Alaskan Cruise July 2025

 We both woke up feeling slightly better this morning. Seems like the worst of this cold is behind us. Grateful we could still enjoy things in spite of it. Got our bags out the door by 7 and went in search of coffee. At least I went in search. Matt had coffee in the room, true to his self. I got a latte this morning. We did the river walk by the property after coffee. Beautiful morning and a lovely walk. My emotions have completely shifted again. Feeling so happy to be here and have the opportunity to travel. This shifting emotion when I travel from traveling euphoria to being unsure whether I want to keep traveling continues. It seems to be part of the landscape for now.  We joined our group at 8:15 and took the bus to the rail depot. We will be riding the McKinley Explorer to Anchorage today. It is an all day rail journey. The train is two levels. We are sitting in the top level with a glass top ceiling. The dining cars are the bottom level. It is a beautiful ride. Through m...

 We got up early and actually got eight hours of sleep. Sadly, our colds are in full force. I’m not as symptomatic as Matt but I don’t feel great. Today is our Tundra Tour going as far as possible into the Park. Matt is feeling like he shouldn’t be around anyone but both of us don’t want to skip the tour.  I had masks so we stuck the in our pockets and boarded the bus, trying to be as discreet as possible without coughing and sneezing. I’m feeling pretty low today. Just trying to maintain equilibrium.  It is an incredibly beautiful day, not a cloud in the sky. The park is so beautiful. Our guide is sharing history and telling stories as we drive. Mt. Denali is out! We get to see this incredible mountain in all its glory. Mt. Denali rivals Everest in the challenges it poses to aspiring mountaineers. Even in summer, the temps are 20 below zero and the winds howl, up to 100 mph. It is awe inspiring to look at it. We are fortunate today. We are able to see mountain sheep, bea...

The Salmon Bake and Musical Revue was actually a lot of fun. The food was good. We sat outside and ate and the weather was lovely. The show was very specific to the area with the history of Dawson the theme. We enjoyed ourselves very much. Got up this morning and realized we both are definitely in the grip of a miserable cold. I feel pretty punky but Matt is doing the sneezing and blowing nose thing pretty intensely. We are riding the bus today to Denali and are grateful that that won’t take much energy. We got our cup of coffee in the Dawson hotel which is quite good and headed to the next adventure.  The bus ride was beautiful. We had a couple of fire and construction stops but did the trip in about three hours. We had one stop at a little place where you could buy souvenirs and get a snack. We are both amazed that people choose to live here. Truly in the middle of nowhere.  Arriving at the Denali Holland America Lodge, we are struck by the beauty of the surroundings. Wow. E...

Day 6 - June 17 Another day in a plane. Not so early though which was really nice. Our meeting time was 8:15 so we had a leisurely morning. Got up and got ready. I have a splitting headache and my throat and nose feel dry. I don’t think I’m sick but wow, don’t feel great. I’m going to try and eat more of my normal diet today. Doing my peace and safety prayers. Matt feels the same but nothing affects him like me.  Got coffee at the hotel which is actually very good. On the plane now as I am typing. It was sprinkling in Dawson but the weather looks nice in Fairbanks. I think we are staying ahead of the rain.  We arrived safely in Fairbanks and customs could not have been any easier. The weather is warm and sunny. Our rooms are not ready yet and our hotel here is about five miles from the downtown area. We dropped off our backpacks and got on to the shuttle to explore the downtown.  Our first stop was the Morris Thompson Cultural Center. It was very well put together. I thin...

 Early morning in Whitehorse. Had to get up at 5:30 to be in the lobby by 6:15. I’m feeling so sleep deprived.  The flight was short and uneventful. Looks like another beautiful day for us. Landed in Dawson and took the bus into town. Dawson is a charming town. No asphalt or cement anywhere. All the roads are dirt and the sidewalks are boardwalks. Our hotel is really nice and so charming. A buffet breakfast is included for us here and the food was really good. Even the coffee was good.  After breakfast and getting checked into our room, we explored town. Bought a few protein bars and a bottle of water for our hike. The town is so interesting. Stampeders history for the gold rush in 1898 is everywhere and it is fascinating how much it completely changed the history of this area and persists to today.  We decided to hike the Dawson City to Midnight Dome hike. It is a daunting hike - about 5 miles but 2000 feet of elevation gain with all of that happening in about two m...

 Of course, Matt is up before 6 again. This ship and everything going on around us is just so stimulating for him and he is curious about everything. I woke up feeling the best I have since we left. The debilitating fatigue is better today.  We had to be out of our rooms by 8 so we headed up for breakfast by 6:30. Breakfast was so good. I will honestly miss it so much and my appetite has been huge. So unlike Croatia where I could barely eat half the time. We had breakfast and then headed into the Rock and Roll Lounge to meet our tour director and make the last arrangements.  We had some time before our tour departs at 11:45 so we headed in to see Skagway. Tiny little wilderness town. We walked from one end to the other and of course, looked at everything that has anything to do with trains. I bought a latte that cost almost $9.00! And it wasn’t that great either. I miss the coffee from home.  Headed back to the ship and met our group. Left the ship for the last time ...

Matt is up EARLY again! Oh, this guy. His energy never seems to wane. I can’t believe he is almost 70. Nothing about him seems old. He can go nonstop. Never complains. Never hurts. Everything is wonderful and he sees something amazing everywhere he looks. What a wonderful travel companion he is. I finally dragged my lazy butt out of bed and showered. We decided to eat breakfast in the dining room today and it didn’t open until 7:30 so we wandered around a bit and then headed into breakfast. Once again, fabulous food. So good. I will miss all this good food. It is the best food I’ve eaten in a long time. After breakfast, we went to the informational session for the land part of our tour. Nothing new here. Mostly repeating everything that was written. Typical American fashion. Say things multiple times and expect nobody to ever read what was written.  After the tour informational session, we wandered over and bought a picture from our formal photos. I was a bit disappointed. They di...

Oh, boy, not sleeping terribly well. Woke up through the night and up early. Matt went and got me a latte while I laid in bed a while longer. He has so much energy. I’m having a hard time matching it. It is cold and rainy this morning and we realized our Pickleball game is not going to happen. The courts are soaked and the wind is blowing. Headed up to Lido and had breakfast. All the food is so good, no matter where you eat, but the coffee? Ugh. Not so much. The latte from the specialty café this morning was not too bad. After breakfast, realizing that Pickleball could not happen, we went to a line dancing class. It was a lot of fun and reminded me that I miss having this in my life. After the class, we attended a presentation about whales. It was very interesting and amazingly well attended. We walked around a bit, went up to the Crow’s Nest at the very top of the ship. The seas were a bit rough and at the top of the ship, the deck was definitely moving around. I realized that I di...

 We got up at 3:45 am this morning and headed to SFO with Lyft. No problems. Flew to Seattle on Alaska and then transferred to Air Canada for the flight to Vancouver. It went smoothly. Just nice to be with Matt. This guy. He is just the guy for me. There is no other way to see this. I feel so good doing anything and everything with him.  Going through customs in Vancouver was a breeze. We had to check our bags because we were on a tiny plane and our bags were too big. But that was unbelievable smooth too. Holland had provided transfers for us so we found the bus and boarded. The trip to the dock was fine but very congested. Took us about an hour. Got through all the security processes and boarded the boat.  Both of us were starving so headed to the Lido Deck for some food. And of course, the buffet was enormous and sumptuous. The food was good but buffets aren’t my favorite. I think I’ve said that a few times before.  I’m so tired that I can barely function. Matt is ...