This story begins with my grandpa. About 10 years ago, my grandpa and grandma decided to take all 8 of their kids on an Alaskan cruise. My grandparents were quite the adventurers and world travelers, but Alaska was one place they hadn't been before. It was a family trip to remember.
This last year, my grandpa sold his house in Alpine. My aunt asked grandpa what he wanted to do with the money from the sale. He said that he wanted to go to Alaska again. Wendy clarified, "With the kids?" Grandpa said, "Yes. And the grandkids." So that's exactly what grandpa did. He took about 40 of us on an Alaskan cruise. And now I know why grandpa wanted to go back.
Luckily Brad's parents were able to watch the kids while we were gone. We could have brought them with us, but we decided that we like to sleep. Nate does not sleep well when he is traveling. Add in a different time zone and we would have all been very sleep deprived.
Not that sleep deprivation didn't happen anyways. Brad was supposed to get in the same time as mine, but he ended up not getting in till 4 am Alaska time (6 am back home.) Shortly after take off the pilot got on the intercom saying he had good news and bad news. The good news was that they'd all be fine and not crash. The bad news was that there was a problem with the airplane and so they would have to turn back to Denver. And they also had too much fuel to land right then so they would have to circle for several hours. It made for a very long time in an airplane.
After finally getting the Anchorage and getting a couple hours of rest, it was time to get going. We had a caravan with all of our family going to Seward to catch our cruise ship. We stopped to see the tide plains and the Wildlife Refuge. We had a brown bear walk 6 ft way from us with only a wire fence between us. That was just a little scary since we could see his claws so close!
Once we made it to Seward it was time to board the ship. Grandpa had bought all his kids upgraded rooms with a balcony and all grandkids had interior rooms. We really wanted a room with a balcony, but we just couldn't do the upgrade fee. I had heard a little tip that once you are on board you can check for an upgraded room and they will reduce the fee. We got lucky and we got a room with a balcony for 1/3 of the cost!
Now it was finally time to catch up on some sleep! The next day we spent at sea so we got to sleep in and enjoy our day.
This last year, my grandpa sold his house in Alpine. My aunt asked grandpa what he wanted to do with the money from the sale. He said that he wanted to go to Alaska again. Wendy clarified, "With the kids?" Grandpa said, "Yes. And the grandkids." So that's exactly what grandpa did. He took about 40 of us on an Alaskan cruise. And now I know why grandpa wanted to go back.
Luckily Brad's parents were able to watch the kids while we were gone. We could have brought them with us, but we decided that we like to sleep. Nate does not sleep well when he is traveling. Add in a different time zone and we would have all been very sleep deprived.
Not that sleep deprivation didn't happen anyways. Brad was supposed to get in the same time as mine, but he ended up not getting in till 4 am Alaska time (6 am back home.) Shortly after take off the pilot got on the intercom saying he had good news and bad news. The good news was that they'd all be fine and not crash. The bad news was that there was a problem with the airplane and so they would have to turn back to Denver. And they also had too much fuel to land right then so they would have to circle for several hours. It made for a very long time in an airplane.
After finally getting the Anchorage and getting a couple hours of rest, it was time to get going. We had a caravan with all of our family going to Seward to catch our cruise ship. We stopped to see the tide plains and the Wildlife Refuge. We had a brown bear walk 6 ft way from us with only a wire fence between us. That was just a little scary since we could see his claws so close!
Once we made it to Seward it was time to board the ship. Grandpa had bought all his kids upgraded rooms with a balcony and all grandkids had interior rooms. We really wanted a room with a balcony, but we just couldn't do the upgrade fee. I had heard a little tip that once you are on board you can check for an upgraded room and they will reduce the fee. We got lucky and we got a room with a balcony for 1/3 of the cost!
Now it was finally time to catch up on some sleep! The next day we spent at sea so we got to sleep in and enjoy our day.
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