Packing List

PJs drying on the ship balcony

I remember hearing years ago, "Why do people buy new clothes to go on vacation when they'll never see those people again?"  That really stuck with me.  The main thing is to be comfortable, so choose things from your closet that you genuinely like to wear.

I sat next to a man on a flight home from Brazil one time, and he told me he always packs clothing he no longer wants.  When he leaves to come home, he leaves his clothes behind.  He says there's always someone working at the hotel who will take them.  I thought that was a great idea ... and realized it freed up his suitcase to bring home whatever he wanted.  Or maybe nothing at all.

We recently returned from two weeks in Alaska and I packed everything in a carry-on.  I checked my bag because the weight was 38#.  I didn't think I could hoist it to the overhead compartment, and I didn't want to depend on anyone else for help.  Most of the weight was dominoes, toiletries, a night light, and a sound machine.  It was not my clothing.

To pack light, you really have two options:

1.  Wear things more than once, and/or
2.  Wash things out as you go.

It's really a little of both.  I'm not opposed to wearing pants a few times, but not underwear or tops!  I'm one of those weirdos who actually likes to do laundry.  More than that.  I like always having clean clothes. When I'm home, I generally do a load every day, so taking five minutes each morning or night to wash out my clothes is worth it to me.  My suitcase is always full of clean clothes and more options for mixing and matching.

PANTS

1 pair black travel pants 

1 pair dark navy travel pants

1 pair black leggings

The travel pants are nylon and spandex.  I found mine for under $20/pr at Costco this summer.  They wash out easily, have pockets, an extra zippered pocket on the thigh, and are great for washing out and drying overnight.  They take up so much less room than jeans, and are much cooler.  All are dark, solid colors that will go with any top.

TOPS

5 short sleeved travel shirts

2 long sleeved travel shirts

Magellan is a good brand, and I've been wearing mine for about five years now.  I know that because I get reminders online to look at photos from five years ago, and it makes me chuckle to see that I was wearing the shirt back then.  They are easy to wash, repel stains,  and dry overnight.  All of these tops go with the pants above.

TOPS FOR LAYERING

1 white Cuddl Dud

1 black Cuddl Dud

Cuddl Duds are GREAT for layering.  I've found mine at Sam's and Costco in the past.  They're thin and fit easily under any other shirts.  If you don't have Cuddl Duds (or something similar) then consider just a long sleeved white or black t-shirt.  They're very versatile.

1 black pullover sports jacket

1 green zippered sports jacket

I often wear one of these jackets over my travel shirts, but if weather had been cold, I could have layered the Cuddl Dud under the shirt, and also added the jacket.

DRESS UP

I packed one sheer, animal print swimsuit cover up that looked like a poncho and wore it over my black Cuddl Dud with a black skirt.  Would have worked great over the black pants, too.  The great thing about this cover up was that it weighed absolutely nothing.  Stay away from sweaters and jackets which add bulk and weight to your suitcase.

OUTERWEAR

1 waterproof windbreaker

1 waterproof hooded poncho

1 stocking cap

1 bucket/fishing hat

1 gaiter/headband/neckband/hat

1 pr gloves
1 scarf/shawl to pack in the backpack.  Airplanes don't always give blankets anymore.  Can also be used to dress up your outfit. Wear as a shawl, or wrap around your neck.  On the plane, I rolled mine up to be more comfortable in my seat.  

My Eddie Bauer windbreaker has been on every trip with me.  It provides a light jacket on a cool day, or helps retain body heat when you layer it over other items.  

I like the poncho because it will fit over a backpack and keep everything dry.  I have a reusable one we bought in a rain forest gift shop in Puerto Rico, but you don't need anything fancy.  You can find them at the dollar stores.  We were in port one day and lots of people didn't get off the ship because of the rain.  I wish I'd have had some of the dollar store ponchos to pass around.  

This gaiter was amazing!  It's just a wide loop of polyester/spandex that fits over your head to keep your neck warm, fold it to make a headband, or pull the whole thing up over your head.  I used this so many times!  It weighs practically nothing and was such a lifesaver when it turned cool.  It's used by runners and also by cooks to keep the hair out of their faces.  

I used the bucket/fishing hat to help give me some shade on the sunny days.

UNDERWEAR

Underwear for 4-5 days

Socks for 4-5 days

Pajamas.  I only take one pair and wash them in the morning.  They are generally dry by evening, and if they are still damp, I can use the hair dryer to finish drying them.

SHOES

Wear your heaviest shoes on the plane.  I wore tennis shoes because I knew we wouldn't have to take them off at security.  (See paragraph below on Global Entry.)   Because we'd been warned about rainy weather, I took shoes that wouldn't get soggy in the rain.  Crocs!

Black Crocs clogs

Black Crocs Kadee Flat

I'm excited that Crocs are popular again!  I still have some that are probably 15 years old, or older, but I recently bought the new LiteRide Crocs with the small holes in the top.  They even have a nice arch in them.  Can be worn with or without socks.  They were great for wearing outside or inside the hotel or ship.

RECREATION

1 pair yoga pants or capris
1 workout shirt.  Wicking shirts, rather than cotton, wash and dry quickly
1 sports bra
AND
1 swimsuit.  My swimsuit, because of skin care concerns, consists now of a long-sleeved rash guard (I don't recommend white!) and  swim shorts.  That means I need to wear a sports bra, too.  I don't have to worry about sunscreen on my back, chest, or thighs.  Just my face, neck, and feet.  Because my rash guard/swim top just is pretty enough to wear anywhere, I also wore it during the day with pants, and the day we went canoeing.  Think outside the box on how you can utilize everything for more than one purpose.

rash guard with shorts

Water shoes.  These are great for the pool or beach for protecting your feet against hot pavement and rocks.  They are lightweight and so easy to slip on your feet.

TOILETRIES BAG

I love this hanging bag from eBags.   Hotels don't always provide a lot of counter space for stuff, so I like this one to hang on a towel bar.  I keep it loaded with things I use every day, so it's always ready to go.

Tip:  Put a binder clip over the top of your razor to keep from slicing your finger!

I use contact lens holders so I don't have to carry jars of moisturizer, hair gel, etc.  I filled both sides of the holder for this last two week trip and still didn't use it all.  Be sure to mark with a permanent marker on top so you'll know what's inside.  Don't want hair gel on your face or moisturizer in your hair.

Keep makeup to a minimum.  I carry one concealer, one eyeliner, one brow gel, and one mascara, and maybe 2 lipsticks.    I keep it in a little zippered bag that easily fits inside the toiletry bag when it's time to zip it closed.  I also have lip gloss in my backpack at all times.

Makeup remover.  I carried a travel size pouch of the remover sheets, but I also carry a contact lens container with coconut oil.  It works great as a makeup remover or a moisturizer.

Magnifying mirror that sticks on the wall can be helpful with makeup and tweezing.  Don't forget your tweezers!

Eye drops.  Carry individual use eye drops.

Keep one travel sized brush and comb in the bag all the time.

Repurpose little bottles with screw caps for shampoo and shower gel.  If you have to, use what the hotel or cruise line has in the room.

