Canada/Alaska Trip

long post sorry.....

Well we’ve been back from our big trip for a week now so I guess I need to give an update. We left on Friday April 29^th. Since I had a lot to do before we left (clean, laundry, Relief Society stuff, etc) and I had a lot of meetings during the week and didn’t have time to complete everything, I took Friday off to get it all done. We then had Zach and Ali come w/ us to the airport so they could take our car back. We also had Zach check our mail every day and water our plants.

We got to the airport in plenty of time, and since I had already checked into our flight and our bag, we went straight through. There also weren’t very many people at the airport at 6pm so we walked right through security too, nice and easy. As it got closer to our flight leaving though more people showed up at the gate. Our flight was also late coming in, so we left Salt Lake about 40 minutes late. As we arrived in Seattle, we called Mark Verhagen (a member from Vancouver, Canada) who was there w/ his family to pick us up. They actually go down to Seattle here and there to shop and happened to be in the neighborhood that night. We then drove up to their home in Surrey/Cloverdale (1/2 hr from Vancouver). It was pretty late (2am) by the time we got there so we all went right to bed.

The next morning we slept in a little, then got ready and went to the new Vancouver Temple. It was dedicated exactly one year ago, April 2010. Steve was really excited to see the temple finally finished. They announced it when he was on his mission and when he went back to visit in 2008 it was of course still under construction. It’s a smaller temple but sooo beautiful! We did a session w/ Mark and Cheryl then they went to attend a sealing w/ a couple and their 2 boys from their ward. Steve and I stayed in the Celestial room for a while, then changed, looked at the baptism font, then went outside to take some pictures. When they got out of the sealing, we helped them take pictures, and then went to pick up the boys at their grandparents.

At Vancouver, Canada Temple

So Beautiful!!!

One year after dedication

Love the flowers

After picking them up, we went home to change, then went out to tour Vancouver. We grabbed a quick bite to eat and were on our way. Mark is a truck driver so I a great driver and tour guide mind you. We went to Stanley Park, over the bridges, to the seaside, downtown, and all in between. It was really fun to see the sites and some of the places Steve served. We ate at Red Robin that night (Steve’s request). Kind of funny, their ketchup is a lot more sugary up there, different for sure.

Up the canyon overlook

Suspension bridge

Beautiful trees

On the bridge looking at the river

More big trees....

Steve on the bridge

Totem poles in Stanley Park
The Vergagen Family (Braden, Cheryl, Conner, and Mark)
Steve taking a look at the city
It's really called a washroom in Canada.....

Sunday we went to the Surrey ward for church. Ironically there were several people back visiting the ward that Steve knew when he served there. It was fast and testimony meeting, which was nice to hear everyone’s testimonies. Steve also took the opportunity to bear his. One thing he mentioned is how an area can change. When he was serving there, there wasn’t a whole lot happening in terms of baptisms. Then one of the general authorities said the area was “white and ready to harvest,” though it didn’t really start until after Steve left. Now, there is a temple in the area! It’s incredible how the Spirit moves upon people to action when they are ready, and gradually over time they are converted. Missionary work is incredible and rewarding too! I can’t wait for one day to have a temple in Slovenia!

After church we went back to the Verhagen’s for dinner. Cheryl’s parents came over also; it was as nice dinner. Afterwards we went out to White Rock, a place along the shoreline. It was a beautiful day w/ sun shinning. People were out and about and like most of us, looking forward to spring. We walked out on the pier and skipped rocks. It was a really nice evening. As we were driving back, Cheryl’s mom called and told us the news that they had found and killed Osama Bin Laden. So when we got back we watched the news update on it. It’s crazy after 10 years they finally found him!

White Rock Beach

Monday was a really wet and rainy day. Mark had a load to take in the morning so we decided to go along for the ride. It was fun going in his truck and just talking w/ him. When we got back Mark went and took a nap while Steve played Xbox w/ the boys (Conner and Braden). I just read my book and tried to stay warm. Cheryl was teaching piano lessons all afternoon, then after dinner Mark to Braden to his guitar lesson. Once it stopped raining, Steve and I also went on a walk to the park across the street and walked around for a while. It was nice to get outside for a while.

Steve wearing the hard hat (for kids of course)

Tuesday we basically got packed up and ready to go on our cruise. Cheryl wanted to come but had one preschool music lesson to teach so Mark dropped her off, ran some errands, then picked her back up. Mark and Cheryl then drove us to the port to get onto our Ship. I got to see some more of the area, even some not so good areas downtown.

After getting dropped off, we checked into the cruise line. They informed us that they had upgraded our stateroom, but I didn’t think much of it since I thought they had already upgraded us to a “deluxe interior.” We had paid for the cheapest they had and didn’t expect much, but when we got to our room we did in fact have a BALCONY!!!! It was awesome!!! We were sooo excited to have a balcony! The Alaskan Cruise is definitely one that great to watch from your stateroom since you’re on the inside passageway the whole time (by land on either side). We also had some goodies on our bed since Steve has cruised w/ Disney before. The rest of the day we ate, got settled in, went to the show and started trying to find our way around the ship.

OUR BALCONY!!!! We were just a little excited :)

Mickey Pool for kids

Lion's Gate Bridge

Disney's first cruise to Alaska!!

The next day we were at sea the whole time. Since it was Disney’s first time sailing to Alaska, Canada has some rule that the first ship has to go around Victoria Island instead of going on the inside passage way. This isn’t that big of a deal………but needless to say, it was REALLY rocky on the ship. We would be walking and it would rock so we’d be forced to the other side. Luckily I brought some motion sickness pills which seemed to help. Apparently I wasn’t the only one though. A lot of people didn’t make it to dinner due to feeling sea sickness.

