I'm baaack!
Hello! I’ve missed you all so much! As you probably know, I’ve spent the past two weeks in Alaska. I went on the trip with a group of 19 people - my family and friends. Out of this group - 7 were in the 18-24 year range - the rest were 50+
Aside from me, the other six were:
My sister - 23
My brother - 19
My neighbors who are 3 sisters (Colleen - 23, Megan - 21, Kathleen - 18)
And then there was one guy who went to high school with us (Larry - 24).
My family began our journey by flying from New York to Seattle on the 10th. Once there we ate a late lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, spent the night in a very nice hotel, discovered that my mother is - in fact - insane, got really confused by the airport and then flew to Fairbanks, Alaska where we began the land portion of our trip.
In Fairbanks, we met up with the rest of the people in our group, got to see the midnight sun and met “Flat Bubba” - a post card with a half naked cowboy on it. One of my mother’s friends could not make the trip because she recently discovered that she has breast cancer; so my mother and her friends decided to use “Flat Bubba” to record their adventures for her. When I finally steal pictures from everyone and post them here - you too will get to see Flat Bubba’s Adventure in Alaska.
On the 12th we boarded a coach bus with our tour guide and spent the afternoon in downtown Fairbanks - where I had Thai for the first time. At the restaurant Larry impressed the waitresses by speaking fluent Thai while my sister was forced to show her ID to prove that she was not Ashlee Simpson - Because they liked us so much they reduced our bill. Yay!
After lunch we boarded the bus once again and drove to Denali where we spent 3 days and two nights. While in Denali we went on an 8 hr school bus ride through the Denali National Park - stopping to see Dall sheep, ravens, snowshoe hares, Alaskan ground squirrels and one sleeping brown bear. We also went whitewater rafting (so much fun!) and learned entirely too much about each other while playing Asshole, Kings and Never Have I Ever at night.
On the 14th we boarded the (by then - dreaded) bys and drove to the city of Anchorage. The grownups treated themselves to an expensive dinner while we headed to the local brewery for dinner and to pick up some growlers (jugs of beer). After polishing off 5 growlers during Asshole and Kings, we called it a semi-early night.
At 5:45am on the 15th, we boarded the Alaskan Wilderness Train for Seward, Alaska. After a mimosa and tons of coffee, I slept on the train until Megan told me that she had left her wallet in the hotel in Anchorage. I started freaking out until she told me that everything was ok because she still had her lip gloss. Then I laughed at her and her need to re-prioritize until we arrived in Seward, Alaska.
Once in Seward, we spent an hour at the Alaskan Sea Life Center and then finally boarded the cruise ship. We spent the afternoon wandering around the ship and checking out all the potential hot spots. Later that night we headed up to the Starquest - one of the night clubs for a singles mix and mingle thingy - only to discover that the average age on the cruise was 65-70. To make matters worse, because we would be sailing in US waters - those under 21 couldn’t drink or gamble - something my brother bitched about all week long.
We spent the entire day on the 16th sailing - only stopping to check out the Hubbard Glacier (very pretty). That night was our first formal night so we got all dolled up, took lots of pictures, drank lots of wine, and after a delicious meal went up to the disco bar to drink and dance with our parents.
On the 17th we landed in Skagway. There Larry, my siblings and I had an awesome time rock climbing and rappelling while the other girls went on a helicopter ride to the glacier. After rock climbing we went to the local bar in town to have a few beers with the two REALLY hot rock climbing instructors.
We landed in Juneau on the 18th and once everyone was ready, we left the ship to explore Alaska’s biggest tourist trap. Then it was time for our excursion - the three girls, their parents, my siblings and I headed to the Alaskan Canopy Adventure. We took a boat to an island, got geared up and went on 9 zip lines and over 2 bridges. That was a lot of fun. I really gave a lot of credit to the girls’ mom, Colleen and my brother because all three are afraid of heights and we were 150ft in the air. My favorite part was bouncing on the bridge while my brother was holding on for dear life and shouting all sorts of obscenities at me. Colleen’s favorite moment was her mother whacking into our guide (because she forgot to brake) and when her mother went tandem with the guide and they hit every branch on the way.
