I totally mistimed how long it would take to go from my hotel to my check-in gate, so now I have a couple of extra hours to kill. Since I'm an idiot, I should be rewarded for my ineptitude, right? I agreed, thus I impulse-purchased the Bose noise canceling headphones. I haven't tried them on the plane yet, but I suspect I am going to use these frequently. Great sound, and less baby cries interrupting my iPod (and I brought along a DVD that I haven't watched yet, if I find a power plug not guarded by airport personnel.), plus I don't have to crank the volume up quite so loud to get my groove on.
Just because Fixer asked, I'll give some details of the cruise itself. I snagged a copy of the “Ships Log”, which was full of interesting factoids, but this document is stowed away in my luggage. 39 of us went on Holland America's Alaskan Cruise, out of a total of 1298 passengers. We thought we were a large group, until I asked a crew member if she had seen more, and she said one cruise was entirely filled with one family. Youch! I thought my family was large.
I was not sure what to expect, as I had never even considered going on a cruise before, but I was pleased with my experience. Of course, with such a large family, there were some minor dramas, dustups, but not really of great significance. (7 of my grandparents 8 kids eventually made it onboard, with various members of their family, plus a couple of cousins. I'm not sure what percentage of the entire clan made the journey, but I'd guess more than half. Unfortunately neither my brother nor my sister were able to get away for a week, maybe next time.)
We ate like royalty: I consumed more calories in a week than I did in the prior month combined, not to mention drinking enough liquor (wine, beer, gin, Jameson's mostly) and coffee to fill a few bathtubs. An uncle tried to make a contest over who would be able to gain the most weight in a week, but we never actually got around to weighing ourselves. With a couple of exceptions, we ll get along famously, a rarity really.
More later, my laptop battery is weakening.
Amsterdam
our boat in the harbor at Juneau
Amsterdam in Sitka
our boat in harbor at Sitka. Have to look up the mountain range later.
Parliament Buildings in Victoria
they have been lit thus every night since Queen Victoria's jubilation in the 19th C.E.
Glacier Fishing
at Tracy Arm
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sawyer_Glacier
Buckethead and Breadface
a most flattering photo of my parents.
click to embiggen
Technorati Tags: Alaska
Great ship and great line. Holland America is always our first choice. We'll be taking Noordam back from Rome (same cruise, almost, we did last year) in October '08. Just booked it yesterday. We'll maybe squeeze another in next April or May when Westerdam begins her NY - Caribbean run.
Does my heart good to see someone enjoy their first cruise.
Thanks Seth - you are such an artist! I would like to get some of these framed. Great being with you for a whole week!
Aunt Shannon