Our Travels, where they have taken us

Seattle to Alaska on the Celebrity Edge.

We had never cruised before, so we really did not know what to expect. Friends and family shared their experiences and tips, and we watched plenty of videos about cruising and what to do and not do. Preparing for the trip was starting to feel overwhelming.

After spending a day and a half in Seattle doing some walking tours, it was time to board our ship, the Celebrity Edge.

From the moment we arrived at the pier, we were impressed by how smoothly the boarding process went. There were very few waits and everyone was friendly and helpful.

Our cabin was beautiful with a great view. It was actually bigger than our hotel room in Seattle. The crew members were pleasant, friendly, and always eager to point you in the right direction if you got lost. The food was fantastic, the shows were fun, and the sightseeing reminded us of our trip to Banff, Alberta

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Our first stop was Ketchikan, Alaska. With a population of about 8,500, it is a beautiful town with plenty of good shops.

I was awake when we docked and within an hour three additional cruise ships arrived and began docking. The night before, we had decided to get off the ship early to make the best use of our eight hour stop. That turned out to be a great decision.

Early in the morning there were very few crowds, and we were able to see everything we wanted with little hassle. By 11 a.m., passengers from all four ships had descended on the city. You had to line up just to take pictures, stores became crowded, and checkout lines stretched out the doors. Thankfully, we had already seen what we wanted and were back on board by noon.

A couple of things stood out to us.

First, the prices in the tourist shops were a surprise, but not because they were expensive. They were much cheaper than we expected. T shirts were around fifteen dollars, windbreaker jackets were under thirty dollars, and sweatshirts were about twenty five dollars. Prices seemed easily twenty five percent lower than what we expected elsewhere in the United States. This was not the case in our second stop, Juneau, AK, the prices were very high for the same stuff.  Our third stop was Skagway, AK and their prices were like Ketchican.

The second thing is that Alaska apparently takes its rocks seriously. We were walking along the creek that runs through town and came across some smooth stones. Pat picked up a few and put them in my backpack. When we returned to the ship and sent our bag through security, they asked if we had any rocks. We said yes and explained that we had picked them up while walking. That is when we found out you cannot do that. They took our four rocks. My guess is they ended up back in the water or in the trash, but either way, they did not leave Ketchikan.

We really enjoyed cruising. I can already tell that I am probably not interested in a Caribbean style cruise. The crowd on this trip skewed older, but they still liked to have fun and seemed to know how to do it without getting carried away.

There were also very few kids on this cruise. When they were around, we noticed because some parents let them run free and they were not exactly quiet. By day four they became much less noticeable, so maybe the parents adjusted or maybe the kids simply wore themselves out.

One thing we really liked is that cruising fits our style of travel. Pat and I could do what we wanted, within the limits of the ship, and do it on our own schedule.

The only negative for us during the entire cruise was disembarkation.

I understand they need to turn the ship around quickly, but the process felt rushed. We had to leave our room, then wait for baggage collection. Once we had our bags, there was another ninety minute wait just to board a bus to the airport. After that, it took another thirty minutes for the bus to get out of the port area.

There were two ships disembarking side by side at the same time. As organized as the cruise itself was, getting off the ship felt chaotic. It took what had been a fantastic experience and turned the final memory into a frustrating one.

We will get over it, but that process definitely needs improvement.

One thing I do know is that we probably will not start or end another cruise in Seattle.

 Not all of our travel is camping related. We recently began our month long journey to the West Coast and our first cruise. The adventure started with an Amtrak trip from St. Paul to Seattle.

The train ride takes about 37 hours and departs St. Paul late in the evening, which means you spend two nights onboard. We chose a sleeping room. It was considerably more expensive than coach, but in our opinion, it was worth every penny.

The room itself was small but comfortable enough to move around in and enjoy the view from the window. It included a compact bathroom with a combined toilet and shower. While it worked fine as a restroom, the shower was so small that I decided not to use it. Fortunately, larger shower facilities are available for sleeping car passengers.

Sleeping, or perhaps more accurately getting into and out of the beds, provided some entertainment. At age 70, I still consider myself fairly agile, but maneuvering around the room once the beds were set up was challenging. A midnight trip to the bathroom could easily take ten to fifteen minutes just to climb down from the top bunk and make your way to the restroom without waking your partner or hurting yourself.

We were fortunate to have a wonderful sleeping car attendant named Dollencia. She explained how everything worked, gave us an overview of the train, shared the best times to eat, and regularly stopped by to check on us or simply chat for a while. Her friendly service made the trip even more enjoyable.

Our fare included meals in the dining car, and the food was surprisingly good. Dining on the train was one of the most interesting parts of the experience. The tables seat four people, so passengers are often seated with others. As a result, you meet people you probably would never have crossed paths with otherwise. You share a meal, exchange stories, and then move on so the next group can be seated. Every person we met was friendly, curious, and had fascinating life experiences to share.

The train also features an observation car and lounge. We spent quite a bit of time there enjoying the scenery, which was spectacular throughout the journey. Even though we were told the train was completely full, we never had trouble finding a seat. Some passengers enjoyed conversations with strangers, while others quietly watched the landscape roll by or read a book.

One thing that surprised me was the lack of Wi Fi onboard. While that seemed odd at first, there was enough cell service along much of the route to stay connected when needed. There were occasional dead zones, but honestly, it was nice to disconnect for a while.

One of my favorite parts of the trip was simply watching America pass by without a single billboard in sight. We live in a beautiful country. Along the route we saw everything from million dollar homes to modest houses that provided little more than basic shelter. I was amazed by the number of old cars, farm implements, RVs, and pieces of machinery sitting in backyards. If someone could figure out an economical way to transport all that metal to recycling facilities, there is a lot of value waiting to be reclaimed. The number of vintage vehicles alone would be a restorer's dream.

We also built a buffer day into our schedule. With Amtrak, you never know exactly when you will arrive, and the extra day gives us an opportunity to explore Seattle before boarding our cruise. It has been several years since our last visit, and we are looking forward to spending some time rediscovering the city.

So far, the journey has been very enjoyable and we look forward to the cruise, Oregon coast and Glacier Park before heading home. 

 We started off our camping season in Two Harbors, MN  Burlington Bay Campground.  A regular spot for us.  It is always nice to head north on a holiday weekend on Monday and see everyone hearing home.  No crowds and it is easier to get to see the attractions.  Retirement has its advantages  The weather was a little cool so we didn't get the e-biking in that we planned but truly enjoyed getting away.  There had been some forest fires just a week or so before our trip. It was sad to see some of the remnants of the the homes that were lost, but no lives were lost and everyone seemed to be handling what happened very well.