Our Alaskan Cruise Anniversary Adventure

Dad, Steve, and Mom on the ship's deck as we were leaving Seattle, July 10, 2011

When we talked with Mom and Dad about what they would like to do to celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary, we found out that they would really like all of us kids and our spouses to go with them on an Alaskan Cruise. Steve and I had never been on a cruise of any kind so we were very excited about the whole idea.
When you have a once in a lifetime event like this and are visiting a very scenic, beautiful place like Alaska, there are bound to be a lot of photos. Even though I have included a TON of photos in this post, rest assured there are many more. :) We had an absolutely wonderful time and even more importantly, I think my Mom and Dad did, too. Here are some of our photos from the adventure.

Our first formal night at dinner....John, Jan, Mom, Dad, Steve, and I

The waiters brought a special little cake for their anniversary on Monday....a few days early...but it was so good!

The ship took professional photos on both formal nights of the cruise. This first one is one that we took ourselves. The next several are ones that were taken by the photographers on the ship.

Steve and I

Brian and Annjennette

Jan and John

Mom and Dad

Our second formal night

The group hug

And the goofiest pose

Jeri, Steve, Bruce, and Frank

On Tuesday of the cruise we docked in Ketchikan. Brian had arranged to have a fishing boat take us out to fish for salmon. The guys were great sports and let us women fish first. The guys netted the fish we caught. It was an absolutely beautiful day and we managed to pull in 5 fish. Way fun.

Jan, Dad, Mom, Annjennette, and Jennifer

Bruce cheers me on as I bring in my fish. Look at that concentration!!

Steve holding the fish I caught....ok, it WAS the smallest one caught that day

There it is. The guy on the boat taught us that if we hold the fish way out in front of us, it looks a lot bigger in the picture. Thanks for the tip, Captain Bob.

Hamming it up in Ketchikan

Entering the fjord we saw this whale blowing

We got up at 5am the next morning because we were going into the glacial fjord, Tracy Arm. The scenery was amazing. We say different sized ice bergs, glaciers, steep mountain walls, seals, whales, some mountain goats, and some bald eagles. So, so beautiful!!

The ice was mostly a beautiful blue color. These small ice bergs are called "growlers".

Dawn at Tracy Arm

Some of the steep walls of the mountains in the fjord

Looking up from the ship at an alpine glacier

Dad, Jennifer, Mom, Me, and Frank taking in the great views

More great mountain shots

This piece of ice shows the layers of ice mixed with layers of silt and small worms

This catamaran, which holds 110 people, gives some perspective on the size of the ice berg.

A hanging glacier

Sawyer Glacier

This was the biggest tide water glacier we saw. We didn't get to see it calf, but it was still a pretty spectacular sight.

This mama seal just looked at us as the huge ship turned around

If you look closely, you can see some mountain goats walking along the mountain. The little one was a crack up. He would sometimes head straight up the steep mountain.

Jeri and I

Steve and I on the highest point on the ship....amazing view!!

Jan, Brian, Jill, and Steve

Another whale blowing on the way out of the fjord

Mom, Dad, and I in downtown Juneau

Some of the foliage on the way to the Mendenhall Glacier outside Juneau

Steve at the Mendenhall Glacier

How does that really old ice taste, anyway?

It was really cold to the touch, obviously

Check out this big waterfall next to the glacier. Steve in the bottom right corner gives some perspective as to its size.

A cool shaped mini ice berg

A shot of the glacier and the waterfall together

Jan, Mom, and I with some of our totem pole friends in Skagway, AK

Downtown Skagway

We thought this was a funny shot. The docked ship in the center of the photo looked like it was ready to come down the main street.

In Skagway we took a ride on the White Pass Railroad. It followed the old route of the gold seekers that came to Alaska in the 1800's.

We saw this rather shaky looking trestle coming up and got a little nervous....

..but when we got there, we passed right by that particular trestle...whew!!!

Looking back at the harbor from the heights we reached on the train

Mom and Dad looking through the book we put together for their anniversary. It contained letters from each child and grandchild.

Steve and I in front of the Empress Hotel in Victoria, British Columbia

Jan, Me, and Mom with the Parliament building behind us.

Some of the amazing flowers in Victoria

We took a carriage ride around Victoria. Dad sat up with the driver and she actually let him drive the horse for most of the ride. It was way fun.

Mom and Dad on the last day of the cruise. We all had so much fun!!

So, I don't actually know this nice man's name. We just called him Born Free. He performed at the first karaoke night that we attended and sang that song. We then seemed to see him everywhere we went. Bruce asked if he could take a picture him on the last day of the cruise. It makes me smile just to look at it.

This was the first time we had been on a cruise, and we would recommend it to anyone. So fun!!