North to Alaska!

Imagine me on a cruise with my In-laws and 44 of their closest friends!  My MIL is THE travel queen and has arranged travel all over the world for more than 40 years.  She arranged this cruise to celebrate what she calls, the "kick-off" of their 50th wedding anniversary.  Most of the people in the group were her students over the past 40 years, or her student's parents.  She was an honors English teacher in Williamson County TN and most of her students remain in close touch with her, which doesn't surprise me one bit.  Everyone did their own thing during the day for the shore excursions and then most gathered together for dinner at night.  We had a great trip as you will see from the photos.  

Leaving Seattle

Ketchikan Harbor.  In addition to all the small boats, what you can't see are five large cruise ships! 

In front of our float plane ride.  

Incredible views all around. 

 Fishing boats headed out of Ketchikan Harbor. 

After Juneau, we entered Tracy Arm Fjord. Soaring mountains, hanging glaciers, narrow passages, and stunning icebergs.  This is the most spectacular place I have ever seen.  Seriously, if you have a chance to do this, do NOT miss it.  It is something I will never forget. 

The cliffs reach over 5000 feet high. 

Channels over 1000 feet deep. 

This is not our ship, but it is about the same size as our ship. The deeper into the narrow Fjord we went, the more we were convinced our ship could not fit any further, but when you are only surrounded by water and mountains, you loose all sense of scale.  

The same ship coming in the other direction made us realize the massive size of the landscape around us. 

 Sawyer Glacier in the rain. 

  

The Captain turned the ship so everyone could get a view.  We were in the point of the front of the ship with a 180 degree view.  Awesome!  

As we were leaving the Fjord, the sun broke through. 

The entire evening, the views were incredible.

In Sagway, we rented a van and drove the Klondike Highway, over White Pass and into British Columbia and Yukon.  Again, views that made me want to cry. 

My sister, Mother and Father-in-Law and my tall, handsome nephew Nicholas.  

Emerald Lake in the Yukon 

Lupine

The only bear we saw.  We were not that close, my camera has a 42x optical zoom! 
After our last shore excursion in Victoria to Burchart Gardens (which I will post later), we all gathered in the dining room to celebrate my In-law's anniversary.  

My sweet in-laws.   

Me and my precious Father-in-Law at breakfast at our favorite place on the ship.  

It was an amazing trip and I can't wait to go back, but not on a big cruise ship.  I want to be in small ship (40-60 passengers) or on the ground!  

Come travel with everyone at The Tablescaper's Oh, the PLACES I've been!