Finally, the finished product.

I seriously have been working on this scrapblog for a long time. Please click the link below to follow our journey, in it's entirety. Enjoy!

http://www.scrapblog.com/viewer/viewer.aspx?sbid=2145153

Day One, Vancouver

After downing a 20 oz bottle of half tequila and half orange juice at 4AM, and then drinking another 2 rum and cokes, mostly rum, made by a bartender named Meatloaf, Lance was as close to ready as he would get to fly. And, after a non-eventful flight, we touched down in Vancouver around 10:30AM.

(Mount Rainier in the distance from our plane)

Once getting through customs and finding an ATM in which to procure Canadian dollars, we found our way to the taxi line and were quickly whisked into the Vancouver metropolis, for about $30.

We had to wait for our friend, Chris, in order to check into the Marriott Renaissance Harbor Hotel because his name was the only one on the reservation. We checked our bags with the bell hop and went out to explore the city. We wondered down to the water, walked past the cruise port, found a great lunch at the Steamworks Pub and Grill (where Lance says he had the best Halibut fish and chips ever), and then went on over to gastown.

Above- Steph blocking the view of the bay. Top right- a damn good pub and grill with fantastic food and very tasty micro brews. Right- a clock that spews steam at the top of every hour, making hordes of tourists surrounding it cheer with glee.

After all of this, we finally went back to the hotel and met with Chris.

For dinner we went to Aqua Riva, which received a lot of accolades and recommendations, but we didn't find it to be all that spectacular. I had a difficult time ordering because of my aversion to seafood and ended up ordering duck, which I have never had before. They prepared it similarly to a Thanksgiving dinner, with mashed potatoes, etc, and it just wasn't my style.

Day One was a transition day into the vacation. Expect the next few blogs to have a lot more pictures and descriptions!

Trip Overview

Before we detail each specific day of the trip, we thought we'd give a general overview of our vacation, with a couple of pictures sprinkled in. Later, we will detail each day and post the bulk of the pictures.

Vancouver-

Spending a few days in Vancouver before our cruise was a great way to start the vacation. The city is great. The food was perfect, the views spectacular and the people friendly. There wasn't anything about Vancouver we didn't like and we would highly recommend visiting it. We'll definitely go back.

The Cruise-

This was our first cruise with Princess. Our previous two cruises (to Bermuda and the Mexican Riviera) were through Royal Caribbean. We sailed aboard the Island Princess which is a gorgeous ship.The service on Island Princess was top notch. From the waiters to our room steward, everyone was friendly and helpful. The one disappointment we had was the food. The meals in the traditional evening dining were good but not exceptional. We would definitely rank Royal Caribbean's meals as better. That being said, the ship's specialty restaurants were phenomenal.

Alaska-

Our time in Alaska, from the cruise ports to the fishing towns we explored on our own, was both relaxing and adventurous. We hiked, biked, drank, ate, scoured glaciers, and observed all that was wild. Everything we'd heard about the grand adventure that is Alaska was true. They make damn good beer, serve the freshest and heartiest seafood, and do not have an acre in their state that is not breathtaking. Hopefully, someday, we'll get to see it again.

Meet Patron, the Brown Bear. His name really is Patron. And, no, Lance did not name him.

Food Coma

We have finished our cruise and are now in Anchorage. I don't have a lot of time here, but I just wanted to drop in and say that the trip is going great. Steph and I will post detailed blogs as soon as we get back home. Promise.

Today in Anchorage, Chris and I spent most of the day chowing on some seriously great seafood. We had calamari, seafood chowder, salmon, and three kinds of halibut. All phenomenal. We are beyond stuffed.

Tonight Chris flies back to Japan, and Steph and I head out for Seward tomorrow.

See you soon.

30 Second Blog (Alaska Style)

My window of opportunity to post a quick blog is small, so I won't waste any time with complete, coherent sentences.

