Alaska Scenic Cruising Sunset

Sunsets over the ocean are incredible!

Bye-Bye Alaska!

Thanks to my wonderful inlaws for taking such great pics!

Victoria - Canada

Our last stop is in Victoria, Canada!  We are docked from 6pm to midnight so all we like to do is get off the ship for a bit and find somewhere to eat dinner and then walk around the streets!

This is where we got our passports stamped and Cody's first stamp on his!

The Empress Hotel is a famous place that is fun to hang out at and explore. The grounds around the hotel are beautiful!

Our attempt at a family picture under this neat tree outside the hotel.

Another amazing and big tree...fit for a two year old!

Cody enjoyed running all over! 

Totem poles are all over Alaska and Victoria.

And the flowers are beautiful!

Cody is really in to telling us which way to go and so this time we pretty much followed him around while he explored...after all we did coop him up in a ship for 7 days!

"I want to go "this way"!

Our ship at night!

Cody's Cruise Fun

Cody loved to climb on the nightstand and jump onto the bed, watch himself in the mirror, or put his cars on the ledge.  He was always so proud of himself when he climbed up there.

 Cody was worn out by the time a nap or bedtime came around and would fall alseep as soon as he was still for a minute.  He liked to be snuggled on the bed watching a video. He fell climbing on the stairs inside the ship and his the side rail leaving him this scratch.

Grandma and Grandpa brought Cody a "surprise" every day of our trip.  He eventually figured it out and would ask Grandma for his surprise.  He ended the trip with fun cars, tractors, trains, coloring books, colors, markers, puzzles and books.  What a fun treat!

Alaska's 1st City: Ketchikan

We are only docked in Ketchikan a short time and there isn't that much to see.  However, our favorite place to go is called Ketchicandies and they have the best chocolate dipped oreos. We had to take Cody since oreos are his favorite.  However, he was happier with gummie worms.

Float planes are really fun to watch taking off and landing on the water.  We have been on a float plane with the Insight for Living staff on other trips to Alaska but opted not to take Cody on one this year. He sure loved watching them, though!

The only picture we have of all 5 of us!

I loved Jason and Cody's matching vests!

 We went to the visitor center and Cody loves running up and down the ramps they had inside and outside.  It was a grea way to burn some energy and he giggled the whole time.

Sitka, Alaska

 Sitka is probably our favorite little town to stop at. We enjoy walking the streets and looking at the old churchs, schools and buildings. Not to mention it is surrounded by beauty!

 We always see Eagles in Sitka but to see two together was neat!

Jason taking in the sites as we approached Sitka.

The cruise ship anchors out in the water....

So we ride a boat into shore...it's call tendering. See how little the boat looks hanging on the side of the ship.  It holds about 100 people.

Cody absolutely LOVED riding this boat back and forth to the ship.

Hubbard Glacier - Wrangell St. Elias National Park

We cruised into the Hubbard Glacier and Wrangell St. Elias National Park!  This is always such a neat experience as the ship goes really slow and we start to see the ice chunks in the water and then this huge glacier comes in to sight.  It is breath taking!  

Just a few facts:
The Hubbard Glacier is one of the largest and most active tidewater glaciers in North America.

Mt. St. Elias, at 18,008 feet, is the second highest peak in the United States.

Mt. Wrangell, at 14,163 feet, is one of the largest active volcanoes in North America.

This is how Cody watched for the glacier.  He kept saying "ice" when he'd see it.  My friend Teri was on the balcony next to us and kept singing "ice, ice, baby...too cold, too cold" to Cody and dancing.  He loved it and would repeat it and keep asking her to sing it "more".

And when he got bored with looking at the ice he'd play with his cars/trains.

The glaciers will calve off and fall into the water.  There is a load roaring sound as it breaks off and falls into the water and the whole ship will gasp and point when it happens. It's quite an experience.   

And it's always fun to see ocean creatures like this seal.

Another fun fact is one of Cody's middle names is Elias named after this mountain!