Scratch Alaska from my Bucket List!

We have returned from our quilting cruise adventure to the Pacific Northwest.  It was a wonderful working vacation filled with all kinds of new experiences.  The photo above was the highlight of the travel portion, with hubby and me standing on the Mendenhal Glacier, in Juneau.  We took a helicopter ride (awesome!) and landed on the glacier where we were given a short guided tour.  Words just cannot adequately express how grand this experience is.  The glacier is really a tropical ocean blue all over, as you can see in the opening of this 60' crevasse.  There were waterfalls and running streams just under the surface, with the purest water and air I've ever experienced.  Absolutely amazing and I'm so very glad we did it!! 

Our time in Alaska was fun, but a bit disappointing, only because it was so foggy and rainy most of the time.  The fog and clouds lay so close to the ground that it made for very poor visibility.  That's Alaska at this time of year, we were told.  The four days before boarding the ship were spent touring Mount Rainier, Vancouver, BC, and the Seattle area.  We met Lynne & Robert Hagmeier on Thursday, and went to Snohomish, WA for a day of antiquing which was very fun.  The four of us bummed around Seattle the rest of the time, hanging out at Pike's Market and enjoying the many dining options Seattle has to offer.  All in all, I have nothing but good things to say about our time in the Northwest, except that there was a virus going around some of the hotels in Seattle, and about 1/3 of the people who boarded the ship brought the virus with them, including my husband.  He was very ill, and confined to our cabin the first day at sea.....and then promptly gave it to me.  Thanks, honey!  I missed the second day of classes on board, which luckily was Lynne's day to teach, but I still feel I missed out on a lot.  (Pout....sigh)  What can you do?

Think quilters are boring people?  Think again!!!!  This group of quilters who joined us on our cruise all made matching T-shirts to wear their first day on board.  They're all from The Gathering Room quilt shop in La Grange, KY.  Oh....yes...this was a fun group of people to get to hang out with on our cruise.

We had a great group of 33 ladies and 1 gent who pieced a their way to and from Alaska during their week on the cruise.

Lynne & I taught a total of three classes.......

....and our quilting friends had lots and lots of open sewing time in our classroom while the ship was en route.  There were several people who completed 2 of the 3 projects before we left for home!  Amazing!!  Lynne & I can't wait to cruise with quilters again.....and apparently this group really enjoyed themselves because more than half of them signed up to join us next year as we cruise to New England!!  We couldn't be happier!

 Had to share a few more photos with you.  The photo above was taken at a camp at the base of Yukon trail c. 1895.  There, hopeful folks would prepare for the arduous journey up a very steep and dangerous mountain pass on their quest to mine for gold.  I immediately noticed the "prairie pocket" hanging from the bedpost!  I did get a closer look at it, but didn't have enough time to take an up-close photo.  It was way cool!!

Another tent housed a treadle sewing machine.  Ya never know when you might have a moment to sew a new frock, or piece a block!  Yes....a pink, frilly frock was just what was needed in the super cold, muddy, snowy, brutal Yukon Territory.  Oh, well, a girl has to do what a girl has to do!!

All in all, it was a most-memorable working vacation.  We thoroughly enjoyed our time with all of our new friends on the cruise who made the trip more fun than words can say. Thank you to each of them....lots and lots of laughter, and good times we won't soon forget.  It was great to spend a good 10 days with my pal, Lynne, and Robert, which is something we don't often get to do!  Do stop over to Lynne's blog for more details and photos from Alaska, and please consider joining us on our next Great Girlfriend Getaway to New England for the 2013 Fall colors.  If you're thinking about it, you may want to get your name on the list as we only have about 6 spaces left!!

Hhmm......I heard the dryer buzzer calling.  Yup....vacation is over! 

Take care, Pam