Whales, eagles, and a naughty bear. King crab legs as big as my...well, big. Lots of hiking. Perfect weather (which for me means foggy and rainy). Brothels, pubs, and lots of booze.

Funny story- when you order room service on a cruise, they first ask for your order, then your room #, and then your name. Yesterday when I called, I ordered my third bottle of crown royal. Upon making the order, the steward asked, "Is this Larry?"

Apparently I'm the only one on this boat ordering mass quantities of whisky.

Skagway

This morning was much the same - which was is not a bad thing. We've been getting up around 7ish to make sure we get in as much of each port as we can. Today we woke up to rain and low clouds. Before our vacation we did a little research and found a great hike on the edge of town to the Dewey Lakes system. So, this morning we got dressed fast, ate fast, and hiked to lower Dewey lake. It is so amazing here! We are in a rain forest and because of that it's beautiful. Also because of that it's, well, raining. So, we hiked in 100% humidity. Luckily the temperature was around 55 degrees, but holy hell we broke a sweat really fast. There's moss on everything and it's so lush! Because of the glacial runoff, a lot of the bodies of water are a light moss greenish. Very pretty. We made to the lake and started doing the lower lake loop when toward the back of the lake the trail got pretty iffy- meaning over big boulders, etc. Also we saw what looked like perfect bear dens. Needless to say we didn't keep going much longer. I really was frightened we'd run into some bears. But, the whole hike was a little over 3 miles so that was good.

Then we went on our excursions. Lance and Chris' helicopter portion of the tour got cancelled, due to weather, much to Lance's excitement. I was initially hoping my rock climbing got cancelled as well because of the rain, but it didn't. Good thing though because I really enjoyed it. The boys are still out and about and I have some laundry in the washer - my clothes and especially my jacket got super dirty rock climbing.

Anyhow, we still haven't really made it into town. Hopefully we will tonight before the shops close up. The salmon are still running strong. I think it's sad to see them try so hard to get up the creeks - mother nature is a cruel woman! Poor fishes!

Juneau

We slept in a touch later then we have recently, got up at 7:30 today. Met up with the rest of the bike and brew tour at 9:00AM. I gotta say I loved this excursion. It was some work for sure, but we were all in good enough shape to handle it without whining. We saw Mendenhall glacier and nugget falls, got to bike to mendenhall state park and then bused to Alaska Brewery. Everything was BEAUTIFUL!!!!

Right now we're still in port, took a short nap. Chris went to get on a Whale watching tour this evening and so Lance and I are going to walk around town a bit and shop.

We've seen a few bald eagles from our ship and during our bike ride we met a brown bear getting into someones trash! Naughty bear! He was cute though.

Ta ta for now!

Whirlwind

Well, with limited Internet access, my dream of "journal" vacation just isn't coming true. I will however fill you in on today, thus far.

Today we docked in Ketchikan around 5:30AM. We woke up around 6:15 and immediately went out to our balcony, pj's, barefoot, and all. The view was spectacular! Hazy sky, mountains, ocean and the cute little town of Ketchikan just off to our left. We threw on our kayaking clothes, went to breakfast, and then disembarked the ship around 7:15. The excursion didn't leave until 7:50, so we walked around a bit, breathing in the salty air as we went.

Kayaking kicked ass. We saw 5 bald eagles and a baby bald eagle. The whole thing lasted about 3 hours - which was just enough. I got plenty of pictures and somehow Lance and I managed not to tip our kayak!

We arrived back in town, took pictures of some totem polls, and ate at Annabells'. We read in a few of our guide books that they had great chowder. Chris and Lance will attest to the fact that they do.

Now we're on the ship and on our way to Juneau. We're supposed to go through some pretty narrow passageways later on and the captain says lots of whales have been spotted through there.

Anyhow, WE ARE LOVIN' VACATION. More later tomorrow.

See Ya On The Flip Side

Well, our plan to blog during the trip isn't working out too well. There's just no time. So, Steph and I will just have to wait until the end of the trip to make posts. You may see an update or two on here from Steph over the next week, but nothing too substantial. The meatier posts will come sometime after August 27th.