Instead of buying a travel sized toothpaste, I use a tube at home until it's only got about 1/4 tube left.  Then switch it to the toiletry bag. Put a binder clip at the bottom if you want to condense it.  Why pay $3 for a travel tube when you can buy a full tube for $4?  Makes no sense to me.  It's right up there with paying $4 in the airport for a bottle of water.

Toothbrush.  We have electric toothbrushes with a travel charger, but I also take my toothbrush just in case.  If you take electric, don't forget the charger.

Medications and such.  Don't forget to pack medications, pain relievers, travel sickness pills, allergy pills; things you use daily and things you might need.  We carry a cortisone cream and have had to use it when poison oak appeared after we left home.  Make a list so you don't forget anything.

Cloth medical tape and bandages.  Never know when you're going to have a blister or a cut!

Manicure kit!  Before the two weeks is up, my cuticles always need trimming and nails need to be cut.  I don't generally wear polish because I don't want to fool with touching it up.  Well, let's be honest.  I don't generally wear it anyway, so there's no reason to wear it on vacation.
 
Suntan lotion.  Some days it just doubles as moisturizer.

Oils.  I generally pack a few essential oils.   Since I'm not sure whether the airline accepts CBD oil, I poured what I thought I needed in a little plastic dropper bottle that didn't have a label.   I use it orally, and also rub it on my knees for pain.  I didn't want to be without it.

Jewelry.  I don't wear much jewelry, but I do like earrings.  I use a little round 7-day pill organizer to store them.  Some slots hold more than one pair.

Fit Bit.  I've been wearing it instead of a watch for a couple of years.  It's always fun to see how many steps you've taken at the end of the day.

EXTRAS

Plastic skirt hanger and clothespins.  These come in handy for hanging clothes to dry.  Cruise ships usually have a clothesline that pulls  across the shower, but if you're in a hotel, all you have is the shower curtain rod, which means water is going to drip on the floor if you hang wet clothing over it.  The skirt hanger will fit over the shower head, and the clothespins help secure your clothes if you're hanging them outside.  Or...if you have a kitchen, take advantage of knobs!

Cruise lines prefer your not hanging clothes on the balcony.  I try to be considerate and hang my clothes behind the chair so it's not easily noticeable from the port.  Because the chairs are always mesh, it works great for me and I've never had any complaints from our room attendant.

Shirt and pants hanging over the kitchen sink at a hotel

Sewing kit - I carry one that is about the size of a match book.  It just has a few strands of thread, needles, and a couple of buttons.  Also good to have some safety pins.

Duct tape.  I wrap a few rounds onto a pencil to take with me.  I've used it on my feet to avoid blisters when hiking, and in a pinch, you can use it to hold a hem.   Just try to imagine anything you MIGHT need and figure out a way to bring it.  Condense the packaging.  Instead of a 5# roll of duct tape, use my suggestion!

Batteries!  Check what you're taking and either replace the batteries before you go, or take some extras.  Our motion detector night light dimmed about half way through our trip, and I was sure glad I didn't have to pay Alaska prices to buy new batteries!  I also have a women's battery-operated tweezer/shaver, and I replaced those before I left.

GAMES!  If you've got card games, great, but we like to play Mexican Train with Dominoes.  Even though we have the travel size, the container it comes in takes up space.  Instead, I dumped it all in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag and put it in the bottom of the suitcase.  This is a great place to use those recesses in the bottom of your bag.  

BACKPACK and CONTENTS

I have a nice nylon Eddie Bauer backpack that folds into its own pocket.  It has mesh pockets on the sides, so it's great for drinks or my phone.  Use a backpack that's not heavy to begin with.

I refuse to buy a bottle of water at the airport, so I bring a collapsible drink bottle and fill it up when I get past security.  It's important to stay hydrated on the plane.  This bottle is easy to refill, and when the bottle is empty, I can just roll it up and put it back in the backpack.

Snacks!  We always carry granola bars, almonds, pre-packed trail mix, etc.  Never know when you're going to get hungry between meals.  Some nights we had to depend on our snacks for dinner because of the time.

Hand sanitizer.  Always good to have.  On our canoe trip, our only bathroom facilities were faciliTREES.   Carry a few tissues in a sandwich-sized Ziploc bag so you can put that used tissue back in the bag and carry it to your room for disposal.

Carry your windbreaker, if nothing else.  Weather can change in a flash.  Sometimes I'd have the windbreaker and a jacket, and they were both small enough to fit in the backpack.    Don't forget that scarf/shawl when you're on the plane.

ELECTRONICS

Phone - Unless you have a camera with lenses, leave the camera at home and use the phone.  I purchased a silicone lanyard for the phone because I was worried about losing it!  It worked great.  I figured if I weren't wearing it around my neck, I could at least loop the lanyard around a hook on the backpack to keep it from falling out of the outer mesh pocket.

Chargers - Don't forget your phone charger OR a backup charger.

Earplugs - I was happy to have earplugs to watch movies on the planes.  I have noise-cancelling headphones that cover my ears, but they take up too much space.  Earplugs worked fine.

Forget the Kindle & iPad unless you want to pay for WiFi.    I took my Kindle, but because we rarely had WiFi, it was worthless.  I read a book on my phone and had everything I needed.  Just don't forget to download a book before you leave home.

Sound Machine - Anyone else need noise to fall asleep or drown out the snoring?  I bought this LectroFan sound machine because we always use an air purifier at home.  This one is about the size of a jar of moisturizer and worked great.  It charges via USB and then runs on its own.  Note:  It is not actually a fan.

Motion detector night light - I purchased a battery-operated light.  It has a magnetic base so it can stick anywhere on metal, or you can just stand it on a table.  Seems the outlets are never where you need them for a safe path to the bathroom in the middle of the night.

WHEN CRUISING

Magnetic Hooks - the walls on the cabin are magnetic so these work great for hanging your lanyards by the door, or even hanging an article of clothing.   (I did have to put one of these hooks UNDER the motion detector night light to keep it from sliding on the ship's cabin wall.  It was too heavy to stay in place.)   

Non-surge protector outlet.  Ships never have enough outlets.  I bought this one because it not only had outlets but USB chargers.  We used it every day.  Be sure the one you buy is NOT surge protected.

Sea Pass- You have to fill out a lot of information prior to sailing.  Print out your Sea Pass to present at check-in and they will give you a plastic card to use from then on.    Bring a Lanyard to hold your plastic card.  Because you need this lanyard when entering and exiting the ship, and even for identification on the ship, it's good to have it visible.    You may need to purchase a plastic card holder, but if you forgot, you can get someone in the kid area to punch a hole in it so it will fit right on your lanyard!  

Cruise luggage tags. Also be sure to print out your cruise-issued luggage tags so they'll know where to deliver your bags. I am so glad I purchased these tag holders.  I trusted them a lot more than just folding the paper tags and stapling them to my bag.   Note:  Sometimes your bags aren't delivered for several hours, so if there's anything you may need before dinner, keep it in your backpack.  

