Three Kids and a Dog: Alaska Part II

Disney Wonder from our excursion

On Monday, we were ready to board the Disney Wonder in Vancouver. Our boarding time was 11:30am and pretty much everything moved swiftly to get us on the boat. Once on, we enjoyed lunch before heading to our state rooms. However, we did experience our first snafu. You see the Easter Bunny had brought the kids Mickey cruise magnets for our state room door, personalized with everyone's names. Peyton was sure I would forget these at home so she packed them in her bag but when we arrived in Vancouver, they were crumpled since they were a thin magnet, so I used the ice bucket to straighten out the larger one with our last name on it. Then there were five smaller ones with all of our names on them. Peyton put them all under the ice bucket unbeknownst to us so when we did the final sweep of the room, we didn't notice they were missing. The cleaning crew recovered only 3 of these and Tom had to debark the ship to get them but Hailey was still disappointed hers was missing. Of course Peyton's was there. However, the Mickey sail away party soon took our mind off the magnets as we bid farewell to the mainland and started our trek toward Alaska.

The magnets

The first day we were at sea. I enjoyed a massage, we saw Dumbo the movie, ate some more, the kids went to the kids club and before we knew it the day was already over after dinner and the nightly show. On Wednesday, we arrived at Dawes Glacier. Stunning white and crystal blue lava- like ice structures between the mountains were just stunning. We took a boat to see them up close along with some magnificent waterfalls as well as calving of the glacier (breaking off and falling into the water). Huge pieces of ice drifted nearby us in the water while seals sunbathed on them like beds.

Thursday, we stopped in Skagway. The town was small so it was easy to peruse the shops in an hour or less. We bought some souvenirs and then boarded the boat for lunch before heading on our 4.5 hour White Pass Train excursion. The views were magnificent but the smell...let's just say it's the best air I've smelled ever. Fresh and clean with a mix of pine and newly cut wood. I will remember that smell forever. Hailey missed most of this as the long days coupled with it being light til almost 11pm took it's toll and she got in about a 2.5 hour nap! This was also the "Frozen" night so my two girls, who refused to dress up as princesses, decided days before the cruise that they wanted to be Sven and Olaf - the reindeer and snowman, respectively. So thank God for Amazon. I was able to order an Olaf costume and some Sven antlers and put together some semblance of a costume. And while not many other guests participated, my two were happy as can be to wear their outfits to dinner and the show after. In fact, we hit a karaoke bar after the show and Hailey kept asking me if people wanted to take pictures with her! (Kind of like all the other characters on the boat!) So being the good mom and not wanting to disappoint her, I sought out and begged random people to take pictures with her. Believe me the smile on her face was well worth it too!

Next up is our day in Juneau....so watch for my update on Alaska Part III.