Wednesday the 19th we docked off the coast of Icy Strait Point, Alaska. Larry, my siblings and I took a tender ashore and headed to the ATV site. Larry and I got into one Mule while my sister and brother took turns driving the one in front of us. The ride was very bumpy, but lots of fun and we saw some beautiful scenery. The only down side was that two cars ahead of my siblings were two women who gave all women drivers a bad name - they didn’t seem to know where the gas pedal was and would brake before going uphill. The coolest part happened just as we were returning to the start point. The guide stopped us and had us turn off our cars because 50 feet away there was a 700lb male brown bear. We took lots of pictures and stood around going ‘oooh bear’ as he was probably going ‘oooh humans.’ That night we had our second formal night and hit some rough waters. It made drinking a little difficult because I wasn’t sure if I was swaying from the wine or the ship.
The 20th was our last port of call - Ketchikan, Alaska where Larry, my siblings and I went sea kayaking. To go kayaking we took a 20 minute tender to shore then a 30 minute bus ride followed by a 30 minute boat ride to the Tatoosh Islands. My brother and Larry were in one kayak while my sister and I were in another. I was so scared the entire time because I knew that if anyone was going to flip over - it would be my sister and I. Fortunately we did not flip! But we did see a bunch of bald eagles, a harbor seal and an island full of sea lions sun bathing. By the time we got back to the Tatoosh Islands my arms felt like they were going to fall off. Although the boat was over an hour late picking us up, we were provided with hot chocolate, cookies and a guide who reminded me of a monkey with ADD.
The 21st was spent sailing the Inside Passage. I was told that I was in Canada and thought, ‘Ohh, I’m in civilization now! Maybe my cell phone works!’ But that was not the case. I spent the day napping, packing and sitting on my parents’ balcony. I must say, the west coast of Canada is very beautiful.
However - the Vancouver airport sucks. At some point between the boat and the airport, Royal Caribbean lost the trucks with the luggage on it. After two hours, they found the trucks but we weren’t able to find my father’s suitcase. Then we had to navigate the convoluted airport (with our luggage) before finding our gate. Our flight was at 2:15 and although we arrived at the airport around 9, we managed to get to our gate at 1:40. By this point we were all starving but all the good food was on the Canadian side. We could only sit there drooling as the smell of Cinnabun and Burger King wafted through the glass wall separating us from the domestic flights.
Sorry this is so long - I wrote a little bit every morning so I wouldn’t forget anything (and am too lazy to lj-cut now). I don’t have pictures now, but will post some as soon as I get the chance!
Aside from me, the other six were:
My sister - 23
My brother - 19
My neighbors who are 3 sisters (Colleen - 23, Megan - 21, Kathleen - 18)
And then there was one guy who went to high school with us (Larry - 24).
My family began our journey by flying from New York to Seattle on the 10th. Once there we ate a late lunch at the Cheesecake Factory, spent the night in a very nice hotel, discovered that my mother is - in fact - insane, got really confused by the airport and then flew to Fairbanks, Alaska where we began the land portion of our trip.
In Fairbanks, we met up with the rest of the people in our group, got to see the midnight sun and met “Flat Bubba” - a post card with a half naked cowboy on it. One of my mother’s friends could not make the trip because she recently discovered that she has breast cancer; so my mother and her friends decided to use “Flat Bubba” to record their adventures for her. When I finally steal pictures from everyone and post them here - you too will get to see Flat Bubba’s Adventure in Alaska.
On the 12th we boarded a coach bus with our tour guide and spent the afternoon in downtown Fairbanks - where I had Thai for the first time. At the restaurant Larry impressed the waitresses by speaking fluent Thai while my sister was forced to show her ID to prove that she was not Ashlee Simpson - Because they liked us so much they reduced our bill. Yay!
After lunch we boarded the bus once again and drove to Denali where we spent 3 days and two nights. While in Denali we went on an 8 hr school bus ride through the Denali National Park - stopping to see Dall sheep, ravens, snowshoe hares, Alaskan ground squirrels and one sleeping brown bear. We also went whitewater rafting (so much fun!) and learned entirely too much about each other while playing Asshole, Kings and Never Have I Ever at night.
On the 14th we boarded the (by then - dreaded) bys and drove to the city of Anchorage. The grownups treated themselves to an expensive dinner while we headed to the local brewery for dinner and to pick up some growlers (jugs of beer). After polishing off 5 growlers during Asshole and Kings, we called it a semi-early night.