IDENTIFICATION

I don't carry a purse on vacation.  Instead, I use a backpack.  I take what I need out of my purse and put it in one zippered pouch to keep inside the backpack.  When I get to my destination, I can empty the backpack, and use it on day trips.

RFID Neck Pouch - Holds my passport, identification, and money.  It worked GREAT and I could use it across my body or on one shoulder.   This one was roomy enough to hold my phone.  When I didn't wear it, I ran the strap around a loop in the backpack to keep it from falling out.  (Can you see that I'm a freak about losing things?)  I bought one color for me and another for my husband so we could easily tell them apart.

Passport - I always have mine, and then I carry a copy of my husband's in my RFID Neck Pouch.  He does the same with mine.   Just in case ... You don't want to be in another country and not have proof of your passport.

Driver's License.  It's always important to have a form of identification, and especially if you plan to rent a car.   On that topic ... have proof of insurance so they don't gig you at the rental counter.

Global Entry.  This year we enrolled in Global Entry to get a fast pass through customs and security.  Our credit card company offered to reimburse us for the $100 fee.  We added the traveler number on our flight information and it really saved time getting through the airport.  Definitely glad we did this.  We didn't have to take shoes off or show liquids.   NOTE:  If you want to apply, be sure you go to the US Customs and Border Control website in my link above.  There are other agencies who will help you get one, but they will charge a fee.   Global Entry costs $100 and after a background check and approval, it's good for five years.  Definitely worth it even if you just travel in the US because it allows you to be TSA approved IF you put it on your flight information.

MONEY

Don't take all of your credit cards with you.  We use one credit card all the time for the points, so we took that one, but we did make hotel reservations using points with another card, so we took that card for those purchases.  If you booked flights with one card that gives you priority boarding, carry that one with you, too.  You often get a discount on food if you use that card.

I left everything else behind except for my debit card.  I was glad I had it, because we had to use an ATM to get more cash while we were gone.  They charged a fee, but that's reimbursable by my bank.

Be sure you have cash for tipping!  It's outrageous.  We were tipping every driver, tour guide, luggage carrier, etc.  Keep small bills ready each day.

I used to never like using a credit card, but one thing I do like about it is that it itemizes my purchases for me.  If I took $1000 cash, which is risky, and spent all of it, at the end of the trip, I'd have a hard time figuring out where it went without looking at the receipts.  

LAUNDRY

I use a liquid laundry detergent that only requires one ounce to do a load, so I always pack a small bottle.  When I'm washing out in the sink, it wouldn't really matter if I'm using that, or using the soap that's provided, but I like to have it with me.  My husband sometimes has to actually find a washer and dryer somewhere during the trip (which takes HOURS out of our day!) and it comes in handy for that.  I also pack dryer sheets.  If you've ever paid the prices for a little box of detergent in a hotel, you'll know why.     If you use laundry pods, just throw a few in your bag for those emergencies...and don't forget the dryer sheets.

HOW TO PACK

I like packing cubes and have been using them for years.  I use the small one for underwear, the medium one for shirts, and the large one for pants, skirts, etc.  I bought mine from eBags, but there are others available.   I like the bags for organizing, and that I can also just take them out of the bag and put them on a shelf in the room.

I also like to use 1.5 gallon ziploc bags that I purchase at the dollar stores, for things like my sheer swim cover up, and things I wanted to keep separate.  Just put the contents inside, and if necessary, roll the bag to squeeze out the air, and then zip shut.  It's surprising how much you can condense it.

EXTRAS

I like to bring a 5x7 paper journal to keep track of what we do each day.  It's an easy size to stuff in the backpack when on tours so I can take notes, or to write about the day.  When I get home, I record it all in my electronic journal...and my blog.

I also have a document travel pouch that holds my paper copies of reservations.  I used to use a thin notebook with page protectors to hold those documents, but this takes less room and has slots for credit cards.  THIS is similar to mine.

Evening bag.  I have a small black crocheted bag I bought at Old Navy years ago.  It's perfect for just carrying my phone and lipstick, and the strap is long enough to cross my shoulder.

Extra bag for souvenirs.  (This one is MUCH nicer than what I have.  I may have to buy one!)
I pack an airline freebie nylon zippered bag to accommodate the souvenirs we bring home.  It folds and zips up into about a 5x5 square, but is very roomy once opened.  We used it for dirty clothes and toiletries when we had to have bags out at 11 pm.  We also used it to haul my husband's clothes to the laundry room!  When it came time to head for home, we reorganized souvenirs and put dirty clothes in this bag so we could protect any breakables in suitcases.  It's small enough that we could carry it on the plane, though, so there was no extra charge.

Depending on where you're going, you might want binoculars.

Leave things in your suitcase that you always take with you, like cruise luggage tags, collapsible water bottles, sound machine, and motion detector light.  I want to make sure I have them for next time.

I also have an area in my closet where I store things that are generally used for travel.  It makes it easier to find when I need them.  

If you're willing to wash things out along the way, and if you have a list to follow each time you travel, you will 

1.  save time by not having to find laundry facilities, 

2.  save money by not having to check a bag (our first bag is generally free)

3.  always have clean clothes that are ready to be worn again

4.  not have to hassle with an oversized bag or two

5.  feel more organized and relaxed so that you can enjoy your vacation!

I hope these ideas have been helpful to you.  You spend a lot of time and money planning vacations, so why not pack so that you can enjoy them and not be burdened with a lot of extra stuff you don't need?   I know I've done a good job when I come home and have worn everything at least once.

What about you?  Would love to hear your comments on these ideas, and any ideas you may have that aren't included here.

Simplify your travels,

Joyce

  

Alaska 2019

Finally, after a year of virtual packing in my mind, it was time for our Alaska Adventure with our best traveling friends, Kathy and Estes Lawton.  This trip was to celebrate both couples' 50th wedding anniversaries, and the bonus was that most of their family came with us.  All together, there were 36 of us, and it made it triple, if not more, the amount of fun.

Day 1
July 26 - Friday - We flew out of Houston at 12.30 pm on American Airlines, with a very short layover in Dallas.  On the second leg of the flight, I watched two movies, read my book, and took a nap.  There was no meal served, but we ordered something from their menu.  I had a cheese and fruit tray which tasted pretty good and Eddie had a turkey sandwich that he said was awful.  We arrived in Anchorage at 6.43 Alaska time - 3 hours behind Houston.  Kathy and Estes took a different flight, but we were both at the same baggage pickup and it made it easy to take the shuttle to our Holiday Inn for the night.  We walked next door to Wendy's and had dinner.  None of the meals on this first part of the trip are covered.

Day 2
July 27 - Saturday - We took a cab from the hotel to the temple and did a session there in Samoan.  We had headphones, but were also able to read the English words on the screen, so at some point I took the headphones off and just listened while I read the words.  It was beautiful.  The same cab driver, Luke, came back to pick us up and take us back to the hotel.  We walked over to Village Inn to have a good lunch before boarding the plane to Fairbanks.  I had an "adult" grilled cheese which included tomato and bacon.  It was good.

