Alaska 2017- Peeps

Any great trip requires the best company, and we had that in spades. Thanks to Mary for this group photo taken one night before dinner during the cruise.  There were 6 of us on this adventure: my mother in law- Polly, sisters in law Mary and Karen, my husband and Karen's husband Ron.  On the cruise Mary and Polly had a cabin together and the rest of us were a couple decks below and side by side.  Ron and Karen were the perfect neighbors.  I can't say enough good things about Silversea Cruise Lines, I've been on a couple other cruises, but this one was just amazing.    The food, staff, accommodations, etc., absolutely no complaints, well except one-no bourbon-whaaat?!  We rocked it at team trivia, and came sooooo close to finishing in first place.

There was plenty of laughs through out the trip, and a couple times we had to hold each other up when the boat was really swaying, and there's a reason why those hand rails are along the hall ways on a cruise ship.

We encountered so many wonderful people both on the ship and in the cities where we stopped.  I'm sure the people and the surprisingly wonderful weather were what contributed to an overall excellent experience.  Now a few photos, Mary and I did a photo safari with the Gastineau Guiding Company which included whale watching and a short hike to Mendenhall glacier in Juneau.  Our tour guide was Skip and Jen captained our boat-both did a fantastic job.  Skip is native to Juneau and seasoned photographer.  He took the time to give advice and help everyone who need to reset their cameras to get the best photos and maximize their camera's capability.  He also knew ALOT about the city and state.  I have to say Jen certainly knows how to handle a boat-it was waaaaay smaller than I thought it would be.  For the trip I rented a 55mm-300mm telephoto lens.  It took some great photos and was also pretty heavy, but I think was totally worth it.

FYI- whales do not pose for photos and they are quick!

Mendenhall Glacier in the Tongass National Forest.

I was so surprised at how green Alaska was and that there is such a thing as a temperate rain-forest-who knew?!.  We learned about the eating habits of bears, the life cycle of salmon and how glaciers are formed-so much science!  And this was just the beginning. . . .