Dear kids,
We just took a 2 week family vacation. We spent a few days in Seattle and the rest of the time we cruised through the inner passage to Alaska. Overall, the big kids, you both did awesome! Hailey, let's just say you didn't do so awesome. (I can't blame you because everything was a new experience, including sleeping on a big girl bed, you got constipated, and had a reaction to something which caused a horrible diaper rash)
Let's start from the beginning. We scored some awesome deals through Frontier airlines, but we had to fly out of a very crowded south terminal. We even boarded the plane old school style, via outdoor ramp/stairs.
We arrived in Seattle late and Hailey, you pretty much screamed until 3 am Texas time before you finally fell asleep. You did not like sleeping in a big girl bed. I tried everything: sleeping with you, leaving you alone, giving you loveys, and to tell you the truth, I really don't know what ended up working because I was just dead exhausted. Luckily, you adjusted and the next few nights went smoothly.
The first day we took public transportation around town and went to explore Lincoln Park. The highlights of this adventure was a swing set that looked out to the sea and
maple tree leaves the size of your face! We walked one of the trails and then stopped by a cajun spot for lunch and then hopped on a bus to go back home. The rain started to pour right as we arrived at the bus stop but after awhile the rain let up and we made the 15 minute uphill trek back to our homeaway house.
For an early dinner (normal Texas time), we went to Dough House for some yummy dumplings. Typically there is always a long wait to get in, but we had dinner at 4, and even though the restaurant was still pretty full, we didn't have to wait too long.
The next morning we explored Pike Market place and saw the fish throwers, various vendors
and Hannah, you discovered a love for clam chowder!
After lunch, we boarded the Norwegian Joy to begin our journey to Alaska, the last frontier!
Before the ship took off, we explored the ship and found a mini golf course and then we took advantage of the sun and you guys splashed around at the kids' water park for a bit before dinner.
This first meal was probably the only peaceful family meal that we had on the boat. Hailey, you ended up having some constipation issues and then afterwards some pineapple caused you to have a reaction that caused a horrible diaper rash to form.
For lunch, we usually ate at the buffet. Plus side was that you guys all got ice cream after every meal.
The ship had a bunch of VR (virtual reality) rides and you guys rode this one over and over. I took a ride on it and it was pretty realistic. I even felt seasick for the rest of the day!
There was an arcade where we spent a good chunk of time, especially when we were at sea.
Seafood night was quite impressive. The Cioppino was pretty good
Hailey loves shrimp too so the girls had a feast that night. While the guys stuck with pizza and hamburgers and grilled fish.
At night, Hannah and I went to go watch Footloose at the theater. The dancing and music was pretty spectacular. I was very impressed with the show. Hannah was engaged the whole time.
Ketchikan was the first port we stopped at. It was rainy so we didn't get to explore too much. We did watch the lumberjack show and you kids really enjoyed cheering for the lumberjack teams as they competed in different events. Our team won and you guys kept talking about it through dinner!
After the show, we went to the Visitor Center to look around.
And it was there where we found out about the Junior Ranger program. At each National Park, kids are eligible to earn patches and badges after completing a few simple activities. We ended up getting 2 this trip.
This whole process is very official, it involves swearing in and everything!
On the boat that afternoon the kids went to the kids club and after Hailey's nap we hung out at the atrium to watch some games. We even volunteered to go up and participate. Hailey won the crowd's hearts with your adorable babbling. And afterwards, the 3 of us learned how to dance.
Hailey, you are getting to be so expressive! Here are 2 photos that I took when you were being particularly animated that afternoon.
We tried a different dining room each night for dinner, but that night Hailey was screaming so much that Daddy ended up taking Hailey down to the room while we stayed and had dessert.
The next morning, we woke up in Juneau and again, found it to be raining. However, it was just misting so we donned our ponchos and went exploring.
We hopped on a shuttle that took us to the Mendenhall glacier. The glacier is actually dropping 15-20 feet each year so by the time you guys are adults, it may no longer be around anymore.
We were able to see it pretty well from the center, but then we talked to a ranger and we found out about a less traveled scenic trail that we could take.
We put on the ponchos and continued on our trek. There was no one else on the path except for us, so that was really nice.
