Up until a little over a week ago (last Monday) we were on a cruise with Jenny's immediate family hitting state number 12 visited JUST this year and re-visiting Canada making that 3 countries visited this year as well as all of those states (New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Washington, Alaska, Ohio, Kentucky, Tennessee, California, Illinois, Michigan, & Indiana.) Jason gained 6 new states visited this year and this was his and Jenny's first time to Alaska! We explored Seattle, Alaska, & Canada on a cruise with Jenny's parents and her sister + sister's hubby. There hasn't been an entire immediate family vacation with Jenny & her 3 family members in probably 14 or so years (since 2005) and there hasn't been an immediate family out-of-state trip with the other halves... ever! Since we live across the country from family, visits often entail us visiting family out West for an annual holiday or them visiting us annually (and we still have to get Jason's mom & grandma to visit us here in the Midwest since his brother, sis-in-law, & dad have already been here back in the summer of 2016)!
Jenny put together the itinerary for the trip after her parents booked the biggest trip details since she's used to putting together entire wedding day schedules and event schedules, so we had some "land and ocean excursions" booked. We did have our computers and internet WiFi 2 days in Seattle and only a few hours the ENTIRE week on the ship, so were able to remain in contact with clients and do about 6 hours of work from Seattle & the cruise ship. ((Sadly this was necessary even ON a vacation since we got wedding consultation cancellations earlier this year when we warned people that were on our Christmas visit to family out West and had spotty internet working from Jason's grandma's computer while visiting her, so it seems that even when pre-planned, pre-booked, & communicating very well, patience isn't a virtue in current society and some certain potential clients)).
Jenny's friends from high school along with our friend from photo school's beau were paid to watch our pets in our home and kept them fed (THANK YOU, Marie, Sarah, & Travis!!). We were excited to be reunited with our pets about a week ago just two days before Jenny's birthday two days later! Jenny's sister celebrated her birthday on our last day as our ship as we were in the ocean leaving Victoria, British Columbia (Canada) and as we landed in Seattle and all headed home to 3 different states ((3 days prior to Jenny's birthday)). We had a blast with everyone over the 10 days and it was a chaotic time. Though we had a lot of animal things to deal with upon returning home to work (namely 2 vet appointments, them puking a lot upon heading to the vet out of nerves, and our doggy getting pain meds since she broke her toe in the backyard just a day before we returned home) Jenny did get a bit of serenity on her birthday with an authentic taco meal outside at a park in another city.
When in Seattle a couple weeks ago we also celebrated our Anniversary that we had just 3 days before getting to Seattle. Because of that, we had our annual ambrotype couple portrait taken in Seattle that Friday night and were excited to see how another photographer couple works. Libby and Stephen of Henrietta’s Eye in Seattle were great to work with and we spent about 3 hours with them as they took a few portraits of us on an old traditional camera directly only glass (and an extra on metal- a “tintype”). Since they take a while to “cure” i.e. develop in chemicals and then be varnished/ dry, we picked our plates up over a week and a half later on our way out of Seattle (on our way home). Our finished annual anniversary ambrotype that they took is the photo on the bottom right of the first photo below:
On our anniversary weeks ago in August we also purchased an antique camera that also takes these style of portraits (on tin or glass). We can't wait to play with the process when we have time next year after this wedding season is wrapped up by the end of this December. We have NO time until then due to photography work consistently through the end of December, but we're SO excited to have acquired this amazing deal of a camera, lens, and stand!! We'll keep you all updated next January and February as we play with this camera of course :) And now... without further adieu, Seattle and the cruise in Alaska (and a bit of Canada)!:
We started our trip off with two full days and nights in Seattle (Friday morning through mid-day Sunday). We arrived in Seattle Friday morning with Jenny’s parents and after a bit of chaos finally made it to the hotel mid-day. Since her parents had booked the hotel, we had no idea that we were in another city (rather than Seattle itself) a whopping 40 minutes away from Seattle. We were exhausted from a LONG work night working on editing photos to get out to clients, so we took a nap before figuring out how to get in to Seattle the most efficient way. After the nap, Jenny did a bit of photography work and then we headed outside to figure out where we could hop on transportation to get in to Seattle. Jenny’s parents went off to eat and we hopped on a mere $2.50 bus that took us the 40 minutes to Seattle-! You can’t beat the price or the location we were dropped off at- literally steps away from where we were to get our anniversary portraits taken downtown in Seattle right next to the water (a few blocks away from the wharf!). We did a bit of walking to explore the piers/ touristy things, then portraits went late (after 10 p.m.), so we hopped on the last bus back to the hotel and prepped for Jenny’s sister and her hubby to arrive the next day.
