Although we were not able to take our Prius on this journey we still like to think we did take it. Our 50th State visited was the beautiful and majestic state of Alaska. Rather than achieving another long intensive drive to Alaska we took the lazy route with a cruise departing from Seattle. This way we didn’t have to worry about expensive food, nature play games on us, and closed highways that could make the journey so much longer. We were so lazy we even flew to Seattle and we had our parents with us to enjoy the time, Alan and Tammy.
Washington State
We flew out up to Seattle on Tuesday the 11th and our flight got delayed from 8am to around 11am, so much for waking up early! The flight up was cool cause we were able to see Yosemite from 32,000 feet up and several large volcano mountains including Mt. Rainier. Once in Seattle we headed East about 100 miles to a place called Suncadia. There we stayed at a resort that had mountains and greenery all around us. There we did some hiking and relaxing and visited an old coal mining town called Roslyn where many worked underground and the show “Northern Exposure” was filmed. It was cool to see some history there. We stayed in Suncadia for a couple days and then headed to Snoqualmie Falls where there is a water generator and a large waterfall that was built a long time ago. It was neat to see.
Royal Caribbean in the Northwest?!
Friday was the day we had to board the Explorer of the Seas Cruise ship with Royal Caribbean. It was a pain to haul all of our cargo onto the ship, we each had several carry on items along with a full suit case per person. Once we made it pass the security it was time to get eating. I have to say that after going on a cruise with Carnival the food on Royal Caribbean was a little disappointing but the ship was enjoyable even with the cold weather.
Saturday was a whole day at sea and we went to shows, ate lots of food, relaxed, ran a mile on the track and all you can eat Ice Cream. Not a lot to report for a day at Sea.
Juneau, You know?
Sunday was a day in Juneau. It was cold, wet, windy, and cloudy, not the ideal weather but we did the best we could with it. We started with a terrible 25 minute bus ride where Alyssa and I were left riding standing up, I am just glad it didn’t make me sick for the rest of the day. The bus took us to Mendenhall Glacier where you could see the blue ice coming down out of the mountainous valley below. The glacier was far off in the distance and you weren’t able to see much. After an hour or two we went back into town and went with Dad to find the trail head to hike to the top of Mt. Roberts. It was a good wet hike, the trail was muddy and had many tree roots sticking out of the ground. It took us about a little over an hour to get to the Tram at the top. The tram used to be free if you hiked up to it but when we were there they made us buy $20 worth of items just to go down. After getting down the mountain we quickly headed over to the restaurants for some famous fish and chips. We got some halibut fish and chips and it took forever to get our food, I was quite disappointed with getting 4 small pieces of fish for $25, I don’t think I will be going back there ever again. We were almost late getting back on the ship too, Mom and Dad were outside playing Pokemon Go. I think I could have spent a little bit longer in Juneau if we weren’t rushed by the ship’s schedule.
Skagway Dead Way
Monday we were in Skagway. Skagway was an old miners town where people passed through before heading to the Gold panning locations. Lots of shady dealings went down in that town back in the day. Glad that I was not one enticed to go look for gold. It was a very fun town when we visited, lots of little shops and fun excursions to do. They have a railroad that goes up the mountain and most people do that. We decided to do a bike ride down the mountain instead. I kinda wish it was on a trail but it was all on the road that they drove us up. The views were beautiful and the sun came out during the ride so it was a good day. Once back in town we found mom and dad running around playing Pokemon Go and tagged along where they would go.
Tire Marks on a Glacier?
Tuesday we woke up to the Tracy Arm Glacier. We were about a mile or so from the Glacier. It seemed a lot closer but we were quite a good distance away. It was quite amazing how well the crew can turn the ships around in the inlets. The glacier was awesome and we were able to hear and see it calving in the distance. It was quite shocking to hear how loud it is. Unfortunately it wasn’t the best show of it calving from what we have heard but it was still quite amusing. After seeing the glacier we were on our way back towards Washington. The weather was good and quite clear for most of the day. Around 7pm we went to a Mystery Dinner show and before the show we could see many whales on all sides of the ship. There must have been 30+ whales that we could see one after another. It was one of the coolest things we saw as far as nature goes. The mystery dinner was fun and enjoyable, some of us got to be part of the show as well. There was a lot of food we ate as well. We were not starving at all.
Wednesday was a day at sea and most of the time was spent laying around the room. Eventually we got up around 4pm and kept ourselves busy with food, music, dancing, shows, and more. Nothing too much to report other than we still were having fun.
Oh Canada, Eh?
Thursday we were in Victoria, Canada. Yes, it was our second time there together. Victoria is beautiful but also expensive so we opted not to do the Butchart Gardens this time, instead we went to the Parliament building which was free to take the tour and we went to a famous fish & chips place called Red Fish Blue Fish. By far the best we have found when it comes to vacation fish and chips. The cheaper cod fish was the better tasting fish too, who knew?! We also watched the seaplanes land right in front of us which was a delight. It was crazy to see all the planes land and take off around so many other boats and kayaks in the harbor.