We caught the 12 pm shuttle to the airport and flew Alaska Air to Fairbanks.  We had lots of time in the airport so we just sat and talked.  It was only a 45 minute flight and I slept through almost all of it.  I had to take a picture of the beautiful wood floors at the Anchorage airport!   No doubt they use a lot of wood because of all the trees in this part of the country.

Royal Caribbean reps were there to meet us at baggage claim.  I am so glad we only have one bag each.  I managed to pack what I needed in a carry-on size, but it was 38# and I didn't want to hoist it over my head on the plane, so I checked it.  Eddie had one bag that weighed 48#.  They loaded us into a nice tour bus and drove 10 minutes to Sophie Station.

Estes and Kathy

When we got to the hotel we were sent to Michael's group.  We were assigned to him for the week.  We spent about 30 minutes learning what he expected of us and getting tour information.  Michael is a kindergarten teacher and I thought he seemed like he was going to at least be interesting!

Estes usually loses his hat on the trip, but this time he just forgot to bring a jacket.  There was a Fred Meyer about two blocks away, so we walked over there and he found a nice one he liked.  They also bought some food to eat for breakfast the next couple of days.    Eddie went to the restaurant in the resort, Zachs, tonight and had dinner.  I went with him and just had an appetizer of hot wings.  We went back to K&E's room and visited for awhile.  They wanted to play a game, but we decided we were all too tired.  We were in bed by 9 pm.

The reason I could pack in a carry-on was that I planned to do laundry in my sink along the way.  I started tonight by washing out what I'd worn and letting it drip over the kitchen sink!  I did this throughout the trip, so I almost always had a full suitcase of clean clothes.  Taking 5 minutes to swish things around was nothing compared to the hours we will spend later washing all of Eddie's clothes.  I've realized that I am my mother.  Mom lived on the road for 20 years with Stewart Sandwiches.  She gave up her house and lived in hotels and out of her car.  She did a lot of hand washing in the sink!  I think she'd be proud!  

Day 3 

July 28 - Sunday - Because Eddie bought chips and cookies at Fred Meyer instead of breakfast food, he went to the restaurant and spent $17 on a cold breakfast.  I sat with him and ate almonds while I wrote in my journal.

We all met downstairs in the lobby at 8 and left on the super tour bus at 8.30.  It had a bathroom, but we were encouraged not to use it unless it was an emergency.  The bus drove us through Fairbanks and we learned about their history.  We also got to see the Alaska Pipeline.  800 miles to Valdez.  It was amazing.  Some of it is above ground, and some below, depending on whether or not they hit permafrost.

We also spent an hour or so at the Alaska Museum of the North.  Saw a 2300 pound block of jade, a slice of petrified wood, and beautiful beaded clothing made of animal skins.

The bus took us to the center of town where we had lunch at the Fudge Pot.  I had salmon chowder and a ham sandwich.  Of course I also had a piece of fudge.  We had a little rain, but we had windbreakers and it didn't keep us from walking.  We saw the memorial to the Lend Lease program, women who built planes and flew them before turning them over to he Russians in WWI.

Next we went to the Riverboat Discovery for a tour of the Chena River.  Follow that link to learn more about what we saw.   I loved the relaxing ride, and looking at the beautiful homes on the river.  People stood outside and waved to us.  What a great time I would have waving to strangers!  The boat tour guide was a former radio man with a great voice.  We learned so much.  We saw caribou, learned about smoking salmon, saw Sarah Butcher's dog sled training area and watched her daughter run the dogs with a 4-wheeler.  Read more about Sarah Butcher in the Riverboat Discovery link, too.  We bought the book she wrote about her dog, Granite, who was the runt of the litter that she trained to be the lead dog.  The sale of her book helps fund the training.

caribou

We bought 3 cans of smoked salmon that is packaged right here.  $35.  They gave us samples of it mixed with cream cheese.  It was delicious.

We got back to the hotel about 5 pm.  It was a long day and we were exhausted.  We enjoyed every bit of it, though.  We ordered pizza and had it delivered to K&E's room.  We also did one load of  Eddie's laundry - colors and whites together - in case we don't get another chance.  I brought Melaleuca's Mela Power so we wouldn't have to buy any here.  After washing out things for a couple of days, I know that on my next trip I will only pack travel clothes because they dry out so quickly.  No cottons that need to be ironed.  

It's been wonderful to be here, but neither of us are big fans of having to pack up and move every day.  Tomorrow we have to have our bags outside by 6 am because we are getting on the train and heading to Denali.  

Day 4

Monday, July 29 - We went to bed at 8 pm and were up at 4 am.  We each kept a backpack for the day.  I checked drawers one last time and discovered 4 pieces of clothing Eddie had forgotten.  It always helps to check the drawers again.

We left before 7.30 and shuttled to the Wilderness Train.  All aboard!  Kathy and Estes didn't want breakfast so they put us with another couple.  Barb and John from Minnesota and Florida.  I had reindeer sausage and blueberry pancakes.  Eddie had scrambled eggs with seafood.  We ordered different things so we could try more, but oops, I forgot to share the reindeer sausage with him.  

from the outside deck

The train was amazing.  Can't believe how many trees we passed.  We traveled about 3.5 hours and got dropped off in Denali.  They gave us an hour to eat in Glitter Gulch.  We went to The Bake and had salmon with coleslaw and french fries.  Eli was our server and asked us to make a comment on Yelp, which I did.   While we waited for the bill, we watched a mouse come in from outside like he was coming in for his meal.  Because the restaurant was built on permafrost, it was slanted and uneven, and with the doors open on such a gorgeous day, the mouse didn't seem all that unusual in there.

We got back on the bus and they dropped us off at the Denali Wilderness Lodge.  Everything is log cabin or wood and is just beautiful and rustic.  I finally switched my Fit Bit to Alaska time today.  It got too confusing.  We played a game of Mexican Train, and I would have won if we'd stopped at "1" but Kathy killed me when we got to "0."

There are 42 of us in our group and Michael is always counting us like little kindergarteners to make sure we're all on the bus.  It's cute.  I heard someone say he was from Duluth, so of course I talked to them and told them we used to live there, AND that my niece and her family lived there.   Tonight after having ice cream we were sitting outside and watched two couples tossing the bags in the hole.  I asked where they were from, and one of them said they were from Vernal, Utah.  Estes commented that they'd turned the tabernacle into the temple, and he nodded.  The other couple was the ones from Duluth.  They acted familiar with each other, so we figured they were traveling together.  Eddie and I talked about whether or not they were LDS, and I didn't think they were, because they didn't say anything else when we were commenting that we were familiar with temples.  

Day 5

Tuesday, July 30 - We walked across the highway this morning and got 3 tacos for $8 and shared them.  I ate one.  We picked up 2 lunches for $18 EACH at 9 am at the lodge and boarded the bus at 9.30.  Michael had said we would want a lunch even tho they were giving everyone a snack pack.  After I saw the snack pack, I was wishing we hadn't even bought a lunch.  I'd have been fine with that, and I was annoyed at having to pay $18 for a lousy lunch I didn't want.  Today's bus was a school bus because the tour buses can't make it on the narrow roads.  I imagined that we'd be driving through forest, but we were always on a dirt road.  We went to Denali National Park for an 8 hour tour.  We ended up seeing 7 grizzly bears.  It's unusual to see a mama bear with two cubs, but we saw one, and another mama with one cub, plus two other adult bears.  We also saw some caribou, and one even came right up to the bus.

colorful baskets of flowers everywhere

caribou.  both male and female have antlers. 

video of mama and baby taken by tour guide and on the screen inside the bus

fireweed and the mountains

This fireweed grows all over.  It's called "fireweed" because it is the first plant to grow in the soil after forest fires.  We saw firewood honey, which is actually honey infused with firewood oil, and also firewood jellies and syrups.  I just couldn't put anything in my bag.

