fufaraw

It's been just under a week since our cruise ended. We got off on Saturday morning, but it seems so much further away. It seems like a lifetime since we walked the halls of the Koningsdam, or strolled through Juneau, Skagway and Ketchikan. Since I stood looking up at the Mendenhall glacier, stretched between the impossibly large peaks of Bullard and McGinnis Mountains and felt a mix of awe and vertigo. It was like a cathedral to nature, and we'd all come to witness and worship. I felt something shift inside my chest and head. I would forever be the person I'd been before Alaska, and the one post Alaska. The whale watching with the whale who obliged us with a fluke shot was not the consolation prise.

Or the White Pass train in Skagway, which was a monument to man's stubbornness and ingenuity, and breathtaking in it's own way. I took a deep breath of the mountain air and stepped out to the platform to watch nature rush by beneath my feet. I'm not a heights person, and we were about 2,000 feet up, winding along the side of the mountain. And I looked down the mountain at the sheer drop while the train swayed, and it was amazing. Soon after, we passed into Canada, and reached the summit of the White Pass, snow still piled along the sides of the tracks. And I remember thinking "Is this really my life? Am I really a person who is in Alaska?

And then the tour we weren't meant to do in Ketchikan. While we were supposed to be eating our weight in crabs, we chose to just do our own thing. We'd have to have to killed ourselves to make the crab feast, since the boat docked late, so we just didn't. Instead, we took the sketchy cash-only tour, breaking every safe tourism rule in existence. And we saw such beautiful things. The waterfall, the taste of salmon berries. The totem poles and another ode to mankind's ingenuity, the Salmon Ladder that allows salmon to safely traverse upstream to spawn. It was amazing, and we nearly missed it.

And the ship! I love that ship. We had so many great moments. Some amazing meals, a decent massage, some time in the thermal spa. And of course, our vow renewal, which was amazing in a different way. After 26 years, I got to walk down the aisle and recite some very beautiful vows to the love of my life. They were the vows that are standard for Holland America, but they were perfect. Relaxing on the balcony and watching the waves and scenery slip by. So many enormous mountains raising to craggy, snow covered peaks, and the Dawes glacier right off our ship, where we sat with our hot chocolate (in Holland America mugs) and watched in wonder at another beautiful glacier. And of course, our amazing suite, which was opulent and a comfortable home for 7 days.

And of course, the most important thing, the staff. The hard working steward, Yusuf and Dov, the waiters who remembered our names and were happy to stop and talk with us for a few minutes, checking on on how we were enjoying our cruise. And of course, our concierges Sheryl and especially Rachel. I wanted to keep Rachel, so that she could sort out my life for me. She felt comfortable enough to tell us about her daughter, and made sure we got where we needed to be as first time cruisers. She walked us onto the ship, and went over everything that we had planned, and let us know what came with the suite. It was a little daunting. And then, she walked us to the gangplank for the first port in Juneau, so we'd know where to find it. And she walked us to our vow renewal, and took my camera to take so many pictures and videos, like the one linked above of our vows.

And now I'm back in the land of cardiac appointments and so many patients needing sooner appts, and no way to schedule them. It barely feels real, like a wonderful dream, but it happened and it mattered.

And now I can't wait for our California Coast cruise. It's 18months away, and I know it won't have the same magic as Alaska, but I'm hoping it'll have it's own magic. We're going so many new places. Disneyland (The Happiest Place on Earth) and San Diego. And then back on the Koningsdam for another amazing cruise with interesting ports. Ensenada, Mexico, Santa Barbara, and the jewel, two days in San Francisco. I've always wanted to go to San Francisco. And maybe we'll do a quick tour around Los Angeles before we head up to Disneyland. I'd like to see the La Brea Tar pits, and maybe the Hollywood sign. I don't really need much more than that in LA, I don't think. I wouldn't mind doing a studio tour, but I don't need to. I'd rather save my knees for Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure and San Diego and San Francisco. It will be the week after daylight savings ends, so we'll probably get to see everything at night, which will be cool.

I've got an appointment in July to see an Ortho about said knees. They won't do knee replacement on anyone over a BMI of 40, so I'm hoping some cortisone shots and maybe some gel cartilege could be slipped in, because even at my skinniest, my BMI was still 42.

So, we'll see what kind of shape I'm in come November of next year. If I need to, I'll rent a scooter for Disney and also in the San Diego Zoo. I plan to uber in the cities to minimize walking, so I think I'll be okay.

I might come home with my knees fucked up again, but it'll be worth it, just like it was this time.

