McCloud Fire & Ice Travels

After a long relaxing day at sea, we arrived midday at Icy Strait Point. Here are some fun facts: It is Alaska’s only indigenous-owned cruise destination. Much of the money visitors spend here helps support the local community and about 85% of the staff are local residents. This is the best whale-watching spot in Alaska. The waters around here are famous for humpback whales. Many see whales without even leaving the dock or while walking along the shoreline trail. We saw one as the ship glided in but we didn’t get to snap a pic. It is also common to spot bald eagles, sea lions, sea otters and occasionally bears. We rode a free gondola. It was a fun way to enjoy a bit of scenery when we arrived. Adjacent to the gondola is the world’s biggest Zipline. It stretches more than a mile down the mountains and riders reach speeds of over 60 mph while dropping more than 1300 feet toward the ocean.  We opted to take the 1.5 mile walk along the waterfront trail into Hoonah. So many sights to se...

Slept like a baby. The ship had a ever so gentle rock that made me feel like a baby must feel when being rocked in its mothers arms. Stacy however was up at 4:30am (still on East Coast time) and working on a talk. Then he was watching a nature show about Bears in Alaska. Then he was looking at me to see how much longer I was going to sleep. My alarm went off as usual but that did nothing to rouse me. Stacy and I exchanged a few words and I drifted off to sleep again. Once up, I realized I was about to miss my planned morning stretch class in the Sky Observation Lounge. Stacy was ready to eat. So he went down for food and I went up for fun. And I soon realized I made the wrong choice as I had to walk on the outside deck to get to my class. Couldn’t turn back now - so I braved the serious winds (although not that cold surprisingly) to get to the class. Met up with Stacy as he was chatting it up with a older couple on their first cruise who were just teasing him that he didn’t have a...

Once we got on the cruise ship, it was time to eat. Well, technically, it was round 2pm but since we only had a blueberry muffin since breakfast, it was definitely time to eat. Which if any of you have been on a cruise ship, its always time. We just missed the sit-down restaurant so our only option for real substance was the Oceanview Cafe. We snagged a window seat (unfortunately, it was overlooking the pier since we hadn’t left the dock yet) and Stacy found what he came for: pizza and ice cream. He also found some pretty authentic tasting Indian food and I opted for that too (mainly because it was far too many choices for Day 1). Then Stacy made me a salad and took it literally when I said only lettuce. When I went back to get some salad dressing, I added about 5 fixings.  At Sunset Park on one of the top decks, we stumbled upon the dangerously delicious Warm Cookie Hour as we sailed away from Vancouver. There was lawn games, live music, hot tea and warm cookies - perfect way...

Celebrity Cruises will be our floating home away this week. There will be sea days and port days. And service will be spotty at best. So while there will be natural pauses to just “be still” - know that you should never be more than a day away from the action. But I’ll be writing because this is a hobby and it’s rather enjoyable. Don’t let me get good at photography - that would be a dangerous combination. New world goals! We have not planned a single excursion for this trip. We are just playing it by ear to align our activity with how the weather and our mood feels at the time. Our walk back to the cruise ship from the Kingdom Hall saw the city in full FIFA bloom as there were several soccer watch parties around town.  See you in a week, Vancouver!!!

Scheduled the uber for a 9:15am pickup even though we won’t be boarding the ship until mid afternoon. Because the plan was to walk from the cruise terminal to Kingdom Hall to meet the local friends. Our fear was that the friends will be at their regional convention (because that’s a real possibility (ask me how I know). Stanley Park Congregation of Vancouver British Columbia Canada sends their love! It was a lovely congregation and they had the CO Visit so we got that added blessing. We even met another Brother Snow. Felt just like we were home! Blooper alert:  Do you smell that? The Stanley Park Kingdom Hall is on a busy street in Vancouver - right in the heart of downtown. This made it easily accessible but also means it is adjacent to other businesses. And with the Sunday meeting started at 11am, the Korean restaurant next door provided a unique challenge close to the end of the abbreviated Watchtower study. The kitchen started cranking up the smells and soon I couldn’t concent...

Stacy was secretly planning a special dinner at a nice restaurant with a view. He told me he made reservations but that’s all I knew. He knows I love a surprise.  But since we had already been up since before 5am EST, I asked what time he planned for dinner. Knowing that we can’t hang like we used to. Well it is well known that I don’t have a good poker face. So when he said dinner was at 8:30pm PDT (translation: 11:30 EST), my face said what words didn’t have to. He got confused with the time change and the way things showed up on our Google Calendar.  And then he asked: “Should I cancel it?” As if my nonverbal hint needed further explanation. So while he had to cancel whatever little surprise he was planning (did I say how much I love surprises), I got to work to see what restaurants were in walking distance from the hotel.  Dinner @ The Story Cafè : the cutest little neighborhood spot with outdoor seating and the friendliest staff. Afterwards, we walked to an Asian sup...

So when Sydra told me I should wear my new hat on this trip, Stacy was a little skeptical. He even asked, where are you going to put that thing. Well, this outfit was a hit! Had folks switching lanes in the airport shuffle to complement. And then guess who was walking with a little extra dap in his step.  But then I got him good on our final flight to Vancouver. He was watching some race car movie with his headphones in and he almost missed it thinking it was another announcement about us coming in for a landing. But he came to realize the flight attendant was talking about him when she said “. . . congratulations on their 28 yr anniversary” and everyone on the plane started clapping. Then she said ring your call button so we will know where you are.  Stacy was in shock.😳 So I had to ring the button and the guys sitting across the aisle got TOO excited and started yelling “it’s them!” And then the couple behind us said they will have been married 53 years in August so we joke...

We had an easy flight from RDU to SLC and Stacy attempted to get some pictures of the mountains as we landed. Enjoy the view. Shortly after we arrived, we got the sad news of the loss of one our dearest friends. There are some people who bring so much sunshine to the lives of others that they can’t keep it from themselves. Here’s my favorite picture of me and my dear brother James. This will be another test of patience as we wait to see him again.

As most of you know, today Stacy and I celebrate our 28th wedding anniversary! And we are off to explore two of earth’s most iconic places: Alaska and Hawaii. Given the very different temp states, this trip, although still technically in the US was more challenging to pack for than our 2 week British Isles trip last summer.  But with a last minute large second bag decision, we’ve got IT ALL packed and we are ready to go. First flight to Salt Lake City, UT and then to Vancouver, British Columbia. And we got a mini upgrade plus the exit row so Stacy is happily scrolling the entertainment options as we await departure.  We are so happy to share this latest adventure with you.