ALASKAN CRUISE

Seattle, WASHINGTON: Impressions
Aug 1, 2009
Hippies! the 90’s lives! We (all of the 9 Pope siblings+spouses+some grandparents+cousin Chelsea+me) embark on our Alaskan cruise.

Ketchikan, ALASKA: Zip lining
Aug 3, 2009
We ported in Ketchikan and peaced out of our cruise ship. The cruise offers on land “excursions” that you can sign up for, overpay for, and thence enjoy! I signed up for the zip line course through the canopy of the rain forest. Not bad. I got to zip around to seven different bases in the treetops and cross perilous swinging bridges. One cool thing-I felt like I was in Twighlight, the part where Edward and Bella whip around in the tops of the trees, not the part where Edward sparkles in the sun for several minutes. At any rate, the forests of the Pacific Northwest are awesommme.

Juneau, ALASKA: Invasion of the Sea Kayak
Aug 4, 2009
So Kevin, Rodrigo, Heidi, and I signed up for sea kayaking. Kevin and I were in a kayak together, and Heidi and Rodrigo commandeered another kayak together. We got to paddle around for a while and enjoy a splendid view of the Mendenhall Glacier. We also saw seals and eagles. It was super fun! Heidi and Rodrigo have to add a little pressure to the paddle when they started getting passed up by the mom and the six year old girl, which was not something that they would stand for.

Skagway, ALASKA: What happened here?
Aug, 5, 2009
We took a lovely train ride through beautiful beauty. It was very beautiful. We then had a half day to wander around town, look at the tourist stores- which were exactly the same as the ones in the other ports. I do say, Alaska is quite beautiful.

Prince Rupert, British Columbia, CANADA: What happened here:?!?
Aug 6, 2009
Welcome to Canadia! At Prince Rupert, you have six hours to do the following:
1. Look at the two tourist stores.
2. 2. Buy six issues of National Geographics from the 60’s, late 70’s, and ‘89 for 54 cents! Salvation Army! Prime for valentines, birthday cards, and motivational posters.
3. Go to the open aired market. Six booths! Look to buy some sweet Canadian wooden jewelry. “what kind of wood is this?” “I don’t know….they’re imported….from Thailand.” uh….
4. Take pictures of clovers until you evacuate the area due to an old drunken man pissing into the street onto a jeep tire.
5. Buy mom real maple syrup candies, and eat one of them.
6. Take pictures of someone’s lost pair of underwears, decomposing in the litter.
I must say, I always did suspect that there wasn’t a whole lot going on in Canada.

Pacific OCEAN: Day at Sea
Aug 7, 2009
Cruises are all kinds of crazy! The best thing to do is enjoy the endless supply of free ice cream, lose all concept of time, and go dancing with Kevin and Rodrigo until 3 in the morning.