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March 5, 2015

Alaska Day 3: Anchorage to Whittier

Morning, y'all! Today I bring you day three of our Alaskan adventure. While Denali was amazing in it's own right, we were all ready to get to the boat and got our cruise on and relax. We woke up bright and early, at breakfast and then jumped on a bus back to Anchorage. 
GOOD BYE, Denali!
On our way to Anchorage, we stopped at a WW2 memorial. It showcased all the branches of the military and was a very powerful memorial. I loved the stars with the trees in the background. We were only there for a short break, but it was a nice way to keep the bus ride from getting too monotonous.




Once we returned to Anchorage we had two hours to eat lunch, peruse the city and of course shop. Le Husband, Daddy and I went back to Humpy's for lunch and I was bummed my lunch wasn't as good as our previous dinner. But, it was still a good time with my two favorite guys.


After eating, we wander back around and met with rangers and vendors set up. It was a warm day and it was really nice being outside and talking to people who knew about wildlife. We were given another version of what to do with bears. This ranger told us the difference in grizzly, brown and black bears and the reactions we should have for each. #idprobablyjustdie





On the bus ride out of Anchorage, we were taken by the nation's largest seaplane lake. It's incredible how many people in the state have their pilot's license, but it's often the only way to get around.



Before we arrived in Whittier, our guide to us to a wildlife preserve that was home to many different Alaskan animals. We finally were able to see our moose, bison and reindeer! The park was really cool and it was awesome see animals up close.





I feel you, I want a nap, too!
Every day, this bald eagle comes and sits in this tree. It's wild, but it's mate was hurt so badly it couldn't fly anymore. The park shelters him inside, but his 'wife' comes and watches over him everyday. 


Talk about majestic.


SOOOO CLOSE! SO COOL! A BEAR!



T-BONE enjoyed the park









After a fun time on the reservation, it was time to skeddadle to Whittier to catch our cruise. We were kind of on a time crunch because the bus had to get to a one tunnel before a certain time or we would be stuck while traffic traveled the opposite way through the tunnel. It was a pretty nifty piece of engineering and our bus made it with plenty of time. The drive to Whittier was beautiful and scenic and gave us all time to relax before boarding the boat.

This is the town of Whittier. Pretty much the whole town. Cruise ships embark here because Anchorage has too shallow of a port. A small town makes for no traffic ;)!


Our bus was one of the last ones to arrive, so we were some of the last people to check in for the ship. We had to take care of some paper work and then pass through 'customs'. Normally you have to declare any wine brought on board, but all of the check in stations were all ready gone when we passed through, so woohoo free wine!

We spent the first bit aboard the ship checking out our rooms and exploring the ship. The four kids looked like a  bunch of kids checking everything. And of course, posing for silly pictures.


During out exploration we found the spa and all booked a massage the next morning. We found  the bar, coffee and hot chocolate and grabbed a quick snack to bring back to the room. After exploring, my family headed to a show, while Le Husband and I continued our exploration. The show started a well known comedian and somehow T-Bone ended up on stage for one of the skits. He completely stole the show and many people thought he was a plant. The rest of the trip people would approach him on the ship and say 'T-BONE!!!! It's T-Bone"! Thanks to him we became the 'celebrity' family )!




Le Husband and I wanted to take in the sights on the upper decks. The fog and time of evening provided some gorgeous light for breathtaking pictures. It was a lot of fun playing with our camera with such a beautiful landscape.





picture of a picture taker!

glacier



Framer





We joined my family for dinner, which was surf and turf night and yummy. After dinner everyone hung out for a bit then we headed off to bed to get ready for our first day at sea. Our Alaksan cruise had finally begun.

Linking up with *megan* *kristin* and *annie* 

27 comments:

  1. An alaskan cruise is definitely on my life list!! The amount of beauty that is in that one state is just incredible and the animals all seem so majestic!! xo, Biana - BlovedBoston

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  2. what a fabulous trip! i loved seeing all of the pics. a memory, well lots of them, that you'll treasure for sure!

