Day 7

GUESS WHAT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The sun is shining today!!!!! Amazing, it does exist in Alaska!!

Today is souvenir shopping!! I headed toward downtown for all of my last minute shopping. I was able to get some great deals. I also headed to the ULU factory (where they make Ulu knives that they use to skin animals). Pretty cool.

This afternoon the goal was to obtain material that reminded me of Alaska for my Vacation quilt. Well, I couldn't find the quilt shop on the map, so I headed to Wal-Mart. I asked a couple of employees where the shop would be. Can I say CLUELESS!!! I ventured to ask another customer and she not only knew where both of the shops were, but would take me there. Ok, I don't normally ride around with strangers, but she looked honest enough. No, she was awesome and also a Christian. She ended up taking me to both quilt shops and gave me some good ideas. She also took me back to my hotel. Pretty cool how God planted her in Wal-Mart.

Tonight, we headed to Airport Park. I was able to see Downtown Anchorage and Mt McKinley. We were 5 hours away from the mountain, but since it was a clear day, we could see it from Anchorage. It was pretty cool. I would have loved to spend more time there, but I needed to get to the airport for my flight.

I'm very glad the sun came out today. The view from the plane over Mt McKinley was beautiful!! The trip back home was quite long and tiring, but overall and ok time. Next time, the sun needs to shine more!!!

Thank you for your prayers while I was away!!

Day 6

Today we headed to the Sea Life Center, Exit Glacier, and Wildlife Conservation.
It was pretty cool to see some of the wildlife up close and personal. I was able to see Puffins, Sea Lion, Harbor Seals up close and get pretty awesome pictures.

Lunch was wonderful. We went to Ray's for an early lunch. We sat by the window on the harbor. While we were waiting for our food, we saw a otter just swimming past. I was surprised it was so close and in the harbor.

After lunch we headed to Exit Glacier. This is one of the few glaciers you can touch (if you don't get caught!!). We were able to get a good pix of the two of us before getting yelled at by the Park Ranger. Oops.

The ride back to Anchorage was very dreary and rainy. I don't think I've seen this much rain in a very long time. We arrived at the wildlife conservation park and I was finally able to see several moose. We also saw a bald eagle, black bear, brown bear, black tailed deer, porcupine, elk etc. It was cool and we were able to see them pretty close.

We arrived back in Anchorage and it was one of those day's you just wanted to get in and stay in for the evening. SO that's what I did.

Day 5

What another dreary day...oh well.
We headed to check-in for our cruise and were given warnings..."It is recommended that you take Dramamine due to rough waters. If majority of those on the boat are sick, we will turn back and you will get a refund. If you would like to reschedule, you are more than welcome to do so."

Wow, so Dramamine or no Dramamine that is the question... We departed ontime and saw some really cool wildlife..Bald Eagles, Mountain Goat, Whale, Harbor Seals, Sea Otters, Puffins, Raven, etc. The seas did get quite rocky and I began to feel queasy. I was stainding at the front of the boat watching the high waves hit the front of the boat. I eventually headed back to my seat and took a Dramamine. I hoped it wasn't too late...Several around me were using their barf bags wisely. By then it was almost the power of suggestion. I was able to keep m breakfast down. We made it through the rough waters and had lunch...Fried halibut, chips and an apple. Pretty good!!! After lunch, we headed to a glacier. We were able to sit and watch it for several minutes. We could see bits and peices falling off of the glacier. Very powerful!! The scenery was AWESOME. The sun did decide to come out just a bit and followed us back to shore. Dinner included a Salmon bake, rolls, rice pilaf, dessert. Very Yummy!!!

I'm very glad that I had the opportunity to go on this cruise and see God's creation in a different part of the world.

Day 4

Wow, I'm sore....
I can hardly get off the couch, so it's a good day to read a book and watch TV...ok, so it's also raining or more like POURING!!!!

This afternoon Jen and I headed toward Seward, AK. About 2 1/2 hours from Anchorage. We traversed a very bumpy raod back to the head of the Crow Pass trail so I could get a cool picture. Unfortunately, the water was rushing down the mountain, but it made an awesome picture. We arrived at our B&B in the early evening and headed for dinner. Somewhere with awessome seafood. Pretty good. We also took a small tour of the town...not much to see because it's a small harbor town. We did see a big cruise ship leave the port. I did not realize that big cruise ships stopped in Seward. We will explore more tomorrow.

Pictures

Day 3

I'm a little behind, but this should catch you up...

Today, I met up with Laura Carr. The plan was to hike Flat Top Mountain. We ended up changing plans and headed to Crow Pass. My thoughts, cool a non-touristy thing to do. Well, let me tell ya...DON'T TRUST LAURA!!!

We hiked and hiked and hiked. We went straight up and up and up. But, the overall view was very cool. We saw Salmon Berries, waterfalls, lakes, glaciers, rain, a USFS cabin...It was an awesome view. Unfortuanately, with glaciers, comes cold and wind. The glacier was blue with an ivory stripe. Not sure why that is, but it's the first glacier I have ever seen.

All I can say today, I'm getting old and I'm sore. Needless to say, I don't have hiking on the agenda for today. Actually, it's raining pretty good so, I'll just read a book...if I can stay awake.

Day 2

So far, it has been quite dreary here. I did make it to the World's Largest Chocolate Fountain. Pretty cool. Too bad I couldn't eat it :-( I probably don't need to. Anyway, on my way, I discovered a really cool path along a creek. I ended up taking that for awhile and I got some pretty cool nature pix. After seeing the World's Largest Chocolate Fountain, I meandered through town to the Fur Exchange. Pretty cool....I contemplated for a breif second purchasing a $6000+ coat, then I thought I would never ever wear that.

DAY 1

Hi...
I've made it safely to Alaska!!! I left South Bend, IN at 8:30pm EST and arrived in Anchorage at 2:30am EST. A very long day. Anchorage is 4 hours behind South Bend. I spent more time in airports yesterday than in flying, I think. The flight from Detroit to Anchorage was 6+hours long, but it felt lots longer than the flight to Zambia.
Let's see, I got out of bed around 8am (noon South Bend time). Hmmm I've slept, read, read, and vegged. It's a bit dreary out today. I might venture to see the World's Largest Chocolate Fountain. We'll see what happens. Have a GREAT day!!

Preparation

Hello Everyone.
I just wanted to let you know I leave for Alaska in 2 days!!! I am so excited!! I can't believe how fast this summer has gone. I have finally started thinking about my trip and started packing, sort of. I met with my friend last night and we figured out where we are staying next weekend and booked our cruise. It will be an 8 1/2 hour cruise to see the glaciers around the Seward area and wildlife. I will be sure to include a few pictures when I can. I will also make sure that I see the Puffins (especially for the Smith Small Group :-)). I'm not sure what else I will be doing, but I think I'm ready for the adventure. Please pray for safety as I travel due to the new TSA rules and stuff. Later--