Here I am: August 2010

Monday, August 30, 2010

Meet Me At The Windjammer; Part IV

08.13 - 08.15

Seattle, WA

We spent almost 3 whole days in Seattle after getting off of the cruise.

Highlights include:

(1) The Underground Tour

(2) Eating breakfast at Starbucks

(3) Messing around with my birthday presents. I got the entire Beatles CD collection, a Lakers itouch cover, and an Angels Droid cover!

(4) Going to the top of the Smith Tower to get a 360 degree view of the city

(5) Eating at the Crab Pot with the family, Drew (a college friend), and my Aunt Myrna

[Drew and Me]

[Ryan, Missy, and Luke]

(6) Going to Pikes Place Farmers Market (we saw them throw a fish!)

(7) Having a BBQ with some old college friends (Drew, Dave, and Julie)

(8) Riding the Duck Tour (so worth it!)

And that ends it!

Thanks family (especially my parents) for an amazing vacation!

Until my next adventure... and yes, I am currently planning one. Wanna come?

Saturday, August 28, 2010

Meet Me At The Windjammer; Part III

08.12

Victoria, British Columbia

We arrived in Canada and headed straight to The Butchart Gardens

[Luke and Ryan]

[Ryan and Missy]

[Dad and Mom]

[Luke]

[Missy doin' what she does]

Guys being strong

[Dad, Luke, and Ryan]

The gardens were beautiful!

After touring the gardens we headed back to Victoria to walk around and shop.

[The Empress Hotel]

[Brothers being brothers]

Before heading back to the boat we took a tour of the Parliament Building.

[Luke holding the Queen]

Canada is gorgeous!

Friday, August 27, 2010

Meet Me At The Windjammer; Part II

08.09

We spent my birthday in Skagway, AK! It was a cute little town which has no street lights. The closest town can be reached on an hour ferry ride, a 15 minute plan ride, or a 7 hour car ride.

The weather here was beautiful so Ryan, Missy, Luke, and I were able to go for a plane ride over some of the local glaciers.

Our little plane and pilot, Paul

All snug inside the plane

Inside the small plane

[Paul and Ryan]

[Me and Missy]

Gorgeous Mountains

Crazy huge glaciers

The plane ride was awesome... except Missy and I got a little sick : (

I can't believe how big those glaciers are! Best birthday EVER!

08.10 - 08.11

Fjord and At Sea

We woke up the next morning to this:

and this:

Mother nature at her best!

That night we had another formal night

Monday, August 23, 2010

Meet Me At The Windjammer; Part I

08.06 - 08.07

We spent the first day and a half of the cruise on board the Rhapsody of the Seas. We played card games, did trivia challenges, sat on our suites balcony, ate a lot of frozen yogurt, and had a formal night.

Playing trivia games

[Ryan, Missy, Mom, Luke, Dad]

Never got better then second place, but at least we were consistent

[Ryan and Missy]

View of the mist from our balcony

08.08

We arrived in Juneau, AK to some disappointing weather. Ryan, Missy, Luke, and I were scheduled to go on a float plane in the afternoon so in order to kill time we walked around the capital.

We had gone almost 3 hours without eating so I suggest that we go to a local place to get some crab. It was the best decision we have ever made. I've eaten a lot of crab in my life but this tops them all! Best crab and best rolls that we have EVER had! Thank you Tracy's Crab Shack!

After crab we headed over to the float plane excursion only to find out that it had been canceled due to the fog moving in. We were disappointed about the plane ride but you can't control the weather.

To see more pictures go here!

Sunday, August 22, 2010

If I smack you... I'm not sorry

I fly a lot so I know how the system works.

I know not to wear belts or shoes.

I know about early check in.

I know to have my ID ready at all times.

I know where all the Starbucks in the airport are : )

I'll just say it...

I'm a flying pro.

I understand that most people don't travel as much as me and that's fine. HOWEVER, common sense is essential.

My biggest beef about flying: baggage claim.

Ok I know we are all in a hurry to get our bags and get on with our lives but do you really need to crowd around the baggage claim carousel? Just stand back a few feet, wait for your bag to come, step up to the carousel, grab your bag, and get out of the way. Easy right?! No. People feel like they need to crowd around the carousel and wait for their bags. They won't come any faster this way... trust me.

Multiple times I've had to push through people just so I can get my bag. Then when I finally reach it I have to pull it off the carousel in such a hurry and with such force that it ends up smacking someone. Do I apologize? Of course. Do I mean it? Hell no. If you weren't crowding the carousel then I wouldn't have to hit you with my 50 lb bag. Your fault. Not mine.

Solution: Don't crowd and be generous.

**Stay tuned for my Alaska pictures! BUT if you want to see some now visit my sister-in-laws blog AND she's a better photographer then I am!**