The Garden Isle

If Honolulu feels a bit like LA smashed on to an island then lush (and small) Kauai is the place for you. Kauai is the northernmost and oldest of the Hawaiian Islands, and as a result is laid back lush jungle. At only 20 min by air from Honolulu you will actually wait longer for your flight then you will spend the air. You'll know you're on the right island when you encounter the Kauai Chicken - and despite your best efforts, you will encounter them.

Mount Waialeale, located at the heart of Kauai’s rain forest is the wettest place on earth with over 400-inches of rain per year. While the rest of the island doesn’t get that much rain, we started most mornings on the island with light, albeit brief, rain. A beautiful rainbow always seemed to follow the rain shower. The trade winds blow across Kauai, keeping things cool and lowering the humidity – so any bad weather you had back on Honolulu is left behind when you arrive in Lihue, Kauai’s main city.

We made the Kauai Beach Resort our home away from home. It’s a beautiful resort just a few min from the Lihue airport. Now that it is run by the Aqua hotel chain you are likely to find a good deal during the off season. You could spend all your time at the resort, with 4 pools, beachfront access and a shuttle that will bring you to and from the airport. I would recommend renting a car though so that you can explore the rest of the island. There is a small collection of hotels right in Lihue but most of the other hotels are located up the coast in Poipu. There is a military lodging option – Pacific Missile Range Facility Cabins on Barking Sands Beach and VOQ’s are also available. Another tip, skip the pricey resort breakfasts and find yourself some fresh malasadas (a cinnamon sugar donuts) - we found Kauai Bakery and Cinnamon where you could pick up a bakers dozen.

We were scheduled to spend our first day on a boat viewing the north part of the island, known as the Na Pali Coast, with Holoholo charters. Unfortunately, due to rough seas our trip was canceled. In their credit, we heard nothing but good things about Holoholo, and they did try to reschedule us for another day. (On the bright side, now we have a reason to go back.)
Instead, we spent the day driving around the island. Driving in Kauai is so easy – there are only two main roads and everything you will want to see is off of one of them. The GPS was nice to have, but completely unnecessary, as everyone gives directions using mile-markers from one of these two highways. The only real challenges are the one-lane bridges you will encounter all over the island. Local custom is to let 3-5 cars from the other direction come and then its your turn. The book also said we should give the “hang loose” sign, but we found the traditional thank you wave to be more appropriate.

It will take you about an hour to get from Lihue all the way up the coast on both sides. If you have a whole day you can cover the whole island. Make sure you pick up a travel book so you have some idea of where to go. (We purchased the Lonely Planet guide to Kuaui in the Honolulu airport.) The dry caves at the northern point of the island are worth the trip – so if you only have time to go one way, head up north. You should also take some time to walk down one of the many beaches you will encounter. If you get the chance to drive west most of the guidebooks will point you to Russian Fort Elizabeth – we found the place to be deserted and a little creepy. Do make sure you stop at the Kauai Coffee Visitors Center. They have a self-guided walking tour and lots of coffee to taste.

There are several lighthouses on the island and all are worth going to see. The Kiluea Lighthouse on the North Shore of Kauai is beautiful – if you don’t want to pay to tour the lighthouse, you can enjoy the view from outside the gates. The Nini Point Lighthouse is on the approach to Lihue airport and can be a challenge to find. Despite what the tour books say, you can drive there – just print directions before you go and if you feel lost that means you are going the right way. The lighthouse is not all that spectacular but the views from the point are worth the trip.
One of our favorite activates was Tubing in the old irrigation ditches with Kauai Backcountry Adventures. You meet at Backcountry Adventures where they outfit you with a helmet, headlamp and gloves. (You will need to bring your own towel and water shoes.) Then there is an hour narrated drive up to your put in point through some old-field roads. We were warned the whole way up not to say the word “freezing” or “cold” – which made me very worries I was going to be both “freezing” and “cold” – when in fact the water was quite pleasant. You’re not really ever in the water other then your backside, although you will be splashed a lot. Once you are in your raft its like bumper cars down the irrigations ditch, most of which is through hand carved tunnels. You should get to know your tour group, because no matter whom you started out near, at the end of each tunnel you will find yourself in a whole new group. My sister was in a “speed tube” and sometimes found herself in front of the guide. Meanwhile, I found myself in the “spinning tube of death” which spun me into every place you could get stuck in the ditch. One of the guides took pitty on me and would straighten me out whenever possible. Even with assistance I went from the front of the group to the very back by the time the tour was over. Backcountry Adventures offers two trips a day and both include lunch. We took the later trip, but I would recommend taking the first trip of the day to free up your afternoon and evening. This is a not to miss activity! Make your reservations early because they fill up every trip.