I'm impressed with Denali.  Natives always referred to it as Denali, but it was later named Mt. McKinley, after a president who never came to the park.  It is simply Denali, not Mount Denali.

I was tired on the bus trip back.  Sarah, our guide, sounded so much like Karen Miner!  She's from Memphis but it was interesting to listen to her and picture that it was Karen.  I hope they are also having fun on their Alaska tour this week.  

Denali stands at 20,310 feet but you can rarely see it.  

Photo from Google

Picture of a framed picture at the lodge

This is all we could see from 35 miles away!!

The spot where we were looking at Denali was the end of the road for this tour, and Sarah told us this is where all of the famous pictures of Denali are taken.  You can't get any closer or you can't get the whole mountain in the frame.  For one brief moment, we were able to see the very tip of it through the clouds, and she kept assuring us the mountain was there, even if we couldn't see it.  It's kind of crazy and trippy!  :-)

We stopped for bathroom breaks and photo ops about every hour and it was just perfect.  Such beautiful country and so much to see.   

I am amazed that with the land mass of Alaska, there are fewer than 1 million inhabitants.  Compare that to Houston alone with over 4 million. We have seen some signs and t-shirts that poke fun at Texas and call it their little sister.   One of the kids actually bought Estes a t-shirt with this on it for his birthday.  I'm not sure he should wear it in Texas, tho.

When we finally got back to the room, we went to eat.  I really wasn't hungry, so Kathy and I split a hamburger.   I took the meat off my $18 ham and cheese sandwich and put it on ice in the room so I could eat it for breakfast.  I wasn't about to waste it after eating only about 1/4 of it.

After dinner, we walked around for awhile and then went to their room to play Mormon Bridge.  At first Eddie and I were totally clueless, but we finally caught on, and Estes was actually shocked that we had such close scores. 

Day 6

Wednesday, July 31 - Ed and Estes walked to the taco truck and got breakfast.  I ate the ham and cheese from yesterday.  All of us put our bags out at 9.30 and walked around for awhile.  We turned in our keys at 10.30 and mt our group at the lodge to board the bus.

The couples from Duluth and Vernal, Utah, were up there.  The Duluth husband asked Eddie if we were LDS and said all of them were, too.  The two women are sisters.  Interesting to me that in a group of 42 we are attracted to people with our same beliefs.  I love that.

The bus took us to the train depot and we headed to Talkeetna.  On the train, we got to eat with K&E.  I had cold pasta salad with spinach, peppers, shrimp and crab, with an Asian sauce.  Ed had the French Dip.  I also enjoyed the Forest Berry pie with ice cream.  It had rhubarb, strawberries, blackberries, apple and blueberries.  It was delicious.  Eddie had the ice cream with birch syrup.  It takes 100 gallons of birch sap to make 1 gallon of syrup.  I guess that's why it's so pricey!  It's about $10 for 4 ounces.  

On the train, I kept having thoughts of Grandpa and how he worked as a young man transferring the mail bags from the train to the depot and back.  I'm grateful for the inspiration I had to get him to write about his life before he died.  I just wish I would have asked more questions...and done the same for Grandma.  

We got to the hotel at 5.30 and rushed over to the main building to do laundry.  I figured if we got there early, we'd beat the crowd, but everyone else had the same idea.  We got there at 6 and didn't finish until about 9.  While there, though, the two LDS sisters were there and we finally learned their names.  Maddie and Bob Nielson are from Utah; Carol and Michael Olson are from Duluth.  Hooray.  We are friends now.    Our dinner tonight was granola bars and a protein bar.

Day 7

Thursday, August 1 -  Michael, our tour guide and "human ticket,"  had told us the tv show, Northern Exposure was based on the town, so I was excited to go there. We loved that show back in the 1990s.  Tired of pricey meals, we went to the lodge and bought 2 hard boiled eggs and a fruit cup for $10 and shared it for breakfast.

We put our bags out at 10.30 and caught the shuttle to Talkeetna.  It was less than 2 miles away and I would have loved to walk it, but it was lightly misting.  I absolutely loved it there!  Artisans.  Hikers.  Young people.  Hippies.  Campers.    

Purveyors of pot.  It's legal here.

More about Talkeetna 

We went into just about every shop and chatted with the owners/managers when we could.  I asked one woman if she lived in town, and she said she lives about 5 miles away.  She keeps the shop open from April to September, and then goes to the cabin and is snowed in for six months.  They have friends with a plane who will go to Costco and bring groceries to them.  I can't imagine.  What do you do when you're snowed in for six months?  She says she reads.  I doubt there's any cell or internet coverage.  I told her if you opened our doors after six months you'd find two dead bodies.  She says she likes it when the river freezes over because she walks on it.  

We spent $40 on a hand carved spoon at the Alaska Wooden Spoon Company.  The owner of this shop carves them during the winter until he gets tired of carving, and sells them in the summer.  His wife designed them with a flat edge for stirring in the pan.  I believe he said it was birch.  I love the rings in the wood.  What a great souvenir.  

We decided to eat at Denali Brewery and OMG it was the best meal I've had on this trip.  Battered cod  and  thick sweet potato chips.  It was delicious and I ate every bit of it.    I loved their artsy t-shirts but they all had "ale" or "brewery" on them.   After lunch we each had a scoop of fireweed ice cream.  I asked the owner what this town had to do with Northern Exposure and he said absolutely nothing.  He said they filmed one show in Alaska and the rest of them were all filmed in Washington.  I love the town anyway!  It's like early Alaska with a college town feel. 

After looking for days, Ed finally broke down and bought a windbreaker at the lodge.  

We caught a 4 pm bus from the lodge to take us to the train.  I had a wonderful time today.  We had dinner on the train.  They worked it so we could have breakfast one day, lunch the next, and dinner the final night.  Ed had prime rib and I split some fish with Kathy.  I wasn't very hungry, but it was so good that I probably could have eaten a whole order of it.  After, I had the ice cream with birch syrup.  It was yummy.

We pulled into Anchorage at 8 pm and boarded the bus for a 10 minute ride to the Marriott Downtown.  Room 1400.  It was still light out when we went to bed at 10.  Michael, our guide, lives in Anchorage.  He is so knowledgeable about Alaska and has been an amazing guide.

PICTURE OF MICHAEL

Alaskan Wilderness Express was just awesome.  Would definitely recommend them to others.