I do need them to settle down, because in 2 weeks, we have our company picnic, and I do want to go, and I'd rather not need a cane. Last year, it was fun, though hot as balls. This year, the temp is supposed to be 81, which is still warmer than I'd like, but I'll manage. I need to look for my work ID so I can wear it and look official. Of course, it's an ID that states my old job, but I'm not willing to go get a new one done, since that would mean driving to the hospital in the city.

Got work today, then game tonight, a long postponed one. It should be fairly short since they're close to the final battle, but it was just enough that we couldn't get it in last session. Then tomorrow shall be Marchen. Sunday, we may go out to brunch to celebrate Jess' birthday. We did have Indian food delivered last night and cupcakes, but they deserve all the celebrations.

In that time, I'd like to start moving stuff into our storage unit. I took a half day off to spend mostly with Jess, but I did go over to the storage unit and get my keys. I did not realize when I rented it that it's in a row of two tier units. They're each about 3.5 feet high, and ours is on the top, which is going to suck, since we're going to have to lift our stuff into it. Not ideal, but we'll work with it.

After I got back, we watched a youtube video ranking all the rides in Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. It was actually really useful, and knocked a few rides I had been considering out of the list. What I've currently got is 8-10 rides in Disneyland and 6-8 in California Adventure.

I have a few non-negotiable ones, like Indiana Jones and the Matterhorn. I'm also thinking about Space Mountain. It's set up slightly differently than the one in Florida, which we didn't do because all accounts said it's difficult to get out of. This has a different car, which is not as bad, so I think I'd like to try it. And of course, Pirates of the Caribbean and Haunted Mansion and the former Splash Mountain (Tiana's Bayou Adventure) I know we did them in Disney World, but these are the OGs. And at California Adventure I must do the Incredicoaster and the Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout. I know Jess loves them a good drop tower, and having survived the Tower of Terror in Disney, I'm game for it.

And now, I shall step out of vacation planning and reminiscing mode and get myself ready for work. Everyone have a most excellent Friday!

It's Thursday, according to my computer. I'm still all screwed up on days since getting back. It's a short week, but somehow it feels like it should be Friday.

And seeing as it is now 5/21, I want to wish a very happy birthday to my beloved spouse, nilchance . I hope you had an amazing birthday cruise, and I love you so much. The good Indian food shall be yours today. *hug*

It was another very busy day at work. I spent most of it checking appointments for the one coworker. There weren't as many issues as previously, but there still were some. Apparently they'd gotten WAY behind on checking, as I was doing ones for the beginning of April all the way up to current. IT took me til about 2pm, but I got us up to date. In between, I was calling patients, trying to fill in some slots.

The Columbia Cardiac MRI template hasn't been updated to the new diagnoses yet, so I have been stubbornly unable to work on them. With June coming in 2 weeks, I've had to just start blocking off appointments to be moved when I'm actually able to schedule them.

So I dod that for a while, too. I got scheduled for the first half of June, and I'll work some more on it today as well. For someone who was supposed to be on the phone part time, I'm not spending much time answering calls. Once in a while, maybe 5-9 calls per day? It's not much.

My boss has told me how much they missed me while I was away. Things just weren't getting done. (I can tell!)

There's a meeting next week about the cardiac slots in Columbia. I have no idea if I need to attend, but I trust if not, I'll get all the details. It would be nice if they have me there, since the entirety of the scheduling rests on my shoulders. I know a lot of it would be above my paygrade, but some of it might be useful.

The apartments are getting rid of our storage units, just after we started putting things in there. I've got to go over to the Extra Storage place and get the key to our new unit. We rented a small site for suitcases, winter clothes, and holiday decor. I think I can fit most of that in there. We'll see. But since it's doubtful that I'll need a suitcase til next November, I'm going to just store them rather than having them in the closet. It should be helpful. I may need to get some stacking boxes for the clothes to minimize the amount of space they'll take. That will also clear up some closet space. I'll keep a handful of the regular leggings out, but the fleece ones are going in the storage. I'm going to be wearing shorts for the next 5 months.

Work should be a little less busy tomorrow. I'll see what I have to do, but I might mostly be taking it easy. I'm still recovering from the cruise. I'm functional, but still tired, and with a hint of jetlag.

My knees have improved a bit since returning. It no longer hurts just to stand or walk all the time. Once in a while, they'll give me a little jabbing pain, but it's not constant anymore. We were averaging about 3 miles of walking a day, mostly on uneven streets, but also sometimes on a rocking ship. None of that was good for me, apparently. I've made an appointment to get them looked at, but since the ortho won't do joint replacement on anyone over a BMI of 40, I don't know how much they can do.