We also made reservations for a tour at the Grove Farm Historic Sugar Plantation Museum. They only give tours twice a week – so if this is a must see activity for you make reservations early. The tour takes you through perfectly preserved sugar plantation buildings, furnishings and collections. You will be asked to remove your shoes every time you enter a building, so wear accessible shoes. I’m still not really sure how I feel about this tour. On one hand it gave me a great overview of the sugar farming industry on the island. I was able to see some incredible architecture and landscaping. On the other hand it was geared at an audience that knew a lot more about the island then we did and as a result I found it a bit pretentious. The tour is also a full two hours long – which was about 30 min too long for my attention span. It’s also really not intended for children – so leave the kids with the hotel daycare. My advice to the Grove Farm would be to offer a wider variety of tours – maybe an hour introduction tour and a longer and more in depth tour for those already familiar with the island.

We did not get a chance to go into Waimea Canyon, which is the largest canyon in the Pacific at 10 miles long and 1 mile wide. You can hike in the canyon or take a boat trip. This will certainly be on our itinerary on our next trip to Kauai.

I almost forgot one of my favorite parts of Hawaii - Shave Ice! Shave Ice is so yummy I'm including a picture of my sister enjoying her shave ice! You must stop for one of these while you are in Hawaii. I could try to guide you to one, but experience tells me that you should just find a stand and pick your favorite flavors.

Finding Paradise on Waikiki

September seems to be the month to go to Hawaii! I was lucky enough to spend a week in Hawaii this September for a girls-get-away with my sister. This was my second trip to Oahu. In 2004, Jeff and I visited over the Christmas holidays and the island was packed and crazy. This visit was very relaxed. A week before my visit, Bethany, my fellow blogger, and her husband spent a week in Hawaii - so you’ll be getting lots of Hawaii travel advice this month.

September is part of the Hawaii off-season, which occurs mid-April to mid-June and again from September to mid-December.) I was able to find tickets for under $300 round trip and there were lots of deals to be had on the islands (including some great cruise deals!)

The visit started with a small hiccup. We were scheduled with Aloha VIP tours for a transfer from the airport to the hotel. I booked months in advance and when we showed up at the airport they didn’t have our names on the list. They called the office but never got a response. I had the confirmation number as well as an e-mail from the company – but because we didn’t have a paper copy they wouldn’t take us on the bus. We brushed it off and took a cab to the hotel. Aloha VIP did refund our money, but with no apology for leaving us stranded. This is not the customer service I have come to expect from Hawaii. I would skip the transfer and just hop a cab. The cab will cost you $35 for two people plus baggage - there is a cab stand at the airport and we never had to wait.

Like most military families that visit Hawaii, we stayed at the Hale Koa, which means Warriors’ Home, in case you were wondering. Bethany covered the details of the Hale Koa in her post. I will add that what the rooms lack is made up for in waterfront property, services and location. My sister and I spent our first two days on the island hanging out by the Hale Koa pool sipping frozen drinks. On Bethany’s recommendation we booked poolside massages, which relived any stress we may have had from the missed transfer. For great deals at the Hale Koa like them on facebook.

If you go to Hawaii you must go to a Luau. The Hale Koa does offer a luau right on the property and we heard nothing but good things about it. However, the Hale Koa luau is only offered two nights a week. If you are not at the Hale Koa when the luau is going on book with Paradise Cove Luau. Paradise Cove runs a bus that picks up at the Hilton bus station, which is literally right next door to the Hale Koa. Our ‘hostess’ Lelani was very entertaining and made the drive go by quickly. (It’s an hour drive, in traffic, to Paradise Cove.) There are three package levels – we booked the middle level and it was perfect. The luau starts with a lea greeting and activity time. You can get a “grease paint tattoo” by one of many shirtless guys, make a palm leaf creation or learn to hula. There are also several small shows you can go to – like tree climbing, pulling in the fishing nets, how to make luau drinks and the final pig out of the roasting pit show. Then everyone sits down for dinner – it’s a buffet for everyone except the top package. The main show starts while your sitting down for dinner. The show is intimate and full of explanation and optional audience participation. It was a much better experience then our last luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center. I would recommend booking your tickets straight through Paradise Cove for the best deal.

