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SISTERS OR and ALASKA CRUISE
  • Vicki Bourckel

SISTERS OR and ALASKA CRUISE

A 13-day adventure by Vicki Read more
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  • Trip start
    July 12, 2024
    Vicki BourckelSISTERS OR and ALASKA CRUISETraveler
    Mt Hood

    Travel days

    July 12, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    My sister Jana and I are off on an adventure! We did go on a cruise in April to eastern Canada, which she shared on Facebook.
    I flew to Portland Oregon on Thursday, and Jana flew in on Friday. We rented a car and drove 3 hours to Redmond. OR. The landscape changed several times on that trip, from mountains with tall fir trees as we went around Mt Hood, to flat land with brown grass, to rocky buttes jutting out. We also drove though smoke several times from wildfires, but never saw the fires.
    We are staying in a cute air bnb in Redmond. Getting adjusted to Pacific time. Went to a local burger joint for supper. Looking forward to tomorrow........    Read more

  • Vicki BourckelSISTERS OR and ALASKA CRUISETraveler
    That roll is on a dinner plate!
    These are based on wildfiresThese were all quilted by men!small portion of a quilting challenge using a specific set of fabrics, the theme was Monarchs

    Sisters Outdoor Quilt Show

    Jul 13–17, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 70 °F

    Today we did something we have talked about for years- " someday we should go to Sisters for the outdoor show". TODAY was that day!
    First we had breakfast- shared a giant cinnamon roll from a restaurant around the corner. Unfortunately it looked better than it tasted, so disappointing. We drove 30 min to Sisters and rode a shuttle into town. Over 900 quilts of all sizes were on display hanging on the sides of buildings, over porch rails, all over town. About 15 square blocks-all the shops in town were part of the show. We spent all morning wandering until heat got to us. 98 degrees here today! Stopped and smoothies to rest and cool off. Then wandered around some more. Took lots of pictures, many more than I can share here. All beautiful and such variety!
    Drove back to Redmond for dinner.
    I have to say, we are surprised and a little disappointed that we are not in the mountains, as we had expected. They can be seen on the horizon, we're just not IN them.    Read more

  • Vicki BourckelSISTERS OR and ALASKA CRUISETraveler
    Air bnb
    Tall evergreen forests that we drove thru most of the way

    Visiting family

    July 14, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 93 °F

    This morning we checked out of the air bnb and headed west to Corvalliis, OR. We drove through Sisters on the way and all the quilts had been taken down. But they were having a farmers market so we stopped to check it out. We got a box of Ranier cherries to snack on, and some berries to take to our hosts for tonight.
    We drove 3 hours straight west, not quite to the coast and arrived at our nephew Jeremy's home in Corvallis. It was good to see them all and we had a nice visit. Spent the night there in their beautiful home.    Read more

  • Vicki BourckelSISTERS OR and ALASKA CRUISETraveler
    Seattle's famed gum wall
    We liked this store with sewing machines in windowsSpace NeedleJana riding the metroChinatown gateView from front of the hostel

    Seattle

    July 15, 2024 in the United States ⋅ 🌫 54 °F

    We left Jeremy's and drove 4 hours to Seattle, WA, passing Mt Ranier on the way.
    We stopped at the airport to drop off the rental car, and got a taxi to our hotel. It was actually a hostel since we didn't want to pay the exorbitant hotel rates in Seattle. It was a basic small room with a twin-over-full bunk bed. We shared the full bed rather than try to climb into a bunk bed. It was a clean room and we had our own bathroom.
    The hostel was on the edge of Chinatown and a very short walk to the public transit train. We rode that downtown and did some touristy stuff, as Jana had not been to Seattle. We checked out Pike Place market, had lunch(fish and chips) there, saw the gum wall, rode the monorail to the Space Needle, but didn't want to pay $60 for it. Walked around, people watched. Since lunch was late, we weren't hungry for another meal but stopped in a large Asian grocery near the hostel for some breakfast and snack items. It was very interesting!    Read more

