Life is busy. Work’s been hectic. So the chance to break the ties of the day-to-day is a much welcomed opportunity.

Generally, before these trips, we are organised at least a week out. Not this time. Flying out of Canberra at just after 6am on Sunday morning,  I started on Friday, and Deb started Saturday. So I hope we have got everything … if not … hello Mastercard…

This year’s trip is an Alaska inside passage cruise out of Seattle thanks to Stampin’ Up! and all of Deb’s hard work over the last year. A trip that less than 1% of demonstrators from all over the world earn, so it’s a huge achievement.

The price of travelling overseas for us is long flights, we flew out of Canberra to Sunday morning’s sunrise and into Vancouver Canada to Sunday’s sunrise. We left Canberra at 6:10am on Sunday and got to Vancouver at 6:30am on Sunday. A long 20 minutes!

By the time we got to Seattle it was getting on for lunch time so we wandered down to the Pike Street Markets, which was crazy busy.

We finally scored a table and enjoyed a great feed of clam chowder, shrimp cocktail, and some Alaskan Cod. It was so good.

Then we wandered around the markets and pier area for a couple of hours before making our way back to our hotel. By 5pm we were in bed … it’d been a long day!

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Monday morning rolls around and we are loaded on buses and transferred to the port to start the boarding process. By this time, we are experienced in shuffling along through this line and then that line to get through the process to board.

For cruises, you need to be comfortable with lines, as there can be a lot of them.

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Over the course of the week we docked at a number of ports in Alaska and Canada on our round trip out of Seattle.

Sitka

Sitka is a small town of around 8,000 residents, with the population living on the narrow coastal strip with the national park backed up to the town. The main industry of Sitka is fishing. Tourism is number four.

And they have one roundabout.

At the raptor centre, we learnt all about Bald Eagles. No doubt they are a beautiful bird, but size wise, not as big as our wedgetail eagles. I thought better than pointing that out. 

From the Raptor centre we went into town and wandered around the shops and grab lunch. Of the ports we stopped at, Sitka had the most Russian influence.

Skagway

Skagway is all about gold, getting it, and getting to it.

We took a train trip up to White Pass, which was the pass people had to trek in the gold rush in the cold and the snow carrying all their supplies in search of their fortune.

Endicott Arm & Dawes Glacier

An early start this morning as we entered the Endicott Arm at around 5am heading down to the Dawes Glacier.  I have to take their word on that. We surfaced at 6, put some warmer clothes on and stepped onto our balcony. It was quite fresh and a bit foggy as we sailed along with bobbing icebergs floating passed. All different shapes and sizes … and colours.

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Then, by the time we got to the Glacier our breakfast had arrived and we watched as the captain did a 540 degree turn in the narrow confines so everyone could see before heading out.

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Juneau

Juneau, the state capital of Alaska and a much bigger place and not accessible by road. It seems amazing to have a capital not accessible by road.

With no excursions organised, we search for somewhere to satisfy our seafood needs for lunch and then coffee needs.

Juneau had a different feel, with a more indigenous influence compared to the other ports.

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But like every port, there was shop after shop catering/targeting tourists to spend their money.

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Unfortunately, the chairlift that takes you to the top of the mountain behind the city was down for service. It was a shame as it would’ve provided great views of the port, city, and surrounding areas.

Victoria, Canada

Our last stop was Victoria in Canada. We only had four hours in Victoria, and it was a walk into town, and we opted to just sit and not get off the ship.

This was as close as we got…

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Our ship from one of the other ships shadowing us this week.

There are always memorable moments on every trip, and  sometimes it’s the small things that jump out… having a drink in a lounge area one afternoon, and a little girl and her dad were playing with a balloon. As we leave I walked over and asked if she was playing Keepy Uppy (an episode of Bluey). She looked at me and gave me a huge smile. She knew exactly what I was talking about. I mentioned that I’m from Australia, where Bluey’s from, and she was very excited. They love Bluey. 

This has been another great trip, thanks to Stampin’ Up! It was great to catch up with old friends we’ve made across the world and make new ones.

And now, just another seven hours to sit at the Seattle airport before we fly out.