hey there bloggers - long time no blog huh? first off, thanks to all of you who posted such kind words and bon voyage wishes. my vacation was amazing! really, it was just a blast - so relaxing, so refreshing, so inspiring - all that i needed to get caught up with life. i loved the disney cruise to alaska - the weather was absolute perfection, sunshine, beautiful blue skies, crisp white snow capped mountains, glistening glaciers, lush pine trees, water as smooth as glass, but the best part were the people we shared the magic with. i'm so thankful to have such great friends (well family really) like mr. & mrs. stampers anonymous and their kids. it was such a treat to spend this getaway with them and i'm so grateful they invited us along...
this was the first cruise i've ever taken where i wasn't teaching classes so needless to say i definitely let loose a bit and enjoyed every minute of it! what better ship to experience it on than the disney wonder. with my love of all things disney, this was simply over the top for me. the decorative disney touches throughout the ship, the disney tunes playing throughout the ship, the over the top disney entertainment shows, the disney movies on t.v., playing at the theaters, and showing on the outside "funnel vision" screen above the mickey shaped pool - priceless. of course breakfast started my first morning with a smile on my face when i saw these little guys - gotta' love that!!!
our first 2 days were spent at sea as we made our way to tracy arm fjord. this was a spectacular glacier and once again the weather was perfect for hanging out on our balcony enjoying the sights of nature's splendor. another cool thing about being on the disney wonder was the occasional "sighting" of some very familiar characters dressed in attire fitting for the day - such fun...
the first port was skagway where we once again boarded the white pass railroad for a scenic train ride. for those of you who watched my alaska video from my first cruise to alaska in 2008 may remember this exact train ride only we had a huge snow storm. this time it was sunny skies even though we went during the month of may then too. talk about a whole new perspective of the scenery. the river was running fierce from the snow melt, waterfalls everywhere you looked streaming down from the mountains - breathtaking...
next port was juneau where our morning was spent at an alaskan dog sled training camp. this was really such a cool place to see and learn all about these dogs that absolutely love, love, love to run. i'll be honest when we first got there i was a bit unsure about the whole dog sled camp thing, but getting the chance to meet with professional "mushers", learning the history of this lifestyle, and spending time up close and personal with their team of dogs certainly changed my whole perspective of how happy these dogs are here. we ended our tour with a wild ride with the team in these sleds made for land (since there was no snow at the camp) it was truly something i'll never forget...
our last port of our week long voyage was ketchikan and i must say we were all a bit anxious for our excursion this port - zip line anyone? yep we all went zip lining...freaking awesome! we took a 20 minute ride to the alaska canopy lodge and then got geared up, had a brief training course, and hiked our way up the mountain for our first zip high across the tree tops. in total we did 7 zip lines as high as 800ft. off the ground through alaska's incredible rain forest. then we rappelled down and finished our adventure with a 250ft. slide down the mountain. words simply cannot describe how much i enjoyed this adventure, but they say a picture is worth a thousand words, so what do you think???
so there you have it bloggers, a glimpse of our magical disney vacation adventures. thanks once again for continuing to share the journey with me. now i'm going to immerse myself into my studio this weekend and create some things to share with all of you next week so have a wonderful weekend...t!m
Looks like an amazing trip! Glad you had fun! :)
Posted by: Joy Kennedy | June 02, 2011 at 05:46 PM
Looks absolutely amazing!! And the scenery is definitely inspiring! Thanks for sharing!!
Posted by: Lindsey | June 02, 2011 at 05:48 PM
Thanks for sharing your photos with us. These pictures are simply amazing. So glad you had a wonderful and it sure shows in the pictures. Welcome home. TFS!!! :-D
Posted by: lois skiathitis | June 02, 2011 at 05:48 PM
how fun! looks like you had a great and relaxing time
~Jason
Posted by: Jason Pettigrew | June 02, 2011 at 05:49 PM
Another amazing adventure!!! tfs. : )
Posted by: Jackib | June 02, 2011 at 05:50 PM
What a great relaxing vacation for you! Glad you had the time to enjoy it.
Posted by: sandyh50 | June 02, 2011 at 05:51 PM
Looks like you and Mario had a FABULOUS trip - Alaska is so beautiful and natural - one of the best places that I have visited!!! The Disney cruise had to push it over the top for you!!! Welcome back - we missed you!
Posted by: kat | June 02, 2011 at 05:51 PM
What an amazing vacation! Gorgeous photos and who wouldn't want to start their morning off with a little Mickey Mouse waffle! Welcome home!
Posted by: Jeannie | June 02, 2011 at 05:52 PM
Unbelievable!! I can just smell the fun! You certainly deserve it. Thanks for sharing your fabulous experience!!
Posted by: Karen Geckler | June 02, 2011 at 05:54 PM
Sounds awesome. Welcome back.
Posted by: Aissa | June 02, 2011 at 05:54 PM