There are many activities in Wikiki to enjoy. My sister and I walked the Wikiki beach (wear sandals because the path abruptly stops and starts) all the way down to the park. The walk takes under 30 min and provides great views of Diamond Head. The park is also home to the Aquarium and the Zoo, both are small but are a nice diversion. As a note, the Waikiki Aquarium has one of the only Commerson's Frogfish on exhibit in the word(pictured above) - these fish sometimes don't move for weeks on end - they also have the worlds oldest known living clam shell! (For military members both offer ½ price admission so for $12 you can visit both the Aquarium and the Zoo.) You can hike Diamond Head for stunning views of Wikiki – Jeff and I did this on our last visit. Its a steep, but short, hike so make sure you have plenty of water.

No visit to Oahu is complete without a trip to Pearl Harbor. We took the bus – you probably shouldn’t do that. The Bus took forever, and while it was only $2.50/person, lets just say you get what you pay for! You can rent a car from the Hale Koa just for the day, or save this trip till you have a car. (Read Bethany’s post for more information on visiting Pearl Harbor.)

One block, towards Diamond Head, from the Hale Koa is all the shopping and restaurants you could ever want. If you have some free time, or want to eat not on the Hale Koa property, just walk out the door and explore for a bit. Most of all, though, make sure you enjoy being in paradise by doing something you love weather that is sitting by the pool with a good book or taking surf lesions. Waikiki has it all – just make sure you enjoy it!

Disneyland - SETP Symposium

Disneyland is 120 miles from Edwards and depending on the time of day and traffic, 2.5-4 hours. If you plan to make multiple visits, consider the Southern California Season Pass or a Costco 4-visit pass.

If you're heading to Disneyland for an SETP (Society of Experimental Test Pilots) symposium, consider these suggestions to make your visit more special:

1. Six miles from Mickey, but worlds apart is Park Avenue: 11200 Beach Blvd, Stanton, CA‎ -(714) 901-4400‎. Check their website for no-corkage-fee nights and fried chicken nights. Don't take the kids!

2. Pack breakfast foods. Call your intended hotel first and find out if you'll have a refrigerator. Then, pack a cooler with breakfast foods, snacks and water. You won't regret carrying a snack into the Disney parks when you see the prices.

3. Splurge what you saved on breakfast at the Napa Rose inside the Grand Californian Hotel. Reservations are strongly recommended. The entree prices are high, but it's a good value and you can't beat the location.

4. Walk to P.F. Chang's. Walk from the Disneyland hotels south on Disneyland Drive and go left on W. Katella Ave.

5. Skip the parks. If you're tired of Mickey and Friends, consider visiting the Richard Nixon Presidential Library and Museum. It's 15 miles away from the parks.

6. Take the kids to the beach. Just because you're at a conference at Disneyland doesn't mean you need to take the kids to the parks EVERY DAY. Drive 10 miles south and enjoy Huntington Beach.

Hawaii Part 1 – Hale Koa

View from our room- the grounds of the Hale Koa

Let me preface this by saying if you haven’t been to Hawaii already, you should absolutely try to get there while you can claim active duty status, because the deals are amazing!
One of these great deals is the Hale Koa, a military recreation area hotel in the resort area of Waikiki on the island of Oahu just 30 minutes from Honolulu International Airport.  While I agree with a conversation I overheard on the bus – that Waikiki is very nice but not uniquely Hawaii, it reminds you of every other resort area you’ve been to – you should not pass up a chance to stay at the Hale Koa. The rooms are standard hotel rooms, nothing fancy, but we had a beautiful view and the grounds are beautiful.  You are right on the beach, and there is everything you could want right there. We ate there both nights at two different restaurants, sipped pina coladas by the pool, sat on the beach, talked about going to the fitness center, overall, a nice relaxing start to our Hawaii trip. We also went on the Atlantis Submarines tour (booked through the Hale Koa activities desk) to see reef fish, which we enjoyed, but bring your motion-sickness meds for the boat ride out to the sub, as the water is choppy!  I also got a massage, something I had wanted to do for a while, from Paul the masseur which I highly recommend! You can make an appointment at the fitness center desk. Massages are done in cabanas by the pool, but don’t worry, they are out of the way in the shade and he keeps you covered, even when the sea breezes blow!

