Friday, August 12, 2016

Alaskan Cruise Part 6 - Ship Life!

Well, I hate to break it to you...
this is my last post about our cruise.
Ha!
I know, I only drug it out for a month. ;)

As I shared in my last post, 
our cruise departed from Seattle, Washington.
Thankfully there is a direct flight from Seattle to Fresno.
This cutie worked on her selfie game 
while we waited in the airport. :)


Landry was super excited to sit next to
Auntie K.K. on the plane!


I tried to warn everyone on the plane
with Lexie's onesie that said, "Wild One."


She did a great job on both flights.
I cannot say enough great things about Alaskan Air.
We had flown them once before,
and again for this trip,
and they are just the best!

We cruised with Royal Caribbean.
Here is our ship, Explorer of the Seas.


She was HUGE!!!!
I tried to get a picture of how tall she was, 
but couldn't fit the whole ship in the frame 
as I was looking straight up.


Nawnie and Landry selfie
as we were leaving port in Seattle.


Papa got in the shot this time.
Side note...if you haven't watched my parents
try to take a selfie...you should.
It is hilarious!
Sorry guys...love you tons...but it really is funny! ;)


Apparently watching the ship leave
the dock is very serious business in my family...



and then there's me!


All seven of us (my parents, sister, and the 4 of us)
stayed together in the Royal Family Suite.
I was rather nervous about this.
All seven of us.
In one suite.
For SEVEN days.
It turned out to be great!

We had a good size living room...
which doubled as my sister's room. ;)


My parents had their own master with a full bathroom...
bath tub included!


Chad, Landry, and I had our own bedroom...


with a bunk that came down from the ceiling
and a vanity area.


We spent a LOT of time on the balcony that had
a table with 4 chairs and two loungers.


Our room also had another bathroom with shower,
as well as a large walk-in closet,
and dinette area.



There were all kinds of activities on the ship.
You can't cruise without playing some shuffle board!


We watched movies, singers, dancers,
a magic show, and a comedian in the theater.



There was basketball, ping pong, a wave-rider,
an arcade, and Landry loved the mini-golf!


Of course there was also a casino on the ship.
We walked through it several times on the
way to the theater, and Landry always got
nervous walking over this glass walk-way that
had gold, coins, and jewels underneath.
By about day 5...no joke...he finally trusted us
when we told him he wouldn't fall through it.
Then it became his favorite place!


There was a rock-climbing wall...
and I was pretty proud that I could make
it all the way to the top!


My arms were super sore the next day
but I made it to the top! ;)


There was even an ice skating show!



We had a chance to test out our
ice skating skills, too.


This was Landry's first time skating.
Chad and I thought he'd last about 2 minutes
and end up crying.
We were so wrong!


He loved it!


He never let go of us...or the wall...
but he still had fun!


Every cruise has the Captain's Dinner
where everyone gets dressed up.


How cute is she?
As a side note...
that dress is a 3-6 months...
yup, she was 16 months.
Sassy little peanut!



Since it was formal night,
Lexie decided to eat her fruit snacks
with a fork.
So proper!



I will say that our meals in the
dining room weren't my favorite.
They were SUPER long...
and when you have a very active 16 month
old...it isn't always a good mix.
Don't get me wrong,
the food was wonderful...
but it was just l-o-n-g.

You can't pass up the buffet!
As you can see...
Lexie LOVED the buffet.


Yes, she really did eat all of that food.

There was one glorious night
when she fell asleep during dinner.
Did I say glorious?
Ooops. ;)


Celebrating my parents' 40th anniversary!


Finally...the traditional
cruise towel animals.


We really did have a great time, 
and I would HIGHLY recommend
the cruise, cruiseline, and ship to anyone.
There were so many more amenities
on the ship that I didn't mention such as a
fitness center, spa, shops, multiple bars of course,
Johnny Rockets, Ben and Jerry's ice cream,
and where you could find me...STARBUCKS!!!!

I also have to give a huge shout out to the staff.
They were so incredibly friendly and helpful
With 3,000 or so people on board
I always felt like we were well taken care of
and that they tended to any of our concerns or needs.

