I haven't been on an extended vacation in quite sometime, usually a long weekend is the best I get. But not this summer. This summer I get 10 days in Alaska! My parents are up here working for the season, as usual. OK, Mom is not working, she is playing, but Dad has to keep his day job driving tours into the Yukon. They invited me to come visit since they have been coming up here for 6 years and I had yet to come up too. My last excursion to Skagway was when I was 9 years old. The family came to Alaska for my parent's 25th anniversary.
Well, the day after their 44th anniversary we all set out to come to Alaska again! Mom and Dad have been up in Skagway already but came home for a week, so I flew back with them, and do not come home for a week and a half!
Saturday I drove my car, to Tucson, then took planes from Tucson to Salt Lake City to Seattle to Juneau. It was a loo
ong day, but not without it's...
charms surprises sights that can't be unseen.
 |
| A 40-50 year old woman (it is hard to tell when you try to look so young) wearing an altogether inappropriate outfit, both in the items themselves and the fashion rules about strips/polka dots/animal print |
We got to Juneau and had about 8 hours to before we had to be up and ready for the ferry to Skagway. Luckily that is just enough time to get some sleep. (if you are keeping up, I have taken a car, plane, and now boat to get to my destination. I have goals of adding bus, train, and helicopter to my modes of transportation while on vacation)
The ferry ride was about 6 hours (with an hour long pit stop in Haines). I took lots of pictures of the countryside as we passed. Of course it never looks as good in a photo. We also saw a couple bald eagles, some dahl/dall porpoises (proper spelling is up in the air and I can't be bothered to Google it right now), and Dad saw a bear through the binoculars. I saw a dark speck but will take his word for it. So my current wildlife count is at 7. At one point I decided to read instead (it is kind of my thing when traveling in Alaska) and my parents were having none of it, as evidenced by Mom engaging me in conversation so as not to let me get into my book, and Dad coming up and telling me I had to stop reading and look out the window. So instead I took more pictures as we approached Skagway.
 |
| a glacier |
 |
| a lighthouse |
 |
| Mom wanted this picture so I could showcase that I was not on an Alaskan cruise. So this is a picture of me in front of a boat while on a different boat :) |
 |
| Skagway! |
 |
| This map shows where we started on the ferry (Juneau) and Haines and Skagway. It also shows Carcross and Whitehorse which I may or may not get to this trip. (Carcross yes - on a bus - Whitehorse, no. But Mom and Dad go there often enough it is nice to see where it is on a map) |
 |
| Also, I have been in more rain the last 24 hours than probably all year in AZ. But it is light drizzle mostly. until it isn't and you need a hood. Good thing mom had an extra rain jacket for me! |
We got to Skagway before 2pm and got to our trailer and got situated. I am sure Dad will discuss our first "adventure" in his blog (see side panel of my blog for link to his) when we got to the trailer. I got to meet some of their friends, and Heath even had a staff barbeque at his house, so I met most of Dad's coworkers too. After that we had dinner with more of their friends at the Brew Co. We will be back at the Brew Co for a cribbage tournament on Wednesday. (It is nice to know I can still be nerdy and competitive even in a different city). Mom already has my cribbage partner lined up so I am pretty excited.
 |
| Skagway at 6 pm on a no-ship day |
Oh, and Mom and Dad say hi too!
 |
Mom and Dad proving that you walk in the middle of the street in Skagway
|
Vacation Days Count: 2
Wildlife Count: 7
No comments:
Post a Comment