The Hale Koa has a luau right in their gardens, but we opted to see our Luau at the Polynesian Cultural Center (see Windward and Northshore Posting). We wished afterward we had gone to the Hale Koa’s instead after we heard from another family that it was the best one they went to, so do that if you can. 

You don’t need a car if you just want to hang out and explore Waikiki or take the bus around. However, If you do have a rental car, drive to Pearl Harbor instead of taking the one hour bus ride, because with a military ID you can drive onto Ford Island and see the USS Utah, which is not open to the rest of the public, and hit up the Pacific Aviation Museum while you’re there (which you don’t need a car for, just buy a ticket at the Arizona Memorial Entrance (AZ memorial is free) and take the shuttle bus). Don't forget to get your national parks passport stamps in the bookstore of the Arizona Memorial area, oh and just so you know, they don't let you take anything in to the memorial that doesn't fit in your pocket, so grab your camera and wallet and leave the rest in the car/hotel.  Also if you have a car, drive onto Hickham AFB and go to the commissary for some cheaper meals especially if you plan to stay anywhere with a kitchenette (Bellows Air Station Beach Cabins).  While at Hickham you can get cheap tickets at ITT – call ahead if you know of something you definitely want to do and they will let you purchase over the phone to be picked up when you get there.

Pinnacles National Monument

Pinnacles National Monument is a long 267 miles from Edwards - budget 5+ hours to get there. This park is accessible from the west (Hwy 101) and from the East (I-5), but there is no road running through the park. So you need to decide before you head out what you plan to do.

If you head to the eastern entrance, be fuel aware. The last gas en route is in Coalinga, some 62 miles from the park. Also, the only campground is at the east entrance (but hotel lodging is more readily available at the west entrance). Admission is $5, or free with the National Parks Pass.

Dan accompanied me up to Pinnacles for a 1-night camping trip. We drove up Saturday morning (left 8am, arrived 1pm) and hiked a 6.7 mile loop. High Peaks Trail to Condor Gulch Trail. Along this hike, you get to see great rocky 'pinnacles' and the Bear Gulch Cave. It's not a cave in the traditional sense, but a cave-like area created by boulders piling up. Take a flashlight and plenty of water, since the High Peaks Trail is mostly exposed.

We camped overnight in the Pinnacles Campground. It had pay showers (bring quarters) and a pool (very cold). The 8pm ranger presentation in the outdoor amphitheater was excellent. Note that when we went, no open fires were allowed. You had to bring a camp stove on which to cook.

On Sunday, we drove over to the Old Pinnacles Trailhead parking lot and did a 5.3 mile out-and-back to the Balconies Cave. This cave is longer, with more bats, and is darker than the Bear Gulch Cave. And this trail was mostly level, as it follows the West Fork of Chalone Creek.

Why is Pinnacles neat? From nps.gov, here is a good summary: Pinnacles National Monument began as a volcano that first erupted about 195 miles south of its present location. It has traveled northward along the San Andreas Fault, and currently moves at a rate of about 2 - 3 centimeters per year.

Other than hiking and tame spelunking, this park does not offer much. But it was very refreshing to find a park with a 6.7 mile loop trail (you can make this loop longer, too).

Yosemite National Park

There is something about the end of summer that just makes you want to go camping one final time before it gets too cold to enjoy the outdoors. (As a Georgia girl "Winter Camping" is not my cup of tea.) So for the Labor Day holiday four of us set out to fight the crowds at Yosemite and enjoy every thing Mother Nature has to offer.

Yosemite is a California must see. Seriously, you should not miss this place. I would recommend a spring visit if you can swing it. In Spring the waterfalls and wildflowers are at their peak and the temperature swings are less harsh. You will need a long weekend to not feel rushed on your visit - it's a six hour drive from Edwards and there are so many different things to see.

