A Trip to Alaska With the Four Sisters
The Seattle Skyline -The First Stop of Our Trip
First Stop--Seattle, Washington
For my 75th birthday, my sweet sister planned a trip for all four of us sisters to take a cruise to Alaska. We flew first to Seattle and toured the city for a day, then boarded our boat, “The Oosterdam”, the following day for a marvelous sea voyage to Alaska. By the way, if you ever visit Seattle and play Pokemon—-I have never seen so many Poke stops in one place as in Seattle. My sisters thought I was a little crazy as I had to stop every five feet or so to hit another Poke stop.
On Board The Oosterdam
Our Cruise Ship "The Oosterdam"
On board the Oosterdam we enjoyed the wonderful food and entertainment throughout the cruise. The BB King group were fantastic and also the other stage groups and the Piano Guys.( Not the real Piano Guys, or the original BB King group, however ). On our cruise we were able to catch sight of a few dolphin and some whales while we were at sea—but I wasn’t fast enough to get their pictures. The food was so wonderful that we all probably gained a few pounds---I know I did!
Juneau Alaska-And Dog Sledding
Juneau Alaska
Our first stop was in Juneau, Alaska. While we were there we took a side trip— a ride on the dog sleds with the mushers and learned all about the Iditarod from grandson Robert; who’s grandfather was the founder of the the race —Joe Redington—“Father of the Iditarod.” I took a lot of pictures, and learned a lot from Robert, and my next painting will be all about Alaska and the great Iditarod race. It was pouring rain in Juneau and we all got drenched—but it was worth every minute there.
The Hubbard Glacier
Next Stop, Sitka, Alaska
Our next stop was Sitka, and on the way there we passed by the Hubbard Glacier. It was a beautiful sight. I couldn’t believe how blue it appeared—it was dazzling! This time I did get a picture of it—but still missed the whales.. When we arrived in Sitka, we visited the National Historical Park and Baranof Island. We could see Salmon in the waters jumping—but I didn’t get pictures. I did get pictures of the park forests and Totem poles, however. We were lucky that it was not raining here, as it was in Juneau. We were able to take our time and shop for memorabilia there.
Alaska Totem Poles
Ketchikan Alaska
Our final stop in Alaska, was in Ketchikan. It was pouring rain when we docked there, but that didn’t stop us from spending the day visiting all the shops and enjoying the scenery. Ketchikan was mainly a fishing village and a tourist spot. It has the largest collection of standing totem poles—and I took a lot of pictures to include in my future painting of Alaska.
Ketchikan, Alaska
Victoria Canada and The Butchart Gardens
The last stop of our cruise was to Victoria, Canada. We got there late, as there was a false reported man overboard ( from another ship) and they took the time to check the surrounding waters, until they found that all was ok. We arrived at the dock in the evening and quickly took a bus to our side-trip destination—-the lovely Butchart Gardens. It was getting dark by the time we arrived at the gardens—so my flower pictures are somewhat dark, but the spectacular fireworks display was worth every minute of our time there. It was the most fantastic firework show I have ever seen. After Canada, we returned on the water to Seattle and our cruise ended there.
The Butchart Gardens
Back To Seattle and A Trip Home
We spent our last day in Seattle, before we flew home. We attended the art gallery there—the Seattle Art Museum and enjoyed looking at all the lovely paintings, as both I and one of my sisters are artists. The Alaska trip was wonderful—-and even just being with my three sisters is fun—-no matter where we are, we always have a great time together. It’s great to have crazy sisters that all get along!