Day 8

Friday, August 2 - We got up at 5 am to shower and dress and have bags out by 7 am.  Then we went to breakfast in the hotel.  $16 for two eggs and diced ham with hash browns and an English muffin that was just warm.  Prices here are high, but I guess that's because they have to have most things flown in and the state only operates six months out of the year for tourists.

We boarded the bus at 8.30 to go to the Native American Center.  We spent 90 minutes there.  It's something they've created to preserve their history.  I bought a pair of abalone earrings made by the seller.  Next, we boarded the bus and went downtown for two hours.  I bought a shirt for $6 at the Polar Bear Outlet and we all had reindeer dogs for lunch.  It was delicious. It was just a guy on the corner who split them in half and grilled them.  It was soooo good.    We also saw David and Ale and watched them board the bus for Seward.  Finally, we were on our way for the 2.5 hour bus ride to Seward where we caught the ship.  We spotted 5 bald eagles and saw beautiful country.  Michael has been an amazing guide with his attitude, facts and humor.  I'll miss him next week!

Just gorgeous

We arrived in Seward about 3 pm and to the ship depot by 3.30.  It wasn't crowded and we got right through.  I was anxious to get to the room and unpack so that I could wash out a few things.  All of the laundry the other night was Eddie's stuff.

Michael's soon, Roose, was working there and Michael ran back behind the counter to give him a hug.  Then Roose asked to leave for a few minutes to find his dad.  It was very sweet and tender.

Our room is small but big enough for us.  We unpacked and settled in and then went to the dining room at 5.30.  I had chicken marsala, garlic mashed potatoes and 2 pieces of asparagus.  Tiny cruise ship portions.  I had apple pie, which is small like the blossoms we buy at Costco. with ice cream.  The ice cream scoop is like the one I use to make cookies!  About half the size of a real scoop.  Eddie had prime rib again.  Gotta get it when you can, I guess.

We saw Lawton kids and grandkids.  We weren't sitting near them tonight, but David had it arranged so we have a few tables together for the rest of the cruise where we can just sit where we want.  We had to go to muster at 7.30 to learn the emergency drill, but by 9 pm we were in bed.  We were both exhausted.

Day 9

Saturday, August 3 - Today is my temple anniversary.  1998.  Unbelievable.  I woke up at 7 am.  Can't believe I slept 10 hours.  We must have really been tired.  We showered and went to the Windjammer for breakfast.  Saw Lawtons there.  There are 36 of us so you're bound to see them around.  A couple of women joined us at our table from San Francisco and we stayed to visit with them for about 20 minutes.  Nice ladies.    We also met two more Utahns today at lunch.  LDS.  They were here with 12 family members.  There must be a lot of us on this ship.  Someone else said they'd met a party of about 30.

We shopped on the ship today and I bought Alaska socks for each of the granddaughters and two pair of earrings for myself.  I did NOT need more earrings but Eddie thought I did.

From 1-3 the Lawtons had a conference room reserved.  Estes presented Kathy with the Russian stackable dolls with their faces, and their kids' faces on each one.   By the time they got to Dianna's doll, they said it looked like a Tic Tac.  Each one also had their favorite scripture.  We also had to tell our favorite song at this point in our life.  Some families performed their song, Mark's family wrote words that applied to the family.  Our song was "Come, Come Ye Saints."  I commented on how it might not be fitting to sing "And if we die before our journey's through," while we're on a cruise ship, but we sang it anyway.  It was a nice gathering.

I was so grateful to have a sea day!   We got close to the Hubbard Glacier.

Hubbard Glacier

Ice breaking off the glacier

Someone in the room next to ours said another person in their party had been here many years ago and the glacier was much larger .... higher and also extended more.  No doubt the glaciers are melting.  Some of this ice, though, is 100 years old.

Because it was our anniversary, we were asked to come to the photo area and have our photo taken.  K&E were asked, too.  We went, thinking it was just a shot or two for a slide show, but the photographer, Amy, took about 60 photos.  I wore my black skirt and top with the sheer animal print cover up.

After that, we went to dinner, and then a show.  El Gaucho.  He was a comedian and magician.  At first I didn't care much for him, but he got better.  He ended up being pretty hilarious.  He pulled a man out of the audience who sat right in front of Estes.  He was looking for a man with a lot of hair.  We were all hoping he'd get Estes, but I'm sure Estes was glad he didn't.

Day 10

Sunday, August 4 - We woke up at 5.30 and the sun was up.  Whenever I say that now, I remember something I read about crazy things we say, and one of them reminded us that the sun is ALWAYS up.  It's the earth that moves.  :-)       We went to breakfast with K&E about 7.15 and then went back to the room to wait for our excursion at 9.  We took a bus to an excursion boat to watch the whales.  We saw orcas and humpbacks.  It was pretty exciting.  Our bus driver was Noah, a college student from Huntsville, Alabama.   From the boat, he drove us to Mendenhall Park to see the glacier.  It was quite a distance and we only had an hour.  We watched a short movie in the visitor's center and then walked around.  We could have walked to the waterfall, but they told us to plan on it taking a full hour to get there and back.  I guess they don't know how fast I can walk.  The bus brought us back to Juneau's dock area, so we looked around, but didn't buy anything.  Estes bought Kathy a quartz/gold necklace there.

Doesn't this look like Sharon Pierce???

Eddie was starving, so we went to get a hot dog on the ship, and an hour later we went to dinner!  At 8, we went to look at our photos.  There were some beautiful photos of us alone and together, and I really wanted to buy a few but the whole package was $1,000, and even to buy three photos was about $400.  We told her we would have to pass.  I hoped that at the end of the week they'd call and make a deal on them.

Day 11

Monday, August 5 - Today is Skagway and we had NOTHING planned.  A bunch of us walked off the ship and caught a shuttle into town.  Holly had told us about a Melodrama about Soapy Smith, a con man back in the 1800s.  Eddie got called up to participate.  It was cute and funny how they fussed over him.  

VIDEO: Eddie on stage

After the show, we walked around town, had another reindeer dog (but it wasn't nearly as good as the first one, which was grilled).  We had a "doughboy" which is a puffy fried pastry sprinkled with powdered sugar.  It was as big as a plate, so the four of us shared it.

We took a shuttle to the cemetery and then walked about a mile to actually get to the cemetery.  We hiked up a hill to get to this waterfall.  I took this picture of someone's garage on our walk back to the shuttle.

It was such a fun day.  I enjoyed the walking and the sights.  I just love Alaska.  I love it that they have so much pride in their state, like we Texans do.  It really is beautiful and we have just had the best weather.  Everywhere we've gone, our guides have commented on how perfect the weather is for that day, or how they've seen more wildlife on that day than any other in the season.  We feel pretty special.  I'd love to go back to Alaska.  Maybe next time we can go to another part of the state.

Tonight we went to a variety show.  Song and dance.  It was just awful.  They could sing and dance, but there was just never a theme.  They started out with a musical number from Styx, then went to random other music and show tunes, and then Bryan Adams.  It made me crazy.  I was glad to find out later that I wasn't the only one who felt that way. 