Park lodging can be tricky. First,its crowded. We literally made our reservations a year in advance. When we arrived at the park all the lodging and reservation camp grounds were booked. Second, its expensive. I love the National Parks but the lodging costs are getting ridiculous. They went up nearly 20% between the time we made the reservation and arriving at the park and then you'll be charged almost $40 in taxes. Despite my issues with the prices of staying inside the park, there are plenty of options.

The four of us stayed in a Heated & Insulated Tent Cabin in Curry Village. Curry Village has a great location, is right on the bus line and had plenty of parking. The tents in Curry Village are up on platforms and each have a bear locker outside the tent. The locker was plenty big to fit our cooler and all the food for the weekend. We sprung for the heated tent which also has solid walls on the inside. The largest advantage to the walls, other then the heat, seems to be that the whole camp can't see what your doing inside the tent. The tents all had electricity and the bathrooms and showers were centrally located and relatively clean. There are also cabins available at Curry Village.

The largest disadvantage to Curry Village is that you cannot cook there - you have to move to other picnic grounds. We solved this problem by cooking our large meal at lunch at a picnic ground elsewhere in the park (and there are plenty) and having breakfast and dinner at our cabin be quick meals like cereal and sandwiches. There are several food options at Curry Village but we found them to be expensive and crowded. We had several people comment when passing our cabin at meal time how good our food looked - so we were glad to have packed most of our food.

The tent cabins were a good option for us because they offered 3 beds (1 double and 2 twins) - so it fit four adults very comfortably. It also meant we could leave the camping gear behind and only take one car. We did pack sleeping bags - and were glad to have them. If you have room and would prefer camping we liked the look of Housekeeping Camp. We also hiked through several hike-in, no reservations campgrounds that looked empty despite the park being slammed.

There are really two ways to get to Yosemite from Edwards. We left Thursday evening and drove North to Bakersfield on the 58, where we stopped for dinner at Chick-fil-A (told you I was a Georgia Girl.) From Bakersfield we hopped on the 99 to Fresno where we spent the night in a Marriott. We were up bright and early the next day to push into Yosemite. Its about a 2 hour drive from Fresno into the south entrance of Yosemite.

Coming in from South entrance your first stop should be the Mariposa Grove of Giant Sequoias. Try to arrive early to avoid the crowds. You can see Sequoias right from the parking lot, but the best trees are seen by following the path up to the nature center. The walk is about 3 miles round trip and is uphill on the front end. There is also a tram that runs up to the nature center, but it misses out on most of the trees, so you should really walk if your able.

Next make a quick stop at the Wawona Visitors Center & historic Wawona Hotel. The visitors center has some interpretive displays and also your NPS Passport Stamp. Wawona also has the last gas station you are going to see for a while - so fill up.

You also need to hit Glacier Point before you head down into the Yosemite Valley. Glacier Point is an overlook that provides an amazing view of the valley. There is a short path to follow and several interpretive displays that explain how the valley was shaped by glaciers. Its almost like looking at a moving map of the valley - you can see half-dome, all the waterfalls, the hotels and the layout of the park. Even if you stop at Glacier point make sure you also take the turnout after the tunnel for another amazing view - this time of El Capitan and Bridalveil Falls. The drive plus all the little hikes will take most of your day. We spent the rest of our day getting checked into and walking around Curry Village.

One of the best things we did was make a dinner reservation at the Ahwahnee hotel.(You can make the reservation through opentable.) The Ahwahnee Hotel Dining Room has high ceilings and big picture windows looking out over a giant lawn. The food was excellent and was a nice break from the camping food. (You should note that there is a dress code for the restaurant and we did see them turn away a woman in shorts.) Arrive early and spend some time exploring the hotel and the grounds.

The park also offers some great evening activities on a range of topics. One night we watched a documentary on Ansel Adams in the outdoor amphitheater at the Yosemite lodge. (Did you know that Ansel was an accomplished pianist and dear friends with Georgia O'Keeffe?) Our favorite evening activity was, by far, a Stargazing tour. You have to buy tickets - but at $5/person they are intended to keep the crowd manageable. The stars in Yosemite were as good as I've seen on the top of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. Our guide weaved the educational information about our night sky into stories of the constellations. Make sure you bring a blanket to lie down on - your sure to see a few shooting stars as well.

