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In Skagway our excursion did not leave for about 5 hours after the ship docked so we took a hike around Yukatania Point and Smugglers Cove. I definately recommend it. It is walkable from the pier and a really beautiful little hike. We still had plenty of time to check out the shops in town and stop by the ship.

The Voom has not been cooperating for posting photos for me so to save my sanity they will be few and far between unfortunately. May upload more when I return home.

The captain told us to get up early to see whales on our way into Juneau. We were not disappointed. We saw lots of fins and splashes as well as some seals and something that appeared to be an otter, although we couldn't be positive. I had us booked for the Guides Choice Hike to Mendenhall Glacier. We had a large group so they split us into 3 groups so they were small enough to enjoy as there were only 12 of us. We hiked the west side of the glacier. The moss covered forest was beautiful enough but as we climbed we got amazing views of the glacier. Our guide told us many stories and stopped to give us information on flora and the glacier. We were provided with packs that had ponchos, water and granola bars as well as walking sticks. No ponchos were needed. We had some sprinkles of rain but it wasn't a big deal. The weather actually felt perfect. There were restroom facilities at the trailhead. The hike was around 6 miles long and was a bit strenuous at parts. The guide offered to drop us off in town or at the ship. We all took advantage of checking out the shops downtown. There is a shuttle back to the ship but we decided to walk back. It really isn't too far and the weather and scenery were great. I accidentally walked right up to some caribou. They ended up frolicking along side us for a little while. I wasn't expecting that wildlife adventure. We took advantage of being on the ship a little early and grabbed some food at the Windjammer before going out to look for pier runners. It appears the only runner was the dock worker who drove in very quickly and got disapproving looks from ship staff as he got in his forklift to remove the gangways. We went to bed at nearly midnight with a sunset-like glow still in the sky.

We had a busy sea day. There was a flurry of activities, all day long. We started with breakfast at the Windjammer and then walked the decks for a bit. It was very windy and cold as one would expect. We went to a lecture about Juneau which was a bit dry. Next up we went to the Cruise Critic meet up. Only 13 people of 27 showed up so most won prizes. I got to meet a fellow RCBlog follower there that I hadn't run into yet so it was fun. They had refreshment available. We ran over to Family Feud after that and it was packed. We had to stand in the back. We grabbed a bit of lunch and popped outside on deck 4 aft and found it to be more pleasant than our morning stroll. It was at that time we had our first whale sighting. They seemed to be surrounding us in the distance. We then went to the RCBlog Welcome Party where we met a few more from our group. The Flowrider was up and running after that so we went and watched a few crazy guys surf in the freezing cold. The Pub Crawl took place a little later. Annette warned the bars ahead of time so the would be prepared for us and I heard one bartender warn the next stop when we were heading out. The evening consisted of watching a movie, eating dinner and watching Finish That Lyric game show. I found that it was hard to see the mo e on the outside screen when it was light out. Tomorrow begins the port fun in Juneau.

We are staying in an ocean view cabin, number 3612. The window is quite large and the room size isn't too bad either. I asked Jacki York at MEI Travel to have them separate the beds. It was done before we arrived to the room. The configuration makes it seem roomier and makes looking out the window easier. I don't regret booking this one.

It is finally embarkation day. We started off at Biscuit Bitch a block over from the Moore Inn. I'm a simple gal so I got a Buttered Up Biscuit with maple peanut butter. It was pretty filling. We took an Uber to the cruise port. I had a code for a free first ride but didn't see anywhere to add the code. The ride was $10 plus tip. We chose to walk from the drop off point to the ship. It wasn't far. We checked out the Windjammer for lunch. We then went to the lava flow meet up where the bartender clearly did not anticipate making so many of the frozen Kraken drinks. He suspected correctly that a Caribbean cruiser was to blame. After muster we went to the spa raffle. Unfortunately a lot of people showed up and we did not win any prizes. The sail away party was a good time where we got to meet more group cruisers. It was fun today to see all the familiar shirts around the ship. It makes it feel like you have many friends. We got a little taste of the entertainment at the comedian's show. On the way out of the theater we stopped to listen to the piano player and stayed to see if our skills at music trivia were up to par. I should have jumped on a team. I knew the "hard one". It has been a other exhausting day. Thank goodness for a sea day tomorrow.

And I can confirm that Twangster is not a robot. He is a nice human.

Chihuly is my favorite artist. I look forward to going there after the cruise.

We rode the Monorail to the pre-cruise meetup. It is $2.50 and it took us to the Space Needle/Chihuly Gardens and Glass/The Museum of Pop Culture. We will visit those next week using the City Pass. It was nice seeing everyone in person but we were super tired from our pre-cruise lack of sleep and day of traveling. It's time get some shut eye so we are rested to explore the Explorer. My first impression of Seattle is that it is a very artistic city. I like it here.

After we checked in we went to the Market which is a few blocks away from the hotel. It is a neat place but a little too chaotic for my liking. We pre-purchased City Passes which allow you to visit 5 attractions for a lower price, now $89. We went to the aquarium today. It is small but laid out nicely. It takes around an hour to check everything out. We were also going to do the harbor cruise today but the timing didn't work out for us. We have 9 days to use the passes so we will add it to the list of things to do after the cruise.

We are traveling on a budget so I decided to ride the Lite Rail to the hotel. You have to do quite a bit of walking to get to it from the airport so it is not a good option for people with limited mobility. It did just cost us $3 a person though and took around 45 minutes to get to the Moore Inn where we are staying. It was also a bit of a hike from the train station to the hotel too. I was glad it wasn't too hot today. The Moore is a neat historic building with a theater at street level. It is basic though. There is no air conditioning so we get a lot of street noise from having the windows open. I like this place though. There are even euro rooms with a shared bathroom if you want to go really budget but we weren't that cheap.

We flew Southwest to Seattle. Since it was my niece's first time flying we got the early bird check in for better boarding status. We did get decent numbers but we had to circle in Chicago due to weather so with our 45 minute layover turned into us being some of the last people on the plane.

Likewise. I've been enjoying your photos for some time. I also love your tag line BTW.

I know there will already be great live blogs from Matt and Twangster but I thought I would add my daily 2 cents since I am doing some different excursions at the ports. I am arriving in Seattle the day before the cruise and flying out the day after so I got a City Pass to check out some of what Seattle has to offer. Tomorrow I plan on going to the aquarium and doing the harbor cruise. I am traveling with my 19 year old niece and figure those things will be far more interesting to her before we get on a big ship and possibly see some of the wildlife during the cruise. I will be writing from my phone so please excuse all the typos that are sure to take place and be missed. I can't wait to share my experience with you.

I do plan on wearing some of my bulkiest things on the plane. Paring down what I want to take is probably going to be the key though. Do you thing my hiking shoes will look good with my dinner dress? ?