  • Vicki BourckelSISTERS OR and ALASKA CRUISETraveler

    Embarkation day

    July 16, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 79 °F

    We checked out of the hostel, taxi to the pier and boarded the Carnival Spirit. Wandered around the ship, checking it out and having lunch. It's fun to watch the ship sail out of the port, Seattle has a lot of islands off the coast to navigate through and the scenery is beautiful. Later we unpacked, and wandered the ship some more. Didn't even take any ship pictures! Check Jana's Facebook for more of our trip.Read more

  • Vicki BourckelSISTERS OR and ALASKA CRUISETraveler

    Sea day

    July 17, 2024, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ 🌬 59 °F

    Today is a sea dayaa the ship churns up the Pacific coast. There are lots of activities, we did some. Played truvia,saw a musical show, wandered the shops. Got our first towel animal. Jana spent some time in the casino, I watched for a little while. We toured the spa and took advantage of a "special price" to schedule a full massage for tomorrow. I have never had one, so that will be interesting. We checked out the comedians show, he was not very funny so we left.
    Food on board is just OK, so it's easier to not eat too much😉. It's fun to just sit and people watch.    Read more

  • Vicki BourckelSISTERS OR and ALASKA CRUISETraveler
    Today's towel animal- elephant
    Piece of glacier ice-they were floating all around usStunning scenery everywhere we lookedThe blue area in the middle is a glacierUs on our balcony for the afternoon. Glacier in background

    Cruising Tracy Arm Fjord

    July 18, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 61 °F

    While this is actually still a day on the ship 🚢, it was an amazing trip up into a fjord with a glacier visible at the end of it. But first, MASSAGE TIME! I enjoyed it so much, very soothing and invigorating at the same time. Full body massage, warm oils, skin brushing - it all felt great. It was 75 min, I could have enjoyed it for another hour! While we were getting our massages, the ship naturalist came on the loudspeaker to point out the many bald eagles flying just offshore at a stream emptying into the ocean. Salmon were visible leaping in the air as they were swimming upstream to spawn. And we missed it all! But the shoreline on both sides of the ship was fabulous, and we spent much of the afternoon bundled up on our stateroom balcony just watching it all and appreciating the natural beauty. It was pretty chilly, no sun, but added ambiance to the natural background. FYI, a fjord is a long, narrow, deep body of water that reaches far inland. We did not expect to cruise as far inland as we did, so it was an unexpected and pleasant surprise to see as much of the fjord as we did. Lots of chunks of glacier ice floating in the water, immense long waterfalls from the tops of the mountains into the sea. It was an amazing, breathtaking, and majestic ride all afternoon, then turned around nearly at the end and came back out to the inside passage heading north to Skagway. At the very back end of the Fjord, we got a glimpse of a glacier in the background, another unexpected and wonderful surprise.
    Our internet is not strong enough to upload pictures so I will leave them off for now and hopefully remember to upload them later.    Read more

  • Vicki BourckelSISTERS OR and ALASKA CRUISETraveler
    Entering Yukon provinceSee the bear on the hill?Leaving British ColumbiaAlaskan huskies that train for the Iditarod raceOur train was on a narrow gauge(3ft wide) trackReflection in the lakeOn the platform outside the train car

    Skagway, Alaska

    July 19, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 61 °F

    Today, we got off the ship in Skagway, the most northern port of our trip. This was a really fun day, the only excursion we planned for this cruise. We got on a bus and drove 3 hours from Alaska across the International Date Line, into British Columbia, and then into Yukon territory. So many different terrains and sights, with an entertaining bus driver telling us stories of the Gold Rush and the areas we were driving through. We stopped for lunch at a tourist trap, but it was interesting, as they had an Alaskan wildlife taxidermy museum, and also had a lot of Alaskan huskies who train for the Iditarod by pulling tourists in big sleds. Lunch was good, bbq chicken, baked potato, slaw, and homemade donuts. Then we turned around and went halfway back down to Carcross, where we boarded a train to ride the rest of the way down to Skagway. The scenery was again stunning from a totally different vantage point. We were allowed to get on the little platform at the end of the rail car where the cars are linked together. It really added to the experience to be out there. Our conductor looked like he came straight from the Polar Express train! It was a full 8 hour day, we did have time to walk through the several blocks of "downtown" Skagway before returning to the ship. There was a really nice quilt shop there😉!Read more