It was definitely more interesting than the paved path that everyone else took.
It took us about 30 minutes to hike most of the trail to nugget falls, but you guys were starting to complain about being tired, so we just turned around.
I made the mistake of telling you guys that I scotch-guarded your shoes. You wanted to test the effectiveness of this magic waterproofing spray by stepping into the nice cool glacial melt. Daddy and I decided to just let you guys learn through natural consequences. We warned you that it would be uncomfortable...but of course, you two wanted to find out for yourselves.
The visitor center even had a chunk of glacier ice for everyone to touch. It was basically like ice with a lot of bubbles in it.
You two earned your second patches at the glacier.
After we got back on the ship, we sailed through glacier bay and saw lots of cool icebergs that were white and a beautiful shade of blue.
Pictures from my phone can't do justice to the beautiful scenery around us.
But the highlight was Margerie glacier. We were lucky to be able to get super close to it. The captain announced that they weren't able to get this far even last week due to the icy waters.
That evening, we were able to score front row seats to a magic show by a magician from Taiwan! Now you guys have been performing "magic tricks" around the house.
The next day we stopped in Icy Strait Point, a little city right next to Hoonah, which is also a tiny little city. We originally had planned a whale watching excursion, but we decided to cancel it due to the rain chances and Hailey's craziness. Instead we took a short hike and explored the shoreline.
We found lots of broken sediments that have been eroded by glaciers
and even a little crab!
The big kids got to do some obstacle courses. Hailey you and I went back to the boat for your nap, but Nathan and Hannah, you two ziplined and balanced for 3 hours before coming back to the boat.
That night everyone got extra dessert for being good hikers.
The ship also had a playroom for Hailey aged kids, but it seemed to be open during our meal times or when we were off the boat. We were able to play for about 45 minutes that afternoon while waiting for Nathan and Hannah to come back from the obstacle course.
That evening, after you all went to bed, Daddy and I had some dessert and shared a bottle of sparkling wine. I figured that since we would be at sea the next day, that would be the best night to finish a whole bottle.
The next day at sea, Daddy got picked to play in a gameshow. He was so close and got eliminated during the second to last round.
This probably was the peak of Hailey's crazy fussiness period, the only time you would calm down was when we were riding the elevator. You really enjoyed riding the elevator. I think it was all the attention that you got from people.
On our last cruise, we really enjoyed our experience at the Teppanyaki restaurant on the boat so we made reservations for it another night. While it was good, it was not as good as I remembered it to be. I'm not sure if it was Hailey's screaming, but I think you guys loved the fried rice and had a good time, which is all that matters.
The next morning we were still at sea, but were scheduled to dock in Victoria, BC around noon. So before we got off the boat, we (the adults) were able to try the race car track while you guys played mini-golf.
Victoria is a beautiful city. We took a bus tour around the city and after learning about its mild climate, I think this is a place I would like to retire to.
We explored a small alley in Chinatown after having some sub-par bubble tea. Bubble tea and small children on city excursions don't mix well. We were having to find a bathroom every 10 minutes or so.
That night you kids earned extra extra dessert for walking over 4 miles that day.
My thoughts after the cruise. While it was nice not having to worry much about meals and packing up multiple times, I really wish we had more time at the various ports. I tend to want to see everything to get a good feel for the culture, but I felt that time at ports were not adequate for exploring enough.
We spent the next 4 days exploring Seattle and surprisingly, we got a chance to do all of the things that we wanted to do. We had planned on using public transportation and Uber if needed, but at the end of 2 days, we decided to rent a car. While it made things more convenient, I am still glad we took public transportation for at least a few days to get a good taste for the flavors of Seattle.
Here are the places that we visited:
Seattle Aquarium: This was an amazing aquarium. The exhibits were very well designed and you kids were engaged the whole time. You both fell in love with the sea otters. I'm also very proud of you two mustering up the courage to feel all of the different invertebrates in the touch ponds. Normally you guys don't go for the spiky critters.
Hailey, you enjoyed spotting the fish and splashing your hands in the water.
I'm usually not a sucker for gift shops, but before we arrived, Daddy and I agreed that if they had sea otters, we would buy you each your own. Hailey fell in love with a seal, whom you call "Go-go" which is chinese for "dog." I guess it looks kind of like a dog...
