Ahoy Maties

What does 2077 nautical miles plus 200 square feet equal? Pure fun and additional adventure on our “lifestyle”, that’s what!

On a whim, Maureen and I decided to take a small trip away from our land yacht and cruise to Alaska. Alaska has been on our bucket list (a cruise was never part of that bucket list). Now mind you, we have ticking items/places off our bucket list that we had intended for the end of our career! The stars all aligned for this trip. We were able to leave our truck and camper at my aunt and uncle’s house and they even watched Gunner! The ferry from their island was close to the cruise ship terminal. ANNDDD, Maureen was a bargain shopper and was able to get us a good deal. Again, remember that rooms with space are foreign to us after living in our camper, so a cruise ship small stateroom was fine for us!

Once we made it on the ship, we were all amazed at the sheer size and plethora of amenities available! While still in port in Seattle, Woody got his shorts on and hit the FlowRider (surf machine). We had fun watching the process of getting us underway as well as watching all the activity as we made our way out to sea.

During our cruise, we hit up some great locations. Maureen shared detail about our visits to Juneau, Skagway, Victoria and the fjords. My favorites include the White Pass and Yukon Route railroad ride and taking the cruise ship right up close to Dawe’s Glacier. The glacier was great to see from the private vantage point with 5,000 of my closest friends! Once we started heading back out to see, we were treated to more great sights-Orcas and humpback whales!

Our adventure has chronicled how we have been able to spend time with family and friends and renew relationships that have suffered from the neglect of distance and time. One of the most unusual relationships renewed is one that was nearly 25 years old. The morning before our last day, we were eating breakfast in the dining room when a lady came up to our table. I didn’t really think much of it or pay too much attention. She started talking about how she recognized the NDSU Bison year our boys were wearing because she was from Fargo. I recognized the voice and looked up. The voice and the face immediately clicked and I said “Char Skaff”!!! Char was my EMT instructor when I was a junior in Breck. I’d drive to Fargo twice a week to get my certification. We were able to catch up some and chat about the cruise. How amazing is it that I was able to reconnect with someone so distant in my past!

Our adventure have been great. We seen some great places and had some great times. The best of times have been enjoying friends and family!