign! We also stopped at an ice cream shop and talked hockey with the girl there, because she saw my FL Panther phone case and was upset that we now had Luongo. I told her they can have him back, I just want Garrison (who was traded from FL to Vancouver 2 years ago). Their ice cream was so good!! We shared a coffee ice cream cone. While walking back to the ferry we watched in a window some glass blowing, it's completely mesmerizing! Later that night we went to dinner at a place who's name escapes me now, but it was really good!
That was it for Vancouver. We packed up our bags and sat on the sidewalk for a cab to take us to the port to get on the boat!
I forgot how bad the cruise boarding process was, it was almost worse than the airport. Finally we got on board threw our bag in the room and went for lunch.
Leaving the port
The water planes cracked me up. I loved them
Sailing away, we have sail off drinks of bloody Mary (for him) and mimosa (for me)
The other side of Stanley Park
The only cruise photo we purchased. This was the sailing party in Vancouver.
Day 1 and 2 were sailing days. I don't usually get sea sick, but that boat sure was rocking. The first night's dinner I didn't really get to enjoy because of that. I think I was also so overwhelmed by everything going on, and I was still adjusting to the time difference.
First stop was Juneau:
We got into port kind of late 11am (local time). We didn't really have anything planned for the first 2 ports. (we had an excursion in Ketchikan).
On the way into port. Some home along the water
Downtown Juneau
So we just wandered aimlessly, which was very nice. Josh of course found that Juneau had a brewery! So we asked around how to get to it and a local told us they had a shop in the downtown area and they may have a shuttle going to the brewery. We walked over to the shop, which was amazing and found a van driver who takes groups to and from the brewery for a little tour. He was just about our the door when we caught up to him, so we made it just in time.
The Juneau Alaskan Brewery. We had all 4 of those beer listed plus 3 more. They were really great and flavorful.
While in Granville Island we decided to start our own collection of 6 oz taster glasses. So we picked one up in Granville and now the Alaskan brewing company. Also at the Alaskan brewing company we picked up a bottle of beer for my dad.
After the brewery we needed some food, we got a tip from the van driver to check out Rockwell. It was a great tip, the place has amazing food and it was very low key.
While we were heading back to the ship we stopped at one of the "cruise boat owned shops" and picked a little something to commemorate our honeymoon:
Josh got me a little cruise boat charm to add to my wedding day Pandora bracelet
We got back to the boat ship and were on our way to Skagway. Skagway is a bit of a wild west looking town. They had a tour (that one of our dinner table-mates went on) of the brothels and red light district. We were going to see a can-can girl show, but it was very cold and rainy! By the time we were done wandering the town, we were done with Skagway and the wetness.
This was the port we docked in. The rock wall had all sorts of the ships' flags and that neat skull
Our ship
We found a neat little ski-chair. Josh relaxing
The little town, That Red Onion Saloon was one of the brothels.
Shocker!! Again we found a "brewery" however it was just the pub/bar. We got there around 10:30, they served beer, but didnt start food until 11.
Another flight of beers. They were potent!
Here's a rainy day selfie, before heading back to the boat for coffee and hot chocolate
The next day we had a cruising day, but we went to the fjords in the early morning. It was an amazing experience and the fact that we had a balcony room was so worth it!
All of these photos are courtesy to Josh. I was still not awake and bundled up on the balcony. We started journeying into the Fjords around 3am, and were getting close to the glacier at 7am.
The Captain off the Rhapsody got us so close to the glacier, and did a few 360's so everyone on the ship, no matter where you were, could see it
The rest of the day we relaxed in the room, we didnt want to move or go anywhere. We got hooked on the shows "Castle" and "Bones". They ship was in open water and you could really feel it move. At one point I looked out the sliding door and you could see the horizon moving up and down. While showing Josh my "findings", he freaks out and nearly throws me off the bed, scrambling for the camera. I'm at a loss. finally he gets out on the balcony and points out a pod of whales! I squealed and shouted "OH look orcas!!!" and with that a few of our cabin neighbors came out to check them out too.
Josh got some amazing pictures!
aka Killer Whales
Our last stop was Ketchikan. This stop we scheduled an excursion. We decided on the "hike and zip line adventure". We got on a bus, went up a winding narrow road continually on a 45 degree angle. We got dropped off at a mini park entrance and got on these different buses and made our way further up, these buses were almost at 90 degrees. Finally we get off at the top of the zip line post. We watch a quick video and get into our gear. We were off. We did a practice run on a little 20 foot line. Once you were on the other platform no turning back! At 1 point we were almost 300 feet up on a tree from the ground, and the longest zip line was around 300 feet, propelling you up to 30mph! We had 7 zip lines and 3 rope bridges.
Our view at one of the platforms
Josh was in charge of the camera, it was literally strapped to his harness
Scared outta my mind, just saying! (This is however the last picture from this because we forgot to swap the batteries and this one died!)
The group photo taken at the end of the adventure. The guys in yellow were our guides. We are at the back.