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  3. We are planning to do a Alaska cruise! We actually kicked around the idea for this year but Mr. Big Truck was set on us going to CO so he can introduce #babybigtruck and I to friends and family out there!

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  4. Wow, your pictures are breathtaking! I'd love to take an Alaskan cruise one day!

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  5. Good grief. Those pictures look fake, they are so gorgeous! This trip was seriously amazing. Both B and I are jealous - we'd love to go to Alaska, and hopefully will get to one day!:) Loving all the memories you guys made that you will never forget! PS: In reaction to a bear, I'd probably just die too, lol!:)

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  6. you'd think you were up in Canadia with that kind of wildlife! don't you know that us canucks ride moose to work? kidding :D

    that scenery ... breathtaking. alaska is def on my list of places to visit (along with iceland and the nordic countries).

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  7. You are such a tease!! Spreading these recaps so far apart ;) ha ha!
    Goodness, I can't get over how GORGEOUS Alaska is! I really need to do this cruise in my lifetime! What an incredible adventure! And sign me up for a massage as well! Sounds like the perfect trip!

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  8. Wow that is just beautiful and all those animals!!! How awesome. Glad you had a nice time!

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  9. The wildlife park looks awesome! I would love to see bears up close. All of your pictures are incredible--I especially love the ones of the water! Can't wait to read more about the cruise!

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  10. what a beautiful adventure! i am dying over the moose pictures--SO CUTE!

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  11. Oh so very beautiful!! I am loving the moose, so so cute! So neat that you got so close to the bear and all of the other animals!

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  12. What a fabulous 'escape' for this Thursday! The bear pictures with the mountains are my favorite- they don't even look real! I want to go so badly! My Mama went with her Dad a few years back and loved it. What an incredible trip! xo

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  13. Wow these photos are absolutely amazing! :)

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  14. OMG all of these pictures are amazing! Alaska looks so gorgeous! And that bear, no thank you. Cool he's so close but I'd be worried he'd jump that little fence and kill me.

    <3, Pamela
    Sequins & Sea Breezes

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  15. Oh my gosh that looks amazing!! I really want to take an Alaskan cruise!!

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  16. Aw the moose(s?)! That is so touching about the eagle watching over its mate, also. Love your Alaska adventure recaps!

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  17. My husband is DYING to go on an Alaskan Cruise! We were thinking of going in maybe two years, but your pics have me thinking we need to go ASAP!

    Your blog is SO cute, by the way! :)

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  18. Such beautiful pictures of breathtaking views and pretty wildlife. I cruised to Alaska almost 10 years ago with family but didn't see any wildlife other than whales. Back then I prefered to stay on the ship instead of going on excursions.

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  19. An Alaskan cruise is definitely on my bucket list!! Gorgeous pics! I would have died too seeing all of that wildlife but in awe at the same time! Headed to check out your other posts :)

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  20. Absolutely GORGEOUS pictures! I've always wanted to do an Alaskan cruise. I heard the water is a little rougher on those cruises though, how did you feel about the movement of the ship? Was it pretty rocky or like the Caribbean where you can usually not even tell you're moving?

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  21. If I knew what to do differently for Black bears and brown bears I'd likely freeze and do neither or do the wrong one over-analyzing what to do or else! EEK!

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  22. I've always wanted to go to Alaska and these photos have only fueled my wanderlust!!! :)

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  23. Ok somehow (prob because I'm a part time blogger) I missed you were going to Alaska!! JEALOUS!!! This is one of my top bucket list places to go!

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  24. That wildlife preserve looks just incredible! What an amazing trip! I love these recaps!

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  25. Amazing pictures and an amazing trip! You go on the greatest vacations!

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  26. This trip gets better and better! The animals are gorgeous!

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  27. Such an amazing trip and the best part of travel/vacations/visiting new places. Gorgeous photos for memories!

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