Day 824

The ship goes all out on formal night. Escargot. Caviar. Tofu wraps. Lobster and prawns. Pheasant. Beef Wellington. And good ole Baked Alaska for dessert. Plus cake for kiddo's 25th birthday. Can you say stuffed?

Day 823

When we were cruising Tracey Arm I took lots of pictures of icebergs, rock striations, and of the glacier itself. But the picture of the moon and the other landscape one are certainly my favorites.

Day 822

Two pictures taken on the same night at the same time - about 3 AM - from the balcony of our cabin. One of the moon's reflection off the ocean. The other the light in the land of the Midnight Sun.

Day 821

Back on dry land = internet access = catching up on the blog.

Starting with Ketchikan.

Last year Pam from work and I met up here and toured the town when hubby was sick. This time hubby was good to go! Hubby and future son-in-law went on a crab boat tour and daughter and I went on a duck boat tour. Afterwards we all met up for a bit of shopping and a fish and chip lunch on the dock. Little Scooter was awesome! She loved being able to go anywhere she wanted - even the quilt store where she bought some fabric.

I thought the best pictures of the day were from when we arrived in Ketchikan. The fog hanging low made for a spectacular photo opportunity. We also found a bald eagle, a float plane taking off, and a picture of the clan house that Pam and I had visited (taken from the cruise ship instead of on land this time). But then when we left Ketchikan today and I captured pictures of all the boats in the foreground and houses in the background? Maybe even better.

Day 820

I've had no internet access and no cell service for the past few days so I'll have a lot of catching up to do. We have a brief view of a cell phone tower but the best I can do right now is more food pictures. This time at the Starfire restaurant in Skagway, Alaska.

Pad Thai, Sweet and Sour Chicken, and those delicious egg rolls we had here last year. And of course a quilt shop visit.

Day 819

Shrimp, mussels, and squid. Garlic and olive oil pasta in a red sauce with finely shredded Parmesan. Sea scallops topped with whipped potatoes. Princess Love Boat Dream dessert. Add in a beautiful day in Juneau, Alaska and all is good with the world.

Day 818

My Scooter has been having some fun. She's been zooming up and down the halls and making the rounds on deck.

Scooter's fear of heights (guess that was my fear of heights) that was conquered on the last cruise has still been conquered. I (we) can stand at the edge and look down into the water with no fear. Even though I can't swim anymore because of my lung thing, she still liked checking out the pools. Even though there is no wedding date set it didn't stop Scooter from checking out the ship's wedding chapel.

She even had a grand time getting up and down the steep skybridge to the night club. She may have wanted to try it out at night but I convinced her I would only attempt it during the day.

(Please excuse all the misplaced pictures and late - and possibly absent - postings. I'm using free wireless when I can and it is spotty. We are traveling only with an iPad and I'm having difficulty getting things to format properly or at all. If you don't hear from me for a day or so, don't worry. I'll get you up to date when I can!)

Day 817

Seattle was where we started on this adventure. We're headed back to Alaska. On a cruise ship.

With today being the first at sea day, we've been partaking in the fine dining. Between hubby, me, my daughter, and her boyfriend we've had lots of delicious items. We've been voting on who has the prettiest or most interesting food.

Here are some winners:

An appetizer of duck with blueberry sauce. A cold pina colada soup served in a glass. Mango cheesecake. A too big for me piece of prime rib.

 

But the most interesting and pretty was what daughter had for dessert tonight. See anything out of the ordinary here?

Yep, can't refer to her companion as boyfriend anymore. It's fiance now. When she discovered the shiny object on the dessert he dropped to one knee and proposed. And she said yes. 

Day 816

Crazy, marrow-sucking lady here. (Help me out - I need a better slogan for what I'm trying to accomplish here than marrow-sucking!)

Sitting on a balcony, taking pictures. But from where?

Day 815

It started out as a way to get hubby back up on that horse that bucked him off (metaphorically speaking). Unfortunately, even after these past few weeks of physical therapy he still isn't strong enough to follow through on what he originally set out to do. But he's still calling it his Redemption Tour.

Then it became about our daughter who turns 25 in a little over a week from now. Big, grown birthday girl, another semester of college and another year of work (and another raise) under her belt.

Then her boyfriend asked us if he could marry her. Although there is no engagement yet, it became a family thing that included the boyfriend. Probably a last chance to do it all together before an engagement, a marriage, and a baby or two.

Then it became about me. A direct order from the doctor not to do it. But now that I have scooter and won't be hiking and walking like I did last time, he has okayed it. (I'd like to call it my suck-the-marrow-out-of-life-tour but that sounds gross.)

There is a reason I bought a scooter called Travelscoot. And that reason begins today. Stay tuned to see what all the fuss is about.

Before it starts, a picture of one of our miniature roses ready to bloom.

Day 814

I don't necessarily want to admit it, but this blog is important to me. It isn't so much the blog, but the comments people post. Every day I look forward to seeing if anyone responded to my picture or what I wrote. I'm not good about posting back, but rest assured I read every single one. That might be a sign of insecurity, looking for approval/validation from others. I tell myself it isn't important - what people think - but it is.

But the comments about my photos (particularly on the flower ones) have stirred something else in me. I've been thinking about all these pictures I take. Some aren't so great, but some are pretty darn good. So scrap the whole, It's Sew Idaho thing, at least temporarily. Time to focus on the photographs. (Not like I haven't already. 814 days in a row of pictures should count for something.) But I want it to count for something bigger. So for the second time in the history of this blog, I have a new camera.

Crazy, right? This new digital camera will allow me to use my lenses I purchased ages ago when I used a film camera. Better quality, sharper images. Can't wait to show you what I'm about to do with it.

You'll have to wait just a bit more. In the meantime, take a look at the upgrade. Looks like they're in a standoff.