July 23, 2016
Alaska Trip - Day 1

7:30am (Central) - I was right. Not much sleep, and that alarm going off at 4am was almost painful. I got about 4 hours of sleep, and I'm definitely dragging this morning. Otherwise, I was right on time arriving at Hobby Airport at 6am. Met my party, got the bags checked, ate a little something, and got through security quickly. Now we're just sitting at the gate waiting to board. We'll be on the plane for about 6 hours because we are stopping in Albuquerque on the way. Arrival in Seattle at 12:05pm local time. I usually can't sleep on planes, but as tired as I am, there's a good chance I will. That is, of course, if this flight isn't the Screaming Baby Express. I have my Bose noise-reduction headphones at the ready!

9:15am (Mountain) - Right on time into Albuquerque, and a very smooth flight. And thankfully, no screamers. People off, people on, and soon on our way to Seattle. It's sunny and 71 here. Nice. I'll be enjoying my banana nut muffin in lieu of peanuts during this segment. Yummy!

11:45am (Pacific) - Another very smooth segment, but we had a little screamer as we descended into Seattle. Luckily, he's in the very back, I'm in the very front. Perfect. We landed 20 minutes early, and typical for Seattle, it's very cloudy. Southwest has a great free TV service onboard, so I was able to catch up with the news. The signal was great and only stuttered a couple of times. Ain't technology great?

10:00pm - Finally settling down for the night. We had a lovely day here in Seattle looking around, but we didn't make it to the Pike's Market yet. We'll do that in the morning since it's very close to the cruise ship terminal. I took what was going to be a short nap that ended up being two hours! I was beat. We later had a delicious dinner at a local Italian restaurant, and enjoyed good conversation and making new friends. Gotta get up early, so off I go. We all look forward to getting aboard the ship tomorrow. So much to see, experience, and most importantly, EAT!

Friday, July 22, 2016

I'm feeling anxious. Not because anything is wrong, but because a lifelong goal of mine is coming to fruition starting tomorrow. I'm heading to Alaska, on a cruise, departing out of Seattle.

Since I was very young, I've had this strong draw to go to Alaska. I've never been able to explain why, it's just always been there. I've told family and friends all my life that if I ever make it there, I may not come back. Of course, I will come back since I have a job, home, and the usual adult responsibilities, but one day I may not.

Was I a gold miner in a previous life that struck it rich up there, or maybe a naturalist admiring the breathtaking beauty of that state? Whatever reason...I'm finally going.

Since Lawrence doesn't fly, he won't be joining me on this adventure, but I assured him that after we retire in a few years, we will go to Seattle via car or train and take our own cruise. I will be traveling with a group of friends that go on a bunch of cruises every year, so I will follow their lead on what to do and experience. I've been on cruises before, but always out of Galveston, and always to the Caribbean where it's always hot. Now I'm going north where it's almost always chilly. I've been watching the weather up there and it gets pretty cool during the night, even though we will have about 20 hours of daylight the whole time. That's gonna be weird.

My suite mate is a lady friend of mine that has never been on a cruise, and never been on a train, so I arranged this week and a half adventure to include the cruise, which has a train trip as a shore excursion, then when we arrive back in Seattle we will jump on Amtrak and ride along the Pacific Coast from Seattle down to Portland. We will fly home from there after a night's stay. We are both excited about the trip, but for different reasons, but I guess that's what adventures are all about. Although we will both see and experience the same things, we will react and feel different emotions as they happen.

I'm doing some laundry and getting ready to pack. I'm getting the cameras ready, and the electronics all charged up. I'm giving a lot of attention to the dog as I know she will miss me a lot while I'm gone, and I will miss her more.

My mother knew I always wanted to go to Alaska, and she always wanted me to go to Italy. It was her favorite destination, and I promised her I would someday. Maybe next year? I'll work on those plans when I get back.

I don't know if I will do a daily update or not. I'll have to see if the inspiration hits me, and if I have the time. I may write a daily report, but being that I will be on the ocean, I may not be able to post it every day. I'll also post a picture or two.

I have a feeling I won't get much sleep tonight.