Honeymoon Day 5 - Icy Straits (Hoonah), Alaska

I have to admit, it was pretty amazing to wake up and see trees and mountains everywhere - we had arrived in Icy Straits, Alaska!

We were so excited to finally get off the ship and start exploring! It was pretty cold and overcast. Nonetheless, we were determined to be amongst the first to head off the ship.

We hadn't signed up for any excursions, so we started walking around and exploring. After throwing a cedar chip into the fire, and talking to a "local," we decided to catch a bus to "downtown." Little did we know that there was nothing to see downtown, with the exception of a few dozen dilapidated homes, two bars, a church, and a mini-mart . . . .

Apparently, however, we were lucky as there was a lot going on in Hoonah that day - we witnessed a [minor] mudslide [as we were walking the few miles back to the port to get back on the dang boat!] . . . .

Needless to say, we were [extremely] happy to head back to our beautiful stateroom . . .

. . . and sleep . . . .

When we awoke, we were pleasantly surprised by the scenery as we left Icy Straits (Hoonah), Alaska.

After a strange day in Icy Straits, we enjoyed a great dinner and some wonderful entertainment before going [back] to sleep!

Honeymoon Day 4 - At Sea

We spent the entire day at sea, but that gave us plenty of time to explore the ship and take in the scenery.After a relaxing day, we got all dressed up for the first formal night on the ship - I wore glitter, of course! Before dinner the captain hosted a little champagne party in one of the lounges. My favorite part, however, was meeting an authentic Canadian mountie. I totally thought of Dudley Do-Right . . . .After a whole day of doing nothing, and eating a delicious dinner at formal night, we were exhausted and called it a night!

Honeymoon Day 3 - Off to Alaska!

After eating the usual Denny's breakfast, we [excitedly] waited in the hotel lobby for our transportation to the port to board the Serenade of the Seas! We waited for awhile . . . . This was my first cruise [ever], so we went right out to the deck before exploring the rest of the ship. I was excited just to see the port . . . .

We had some time to explore the ship before our stateroom was ready. The ship was beautiful - and our stateroom was great! We especially loved the balcony - we had breakfast on the balcony almost every morning. Woohoo for room service.

At about 5:00pm, the Serenade of the Seas set sail for Alaska. We went up to the top deck to join the party! I thought it would be a good idea to get one of the Margaritas in the fancy glasses that they were selling - that drink was wicked strong!

Needless to say, we called it a night shortly thereafter . . . .

Honeymoon Day 2 - Vancouver

After sleeping in a bit, Marc and I ventured out in search of food (what else is new?). Lo and behold there was a Denny's right across the street. Clearly we had arrived in heaven . . . .

After finishing [a deliciously unhealthy] breakfast, we scooted back to our hotel to catch a cab to Stanley Park.

Our most favorite part of Stanley Park was by far the Aquarium!! They had so many different animals - from frogs to seals to sloths and alligators! The one animal that kept us talking the entire trip, however, was the two month old baby beluga whale. She was absolutely adorable. She was born at the aquarium, as was her mother. We had such a great time at the aquarium and spent a good half day just looking at everything!!

After we explored all that the Aquarium had to offer, Marc and I hailed a cab and headed [at the cabbie's suggestion] over to the Planetarium. We also enjoyed a tour of Vancouver along the way . . . .

After we finished at the Planetarium, we went in search of food [again], and wound up at a hot dog cart near our hotel called Japadog. They served all kinds of crazy hot dogs. Marc and I stuck to a traditional one, but apparently Anthony Bourdain went all out when he visited the stand!



We finished our hot dogs and went back to our room....where we continued to snack until we fell asleep . . . Vancouver was awesome!!!

Honeymoon Day 1 - Vancouver

We checked in at the Sutton Place Hotel after a [long] cab ride from Vancouver International Airport. The hotel was right in the center of the city, so we had a fabulous view!!

Unfortunately for us, however, there was a flood the night before and NONE of the elevators were working! We schlepped our tired behinds up fourteen flights of stairs for a much needed nap. When we woke up starving, we scoped out our favorite type of food - Hibachi!!

The food was great! The people at our table were so nice. We met a sarcastic Canadian RV salesman and his wife, and a family of four celebrating an anniversary. After we ate [a whole lot of food] we explored the city a little before returning to our room, only to realize that the sun didn't set until 10pm!

We're Back!

It's been a little while since I've posted, but that's because Marc and I took a nice (long) vacation to Vancouver and parts of Alaska!! Check out the next few posts for our pictures!!!

(Us at Stanley Park in Vancouver)

It's Official!

Marc and I got married on Sunday, Aug. 3 and could not be happier! We had a wonderful rehearsal dinner - courtesy of Marc's parents - and a beautiful ceremony and reception courtesy of my parents. We had such a blast!

The day went by so quickly, and we cannot thank everyone enough for sharing this special day with us!!! Check back in a couple of days for more photos because we are off to ALASKA!!