Travel: Alaska

For me, travel is always an inspiration. I come home with new memories, ideas, and feeling mentally refreshed. My spouse, Scott, and I just returned from a week cruising in Alaska aboard the ms Westerdam. The scenery was nothing less than spectacular.

We visited the ports of Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan and spent a day cruising in Glacier Bay National Park. Most of these areas are only accessible by water or air so taking a cruise makes complete sense. Was everything perfectly wonderful? Um, no. There was a relatively small outbreak of Norovirus on the ship and Scott was one of the unlucky victims. This meant he had to stay in isolation in our room for almost 2 full days. Having a balcony made this experience a little more bearable. Who says you never stay in your room on a cruise?

By far, the highlight of the trip was Glacier Bay and seeing Margerie Glacier calve...and catching a few photos of that event. Too bad I just had my iPhone but not bad! You can see the big chunk of ice falling into the bay. The face of the glacier 250 feet above the water. It's hard to realize the scale, even when you are not very far away.

We were lucky to have a sunny day here and there were so many beautiful sights.

We saw several little islands during our time on the water. These were near Sitka and had private homes on them.

Some islands were wilder looking; these on the way out to open seas from Ketchikan.

The scenic port in Ketchikan.

We decided that a return trip is necessary; next time taking the inside passage route from Vancouver BC...and hopefully without any illness!