At the end of the tour we got some hot chocolate and cookies at the gift shop. We also got zip line medals, because the other group that took a different route, lost 3 people along the way from nerves.
We went back to the ship after this changed clothes, got the other battery and headed back out!
We wandered around and took in the sites, and picked up a few things at the shops. We got back on the ship for our last full cruising day before disembarking in Seattle.
We took quite a few pictures with the ship's photographers, but something about their lighting or the flash just did not make them flattering!
The last night on the boat, I found a crew member to take a picture on my phone
We had an early morning wake up call to disembark and a long line wait for a cab to get to our hotel in Seattle. Finally we got there and got upgraded to a top floor mini suite! It was awesome!
The first thing we wanted was junk food. Taco Bell or McDonald's! After all the heavy and rich ship food we just needed something greasy! The cruise food was amazing don't get me wrong, but we were ready for something simpler.
While looking for a junk food place to eat, we stumbled across a mall. We thought "oh mall food!" They had traditional mall food, but nothing by the name I knew from FL. I just wanted something I knew the menu of.
But we weren't going to let this trip be wasted. We saw a Pandora store, and I was curious if they would have a Seattle Space Needle charm. They didn't but we got this one:
A little Seattle bead. It goes perfectly with my green bracelet already, next to the little cruise boat
We finally found a McDonald's and chowed down!! With food in our bellies we were ready to wander and check out the city. We walked around downtown and checked out some shops and menatally located a few places to visit again. That night we found an awesome place for dinner called Tap House.
Took a pre-dinner selfie
What obviously tipped Josh to this place was the 160 beers on tap
Their coasters, we asked our waiter if we could get a few extra to bring home.
Our next day, we went to Pike Place Market. We did some research in the little planner booklets they give you at the hotel and found a place that seemed to be good for breakfast. We also found a few shops that did wine and beer tasting and another brewery.
Pike Place Market
Pike Place & Pike Street
Inside part of the market
It was described as a legendary breakfast, and that it was. It was out facing the Ocean and Miner's Landing
We found all sorts of goodies while in Pike Place Market to bring home. We had to send 2 FedEx boxes home with all our stuff. There was so much more stuff at the market we wanted to get, but it was not doable. They had these amazing flower bunches for $10 and they smelled fantastic! We of course walked pass where they throw the fish.
This was a bridge walkway to a parking garage but behind us is a Ferris wheel and miner's landing (which we did not visit, we forgot!!)
After wandering the main part of the market we headed out towards the brewery, which is part of the market, but you enter though the street. We are a light lunch at the restaurant, and caught a 2pm brewery tour!
The decor was awesome! I wish I could have just walked around taking pictures of everything
They had beer plates on the wall, that I noticed from growing up in the living room at my parents house that dad collected
The beer flight. I wanted to take that paddle home so badly.
The brewery tour was awesome, but we forgot to ask if we could take pictures and didn't want to just start. It was during the weekend so there were no employees down there so the guide took us up close and personal with all the equipment and tanks.
We went back to the hotel to re-group and figure out a game plan. We also learned there was another brewery close by Pyramid brewing. We can get very few of there beers in FL and its few and far between. We had to check out a more extensive list.
It was about a mile away. We walked! We passed Century Like field and Safco field and the brewery was right across the street. Unknown to us there was a Seattle Mariner baseball game that night.
Football stadium
Baseball
Brewery
A very nice couple by us took a picture for us.We were both tired and excited!
We walked the 1 mile back to the hotel and crashed!
For Sunday we went to the Space Needle!
Such a great iconic landmark
The view from the top. 520 Feet up
Took the obligatorily tourist picture
Selfie atop the needle
We opted for a two-fer ticket. The space needle and a blown glass museum. So glad we did, because the art was amazing! Its a must have checkout if you visit Seattle.
There was also a Northwest folk festive in the same area. We had a lot of fun checking that place out. A lot of music and Seattle is a very dog friendly city. We finally saw 1 long haired fluff corgi!!!
After the afternoon down by the space needle we got an inside tip from our waiter from the Tap House to check out this place called The Pine Box. It was a converted funeral home into a bar, and is said to be haunted. The food was so good!!!
Josh picked up his shirt at a vendor at Pike Place Market. He basically bleaches a design into a black shirt.
Monday we decided to just chill at the hotel and get stuff together for our EARLY morning flight the next day. We went to game works down the street for dinner/happy hour 1/2 price apps and drinks. Score! On our way there was saw an exact replica of the Delorean from Back to the Future, unfortunately we weren't fast enough to get picture, not to say we didn't try, Josh ran down the street trying to.
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All the glasses we collected along our travels.
We had an amazing honeymoon! We definitely want to visit Vancouver and Seattle again. And want to venture to Anchorage, Alaska. Maybe for some anniversaries.
This is the last post of the "Our Wedding" installment. BUT not the blog. The blog will continue as a Newlyweds and Homeowners Adventure blog, so stick with it. After this post I am sending my blog off to a place that will turn it into a book. So I will have the memories of planning always at my finger tips!
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