The hotel included breakfast, so we had breakfast Saturday morning, did a few more hours worth of work sending 3 galleries out to clients, re-scheduled breakfast with Jenny’s friend, hung out in the pool and hot tub since their flight was delayed, and planned the bus ride in to Seattle. Jenny’s parents went off with their friends from Arizona and were given a day-long tour of Seattle from them. Jenny’s sister Jill & her hubby Adam got in from their flight from Arizona, got their hotel room, and then accompanied us on the bus in to Seattle. We spend the day eating lunch on the wharf (DELICIOUS lobster bisque and other seafood), checking out the Public Market where we met their parents (too crowded), and then walking to the Space Needle. We then headed back to the hotel by the end of all of that walking and grabbed some fast food next door to the hotel (Burger King & Jolly Bee) and had another little dip in the hot tub!
On Sunday we all had breakfast at the hotel, packed up for the trip, and checked out of the hotel. We hopped a bus with all of our luggage (FUN) and headed to the coast/ Seattle. Jenny found a breakfast cool cafe right next to our cruise ship’s pier and we met Jenny’s friend Patrick originally from Indiana/ friends since childhood who we hadn’t seen in probably 12 or so years-! We all grabbed some coffees and chatted/ laughed for a couple hours casually catching up on life before heading out to get on the ship. We were on the ship by around 2 p.m. and we cast off at 4 p.m.
Following Seattle we were on the ship for two full days heading up to Juneau. From 2 p.m. Sunday through 2 p.m. Tuesday we were on the cruise ship heading all the way up to the southern tip of Alaska. We were tired, but didn’t realize we would only get 4 hours TOTAL of internet access in our room for the entire week, so we did a couple hours of work at first for our clients, then put up our away email (answering emails once we got to land) and headed to meals and the hot tubs on the boat. The ship (Norwegian Pearl) unlike some ships allows you to eat at the designated free places (about 8 of them) within the designated “opened” hours and Jenny gave everyone spreadsheets on when places were opened for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late night snacks, so it was pretty convenient. We never ended up doing it due to their hours, but there was a bowling alley inside of the ship, though we did partake in a few other things such as the gym, golf, and shuffleboard. The temperature was not warm staying between 40 degrees and 60 degrees mostly, so the pools were pretty much untouched since they were outside.
Once we hit Tuesday afternoon we finally landed in Juneau, Alaska. Jenny signed all 6 of us up for Whale Watching and a crab combo dinner at the request of Jenny’s parents for Juneau, so we had about an hour or so to kill once we got off the boat before we had to meet with our tour. It was rainy when we got off the boat, but luckily all of us brought rain things, so we got our rain coats on a looked around the ship area of Juneau. A few did some souvenir shopping (and we snatched up the free gifts that we got for coming from the boat) and then grabbed a few beers under an outdoor tent once tired of getting wet walking around. Once it was time, we headed over and a tour bus got us for the whale watching. On the Juneau tour bus we were driven about 30 minutes to a local lake and taught about the area. We were told that they had erected 3 totem poles in town for the 3 local tribes and their 3 different styles of totem making. We were also told that Juneau rains most of the year, but that this day may clear up.
Once we got to whale watching (Juneau Whale Tours- a group Jenny found independently online) they got us into a tiny double deck boat and drove us out to where we could see whales. We were told that since the clouds were clearing up and the sun was coming out, that it’d likely be the ONLY sunny day that they get to see until next YEAR. They also taught us that the whales commute from Mexico up through Alaska. We realized that since we were in Mexico with some of Jason’s family for our Christmas visit to see them, that we actually followed the whales’ migration from Cabo San Lucas to Alaska and that some of these whales may be some that we saw jumping out of the water in Cabo! Apparently due to the migration pattern, by the time they get to Alaska they’re underweight and tired, so the only thing we saw in Alaska were the tails of whales. (In Cabo you can see the humpbacks JUMP out of the water excitedly because when they get down there they’re looking to mate and are energetic!) The tour guides were FROM Alaska and educated in marine biology (both of which are rare), so they were fantastic at helping us see about 6 whales.
