In mid-August Sherry and I, along with Eileen Woods, went on an Alaskan cruise. The cruise left from Seattle, cruised Glacier Bay, had stops in Juneau, Skagway, and Victoria, before returning to Seattle. We had a great time, and came home a few extra pounds heavier, as you might suspect.
Here is a sampling of some of the things we saw along the way.
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Eileen Woods and Sherry Peters.
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Me, lounging on the balcony while yet another glacier rolls by.
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We wave good-bye to downtown Seattle.
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Mount Rainier (14,411 ft.) disappears in the distance. We're about 60 miles away here.
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The viewing of glaciers is clearly the highlight of any Alaskan cruise. Here we are arriving in Glacier Bay.
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One of the many glaciers we saw. If I recall correctly, this is Margerie Glacier.
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A glacier, up close and personal.
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Glacial runoff. You can see people in the distance. Glacier Bay is only accessible by sea and air, but it is a National Park, and the National Park Service provides tours.
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...and along the way we ate, and ate, and ate. This was a salmon bake we attended near Juneau.
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And no trip would be complete unless Sherry had a chance to feed the wildlife. She was hoping for a moose, but had to settle for something smaller.
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There were sunsets.
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And moon lit nights.
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The next several pictures were taken in Butchart Gardens in Victoria, B.C. A former limestone mining quarry that ended up as an eyesore when the limestone was played out. But the owners decided to transform it into a magnificent sunken gardens. It covers 55 acres, has over 1,000,000 plants in 700 varieties, employs 50 full-time gardeners, and should be the highlight to any Victoria visit. I probably took a hundred pictures, but here are just a few to give you an idea.
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Butchart Gardens.
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Butchart Gardens.
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Butchart Gardens.
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Butchart Gardens.
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And finally, no cruise would be complete without a sampling of the towel art our crew would create while we were away. This wasn't the best I've ever seen, but it wasn't bad. |