Friday it was time to say good bye to cruising. This cruise was probably my favorite for the fact that I didn’t get any seasickness. The food could have been better and the windows could have been cleaned better but other than that it was a fun cruise. Once back in Seattle we headed to get our rental car and then to the hotel to get some sleep from the early morning, the problem was our room wasn’t ready and we ended up sleeping either in the car or at some tables outside a restaurant. We were zonked out and had no desire to go anywhere.
Space Needle and Glass?
Saturday we went to the Seattle Space Needle and the Glass Museum which was right next door. Both were really cool. You could watch all the planes flying around the Space Needle and see all the mountains around. The glass house had several Dr. Seuss style glass sculptures that were fun and amazing to see. It kinda makes me want to start glass blowing, especially when a piece of glass they sell is around $10,000 for a small piece. By the time Alyssa and I had completed touring the Space Needle and the Glass Museum we ended up waiting for mom and dad to go through the glass museum. So we walked around the event that was going on around the area. We got to try a lot of different food samples and see all the performers which were mostly bands doing cover songs but there were around 4-5 stages that were setup for this event so everyone was playing different songs.
Trolling the Bridge
Finally after an hour or two we got back to the car and headed to Fremont to see the famous art piece of the Troll under the bridge. There was a large crowd but not too bad. The hardest part of getting to the troll was actually finding it. We climbed up on it, stuck my head in the nose and got lots of pictures. After enough trolling around under the bridge we made our way to the Union Lake where the Gas Works Park was. When we got there there were lots of people playing with batons, hula hoops, and juggling balls, weirdos in my opinion. They were all over the place but it didn’t distract much of the cool views of the waterways there. It was funny to see so many signs around saying no going in the water or playing along the shore and what not and people still doing exactly what the signs were saying not to do. After running around the park we walked back to the car and Alan and Tammy picked some berries that were part of the cities vegetation, it was funny to see others walk by and then start picking some as well.
Underground and Sports
The next day we had an underground tour in Seattle. The history behind it was a fire that burned down the city and instead of rebuilding the city they decided to build on top of the city instead. They made giant walls and then blasted dirt and mud from the surrounding hills to fill the gaps in between the walls and then made supports from the buildings to the giant walls and put in a new sidewalk above even with the streets. Take a look at the pictures below or Click Here to learn more. After our tour we had to run to the baseball game. We made it to another stadium we haven’t been to, SafeCo Park. This stadium was pretty cool because if it ever rained they could put the top up so it would seem to be indoors but is just a cover. It never rained while we were there so we weren’t able to experience what it would be like, however, we did have a great view of the city in the distance. The Mariners lost 4-6 to the Yankees. From the game we went to China town for dinner since it was close to the Football stadium where we saw the Sounders soccer team play the San Jose Earthquakes. The Sounders scored 3 goals in the second half and that was the end.
Pike’s Marketplace
Pike’s was fun running around seeing the many different shops and food being produced. The biggest thing that people enjoy seeing is the Fish throwing around the market. I wasn’t too impressed with the throwing though. We did buy some rich Beechers Mac & Cheese and we got some Chinese pastries that were really good. We also got to see the gum wall and thankfully we didn’t step in any gum like most people do, haha. Eventually Pike’s got a little old walking around so we left and walked to the REI building which was huge. It was a good walk from Pike’s and when we got there the famous rock wall was closed, I was a little bummed out but not much we could do about it. We went back to the hotel and rested from the morning and then headed over to the movie theater and saw Dunkirk. All I can say is “Wow!”.
Flying and Flight Museum
This was probably my favorite day in Washington with the fact that I love airplanes. We went to the Museum of Flight on the south side of Seattle right next to the Boeing Airfield. It was awesome to watch several of the Boeing airplanes come in for landings and take-offs. It was also amazing to see how many airplanes they had in the museum. They even had a Concord, Air Force One, a Harrier, 747, the Boeing Dreamliner, an SR-71 and many more impressive aircraft. They even had some model cockpits that I probably was too tall to get in but was still fun to get in anyways. After exploring all the planes around it was time to get in the car and head up to Union Lake again but this time for a ride in a seaplane. It was an awesome experience to fly around in a Seaplane above Seattle. It was also really cool to be able to sit next to the pilot and be a sort of co-pilot. On this flight we got to see Bill Gates Home, the city Seattle, the boat locks, the Sports Stadiums, Mt. Rainier and more. After the seaplane ride we headed back to the hotel but took us 2 hours longer than anticipated due to traffic.
It was sure fun to explore Alaska and Washington and everything they have to offer. We can’t wait to go back and see more in the future. If this is inspiring or if you have any questions let us know below in the comments section!