Our package included dinner (normally $60 apiece, but included in our not-very-expensive package) at Tracey’s Crab Shack: The best (and most affordable) place for crab legs and seafood in Juneau. Juneau extended out pretty far, but we were told is not accessible by road (rather just plane, boat, water taxi), so they were limited on what the town outside had. There was one McDonald’s about 20 minutes away, grocery store, etc., but not a whole lot where we were other than tourist shops. Tracey’s Crab Shack was exactly what we needed after a soggy start to the day, though! We got crab legs as long as our arms, each also got the best lobster bisque ever, and also toast and crab cakes (and opted for another beer). We generally hate touristy things ourselves, but Tracey’s Crab Shack and the tour guides knowledge of the area were extremely amazing. We had to get back on the boat by 8 p.m., so we got some tiny last souvenirs (more dry socks) and headed back onto the boat. Since we ate around 6:30 p.m. at Tracey’s, we had a late dinner on the boat and hopped around to some of the bars on the boat with Jill and Adam, then went to bed since we had an early morning the next day.
After Juneau through the evening, we headed right on to Skagway the next morning via the ship! Skagway is where Jenny's roommate from 3 years ago in California moved last summer and worked on a dogsled tour, so she (Melanie) suggested we hike the Lower Dewey trails and one of Jason's friends from our photography school in California also happened to work there (also on tours), so he suggested many things to us (like a brewery and other things), so we also took him up on those suggestions… of course after we all ate free breakfast on the cruise ship.
Skagway was the smallest of the cities we made it to. The population was a mere 3,000, but it’s the only city we visited that had roads that lead to it! We set off early in the morning around 8 a.m. to get off of the boat after everyone ate free breakfast on the boat, met up with the family in town, and set off to the Lower Dewey trail system. The initial hiking was the most intense upward with boulders and steps, but it evened out a bit more once we were heading around the lake. The day in Skagway was actually a FULL day, so we hiked casually (or as casually as a group of people who work out constantly can go….). We all very much enjoyed the easy-esque hike and headed back into town to explore a bit more. Jenny’s parents had already explored the area in the morning, so they didn’t wander around too much (just did some souvenir shopping) and headed back onto the boat early. Since we had until 8 p.m. to be out and about we took our time walking around. Jill was hungry and got an elephant ear, we all got some beers at two of the local breweries (BEST of the trip), and then wandered around. Jill and Adam headed back to the boat before 4 p.m. and we wandered around for a few more hours. The town was very small, so we walked the neighborhood in the town and enjoyed the quiet and view of the mountains. (It seemed like a bit of a ghost town after 4:30 p.m. that Wednesday honestly which was great. It had oddly a bit of a western feel.)
After Skagway we got back on the boat that evening and were able to stay on the ship headed on to Glacier Bay for about a day & a half. We were not allowed to get off of the ship that Thursday in Glacier Bay, rather hung out and relaxed on the boat enjoying the views all day. The glaciers were substantially melted (95%) due to Global Warming (which the Park Rangers told us about on the speakers of the ship), so it was a sad sight in a way and we wished we could know what it had looked like in its glory days. There was hardly any ice to be seen in the bay even though we were at the END of the cruise season and getting close to the cold season, but we did make it to 3 glaciers in the bay. The first was covered in dirt, so many of us didn’t even know there was a glacier and thought it was part of the land itself. The second is the most photographed below and seemed significantly melted. The last (third) was seen from a bit further out and also seemed small. We got some pins for our collection from the National Park Service members on the boat (of Glacier Bay), walked around the boat for better views, and enjoyed some drinks (we had drink vouchers for a lot of free drinks that Jenny’s parents gifted us and we all felt like we needed to put them to good use).
The next day was a morning in Ketchikan, Alaska. We were only slated to be there for the morning, so we made the most of it. Jenny had found a canoe trip through the rainforest there through CostCo a month prior, but no one wanted to do it. Suddenly the day before everyone said they wanted to do it, so Jenny battled the non-existent internet service for TWO hours in Glacier Bay and secured all 6 of us spots to canoe the next day. They pushed our canoe tour back an hour so we weren’t able to go see the Totem Bight Park (huge park in Ketchikan with totem poles strewn throughout), but we were able to walk around the downtown a bit. This was by far the biggest downtown area of all 3 Alaskan cities that we made it to. There was really too much to see (most of it being souvenir shops), but we did make it through most of the blocks.