Day 12

Tuesday, August 6 - Today we went to the Hoonah Village at Icy Strait Point.  We ate breakfast at 6 am and walked off the ship to the town.  We rode a tram with open seats around town.  Our guide was very knowledgeable.  There are only about 750 people here.  100 kids in their school, which includes kindergarten through high school.  Last year there were 5 in the graduating class.  In WWII about 300 men and women served from this small town.  They live off the land as much as they can because items shipped in are very expensive.  A gallon of orange juice is $15.  There is a totem pole in front of the school which tells the story of their people here.  He told us how the men were going off to sea and not returning.  They didn't know it, but an octopus was killing them.  The last man to go out was swallowed by the octopus but he used his knives to kill it from the inside.  Interesting.  

We also listened to the man who is carving the totem pole below with hand tools.

bald eagles are common here

such beautiful detail

They had what they claimed was to be the longest zipline in the world.  It's a mile long.  It goes up into the clouds.  I would have done it except it was $180!   We browsed the store and bought a bag of tiny donuts that were delicious.  Each one of us had half a dozen.  We ran into our LDS friends today.

We walked back to the ship for lunch.  I had a salad and cheese.  Then we went to the room and slept for 2 hours!  This fresh air and walking is wearing us out.  We are both trying to focus on the day and not the reality that faces us at home.  I think our bodies must need the rest.

We went to the game room and taught Kathy's sisters to play pegs and jokers.  Janet won the game.  We didn't play teams - just singles.  I'm sorry we didn't get to play any other time on the trip.

I had lobster and salmon for dinner and it was delicious.  I also had roasted tomato soup as a starter and baked alaska for dessert.  It was all delicious.  I wish I were a good cook.  Maybe I should make more of an effort to experiment.  The thought of that just sounds awful.  I used to when I was younger ... now I just don't care enough.

Tonight we saw a magic show and comedian.  He was hilarious.  How do they do all those things?

Chris Groll has spent the day with the medics.  He woke up with pain about 3 am.  Interestingly, Estes also woke up about that time.  They think both have kidney stones.  Estes was able to get out with us, but Chris spent the day on the ship.  Morphine wasn't helping with his pain.  They said tonight if he's not better in the morning, they want to take him to the hospital.  We all met at K&E's room for a family prayer and then they asked each of us to pray for Chris, too.

I should mention that Jeannine, who is Chris's wife, and Kathy and Estes's daughter, has already been to the medics to have her leg stitched.  The white board on K&E's door fell while she was writing something on it and it cut her leg.

I've enjoyed being with the Lawtons and Kathy's sisters.  They're all such nice people.

Daniel and Sabrina woke up this morning and realized Naomi was gone.  After searching and calling siblings' rooms, they discovered her sitting in the library waiting for Krew.  

We had onboard credits of $300 and used about $100 to shop on ship, and the rest for the tips.  They are $14.50 per person per day.  We purchased an excursion for $55/each on our final day to see Vancouver, BC, and then get dropped off at the airport.  

Day 13

Wednesday, August 7 - I had thought that two weeks would seem long, but it's gone by quickly.  At the end of the first week, I was ready to get on the ship so we could stop packing and unpacking, but that also meant the cruise was half over.  That makes me sad.

We ate breakfast and got off the ship in Ketchikan at 10.15. We boarded a bus and went up into the hills to a lake.  We had about 16 people in our canoe, and we rowed our way across the lake.  It was beautiful.  We stopped for a snack of almond spread and raspberry jelly on pieces of French bread.  Total canoeing was about 1.5 miles.  I was a little disappointed we didn't get to spend more time on the water.  We also were scheduled for a "hike" in the rainforest, and that was a joke.  We walked in a circle for about 15 minutes and that was it.  That was disappointing, too.  Our guide was Tess, and she was here for the summer from Australia.  She knew a lot.  Our bus driver was a young man from Rexburg, Idaho, and attends BYU Idaho.  Our driver told us they recruit from BYUI because the tract works well for Alaska's tourist season.

A lot of the area is shale, as I understand it.  When a tree falls,like this one, it gets covered with this moss, and little trees grow from it.  Eventually the original tree will completely decompose and fall to the ground, allowing the trees to continue to grow. 

After our tour, we walked around Ketchikan.  Eddie was looking for a totem pole for himself, and also one for our friend Steve LaBarbera.  People suggested we go to Creek Street where the locals have their shops.  What we mostly saw was high priced items that we really weren't interested in.  On our way through this area, we walked over a little creek and saw all these salmon swimming.

Loved this sign

Heading back to the ship, we went into a tourist shop and found a totem pole for Steve for $10 and bought two packages of smoked salmon.  We boarded the ship about 3.  Instead of eating lunch, we snacked on granola bars.  

I spent some time packing up my suitcase.  As I've mentioned, I have washed out my own clothing just about every evening, so I always have clean clothes.  Even as little as I brought, I could have done with less.  I haven't really needed the coat, and I had two pair of pants I didn't wear.  I was surprised that all of my clothes fit back into the suitcase along with the souvenirs we've picked up.

When packing the domino game, even tho it is travel sized, I put everything in a gallon-sized Ziploc bag so it wouldn't take up a block of space.

For dinner tonight I had chicken cordon bleu and escargot.  I'd never had escargot before.  Wasn't a big fan of the chicken but I ate it all.  I had chocolate cake for dessert.  I haven't enjoyed the meals quite as much on this cruise.  I think it's because I've had most of it before.  However, I am not cooking it and I'm thrilled to have someone else serving me.

We skipped the show tonight and went to the room.  On the way, we ran into our new friends and chatted with them for maybe an hour.  We exchanged emails so we can stay in touch.  We made promises to let them know if we're ever in Duluth or Utah.  So we can add Maddie and Bob Nielson from Vernal, Utah and Carol and Michael Olsen from Duluth.  It was so fun to see them along the way.  Bob is a CPA who wears a big belt buckle with "Bob" on it and Maddie says they both work so he can farm.  Michael is a nurse, but not at St. Luke's.  My niece, Felicia's, husband, Jon, is an ER doctor at St. Luke's.

Day 14

Thursday, August 8 - Today is Estes's birthday.  Clocks moved forward an hour during the night so we are on Pacific time now, only 2 hours difference.  I guess Estes at least got to be 69 for a few more hours than he would have at home.

This is our last day on the ship.  We got up at 7.30.  No excursions because we have a sea day.  I love sea days.  We are headed through the inside passage to Vancouver.  

We are wishing we wouldn't have booked so many excursions.  We have had to rush every day to go, and we wish we would have just walked off and found things to do.  Holly went into each town and found their library.  I love to walk so I wouldn't have minded just walking around the towns or hiking.

Daniel Erwin and I talked about writing and he had some great ideas about my grandpa story.

We ate breakfast about 9.30.  Holly and David joined us, and we also met two people from Pennsylvania.  She belongs to a book club and I was telling her I'd finished The Nightingale just this morning.  I had so much to think about while trying to process everything I learned.  My trials may seem heavy at times, but I've never had to give as much as men, women, and children gave during WWII.  I never knew the people of France were starving while Nazis took over their homes and property.  So many gave so much, even their lives, to help the resistance.   I'll never understand why the French seem to dislike Americans.  We are the ones who liberated them.  Eddie's brother, George, was stationed in France.  Wish I'd have had some conversations with him about it while he was still alive.

