I always tell Tom that anniversaries are extra special when you're practicing a long distance marriage the way we do. Simple things that other couples don't have to think about take work for us with being over 700 miles apart on a daily basis. So we were happy to celebrate four years of marriage together in this extra special way with an Alaskan Adventure.
Since, I've been sharing a lot from our Alaskan Cruise this past week, I thought I would put things into context by detailing our exact itinerary here. Though if I'm honest, I'm mostly cataloguing this for myself so I can always look back and reminisce. Either way, here's our itinerary for a 7 day cruise through Alaska...with a few travel days tossed in.
Day 1: TravelMost Alaskan cruises leave from Seattle Washington, Vancouver Canada, or an Alaskan town. Basically, we needed to get ourselves to the west coast. So we started this trip with me flying into Boston and then flying to Seattle together. What a long day, but worth it to get these views of the Pacific Northwest from above.
Since our cruise didn't leave until late afternoon, we made the best of our morning with the perfect Seattle day trip through the emerald city.
Day 3: At Sea
Little did we know at the time, but this first day at sea would be our only sunny day during the entire cruise. Glad we were smart enough to enjoy some private time on the deck.
Our first port stop was to visit Alaska's first official city! And I fell in love with this rainy foggy colorful port town. Ketchikan may be tiny, but it was without a doubt my favorite day of our cruise.
Since we knew it wouldn't take much time to see the city, we planned an excursion for the day that would cross a major item off our bucket list...visiting a fjord. We left the rain cloud of Ketchikan for the bright skies of Misty Fjord and were transplanted into another world.
Kicked off day 5 with a morning cruising through the Tracy Arm Fjord and the Alaskan Ice Fields. Pretty good views to have with your morning coffee.
Then we spent the rest of the day in Alaska's capitol city of Juneau. We loved our day exploring the base of a waterfall at Mendenhall Glacier, spotting a black bear mama & her cubs, having the best seafood of our lives, riding on an airtram (that was a first), and hiking through the fog.
Taking a train ride to nowhere! I haven't been on many train rides in my life, but I have a feeling that this one is unique. I mean really, how many trains climb through the mountains with waterfalls and ice glaciers in view?
After our ride, we spent the rest of the day exploring the sleepy town of Skagway Alaska on foot. Catching fish in our bare hands during the salmon run, taking in mountain views, and enjoying THE best coffee I've ever had.
Day 7: At Sea
Can you tell how well we adjusted to life at sea? It poured daily, but I've never minded a little rain. And I desperately wanted to be on deck to watch as the ship passed through the fjords with mountains popping right out of the sea.
So I had the genius idea to hop into the hot tub to help keep warm from the rain. Every day we were at sea, you could find us enjoying a hot tub all to ourselves.
Day 8: At Sea
Having never been on a cruise before, it was harder than I would have thought to say goodbye to cruise life. But who wouldn't want to have views like this everyday?
Day 9: Travel Home
This is always the hardest part of ending a big trip for us because it normally means parting ways at the airpot and flying home separately. I'm thankful that this time around we were able to book flights home with the same airline, which meant that we got to at least sit in the gate together before boarding separate flights home.
Alaska looks like fog rolling in over mountain tops, crystal blue ice glaciers, bald eagles soaring through the sky, pods of dolphins & humpback whales churning the sea. Alaska smells like sitka spruce trees and ocean air blended into one. Alaska sounds like soothing rain. Alaska tastes like fresh salmon and the largest king crab legs I've ever had! Alaska feels like the best place to have celebrated our anniversary.
Check in tomorrow for our budget and later next week (hopefully) for a full post on the logistics of planning an Alaskan Cruise.
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