If I have to, next year, I'll rent a scooter for Disneyland.

I've been looking at my options. It seems like if we want a direct flight, we're going to have to fly into LAX, and uber or train up to Anaheim. We also can't fly out of our home airport, instead going down to Regan or Dulles airports. I'm not averse to that, but it'll make coming home a little bit of a pain, since we'll be driving home in the dark. Or I suppose I could get a ride home. God knows, the dude who has driven us would be thrilled, since he lives down that way. That might be the better option.

Right now, of course, the pricing I'm doing is for this November, as the airline calendars only go out so far. Hopefully, next year, it's a wee bit cheaper.

I'm also pricing out hotels for Disneyland and San Diego. Needless to say, San Diego is a lot cheaper. Also has better rated hotels.

Between park tickets and hotel, we're looking at about $1,200 for three days, two nights. Which does not include food and Ubers while we're there. The other option would be to do the club level at one of the Disney hotels and pay more, but get some food options. I'm leaning towards the Marriott Courtyard, which has decent ratings. I was looking at two others, but one had a few shitty youtube reviews about being dirty and uncomfortable, and the other has exterior entry. To me, that's a motel, not a hotel. It gets amazing reviews, but I'm not comfortable with exterior corridors as a woman and a non binary person.

For San Diego, I'm looking at a hotel on the Pacific Beach, where I could walk out in the morning and touch the Pacific Ocean. I sailed in it, but I'd like to put my feet in it as well.

I'm so excited to have another vacation to plan. I've already planned what needs to be planned on the ship, so now it's just figuring out what to see and do in Disneyland/Grand California Adventure, San Diego and San Francisco. SO many youtube videos to watch.

I was slightly worried about Disneyland and how fat friendly it was, but thanks to the magic of youtube, I'm 95% sure that I'll fit into every ride I want to do. Or at least this dude who looked about my size fit easily. The only ones that might be tight, I don't want to do. It looks like California Adventure has more rides I'd like to do (9-10), so that'll probably be first day. Then Disneyland the next day, since that only has about 5-6 rides that I want to do. I probably won't get to ride everything I want to, but I'll get as many as I can. If I can't do the legacy rides like Haunted Mansion or Pirates of the Caribbean or Jungle Cruise, I'll be okay, since I rode them in Orlando. But the Incredicoaster and Guardians of the Galaxy Mission Breakout are definitely on the list. Maybe the Matterhorn.

San Francisco, I'm looking at all the videos, trying to see where to go in Chinatown for the best Dim Sum. Our excursions are both over by 1pm, so one day I definitely want to go to Chinatown, especially since we didn't make it to the one in Vancouver. We'll have two full days there, so I plan to see some sights and do some things in the city. I wonder if we'll sail under the Golden Gate Bridge. Seems like we might. That'll be super exciting. I'll definitely be on the verandah taking pictures.

Then again, that's the theme of our vacations. Lots of pictures. I wonder which crew we'll make friends with this time? I know they probably won't be the same people, since crew only work 8mo contracts at a time. But maybe. I would be so excited if Rachel is there as concierge. We're not Pinnacle Suite for this, but we are still Neptune, so we'll get the concierge and the lounge.

I know it's still 18mo away, but I'm so excited to get to do everything. It's funny, I'm not fond of Disney as a company right now. They've fucked over their people, the LGBT community, and their fans, but I still love the parks. I am looking forward to the Happiest Place on Earth.

I'm wondering if I could get a car service to take us around LA a touch, then drive us to Anaheim. I'd like to see the Hollywood sign, and maybe the La Brea Tar Pits, maybs past the Chinese Theater. I'd really like to see the Tar Pits. I love dinosaurs, and that could be fun, and mean that we'll get to our hotel when our room would be ready, since we're coming in early in the morning. GoodleMaps says it's only about 40 minutes to Anaheim, so we'd be getting there way before the hotel is ready for us.

We'll see. Its possible by next year, the nonstop flight times will have changed and that won't be an issue. The weather looks like it could be good, ranging from 80 degrees in Ensenada, Mexico to about 64 in San Francisco. San Fran does get 5 days of rain in November, so we may be taking ponchos, but that's fine. We'll be good no matter what.

Right now, the plan is for it to be 11/9/2027-11/22/2027. 2 days in Disney, train to San Diego, two full days there, and then a 7 day cruise. Back to San Diego for 1 day, and then home.