Today is our last day in Vancouver. We'll be exploring Granville Island, and then it's time to get on the boat. Lots of pics and posts to come.

Vancouver

Yesterday we arrived in Vancouver, SAFELY! We arrived a few hours before Chris, so we took our luggage and checked it with the bellhops at our hotel, The Renaissance Marriott. It's just 2 blocks from the waterfront and our room faces the water. While waiting for Chris we explored Canada place and gastown. We ate a great restaurant for lunch, Steamworks Brewing Company. Lance had fish & chips -he says the best ever- and I ordered Chicken Satay.

Well, I barely touched on the first day, but I've got to end it here. It's getting late and I'm borrowing Christopher's'computer. I hope to type more later. Sadly, I wont be able to post pics until we're home.

The Itinerary

With only 7 days left before we head out on our Northwestern journey, we are beside ourselves with anticipation. Planning is half the fun!

Here's what we've got going~

Saturday, Lance and I will arrive in Vancouver around 10:30AM. If the plane doesn't crash Lance will consider it a miracle - as he always does.

Chris will arrive sometime in the noon hour and meet up with us. We plan to do a little Vancouver site seeing and then we have dinner reservations at a highly-recommend restaurant. (To be revealed later - with a review of course!) We've chosen to stay at a Marriott near the pier.

Sunday we're going to see the Capilano suspension bridge ( http://www.capbridge.com/index.html) and hike up the Grouse Grind. (I'm feeling exhausted already)

Monday is the day we embark on the cruise! YAY! We'll get in a nice breakfast and hopefully a little shopping before boarding the vessel. We'll be sailing on The Island Princess for 7 days. Princess provides a bridge cam, so if you're interested you can check it out while we're sailing. Here's the link- http://www.princess.com/bridgecams/ip/island_bridgecam.html

Tuesday we will be at sea. Ahhhhh. This means lots of on board activities and time at the casino. Oh, and time in the gym. Our travel companion, Chris, has made it very clear that this will not just be a vacation of relaxing. The muscles will be worked! Lance however, will mostly be working his elbows as he tips back drinks.

Wednesday we will be arriving in Ketchikan. We've reserved the Eagle Islands Kayaking tour (my pick). Should be awesome.

Thursday we'll dock in Juneau. Chris chose the Glacier View Bike and Brew tour. We'll be riding down (hopefully, down) a road near the Mendenhall glacier and then be whisked off to the Alaskan Brewery for some beer samples! We'll probably meander around town after the excursion.

Friday we're going to split up a bit in Skagway. Chris and Lance are going on the Heli-Hike and Rail adventure. They'll be getting in a helicopter, flying over glaciers, hiking up trails and then training down back into town. As fun, and as expensive, as this sounds, I'm going to be off rock climbing. I've chosen the Klondike Rock Climbing and Rappelling tour. Although it would be more fun if someone I knew was going along, I just want this too much to give it up. My friend and I tried out a rock climbing gym in Rhode Island and I loved it. I now want to take my amateur skills and try it outdoors!

Saturday and Sunday we'll be back at sea, checking out ice bergs and such. Monday we will disembark and make our way to Anchorage. Chris will depart that night (boo), leaving Lance and I to roam the Kenai peninsula for the next few days on our own. We'll hit up the towns of Seaward and Homer, before finally getting back to Anchorage and returning to Denver August 28Th.

Upon return we will post a more detailed account of the trip, along with pictures.

Welcome!

Lance and I have created this blog to document our travels and invite our friends and family to join along the way.

In 17 short days we will be leaving for our 12 day expedition to Vancouver, BC, and cruise to Alaska.

Please stay tuned, if you want, for a (practically) minute-by-minute itinerary of our trip. I'll be posting it this weekend.

Thanks for sharing with us! We hope you enjoy the ride.