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Sunday morning of our weekend away in Big Bear …. We both woke up at 730a or 8a or so. I’m sure part of that had to do with going to bed early, but we’re both morning people, for sure. Andrew went and got a little (sad, weak) coffee from the lobby, we both [...]
Andrew had a month off work this summer – that corresponds exactly with the month that I’m not allowed to take time off from my job. So there goes any vacation plans we might have had.
Instead, I resolved that we would do a little weekend getaway – we live in Southern California, after [...]
want to read more?moveAlaska: Ketchikan wildlife tourAlaska: our waitress GalinaAlaska: at seaAlaska: arriving on the ship
After visiting Stirling Castle and the nearby cemetery … by this time it was far too late to go on to Edinburgh so we headed home.
This time Kevin drove the car with GPS and Mom and Dad rode with Andrew and me.
Now, I’m pretty good at reading maps. Without the GPS to [...]
After Stirling Castle …we walked a *little* bit down the hill to the cemetery at the Church of the Holy Rude.
The church of the Holy Rude dates from 1129, founded as the parish church of Stirling.
King James VI was crowned King of Scots here in 1567 (Mary Queen of Scots’ son). This [...]
Once we finally got to the castle … we had bathroom breaks and postcard shopping and ticket buying.
Completely out of the blue and as a surprise, Dad bought the entrance tickets for all six of us.
And not just entrance tickets, but an “Explorer’s Pass” for ₤25 each, giving us entrance to 3 [...]
So here begins our Scotland story!
This vacation was (my brother) Kevin’s idea! Genius.
He proposed that we all (me and Andrew, mom and dad and K’s girlfriend Chelsea) meet him in the UK during his month off from his government contracting job in Afghanistan.
Between various finagling – it turned out our parents [...]
So I know you’re sad, but …We have now reached the end of our Alaska vacation posts….
It’s OK. … You’ll be OK…. Scotland blog posts begin next week….
As a last good-bye (at least until I get my film from the trip developed) … I wanted to show you the souvenirs Andrew and [...]
After the aquarium …. we walked uphill (several flights of stairs) to Pike Place Market ….
(crowded. SO crowded. But it was a Sunday morning, so what do you expect…. )
[...]
Sunday morning …We docked early early early in Seattle and had to be off the ship by 8a.
Due to flight options in and out of Burbank airport, Andrew and I had about 7 or so hours between when we got off the ship in Seattle and when we had to be at the [...]
(Continuing with our excursion to Butchart Gardens in Victoria, Canada on our last day of the Alaska cruise):
I don’t really have a lot of stories of visiting the Butchart Gardens …
Just lots and lots of photos of flowers.
It was pretty crowded and we mostly felt like we had to rush … [...]
Our final day of our Alaskan cruise …. was primarily spent at sea.
We were headed back down to Seattle (all day Friday and most of the day Saturday) – one of the downsides of doing a round-trip cruise instead of 1-way.
We spent the morning/early afternoon reading and playing games. More Mexican Train [...]
continuing our Skagway excursion during our Alaska cruise ….
After our wilderness/Gold Rush tour, we were dropped off back in town about 1:30p or 2p. Just about time for lunch – at the Skagway Brewing Company.
Beer-broth chili was filling and warm and great for how cold it was outside ….
We also [...]
… continuing our Skagway Gold Rush tour ….
On the way back to town from the Canada border, we stopped at Liarsville – sounds picturesque, no?
Liarsville is basically a recreation of a mining town or similar, complete with tents set up for the press, a laundry service and a madam.
Thursday morning – our last Alaska port
Before the trip, I was SUPER excited about visiting Skagway. It was my favorite part of the 2002 Alaska cruise I took with my family, and I tried to impress upon Andrew and Julie and Kaitlin how awesome Skagway is…
This was another early-morning docking.
After breakfast [...]
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