Sorry, yet again, you're going to be getting a lot of vacation babble. I use my journal to sort out my thoughts and right now my thoughts are on plotting and planning this vacation.

But for now, I will hop off and maybe grab a shower. Everyone have an amazing Thursday!

It's another hot day, with a bit of rain at the end to send us back into the 60's for a few days. I'm looking forward to that rain.

Yesterday was super busy. By the time I got in, I had 2,021 emails waiting for me. Most got wholesale deleted, and it still took me an hour to comb through them and make sure there wasn't something I was missing. After that, I worked on some callbacks and then settled in to work on checking the one coworkers appointments. Found a few errors, but less than they were making, so that's good.

That honestly was most of my day. The people who were checking got about four weeks behind, so I am swooping in to save the day. I'll have some more to work on today, but we're up to 5/7 and one of my coworkers is working from the other end and is working on the 14th, so we'll get caught up in no time.

I did some other stuff as well, but nothing deeply exciting. It was a nice way to ease back into work. Maybe 10-12 calls (three in, 7-9 calls out. I appreciated that.

I also worked on eating real food when no one is bringing it to you. I had a roast beef sandwich and a miso soup, plus some cheese and berries to nibble. Then at lunch, I had a Yellowstone meatloaf meal, which wasn't bad. After that, I ate way too many Ketchup chips from Vancouver. Ketchup Pringles no less. Those fuckers are addictive.

I also made Yoda's food and sealed it into the little bags. As usual, I forgot to put in the salmon oil and calcium powder, so I'll have to add that individually. He loves the food I make him, which is kind of gratifying. Goat (or lamb), chicken giblets and chicken liver seems to be the winning combination. It smells revolting, but the doggo like is. I boil for 2-3 hours til tender, and then pull all the bones and meat. Then I add veggies (either green beans & carrots, sweet potato or butternut squash) and a grain, either brown rice or rolled oats and cook until done. Then I add the meat in, crumbling the liver, which helps to make a thick gravy. It usually makes 8-11 meals, so I'm good for a few days until I have to do it again. Fortunately, I can start it at 7am-ish and then during my 10am break, I pull the meat, leaving a nice broth, and add the veggies and grain. I'll check it after about an hour, and usually will turn it off to sit until the end of the day when I will use my vacuum sealer and make little baggies weighing about 8 ounces. They go in the freezer, and we'll pull them out the night before to defrost in the fridge.

In the evening, I had mixed fajitas (have some left over for breakfast today), and made an appointment with an Orthopedist for my knees. I had to check a box that said I understand that I'm too fat for joint replacement, which gives me high hopes for the appointment, boy howdy.

It sucks, but maybe a steroid shot would help. I don't feel like it's bone on bone, it just hurts off and on, especially when I overdo it like I did this trip. I haven't been able to go out with Yoda at lunch or dinner because of the pain. Jess has had to walk him solo.

Today, I'll finish checking the appointments, and then maybe take some calls, maybe make some calls, we'll see what the day brings and if my coworker is here today. She was on PTO yesterday so we'll see.

One thing I've noticed since coming back, Alaska's air quality is far superior to Baltimore's. I barely used my inhaler on vacation, even with the cooler weather. Part of it might have been adrenaline from seeing things and doing things, but still, even on the boat, I was fine. It was very nice for a change. Aside from using the cane to spare my knees (semi-successful.) In the case of the knees, that was definitely a combination of pure stubbornness and adrenaline, because they really hurt now, and are impeding me from doing things. Topical weed cream has helped a lot, though.

We were watching videos last night about San Diego, and they mentioned that it's only 92 miles from Disneyland. That had me checking out my PTO situation. In 18 months, I should have plenty of PTO to take an extra couple of days to visit the happiest place on earth.

As it stands now, we'll leave on the 11/8, and fly into LAX, rent a car and drive to Anaheim. The 9th and 10th shall be Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure. Then we'll either drive or take the train to San Diego, where if we used it, we'll turn in the car, and explore via uber, since a lot of the areas we wish to go are in the city with limited parking. We'll have 1/2 a day on the 11th and all day of the 12th to explore San Diego. On the 13th we board the Koningsdam for a seven night cruise. On the 14th we're in Ensenada, Mexico, the 15th is a sea day, then the 16th and 17th are San Francisco. On day one of San Fran, we're doing the Muir woods excursion. On the second day, it's off to the Japanese Tea Gardens. Of course, after the excursions, we'll have plenty of time to explore the city via hop on hop off bus. (Chants "Chinatown, Chinatown!") The 18th is a day at sea, then we hit Santa Barbara, where we have a whale watching tour. After that, it's bakc to San Diego on the 20th. We'll have all day to explore, and then we'll fly out on 11/22.