If you missed any of my other posts,
here they are:

If Alaska isn't already on your bucket list...
add it.
Seriously! :)

Wednesday, August 3, 2016

Alaskan Cruise Part 5 - Seattle

So...it has been almost a month
since we went on our cruise...
and I am still posting about it. :)

Our ship was based out of Seattle.
Yes, the home of Starbucks, Grey's Anatomy,
and part of the Twilight trilogy. ;)

When we first planned our trip I really wanted
to spend a few days in Seattle to check out
all of the neat sights:
Pike's Public Market, the first Starbucks,
the Space Needle, ride a ferry, you know...
all of the "touristy" things.
After thinking about that fact that we were
all going to be together,
on a boat,
for seven days,
I decided that by the end...
we'd probably be ready to just head home.

Thankfully we debarked the ship around 9am on Friday
and our flight home wasn't until Saturday evening,
so we had just enough time to check some things out.

First stop...


I was soooooo excited to
got to Pike's Public Market.
Like ridiculously excited.
It was everything I had imagined...and more.


There were tons of fish...obviously...


tons of people,
flowers,
and all kinds of produce.
It was like a GIANT farmer's market.


I am a lover of big cities,
and I get a bit of an adrenaline rush when I visit one.
I will say that being here, with my kiddos:
one in a stroller and one free to wander,
in a HUGE crowd of people...
gave me a bit of anxiety.
Like to the point that I had to just get out of Dodge
if you know what I mean.


We decided that we were all beyond hungry,
shocking...I know.
So, we tried to walk away from the
craziness...good luck...
and we stumbled across this neat brewery/restaurant.


Landry approved. :)
We had a great lunch...
even though this darling child refused to eat his
mac and cheese because it was..."yucky."
The joys of a suddenly very picky 6 year old eater.


Everyone else was pretty much ready to call it a day...
but my sister and I were on a mission.
A mission to find the very first Starbucks!
Of course it wasn't hard to find.
I mean, it was the coffee shop that had a line of 100
or so people coming out the front...
and very few of them were leaving with coffee.


Yes, you can get coffee...but there are two other locations...
no joke...within the same block that are more like
the Starbucks we all know, love, and hand over our paychecks to.


We debated...for about 30 seconds..
as whether or not we wanted to stand in line.
Guess what?


We did!
It really only took about 20 minutes or so.
We were able to wait in the
Disneylandish line and load up on
souvenirs.
$45 later...and three cups...
thank you to many gift cards...
we left with our mementos.


While waiting in line,
a couple behind us were eating
the most delicious looking
pecan and caramel covered,
gooey, doughy, roll of a treat.
We asked them where they got it...
because of course we had to have one...or ten...
and they directed us to this cute little shop.


Of course, they only had one in their display case...
and there were 5 of us. :(
I asked the guy working if they had more
and he told me they would be right out.
Funny side-bar:
I asked him how long until they were "right out"...
remember our "15 minute walk" experiences...
and he said," Well, they have to cool, then we flip them, 
melt the caramel, sprinkle with pecans, let cool again and they will be ready."
I answered, "So are we talking about 15-20 minutes?"
He responds, looking at me like I am a complete moron,
 "No...like two minutes."
I would have waited the 20 minutes...
and in my head I thought there was no way
 he could do all of that in two minutes...
so we waited.
I didn't time him...
but no joke two minutes later, and we had 
five of these delicious goodies bagged up and ready to devour!


Best. Caramel Pecan Roll-thingy. Ever!!!
Oh my goodness...
so gooey, and caramel-y.
Amazing!

They also had this really funny change jar on their 
counter...so I had to get a picture of it.


That was all we were able to fit in during our time in Seattle.
To say we were exhausted at this point is an understatement.
And if I had to load/unload Lexie in and out of another
stroller, shuttle, taxi, train, anything...
I was going to shoot myself.
Seriously.

Hopefully sometime relatively soon we will be able to
fly back up and spend some more time in Seattle.
Until then, I have this post to remind me of our quick time there.

Guess what this means...
only one more post to go about our trip.
Yup...I have one more...
all about our "life on the ship!"
I know you will be sitting on the edge of your seat,
eagerly awaiting. ;)