K&E invited us to lunch so we went to the dining room for salads.  We came back to the room and Ed packed while I repacked.  We took a short nap and went to the Lawton party from 1-3 to celebrate August birthdays.  It was nice for all of us to be together for chocolate cake, drinks, and visiting with whomever you wanted to!

We went back to the room and I heard screaming outside.  I looked and saw there were whales swimming right next to the ship.  

Daniel and Eddie

This is me...relaxing.

For dinner tonight I had BBQ short ribs.  They were good.  After dinner, I said goodbye to everyone and wished them a safe trip home.  I'm sad to be leaving.

We went to look at our photos that have been taken in the dining room and found just one.  It was awful.  We didn't buy anything.  When we got back to the room, I stood outside on our balcony for about 30 minutes just listening to the waves and looking at the beautiful scenery.  It's our last night.  We are in Canada now.  We have seen miles and miles of trees and mountains.  It is just indescribable how beautiful this area of the country is.  I'm so grateful we took this trip.

We had to have our bags out by 11 pm, so we packed up everything we could and only kept our backpacks for dirty clothes and whatever toiletries we needed.  The toiletries are so heavy and take up so much room, and I don't even wear much makeup!  I only kept out a comb, a toothbrush, toothpaste, and my bite guard!

Day 15

Friday, August 9 - My year of virtual packing paid off.  I did it in a small bag, but I'm also glad I brought a small collapsible bag with us for the extras we are taking home.  I had everything I needed and more.  Next time I won't bring my Kindle.  I read everything on my phone.  Eddie won't take his iPad, because if you don't have WiFi, it's useless anyway.  I kept a hand written journal to keep track of our activities and that worked fine.  Now, to create this blog post, I'm referring to it.  I'm glad I had the journal because it would be difficult to keep the days straight!

Next time, the only thing I'd bring extra is peanut butter!  I got tired of eating meals I didn't even want just because there weren't other choices.  I brought almonds, we had granola bars, trail mix, protein bars, and they were great, but if I'd had peanut butter and bread, I'd have been happy with a sandwich instead of a hamburger or chicken wings.  Just something to keep me from being hungry.

We went to the dining room for breakfast at 6.30.  K&E were meeting her sisters in the Windjammer so we went alone.  We talked to some other people in the dining room, but if I'd known all the Lawton kids would be in the Windjammer, I'd have gone there for one last chance to say goodbye.

They picked up our bags last night so once we docked, we went to our assigned room and just waited for them to tell us when we could leave.  Finally we walked off the ship and went to our assigned bus.  Glad we didn't have to handle our own bags.  

We spent 3 hours touring Vancouver with the worst tour guide/bus driver ever.  We stopped at a few places along the way, but he was just awful.  We didn't even give him a tip.  When we finally got to the airport, Eddie even climbed under the bus to get our bags.  

Vancouver

Lots of bikes

We took our bags from the bus and went to the car rental area for Estes to rent a car.  He drove us to the Holiday Inn at the Airport where we unloaded our stuff.  We were all hungry, so on our way to the Vancouver Temple, we stopped at The Old Spaghetti Shop and had lasagna.  It was really the first meal we'd had today because breakfast was awful.

The stained glass in the temple was like what you see in other temples except that there was a lot of blue.  I also noticed blue in the fabric chairs.  It made me think it was a reflection of the glaciers, blue skies, or winter.  It was very pretty.

We got back to the hotel, made sure we had everything out for morning, and said good night and good bye to Kathy and Estes.  We have had a wonderful time with them.  We have to get up at 3 am tomorrow to catch the 4.50 am shuttle to the airport.

Day 16

Saturday, August 10 - We are good about getting up to travel early.  We even had time for a muffin in the lobby before the shuttle.  We were grateful for our Global Entry passes and cleared customs while also getting in an express line.  That really saved us some time.  We boarded the plane and flew approximately four hours to Dallas.  I watched two movies - one with Rebel Wilson and most of another one with Jennifer Lopez.   When we got to Dallas, even though we were in the same terminal as our connecting flight to Houston, we still had to take the skylink.    We had a quick 45 minute flight, and Denise and the two kids were there to pick us up.  We've been so used to the beautiful cool weather in Alaska, and it was a super hot 98 degrees as we exited the plane.  Welcome home.

We stopped and ate Mexican food on our way home.  It was good to just sit and visit with Denise and the kids.  They seemed interested in hearing all about our trip.  They brought us home and I dug into my suitcase to find souvenirs so I could go ahead and give them to them.  The kids loved the socks.  Denise loved her Alaska t-shirt and the bear claws for tossing salad or pasta.

So...what do I have to contribute from this trip about packing?

1.  Bring layers.  I had Cuddl Duds that retain body heat  (I took one black and one white and washed them out after wearing).  I also had 2 workout pullovers and a windbreaker.  I packed a sturdy poncho but never needed it.  Ponchos are great because they cover your backpack and add an additional layer.

2.  I didn't need a coat, but I was very glad I had a sun hat AND a stretchy band, or "gaiter"  that could be worn around my neck, rolled up as a headband, or as a hat.  I used it a LOT.  Gaiter

3.  Bring clothes you can wash out and that will dry overnight.   I have travel pants made of nylon and spandex.  I only took two pair.  I could wear them a couple of days and then wash in the sink.  

4.  Think outside the box on your tops.  I took my long sleeved swim rash guard and wore it when we went canoeing, but wore it another day on the ship.  It's not just for swimming.

5.  Minimize the number of shoes.  I wore Crocs on the plane and on the ship.  I brought lightweight tennis shoes for walking, and a pair of Croc flats for skirts.  Crocs weigh practically nothing and won't get ruined if they get wet.  Everyone had told us to expect a lot of rain in Alaska.

6.  Coordinate clothes that mix and match.  I took 1 pair each of black and dark navy travel pants, one nicer pair of black athletic pants and one black skirt.  All my tops went with all bottoms.

8.  I don't pack jeans, sweatshirts, or sweaters because of the bulk.  I did take a sheer kimono AND a sheer animal print swimsuit cover up that looked great over a black Cuddl Dud and black skirt.   I liked the cover up better than the kimono.  I bought it on the cruise ship a few years back for about $10.  These sheer tops weighed virtually nothing.

7.  Use contact lens cases for lotions and gels.  I put my facial moisturizer in each side of one and never used it all in 15 days.  Don't carry big bottles that add weight to your bag.  I had hair gel in another.  Think tiny.

8.  Bring snacks that won't melt.  We had granola bars, protein bars, trail mix bars, raw almonds, and gummies.  We still had a few for our flight home.  Next time I would seriously bring a small container of peanut butter.  Nuts are so great for helping curb hunger.

AND for heaven's sake, don't go buy new clothes to take on vacation.  Years ago I heard someone say, "I don't know why people go buy new clothes to be with people you'll never see again."  If you need new shoes, buy them in plenty of time to break them in at home.  Take clothes and shoes that you know are comfortable.  You'll be sorry if you don't.

That's it for now.