I am so excited about going to Disneyland. I mean, I was excited about San Diego, going on the ship, and seeing San Francisco, but throw in Disney, and I'm over the moon. I'm aware that they've done a lot of questionable things, but goddamn, I love me some Disney. And it's the one theme park that I can be certain that I'll fit on pretty much all the rides.

I have so much to plan! All the videos must be watched and our plan of attack shall be plotted to within an inch of it's life. One day in San Diego shall definitely be the zoo, and maybe the Museum of Us, since they're both in the Balboa Park area. I'd like to check out either Pacific beach or La Jolla beach and dip a toe in the Pacific ocean, just to say I did. Little Italy and old town look nice for food and souvenirs. I dont' know much about Santa Barbara, but it's a really short port visit, so we'll do whale watching and maybe a souvenir or two. I know nothing about Ensenada, but there will definitely be shopping. And San Fran, I'll need to research the hell out of. Disneyland too. I know it'll be a whirlwind tour, but that's about all I can manage with limited PTO. As it stands, I'll have 8 PTO days left when you consider both Confab and this vacation.

We figure the dog can go to daycare while we're away. My sister should be able to manage him up and down the stairs once a day. She can drop him at 7, and pick him up at 6pm. On the weekends, we'll see if any of the daycare workers would like to make extra walking him two or three times/day.

I had a little trouble getting to sleep last night, so excited about the vacation that's still 18mo away, and of course, the planning. I do love to plan.

And on that note, it's time for a video or two and to grab a shower. Everyone have a wonderful Wednesday! We're halfway there!

Why yes, it is 3am in Seattle. No, I don't know why I'm up either. In just a few (okay 7) hours, we'll be winging our way towards home via Alaska Airlines. I'm not looking forward to the long flight, but I am ready to be home, so I'll deal.

Yesterday, we sadly packed up everything and hopped off the boat at 8am. We had a minor freak out when they announced that you needed your key card and Jess realized that they'd packed theirs. So, a last trip down to the amazing concierge in the Neptune Lounge to have a new key printed. Within 10 minutes, Rachel had a new card, which she brought to our stateroom. We'd made arrangements to have a wheelchair for my sister, and seeing that we were ready, she called for it, and before you knew it, we were flying through the corridors of the Koningsdam, leaving the suite we'd called home for 7 days with Rachel in the lead, escorting us one last time. It was very sad. Before we knew it, we were off the boat, seeing a few familiar faces along the way. Everyone who had served us or helped us called out to us by name, and wished us safe journeys. Rachel gave everyone big hugs, and disappeared back into the ship, and the port authority took over. Another wheelchair and a porter to take our bags to the curb later, and we were waiting out front for our car. (Turned out that we should have gone to level 2 of the garage, but oh well. He came out front and we hopped in.) The ride from Vancouver to Seattle took roughly forever, including about 45 minutes in the line for immigration.

Fortunately, once we got up there, it was super fast. I know Jess had been worried, but there were no hassles at all. The border agent was really nice and joking around with us. We only waited 45 minutes because we stopped at the duty free shop, and grabbed some stuff. If you spend $15, you can skip a good part of the line. Otherwise, we were looking at 70 minutes or more. The line was about a mile long.

Finally, we pulled up to Cedarbrooke Lodge just outside of SeaTac. It's a really beautiful hotel. We grabbed food with minutes to spare, and the BIL headed out to make his Seattle Mariners game.

Blessedly, they had one room ready for us, and another was ready soon after. While we were waiting for the second, we were sitting in the room, nibbling on ketchup chips (totally addictive) and some Flake Bars and Toblerone. I also grabbed a Canada Jersey, which is slightly tight across the boobs.

Then, we had traffic slowdowns near Seattle, but eventually we got there. The staff was super sweet, and let us eat brunch, even though they closed in 10 minutes. It was delicious, and we unilaterally decided to come back for dinner.

