ALASKA CRUISE UPDATE
JULY 22-29, 2006

We are home and thawed out from our great Alaskan adventure. Stop one found us in Ketchikan. A pretty cool little town and I think my favorite port. Ron and Scott took off early for a fishing charter and each caught a salmon. I hear it's being processed and fed-ex'd to the house so all can come over and taste it soon! The boys had a great time fishing. Jennifer and I headed out for a horse-drawn tour of the city, and a little shopping.

Stop two we were in the city of Juneau. The capitol of AK--I know because I was corrected by a stranger when I told Jennifer that Ankorage was the capitol--it was a beautiful little town, but we just didn't feel like any of the excursions that were offered. So - that only left SHOPPING. Ron and Scott were the bag holders and after a few hours were very crumpy. They don't like being bag holders.



Stop three was the tiny town of Skagway (pop 500). Ron and I took the famous White Pass Mountain Railway ride on a previous visit. Scott and Jenn didn't feel the need to see the backcountry by steam train - so we opted for a 4x4 adventure into the mountain. We had to start by boarding a ferry boat to take us 30 miles away to the town of Haines. Then we took a bus ride up the mountain. Then the 4x4 adventure began. This was probably the most memorable event of the week, in a different way depending on who is reviewing the trip for you. From myself and Jenn's point of view - we were the only people able to almost die driving a kawasaki mule that only goes 3 miles an hour. It was extremely nerve wrecking. Straight up for 4 miles, but then straight down for four miles. If you talk to Ron or Scott, this was the best time of their lives and they loved it. I'm always saying "it's all fun and games until someone gets hurt." Well, on the way down the mountain, there was a dip in the road, Ron and Scott are totally goofing off and being the 'class clowns' of the group that day. They decide going into this little valley that it would be fun to hold their hands up in the air like they were on a roller coaster saying "Weeeeeeee". All while we're crawling along in this glorified golf cart. That would have been funny -- except the wheel hit a rather large rock, and Ron's hands weren't on the steering wheel because he was busy holding them up -- so the rock whips the wheels around TIPPING the cart onto two wheels, I'm screaming, Jenn's crying. It was not fun and games any more. The girls in the backseat really thought we were going to tip over, roll, head down the side of the mountain. Ron brought the craft back into control and they were laughing and thinking it was the best thing ever. I finally just had to close my eyes... In the middle of the trip we did get a wonderful lunch at a lodge. Scott thinks if he had to endure the pain of shopping the day before, Visa and Mastercard sitting in the back seat should suck it up for the 4x4 ride.

The fourth port was Prince Rupert, Canada. Its nickname was cow town - hence the photo op at this place. We got off the ship and walked uphill for at least a mile or two when we decided we'd seen enough of this lovely place. At least the walk back was downhill. When we reached Cow Alley, Ron and Scott spotted a skooter rental booth. Jenn and I decided not to repeat the 4x4 experience, and stayed put while the boys managed to put 41 miles on these things in two hours. Again, they had a blast.

We had plenty of time to watch icebergs, great scenery, get in some card playing, and plenty of food.

We also enjoyed visiting with Grandma and Grandpa Mitchell, which was the whole reason we went, to celebrate their 50th Wedding Anniversary!!!

After a week of rain and fog everyday with the temperature not reaching over 60, we arrived in Las Vegas to the familiar sounds and loud flashy ads, There's No Place Like Home. Jenn took off in a run to meet her own private ride home, leaving us to lug her baggage home for her. Ashley was kind enough to pick us up. We're now ready to begin another work week.

If you've made it to the end of this travel recap blog - you now get to see the newest cool family picture (we're getting fewer and fewer in number!). As with any of the other photos on this site, click on them and you can see a larger view. Thanks for making it to the end of the report!!!