We had such a wonderful time! Joe and I started off in Seattle for a visit with my brother and sister in law. I don’t think I ever get tired of Pike Place Market.

The day before our cruise Joe’s brother and his wife flew in, we picked them up at the airport, spent the day together and then headed off to the dock the next morning.

Our first stop was Ketchikan where we sampled some smoked salmon and walked around this old historic fishing town. Joe and his brother went to the totem pole museum while Lois and I hiked along a trail that borders a river running throught the center of town. There’s a salmon ladder right there - too bad it wasn’t salmon season. I understand they swim upstream to spawn right throught the middle of town!

Our next stop was Juneau. We cruised up and fiord to the Sawyer glacier - that’s a breathtaking site to be right in front of a glacier. Along the way we passed icebergs in the water that were bright blue. They turn blue as the ice packs so tightly it forces the oxygen out and the color that reflects as a result is a clear, bright blue.

We took a bus ride to the Mendenhall glacier - that’s the photo up above. I can’t even describe in words the beauty.

Our next stop was Skagway where we took a train ride up to the place the early prospectors came to discover gold. So many people and pack animals lost their lives along this trail! I can’t imagine what it was like to be walking in the freezing cold along this narrow trail up this mountain in the hopes to strike it rich as so many people did. The scenery was really beautiful going up the mountain. The guide was having everyone look to our left at a lovely view and for some reason I glanced to the right and saw a black bear right next to the train! He was walking so close to us I could see his eyes and the claws on his front feet. I shouted out “Look, look, look - a bear!” but only a few people in our car turned in time to see him. I’ll never forget that.

The ship then came back toward Seattle and stopped in Victoria but I’ve been there several times before when I lived in Washington so we didn’t get off the ship.

Back in Seattle we had a couple of days to play by ourselves so we drove up to Leavenworth - a little Bavarian village in the northern part of the state. That was a really fun day trip and really good German food!

We were gone a total of 10 days. It was a really great vacation!