Whew! What a whirlwind month we’ve had! After recovering from our crazy move to Texas, fighting a constant battle with our new internet provider, and taking an exhausting two week, action-packed trip to the Pacific Northwest, I’m finally home and ready to start cooking and blogging again! But first let me fill you in on the second half of our Alaskan cruise. As you’ll see from the photos below, we had an awesome time, saw some incredible sights, and ate and drank WAY too much (in case you’re wondering why my next couple posts may be heavy on the salads).

In my last blog post I left off at the beginning of Day 3, just before we disembarked at our first port of call in Juneau, so naturally, that’s where I’ll pick up.

Day 3, upon arriving in Juneau we decided to take an off-shore excursion aboard a catamaran for a whale watching & wild life quest where we saw (wait for it) whales!— also, a large colony of seals, and about half a dozen bald eagles.

My very own Jacques Cousteau. 

The first of several humpback whale sightings. 

There must have been a hundred seals swimming and sunbathing on this outcropping of rocks.

After our 3-hour boat tour we took a bus up to Mendenhall Glacier to view the mighty “river of ice.” Notice the glacier in the center-right of the photo and the waterfall just to the right of that.

Here’s the scene up close…

…and closer still.

This is a shot of me standing in front of the waterfall. It looks massive, right? Okay, now go back and look at the first photo to see how small it is in relationship to its neighboring glacier. Go ahead, I’ll wait…..Awe, doesn’t it look so cute and sweet?!

Exhausted and hungry after our excursion, we discovered yet another one of Juneau’s wonderful treasures, Tracy’s King Crab Shack, where one giant leg yields a pound of crab meat. Oh my goodness, the deliciousness was almost too much to handle! Almost.

This 3-pound bucket of crab legs will run you about $100, but it’s so worth it!

Are you salivating yet? I am.

Oh myyy!

Day 4, our second port of call in Skagway.

After our water excursion at the last port, we decided to stay on land and take a death-defying train ride on the historic White Pass Railway, climbing 2,865 feet to the summit along a narrow track overlooking the valleys below. 

Seriously not recommended for people afraid of heights.

OMG, are we going to cross that?! (Thankfully, no. This bridge has been retired for quite some time.)

And not to be outdone by our dining experience of at Tracy’s, we decided to lunch at a local hotspot, the Skagway Brewing Co., where every single one of their brews is a winner — and we sampled them all. 

Try the halibut & chips or the salmon burger (oh, and a couple beers to wash everything down).

No fillers here, just straight Alaskan salmon.

All that excitement called for a nap onboard, followed by an incredible dinner at the Skagway Fish Co.

Hailing from the PNW, I’ve had my fair share of delicious clams, but these were among the best I’ve tried.

The broth was too good to waste, so we ordered more bread to soak it up.

Seriously, Alaskan King Crab Legs AND Rainier Beer? Come on, with this view?! I’m in heaven.

We finished our meal 10 minutes before we were set to sail and had to sprint back to the ship. Luckily we had a good parking spot.

Day 5 was at sea cruising along the scenic Tracy Arm.

Do I look cold to you? I am.

Another glacier. Yawn. Just kidding, but we did see a lot of them.

Day 6, port of call in Ketchikan.

If you visit, take a walk along Creek Street, a boardwalk on stilts that was once the ‘red light’ district of the town.

Walking along Creek Street, away from town towards the Tongass Historical Museum, you’ll be able to view a salmon ladder from above…

…and a cute little salmon ladder gift shop. (Hmmm, that has to be a first.)

After a lengthily walking tour guided by ourselves, we broke for lunch at Annabelle’s Keg & Chowder House, where the menu comes in the form of a 1920’s newspaper. The ambiance was great, the food a bit pricy, but that’s what vacations are for, right?

Our last night on the cruise we felt the need to take advantage of the empty lawn chairs on deck to soak up some moonrays.

Day 7, final docking in Vancouver, BC and our short drive back to the Lower-48.

Pulling into Vancouver.

It was a wonderful trip that I highly recommend! We saw great things and ate great food, and I would do it again in a second. (And because of my extremely gluttonous behavior onboard, you can expect some healthy dishes coming out of my kitchen this month. At least until I’m able to comfortably button my jeans again.)

I have to say, vacation is fun, but it’s nice to be home — I’ve missed you guys.