At 5:45am on the 15th, we boarded the Alaskan Wilderness Train for Seward, Alaska. After a mimosa and tons of coffee, I slept on the train until Megan told me that she had left her wallet in the hotel in Anchorage. I started freaking out until she told me that everything was ok because she still had her lip gloss. Then I laughed at her and her need to re-prioritize until we arrived in Seward, Alaska.
Once in Seward, we spent an hour at the Alaskan Sea Life Center and then finally boarded the cruise ship. We spent the afternoon wandering around the ship and checking out all the potential hot spots. Later that night we headed up to the Starquest - one of the night clubs for a singles mix and mingle thingy - only to discover that the average age on the cruise was 65-70. To make matters worse, because we would be sailing in US waters - those under 21 couldn’t drink or gamble - something my brother bitched about all week long.
We spent the entire day on the 16th sailing - only stopping to check out the Hubbard Glacier (very pretty). That night was our first formal night so we got all dolled up, took lots of pictures, drank lots of wine, and after a delicious meal went up to the disco bar to drink and dance with our parents.
On the 17th we landed in Skagway. There Larry, my siblings and I had an awesome time rock climbing and rappelling while the other girls went on a helicopter ride to the glacier. After rock climbing we went to the local bar in town to have a few beers with the two REALLY hot rock climbing instructors.
We landed in Juneau on the 18th and once everyone was ready, we left the ship to explore Alaska’s biggest tourist trap. Then it was time for our excursion - the three girls, their parents, my siblings and I headed to the Alaskan Canopy Adventure. We took a boat to an island, got geared up and went on 9 zip lines and over 2 bridges. That was a lot of fun. I really gave a lot of credit to the girls’ mom, Colleen and my brother because all three are afraid of heights and we were 150ft in the air. My favorite part was bouncing on the bridge while my brother was holding on for dear life and shouting all sorts of obscenities at me. Colleen’s favorite moment was her mother whacking into our guide (because she forgot to brake) and when her mother went tandem with the guide and they hit every branch on the way.
Wednesday the 19th we docked off the coast of Icy Strait Point, Alaska. Larry, my siblings and I took a tender ashore and headed to the ATV site. Larry and I got into one Mule while my sister and brother took turns driving the one in front of us. The ride was very bumpy, but lots of fun and we saw some beautiful scenery. The only down side was that two cars ahead of my siblings were two women who gave all women drivers a bad name - they didn’t seem to know where the gas pedal was and would brake before going uphill. The coolest part happened just as we were returning to the start point. The guide stopped us and had us turn off our cars because 50 feet away there was a 700lb male brown bear. We took lots of pictures and stood around going ‘oooh bear’ as he was probably going ‘oooh humans.’ That night we had our second formal night and hit some rough waters. It made drinking a little difficult because I wasn’t sure if I was swaying from the wine or the ship.
The 20th was our last port of call - Ketchikan, Alaska where Larry, my siblings and I went sea kayaking. To go kayaking we took a 20 minute tender to shore then a 30 minute bus ride followed by a 30 minute boat ride to the Tatoosh Islands. My brother and Larry were in one kayak while my sister and I were in another. I was so scared the entire time because I knew that if anyone was going to flip over - it would be my sister and I. Fortunately we did not flip! But we did see a bunch of bald eagles, a harbor seal and an island full of sea lions sun bathing. By the time we got back to the Tatoosh Islands my arms felt like they were going to fall off. Although the boat was over an hour late picking us up, we were provided with hot chocolate, cookies and a guide who reminded me of a monkey with ADD.
The 21st was spent sailing the Inside Passage. I was told that I was in Canada and thought, ‘Ohh, I’m in civilization now! Maybe my cell phone works!’ But that was not the case. I spent the day napping, packing and sitting on my parents’ balcony. I must say, the west coast of Canada is very beautiful.
However - the Vancouver airport sucks. At some point between the boat and the airport, Royal Caribbean lost the trucks with the luggage on it. After two hours, they found the trucks but we weren’t able to find my father’s suitcase. Then we had to navigate the convoluted airport (with our luggage) before finding our gate. Our flight was at 2:15 and although we arrived at the airport around 9, we managed to get to our gate at 1:40. By this point we were all starving but all the good food was on the Canadian side. We could only sit there drooling as the smell of Cinnabun and Burger King wafted through the glass wall separating us from the domestic flights.
Sorry this is so long - I wrote a little bit every morning so I wouldn’t forget anything (and am too lazy to lj-cut now). I don’t have pictures now, but will post some as soon as I get the chance!