  • Vicki BourckelSISTERS OR and ALASKA CRUISETraveler
    Quilt shopLupine everywhereOur ship in portTowel frog todaySeaplane getting ready to take offLook close for 2 sea planes that had just lifted into the airScenery as we left port

    Juneau Alaska

    July 20, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 59 °F

    Today, we had a short day and just walked around Juneau. It sprinkled a bit, looked like it was going to rain for a while, but then the sun came out, and it was really nice, mid 60s. We found another really nice quilt shop. I enjoyed the scenery again from our balcony as the ship pulled out. Juneau is the state capital, apparently the largest state capital in the country in land area. And it can only be accessed by sea or airplane. I watched from our balcony as four seaplanes in a row landed, and then shortly, they took off again. We have not found many shipboard activities that were interesting. Tried a new comedian, he was better than the first one but we didn't stay for the whole show.Read more

  • Vicki BourckelSISTERS OR and ALASKA CRUISETraveler
    View from our balcony
    Our shipCool eagle wood carvingQuilt shopLocal totem poles were all overRain guage- rains 364 days a year.Historic figures sculpture

    Ketchikan, Alaska

    July 21, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ☁️ 57 °F

    We had a short time(8a-12:30p) in Ketchikan today. Lots of touristy shops, we walked around for a couple hours, found a quilt shop, and took some pictures. Back at sea for the rest of the day. We are pretty lazy on the ship, not too excited about the activities. I read for awhile. Then we had lobster for dinner in the main dining room and creme brulee for dessert. Best meal of the week!Read more

  • Vicki BourckelSISTERS OR and ALASKA CRUISETraveler
    Today's towel animal- dinosaur
    My duck! I will hide him on our next cruiseMy hair shows how windy it was!Jana's painted picture, similar to mineMy masterpiece

    Mostly sea day, then Victoria BC

    July 22, 2024, North Pacific Ocean ⋅ 🌬 57 °F

    Had room service breakfast, just because we could! This ship was trying out a new activity that we participated in today. I enjoyed painting a picture! But I forgot to take a picture of my picture🙄. I also found a duck today. I found one on our last cruise, too! It is some kind of cruise "thing", people randomly hide little rubber duckies all over. You can keep them if you find them or rehide them for someone else to find. Then I read some more this afternoon. We arrived at Victoria BC at 8 pm and stayed until 11pm. Not much time to do anything, all there was by the puer was a little gift shop. I was able to get some more Macintosh toffee bars. I had hoped to walk to a nearby grocery store for travel snacks, but it was chilly with really cold, strong wind, so we just went to the gift shop and then got back on the ship.Read more

  • Vicki BourckelSISTERS OR and ALASKA CRUISETraveler
    See my train under the bridge and Seahawks stadium behind station
    Inside the train station was a beautiful old, well restored buildingPassing Mt RanierSunrise1Caleb watching my plane land as they waited for me at the airport

    Heading home

    July 23, 2024 in the United States ⋅ ⛅ 64 °F

    Up early, had breakfast and off the ship by 9:15am. It has been a wonderful ten days of travel with my sister, but now we part as she has to get to her next cruise starting in Iceland, on to Norway, Holland, Belgium, and Southampton England.
    I decided to have a little more travel fun, so I got on amtrak train in Seattle and took it down to Portland, where I caught my flight home, via Philadelphia. I had hoped the train ride would be more scenic, but it was still fun.
    I didn't get much sleep on either flight, so I took a 2 hour nap when I got home. Stay tuned for my next adventure in 4 weeks!    Read more

    Trip end
    July 24, 2024
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