Alaska (or, Our Honeymoon, part 3)

So, Andrew and I felt like we never really got to take a honeymoon (we only got to drive cross country together 2 weeks after getting married and then go to Vegas for a few days after I was done the Spring term, but... neither of those was a "real" honeymoon.)  Our plan was to find something really, really fun to do this summer and, suddenly, it was the middle of the summer and we didn't have solid plans.  We kept trying to figure out how to do a trip to Alaska, but kept getting really frustrated by high prices, a plethora of options, and our stunning lack of decision making skills.

After a conversation with new friends we've made here in Provo (pause for the shock of the fact that we've made new friends in Provo............ ok, back to the story now), we decided to just take the "easy" route and look for a round-trip cruise from Seattle to Alaska.  I have wanted to go to Alaska for as long as I can remember.  A few years ago, I decided that, regardless of circumstances, if I managed to finish my dissertation and actually get a PhD, I was going to reward myself with a trip to Alaska.  Thankfully, Andrew was easy to convince. :-)  I was a little uneasy about the cruise thing... I like to blaze my own path when travelling. In this case though, there was something to be said for letting someone else do most of the planning for us.

So, we decided on the cruise.  Then we decided on the cruise from Seattle.  Then we actually *found* the cruise, in the right price range, at a time we could go!  The departure date was 7 days from when we booked it, so it was a rush to get ready, but really... minor details.  The most difficult part was figuring out how to get a prescription for the anti-seasickness patch for me, since my one previous experience overnight on a boat was.... well, not so comfortable for me.  Anyway, we figured that out, got the suitcases packed, and got in the car to start to drive to Seattle.

The drive to Seattle was *awesome*.  Northern Utah is nice, Idaho was a little boring, Oregon was pretty amazing, and then... Washington state.  I didn't think we'd get better than some of the views driving through Oregon until we hit the Wenatchee National Forest in Washington.  *sigh*  If only I could have captured it on film.

Entering Oregon 

(got to check off states 44, 45, and 46 for me on this trip. talk about productive!)

The view from a viewpoint on the highway in Oregon

Anyway.  We made it to the suburbs of Seattle (Issaquah, to be precise) in good time, found a hotel (the lovely Motel 6), and went to bed, ready to drive the last 45 minutes to park the car and get to the pier in the morning.  We had made a reservation to park our car for a week at a hotel in Seattle, with the understanding that we would spend one night there upon our return.  All good plans....

The morning of July 9th, the day we would be leaving on the cruise, began innocently.  I woke up earlier than Andrew and decided to make a run to a drug store.  I also discovered that the Seattle temple was a mere 10 minutes from our hotel, so I stopped over there as well.  Upon my return to the car, I discovered that the car wouldn't start. *sigh*  I called AAA, who sent someone out in record time.  The guy informed me that he needed to replace the battery.  Upon doing so, he realized that there was also something wrong with the alternator.  This created a number of problems.  1) Andrew was still at the hotel. 2) I couldn't really drive the car. 3) Towing the car wouldn't help get Andrew, me, and the luggage back in the same place. 4) We still needed to figure out how to get the car fixed and get to Pier 91 in Seattle.

In the end, I drove back to the hotel (gotta love the "avoid highways" setting on the GPS) and we waited for a tow truck.  Then we felt really stupid when we realized that the mechanic they were going to tow us to was 0.8 miles from our hotel.  We decided to just chance it and drive ourselves to the mechanic.  Thankfully, we made it unscathed and the mechanic was really friendly and helpful!  We told them the situation, including the fact that we wouldn't be able to readily get in touch with them until we returned. We made arrangements to communicate and asked for help figuring out how to get to the pier.  We figured we'd have to pony up the dough and spend $50 on a taxi.  But no! The mechanic printed out directions for us to take public transportation which, luckily, left from a bus station down the block from the mechanic.  The catch was, it left in 4 minutes.  After a truly Amazing Race type run (picture Andrew and I, 2 backpacks, 3 suitcases, and one small piece of paper documenting our route), we made it to the bus.