Then, we crashed for a bit, until I decided to go partake in one of their amenities: Free unlimited ice cream in the freezer. The brand was Snoqualmie, which is a local brand that you can't get outside of the PNW. It was Wild Blackberry and it was delicious. However, when I opened the door to go get it, there was a gorgeous black cat sauntering down the hall. I stared for a moment, and it took it as invitation, and strolled right in the room and jumped up on the bed for pets. Worried that someone had lost a cat, I called the front desk. They informed me that the cat's name was Maddie, and she lived in one of the houses near the grounds. Once in a while, she just decided to visit, and slipped in with someone. By that time, she was in BIL's suitcase purring and rolling around. My sister picked her up and she went limp and cuddled in for a few minutes before she demanded to be put down on the bed. Soon after management showed up and seemed shocked to have her on the bed. They called her name and she reluctantly departed with them, to be kicked out of the building, but not out of our hearts.

Soon after, we went for dinner, which was excellent. We started with the house made focaccia (Jess) the jamon serrano with roasted grapes and popping balsamic boba (me) and the elderberry cured salmon with goat cheese (my sister). For our main course I had the seared scallops with risotto, my sister had lamb chops, and Jess had chicken. Unfortunately for Jess, someone stole their chicken off the sideboard, and they had to remake it. Totally not the waitress' fault, and we were totally cool about it. Once it did arrive, the chicken was excellent, and in the meantime, they gave them a bowl of their excellent purple yam soup. We were stuffed, but still had dessert. Jess got the creme brulee, and my sister and I split the very tasty banana bread pudding.

After that, it was back to the room for naptime, as it had been a very long day.

Today, we shall brave the fun that is airport security and a 5.5 hour flight. Then it's off to baggage claim, and finally home to collapse.

Tomorrow, it'll be off to pick up a small puppy, and get yelled at. From all the pictures, he seems to be having a wonderful time without us. Lots of extra cuddle time, and the staff loves him. I might have to make a batch of his food tomorrow, I need to check the freezer when we get home.

For now, I shall relax and then get myself together to get ready for our departure with our heavy ass luggage. Wondering if I'm going to end up paying an overweight fee for our luggage, but we'll see. I need to take all the tags off my suitcase, so that it doesn't get stuck on the conveyor belt, and I desperately need a shower.

I believe I shall take that now, and get it out of the way. Everyone have the most outstanding day!

Our cruise is nearly completed. Even now, we're drawing closer to the Port of Vancouver, where they're going to make us get off this beautiful ship. From there, we'll be whisked down to Seattle, and tomorrow back home. I'm sad that it's ending, but happy to be heading home. I've missed my bed.

Yesterday was a quiet chill day, as all the activity and excitement, and maybe a little jet lag had finally caught up with us. We got up and went to Club Orange for another excellent breakfast. I as usual, had the full English and made quite a dent in it. Then, it was off to an enrichment talk about the ship and what it takes to run it. It was fascinating. Then, we came back to the room for naptime for a couple of hours. Then, it was off to our last lunch onboard at the Grand Dutch Cafe. I had the triple berry pannekoek, which was a tasty little rolled crepe with strawberries, blueberries and raspberries. We also had their most excellent fries with mayo and a bossche bol, which is an enormous creampuff covered in dark chocolate. So tasty!

After that, I picked up our pictures for the week, which are awesome. Then, we went back to the room for my naptime, while Jess watched Jurassic World Rebirth. Once I was again conscious, we decided to go to Tamarind for dinner, which is the Asian restaurant. It was very tasty, and our waitress was a total enabler, offering to bring us extra appetizers and main courses. I had a wok fried lobster, as well as the crispy duck, followed by a delicious passionfruit dessert.

Then, it was back to the photo gallery, to pick up my sister's photos. Our photo album from the vow renewal was ready, so I picked that up as well, and we headed back to the room to crash for real.

Now that we're speeding towards Vancouver, I have a moment to consider all the things we've seen and done this week. I think the things that will stick with me most of all is the Mendenhall Glacier, where I felt so small next to the majesty of nature and seeing that whale tail pop up as the whale we'd been watching dove deep, and the boat cheering in excitement.

But maybe even more than that is the kindness of people. The other travelers were kind and generous with their knowledge and for first time cruisers, it was much appreciated. But more than that, the kindness of the crew. Everyone was amazing, from Captain Paul down to the stewards, to Zam, the photographer for our vow renewal, who was funny and took amazing photos, which I will share once we're home. But most of all, I appreciated Rachel, our concierge. She has been amazing. She's showed up everywhere and led us through everything. Without her, our vacation would be much less rich. Even today, she's going to come and walk us to the gangplank and help us off the ship. It's so much more than I could have imagined, and I appreciate every minute of it.

All in all, I leave much poorer in money, but much richer in every other way.

And now, since my coffee is coming and I need to pack my laptop, I will bid you all to have an excellent Saturday!