What’s the opposite of Back to the Future? Ahead to the Past?

Back to the blog!

Ok, I know it’s been a while. I could give you the usual excuses… been busy (well, who isn’t?)… no time (right)… too tired (menopause!!)… family stuff going on (always), but the bottom line is that I just haven’t had the inspiration to gather up my mojo and share it with you here. Until today.

Actually, I’ve been meaning to resurrect this blog since the last trip. That was the one where we flew to Toulouse, drove to San Sebastian, Spain (look it up on the map) for a short sightseeing siesta, then  back to Toulouse where George had his meeting, by way of St. Jean Pied-de-Port (why? That’s another blog entry coming soon.) Before that we were a week in Seattle and Portland visiting family and friends (a wedding!), Brussels for a week in April, most of March was in Miami with George and Morgan or the panhandle with Susie (manatees!!), and before that…who can remember?

The main reason that I let the blog slide was that I just felt I didn’t have anything new to say. Well, folks, that has changed. I really want this blog not just to chronicle my adventures, but to exist as an instructive manual of sorts on how to handle the types of things that happen when you travel. “Expect the unexpected” is my usual travel attitude and I find it interesting to deal with the various types of joys and calamities that occur when I’m not at home.

Since my last blog entry there actually have been plenty of joys, but nothing inspires like a humongous calamity. Sooo… without further ado, I’m going to keep the next few paragraphs that I wrote on the eve of the last big trip and try to share my experience in the hopes that they will advise you as well as entertain you. Here goes:

You’ll never guess where I’m headed off to tomorrow. Alaska! On a cruise! This is a trip that never interested me in the least before. I’m from Oregon, lived in Washington state, so why would I want to cruise just to look at more trees when the clear, warm waters of the Caribbean beckon? However, my travel buddy Susie had some free time this summer and wanted to see some glaciers before they melt. We had some denied boarding compensation from our trip to Florida in March, and first looked into Glacier Park, Montana. USAirways doesn’t get us closer than Spokane, and that makes for waaaayy too much driving.

So where else would you find glaciers? ALASKA. And what’s the best way to see them? CRUISING. So, even though Susie does not have fond memories of her last cruise (25 or so years ago), she really wanted some quality glacier time, so off we go.

Here’s the amazing part: after a bit of research, I found a seven-day cruise from Vancouver to Whittier (2 hours south of Anchorage) for….. $541 per person.  An inside cabin, and we have to add $70 each for tips, but that’s our cabin, all the food we care to eat, entertainment, etc., etc., etc., and tax. In fact, on the invoice, the cruise part of the amount is only $232, with the balance as tax.. How do they do it? They must expect us to buy lots of souvenirs, drink their expensive drinks, take their expensive shore excursions, and gamble our money away in the casino. Sorry Princess, not us. And with our airfare credit, we have cruise and airfare for well under $1000 per person.  Can’t stay home for that!

So, come join us on our Alaskan adventure! I’ll do my best to keep you posted with pics and prose. Time to finish packing, for tomorrow morning we fly to Seattle for a little pre-cruise sightseeing. See you then!

Again, I wrote this in July. Due to a busy schedule and a crazy calamity, the writing stopped. So I’m going to resurrect this trip in real time. Enjoy.