For future reference - people talk to you when you have multiple suitcases and look lost on the bus in Seattle. We actually had a great time talking to the bus driver and taking in the sights on the drive into the city.  We had to transfer buses in downtown Seattle, which introduced us to a whole new set of people - equally friendly and helpful.  The second bus took us to a stop on a bridge overlooking the pier at which our cruise ship was docked.  This bus driver was also very friendly and didn't charge us any fare, but also didn't give us a whole lot of help when we were trying to figure out where to go from the point at which she dropped us off. "Down there..." was all she said, pointing to a ramp that looked like it was meant only for buses and cars.  Thankfully, yet another random stranger came to our rescue.  Some guy appeared on the bridge asking if we were looking for a cruise ship.  He led us down a rickety set of steps which led us to a US Customs officer.  He checked our passports and pointed us on our way. 

We finally made it to the boat (after a whole other issue of not knowing what cabin to direct our luggage to... which resulted in us having to drag our bags through the whole boarding process with us. *sigh* not fun.)

Anyway.  We made it on the boat!  Finally, ready to go.

Once on the boat, we had lunch at the buffet (which, I'm happy to say, didn't have very good food.  I'm so glad... I surely would have gained even more weight if the food was good there.)  Then we set about exploring our new home for the week.  

Being on a cruise was like going to summer camp for adults.  They have all sorts of activities planned for every moment of the day.  Food is available everywhere (even soft serve!), there was a library, pools, ping pong tables, and plenty of places to just hang out and relax.

I'll post pictures of the cruise on Facebook, but mostly we hung out, played cards, danced, ate, read, and when the opportunity presented itself - got off the boat and checked out the sights.  Juneau was awesome.  I got to see the Alaska statehouse!!  Considering my unexplained love of state capital buildings, it was a huge unexpected bonus.  We walked around town (both touristy and non-touristy parts), took a flightseeing adventure to see glaciers from above (not the greatest thing to do as a nervous flyer, but... it was really cool anyway), took a bus to see another glacier, and made it back to the boat just in time.

The next day, we stopped in Skagway.  We ended up taking a tour up into the mountains, which actually took us into Canada.  Then we hiked.  The tour guy said it was a simple, short hike. Liar. Still, it was pretty and at least it was cool out!  We wandered around town (highlights included the Sarah Palin store...) and got back onto the boat.  

During the tour near Skagway

Snow Angels!

The hike

Skagway

The next morning, we were up early to see another glacier.  The boat took us to about 2 miles away.  And still it looked huge.  It was an amazing blue and totally worth getting up at 5:30AM. The rest of that day and the next were spent "at sea".  So we took dance lessons, read a lot, and played trivia (btw, we won the "Name that Tune" with movie music. Go figure.)

The last day of the cruise took us to Victoria, BC. I wasn't expecting much (and really, hardly cared about stopping there), but it was also beautiful!  We had a lot of fun just wandering the city.

When we got back to Seattle the next morning, we decided against navigating *up* the rickety stairs with our broken suitcase and tired selves.  We opted for the taxi back to the mechanic.  It was quick and easy (though much more expensive).  Anyway, we picked up the car, dropped stuff off at the hotel and went to explore Seattle.  Fun city!

The next day we drove around the lake near where we were staying and headed home.  All went smoothly until about 9:30PM.  Somewhere around Bliss, Idaho I asked Andrew if his battery light was always on.  2 hours, 1 more AAA visit, a basket of fries, and plenty of fun people watching moments later, we were back on the road.  We finally made it home at 4:30AM.

Sunset in Bliss, Idaho

The trip just kept on giving when I had a withdrawal reaction to the transderm scop patch I used on the cruise to avoid motion sickness.  Apparently, a small percentage of the population goes through this... basically, what it means is that you feel motion sick when you're not moving.  So for the next 4 or 5 days, I suffered from motion sickness while at home in Provo.  Ah well, I'd much rather have enjoyed the cruise and been sick in the comfort of my own home than the reverse.

Anyway, there you have the Alaska adventure.  One of these days, I might get to blogging about the Ridge family reunion... or my recent whirlwind trip back east.  One step at a time... :-)