Fall is not the best time to see Yosemite's waterfalls, but that is what Bethany and I wanted to do so we set out the next morning to hike to Vernal Fall. Vernal Fall flows all year - but peaks in late May. At our visit in early September it was really more of three separate falls - but it enabled us to get much closer then we otherwise would have. The hike to the top of the falls is about 3 miles round trip. It is steep basically the whole way up and ends in over 600 stairs but is well worth it. Bring lots of water and snacks and push up the hill to enjoy the waterfall. We spent nearly an hour sitting at the base of the falls. On your way back down stop in at the Nature Center (and ask for the NPS passport stamp) and see an exhibit on the rock falls that are frequent in Yosemite.

We also did the short hike to Bridalveil Fall. This .5 mile round trip trial is paved and leads from the parking area to the base of the falls. The falls were actually more impressive from the parking lot then from the top of the path. Neither upper or lower Yosemite Falls were flowing while we were there so we didn't bother with the trails while we were there.

Mirror Lake was also dry while we were there - instead of hiking to it the ladies took a trail ride on the Mirror Lake path. The 2hr ride was quite fun, despite being on Mules instead of horses. Also due to a rock fall on the trail you can no longer get all the way around Mirror Lake - instead you double back. I would recommend taking the half-day ride instead of the 2 hour ride. Meanwhile, the boys hiked Inspiration Point - which they said inspired them to keep on hiking!

Make sure you bring your binoculars and spend some time looking for climbers headed up El. Capitan - other people pulled off on the side of the road will help you find them - and they don't move very quickly so they are easy to track. You can also look up at night and see their lights on the mountain.

Due to traffic in the Valley we headed up to a less visited grove of Sequoias - the Merced Groves near Crane Flat. There were far fewer people here. You have to hike two to three miles at about a 500 foot elevation gain to see the trees. I complained allot on the walk down about how bad the walk back up was going to be and then hardly noticed the walk back up because we were engaged in conversation.

Again stuck in traffic in the Valley we parked at the chapel and followed a path behind the building to the rock face for some fun, and close to the ground, rock climbing. We each took a turn pretending to be rock climbers. At least once while you are in Yosemite you should walk right up to the rock walls and take a second to realize how small you are. It will take your breath away.

On Monday we headed out of the Valley through the East gate making a quick stop at Tuolumne Meadows. We also all hopped out of the car at Tenaya Lake to dip our feet into the frigid water. The Visitors center had their fire going, due to the increase in elevation the temperature had dropped enough for us to need jackets. (Again make sure to hit the visitors center for your NPS passport stamp.)If we make it back to Yosemite we will certainly spend more time in this area of the park. The Soda Springs hike, to a sparkling water spring, looked beautiful, albeit quit packed. There are several other hikes in this area that peaked my interest. November through as late as June Tuolumne Meadows is only accessible by cross-country skis or snowshoes.

If your looking for more information on Yosemite you can follow YosemiteNPS on Twitter or become their friend on Facebook.

Alaska by Sea

Although our Alaska vacation was at the beginning of the summer we have had several requests to highlight the cruise portion of the trip for people prepping for next year's vacation.

Jeff and I love the freedom that renting a car and setting our own agenda provides, but parts of Alaska are best seen by cruise.

We completed the land portion of our trip first - allowing us to make the cruise part of our transportation home. We returned our rental car at the Anchorage Airport and took the Whittier Shuttle to the cruise terminal. You can book your transportation directly through the cruise line or save yourself some money and book through a separate company. The Whittier Shuttle offers a narrated trip from the airport to the cruise terminal. We were originally booked on the “Narrated 3-Hour Tour” trip but discovered that we had made all the tour stops during our drive to Seward. (If you have not stopped at Portage Glacier, the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center and Turnagain Arm the tour is a good way to see these spots) Instead we transferred to the narrated shuttle and were treated to a recording of interesting information on our drive to Whittier.

