Friday Five - Homeward Bound

 Friday Five - Homeward Bound

Our four-generation Alaskan cruise has come to an end, and was everything I hoped it would be. My heart is full as we head for home later today.

1. Our pre-cruise time in Seattle was wonderful. We enjoy this vibrant city so much. This visit we enjoyed a first-time walk around Lake Union, about seven miles in all, including two fun bridge crossings. We visited Fremont Brewing for a shared sandwich and beer flight at the halfway point, and finished with iced coffees at the finish. That pretty much is my perfect way to spend a day- lots of miles in motion, good eats, good coffee.

2. Enjoying a week with my 90 year old dad, including a day of kayaking, was a privilege and a joy. He really is amazing, and I clearly recognize each additional year at this point is a gift.

A photo of my dad and me kayaking within view of Mendenhall Glacier during our Juneau, Alaska port visit:

3. I’d rather stay home than cruise without having a balcony cabin. 

We enjoyed this amazing view of the city from our balcony as our ship left Seattle and headed for Alaska, just one of the many amazing vistas we enjoyed over our seven day cruise.

And this balcony view as we pulled into Skagway, Alaska:

And this from our sail up Endicott Arm fjord to view Dawes glacier-

4. Watching our granddaughters enjoy the ship’s rock climbing wall, various pools, and ice skating rink, plus their new ability to sit thru/with the family for each night’s formal dining sitting, was priceless. So many funny moments were caught and exchanged, and will now become part of our family lore.

5. Heading for home is a bittersweet this time around. Normally, we look forward to going home because we have so many pleasant activities to step back into. But having to say good bye to our extended family after seven days of completely uninterrupted time made departure distinctly more bittersweet. Being able to be all together is an absolute treasure of time that we do not take for granted at this point in our lives.