Our our bus again picked us up and drove us almost 40 minutes out to the rainforest/ lake. Our bus driver was awesomely hilarious (hailing from Pittsburgh) and told us that it’s usually mildly rainy there, but nothing worse than the Midwest. She also said the snow was less terrible there- a thing we noticed about most of coastal cities we made it to in Alaska (the portion that runs next to northern Canada). We were shocked when we got there to amidst rain, them putting their rain jackets on us, giving us oars, etc. that we would all 20 of us be getting into the canoe-! We had no idea that we would be having more than 2 of us to a canoe, so it was definitely a full “war canoe” experience! It was early in the morning, so our guide was exhausted from already having taken a tour out, but she did show us local foliage, urged us to all keep paddling together, and got us to a surprise spot for warm snacks! The rain slowed down to a sprinkle, so we took our coats off in the rainforest and enjoyed hot cocoa, lobster bisque, and homemade salmon dip !! (Truly amazing for the price of the excursion!) Our guide then also took us through a bit more of the rainforest on foot before having us paddle back to our bus.
We barely had more than an hour when we got back from the 40 minute bus ride back, so we got a cool Eagle (or raven?) wooden mask (to pair with our Oaxacan Mexican panther hand-beaded mask from Christmas), grabbed a beer at a pub with Jill and Adam, and got back on the ship by mid-day!
After Ketchikan we were on the boat for a day and some change from Friday afternoon through Saturday night. We (starting around 6 p.m.) then had a very short evening in Victoria, British Columbia in Canada. This was Jill, Adam, Rose Marie, & Mike’s first time in Canada (Jenny’s 3rd, Jason’s 2nd). It was a GREAT place for their first visit to Canada. Jenny signed everyone up for an open air red bus tour (which they all groaned at at first, then LOVED) and we 6 rode around the sights of Victoria (most of them closed by this time in the evening) and to the city/ harbor nearby. We road around during sunset for an hour until the end of our tour, then hopped off and walked around Victoria. Jenny’s parents walked around for a bit enjoying everything and getting back on the boat early while we walked around to a vintage clothing shop (killed us to only have 10 minutes in there!), grabbed some candies, and again grabbed a beer and Adam & Jill’s first poutine! (Poutine is amazing- maybe the most heavenly food ever of course.)
We headed back on the boat, packed our bags, grabbed some food, and then it was time to celebrate Jill’s 30th birthday at Midnight! We enjoyed some free drinks in the only opened portion of the boat (since things were prepping to dock at 7 a.m.), danced around, then headed to bed since we had to get off the ship early in the morning. It was an early morning in to Seattle, we picked up our physical glass photos from our Tintypists, and then all hopped on a bus to head to the Seattle airport to go home to Indiana, Arizona, & Michigan respectively. Jenny and Jill had already exchanged birthday gifts since their birthdays are only 3 days apart and it was a good way to celebrate family, our anniversary, and our birthdays!
All-in-all it was definitely a different way to travel than the backpacking that we're used to and at times it was nice to know that meals were ready for us to eat at any point in the day. We appreciated that we had a choice of what type of meal we wanted (sit down, buffet, asian, indian, or american) and where we’d eat it (any of 8 options were free). We also enjoyed having a set itinerary and being driven around (AND the cheap buses and light rail in Seattle), though we did miss having the control and ease of being the drivers/ ones in charge of the schedule and travel. We did a 7 day cruise, but if you’re looking to relax for more than half a day in cities and get to see more sights/ relaxing travels, we’d say a longer cruise or maybe backpacking is for you!
We’re obviously back to work now and have been for the past week and a half. We’ve had a ton of wedding consultations, we’ve printed and delivered photographs to many of our clients, and we’ve been prepping for upcoming September and October wedding photography and Engagement Sessions! We also have many fall Family Portrait Sessions coming up, so we’ll be jam packed soon with work that will last us through December (before the “Off Season” of January and February). We can’t wait for all of the upcoming photography, so stay tuned for all of it as we continue to print photos for recent photography clients and design physical wedding albums!