The best part of the drive comes when you drive through the 2.5 mile-long, Anton Anderson Memorial Tunnel. The tunnel is only one lane and has to be shared by both cars and the train. As a result the tunnel is only open for 15min in each direction. A huge advantage of taking a shuttle or train to the Whittier port is that they time the tunnel crossing so you don’t have to wait 45 min to get through the mountain.

We booked with Princess Cruises based on reviews and our previous experience with Princess in Mexico. We had one small hiccup, in an otherwise fantastic experience. Princess e-mailed us during the land portion of the trip to say we had been “upgraded.” We were instructed to print new boarding passes and luggage tags – so we found a computer and printer to do just that. When we checked in for the cruise we were informed we had not been “upgraded” or even moved at all – which was fine. The problem came when our bags did not show up at our room since they had been delivered to the “upgraded” room. Haha. A very nice woman at the Pursers desk was able to sort everything out and our luggage was delivered while we were at dinner. Our regular room, down low in the center of the ship, turned out to be perfect.

We sailed on the Coral Princess on the Voyage of the Glaciers Cruise. Our itinerary was 7 days long including two glacier-viewing experiences at Hubbard Glacier and Glacier Bay. What sets the Alaska cruises apart from other cruises is the naturalist on board.

Our first two days of scenic cruising were amazing. We hit Hubbard Glacier in the early afternoon on our first day of sailing. We saw bald eagles, bears and the glacier calving. The captain turns the ship so that everyone has a chance to see the glacier – although the best views are from the open decks.

Day two was spent in Glacier Bay. Park rangers board the ship early in the morning and are on board all day as you sail through Glacier Bay. All other ship activities are suspended while you are in the National Park. We got deck blankets and watched the scenery go by from the open decks. (The Rangers also bring a National Parks Passport Stamp aboard!)

Day three we awoke to find the ship pulling into port in Skagway. Skagway is known as the “Gateway to the Klondike” for its role as the gateway for the gold rush. We grabbed some breakfast on board and then made our way to the National Parks Office. The parks service offers tours of the town. The tours are free but you need a ticket so head straight to the parks office to get a ticket for a tour. Jeff had read amazing reviews about the White Pass Railway and bike tour through Sockeye Cycle. Our ship did not offer that particular tour so we booked on our own. Its the best mix of the full train ride and then the adventure of a completely down hill ride back into Skagway. I was sceptically because i don't like to ride, but i loved it! I even made it back to the boat in time to enjoy the spa at its "in port" prices.

Day four we found ourselves in Juneau, Alaska. In Juneau we went all out and booked a helicopter glacier hike. It was well worth the cost. The tour included a helicopter ride up to the Mendenhall Glacier and then a two hour hike on the glacier. If you are going to spend the money to take a helicopter ride, make sure you include the hike on the glacier. It was by far the most amazing thing you will ever do. After two hours of climbing up the glaciers ripples and peering into its center we were whisked back down to Jeaneau by helicopter. The town itself is really touristy so we hopped on the public bus and took it out to the Alaska Brewing company store and tasting room. The tasting room is out toward the glacier but was a great afternoon diversion. The bus system was easy to navigate and much cheaper then taking a taxi.

Day five we were in Ketchikan, Alaska. We weren't sure what we wanted to do in Ketchikan so we went with our adventurous side and booked a kayaking trip. This was the best way to see wild Alaska. The trip didn't leave till the afternoon so we headed over to the lumberjack show, which was pricey, but so worth it - hang around after the show for pictures with the lumberjacks. The Kayaking trip included a zodiac ride out to the islands. The porpoise's could not get enough of our wake and followed us all the way to the islands. On the Kayak trip we had a chance to see water wildlife - and Jeff got to see his favorite sea stars. We actually wish we had more time to walk around Ketchikan - while touristy, it has a charm that the other stops lacked (but that's just my opinion).

Day six of the cruise was a "day at sea" and we took full advantage of it by participating in some of the on board activities and lectures. The galley tour and pub lunch are two of my favorite events typically offered on sea days.

Day seven found us pulling into port in Vancouver in the mist - the first bad weather day on our trip. Whatever cruise line you take investigate the activities available at your ports of call and don't be afraid to book directly with the vendor. You have so much time in each port in Alaska make sure you take advantage of it.

Alaska is an amazing trip - one I think everyone should take.