Beautiful scenery

Mickey waffles

On our balcony

Thursday we made our way into the inside passage (calmer waters) and then into Tracy Arm to see the glacier. It was really fun to see the ice bergs in the water and the beautiful scenery too. The boat was able to get pretty close to the glacier, and then turned the boat around in a circle so all could see. It was really neat. They also had the Disney characters going around and taking pictures; we got one w/ Goofy.

Tracy arm glacier

Tight passageway

Golden Mickey's production at Walt Disney Theater

Friday we made it to our first port, Skagway, Alaska. We were the very first boat of the season to get there so some of the shops weren’t open. We decided to do a tour and go to a suspension bridge. It’s a very small town, like less than 900 people, and apparently they haven’t had any births in the town for 20 some years. Once a woman is 8 months along they make her go to Juneau to delivery. Skagway only has a PA, not a DR, so I guess that’s why they do that. It’s also known for helping further the railroad, was part of the gold rush, and stationed some men there during WW11 before going over seas. The town gets about 750,000 visitors a year though, crazy huh? It’s a cute little town.

Railroad in Skagway

The ship from the view

Our ship...Mickey leading the way

Our excursion took us across the Canadian border so we had to bring our passports of course. I finally updated mine to my married name. It cost a good amount to do so, but at least now it’s correct, and Steve thinks it looks pretty cool too. We went up into the mountains over the border and to a site where there was a suspension bridge. It was pretty neat and the scenery was beautiful. It was pretty foggy on the way back though so we couldn’t see much then. On the way back we also drove up to a viewpoint so we could see the valley better. After that we went back to get some food, then went back out and walked around the town a little. It was fun. When we got back to the ship we decided to go swimming. They actually had it heated up to 90 degrees so it was awesome! They also had hot tubs in case that wasn’t warm enough ;)

Suspension bridge

Welcome to ALASKA!!! (it was just a little foggy up on the mountains)

There were a lot of moose and bears around ;)

Saturday we were in Juneau. The population is just under 31,000 people and they have a McDonalds now….big I know. Apparently they had such a big turnout on the day it opened they used like 22,000 hamburgers and sold everything they had they had to close for 3 days to restock. It’s a happening place still, so say the least. In Juneau we went to the Mendenhall Glacier; it was awesome! There was a waterfall right next to it and icebergs that had fallen off in the lake. It was a short little hike from where the bus dropped us off and the sun was shinning (most of the time). It was a beautiful day! We took our time getting there and then stayed a while taking pictures. Steve of course wanted to try and get some of the ice out of the water.

Ice ice baby....

Mendenhall glacier

After viewing the glacier, we went to the visitor’s center for a little while, then jumped back on the bus and went back to town. There we did the 2^nd half of our excursion, riding the Mount Roberts Tram. It’s an enclosed tramway gondola which takes you up 1800 feet. As long as I didn’t look down I was ok ;) At the top they had a restaurant where we got to do a wine and cheese tasting (part of the tour). There was a lot of wine out and the manager was explaining all the different kinds to us and we were like…umm can we get something nonalcoholic? At first he thought we were kidding, and then he was like oh ok, I’ll go get some fruit juice. Kind of funny, after we started getting the fruit juice others were asking for it as well. After that we went and walked around up there and looked at the animal exhibits too. We then went back to the ship and swam again.

Brown bear paw

Eagle's wingspan

The tram

Juneau

Steve's new Mickey tattoo ;)

Sunset on the ship

On Sunday we were in Ketchikan. It’s population is about 7300. Since it was Sunday we didn’t want to do anything to active, so we decided to watch the Alaskan Lumberjack Show. They had 2 guys from Canada and 2 from the USA compete at different obstacles like ax throwing, chopping, sawing, log crossing, climbing a tree, etc. It was really fun and entertaining. They also had kids help with the contests which was fun to watch.

Canadians vs Americans

Lumber jack show

Liquid Sunshine Gauge.....hahah

GRRRRRR

Monday was our last day at sea so we just did our own thing. On the boat we also played games here and there like scrabble, chess, and checkers (usually while eating ice cream---since it’s 24/7 and Steve loves it). They also had movies playing all the time in their theater (pretty big theater for inside a boat). We watched “Mars Needs Mom’s,” “Gnomeo and Juliet,” and “The Secretariat,” all of which were really good shows. They also had their main productions in the evening, very family oriented, things like a magician, a hypnotist, Toy Story the musical, and other Disney productions. Being Disney they had lots of things for kids to do (a kids camp basically), teenagers, families and some for adults. I think young married couples w/out kids and who don’t drink alcohol (like ourselves) are probably NOT their main customers, but it was still fun and we found things to do. There was plenty to eat whenever you wanted as well of course. The last day at sea we also learned to play shuffleboard, which I LOVE!!! Too bad we didn’t learn before that, but we still got to play several times that day. They were supposed to have a tournament but since only Steve and I showed up, we pretty much automatically won the hat. ;)

Yummy desserts

Playing shuffleboard

Hat I won

We learned how to make towel animals

We got back to Vancouver, Canada early Tuesday morning. We decided to carry our own luggage off the ship so we were able to get right off, through security and customs. We then called Brother Verhagan so he could pick us up and take us back to Seattle. The drive was pretty quick and we got to our flight in plenty of time. Our flight was on time and we got back to SLC by 7:30pm. Dave and Joann then picked us up and we went and ate at Olive Garden (yummm…I was crazy good pasta). It was a great trip full of fun adventures but we were glad to be home and sleep in our own home and bed.

Back to America!!!