It was a clear day, so we decided to walk to the space needle for the views. It took us about 45 minutes to walk there (pastry bribe included) and when we arrived, we found out that the next entry time was 2 hours away. So we played around at the park and then headed back home. We had a yummy sushi dinner and then everyone went to bed nicely, except for Hailey, who took awhile because you fell asleep on the bus ride home.
The Seattle Zoo was also a well designed zoo with natural habitats. We hardly saw any cages. Hannah, your favorite exhibit was the flamingos.
And you also got to ride the carousel for being a good trooper and not complaining. We are not ashamed of using bribes...just saying.
After the zoo, we went to a tour of a Theo chocolate factory. I
t is actually a story time tour geared towards kids, and through a story, they did a fabulous job explaining the chocolate making process. We even got to taste different types of chocolate and ingredients to make chocolate.
The chocolate was so yummy we purchased 2 pounds of it along with a beer-chocolate sampler pack for Daddy since it was father's day.
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| Chocolate Priming Sugar: Yummy |
The chocolate factory is located in the Freemont neighborhood, so we went on a hunt for a few of the cool landmarks.
The last one being the troll. We spent about 45 minutes just playing here before dragging you guys away. You could've played here for another hour if we let you.
We had a Taiwanese dinner and afterwards, we went to the playground across the street from the homeaway. You guys really loved to play on the merry-go-round. Even after being launched tangentially from the rotating wheel at a high speed, Nathan you wanted more. That night everyone fell asleep quickly.
The next morning, we arrived at Seattle center early to reserve an afternoon time to go up the space needle. VR must be pretty big on the west coast because that stuff was everywhere!
We went to Pacific science center and spent some time making earthquake proof homes using recycled materials, searched for butterflies, and then had lunch.
After lunch we went up the space needle and Hannah pretty much perfected your scared face.
We all thought that the glass rotating platform was a trip! You guys never trusted the glass and stayed on the steel beams. When I would shove you off of the beam, you both legitimately got angry at me.
After we had our fill of viewing the city from up high, we went back to the Pacific Science center where both of you guys got to touch a sheep brain.
And then we watched a live science show where we learned about sound and sound waves.
When it was nearing dinner time, we had one more building that we didn't even get to explore. It was definitely fun.
Hailey was having more tummy issues that day, so we decided to order food in and that was nice. You guys even got to go play at the playground while we waited for the food to arrive.
On our last day in Seattle I started by day alone and enjoyed a coffee at a coffee shop around the corner. As annoying as you guys can be sometimes, I realized that I like being around you guys and despite all the hardships that have come up, as long as I have Daddy beside me, I know we can tackle anything.
After we packed up our stuff, we drove 45 minutes to Snoqualmie falls and before our hike, we got some sushi for lunch (It was one of our last chance for fresh seafood!). Then we drove to the falls and we hiked down to the bottom. It was a pretty steep trek and again, we promised extra dessert. We got some pretty good pictures from this part of the trip.
A slug that we found on the path. Thought it was poop at first.
A grandmother insisted on taking a picture of our family. I'm glad she did because this is Christmas card material!
We wore our family shirts and got people to sing the song everywhere we went. (I actually got serenaded by the flight crew as I stepped out of the bathroom on the airplane)
After the hike, we got some more bubble tea and headed back to Seattle Center to go to the Children's museum. We got distracted by the giant playground and ended up just spending 2 hours there. Again, there was a merry-go-round where you guys spent most of your time.
We headed to a final seafood place for some chowder, fried fish and crab roll (for me). It was right by the airport. We actually arrived at the airport 3 hours early, but I'm glad we did because after a slew of potty runs we only had 30 minutes to wait at the gate. Lesson learned. No bubble tea when traveling with children.
Our flight ended up being delayed an hour so we took off at 1:30 Texas time and landed in Austin south terminal at 5:15. Our stroller got lost (was delivered last night) so we didn't end up arriving home until closer to 6:30. The adults and Hailey took a nap, but Nathan was able to hang in there all day until bedtime and slept until I woke you up at 10 am this morning.
I think traveling with 3 would've been easier if Hailey didn't have all the tummy issues that she has. To say that this was a stressful trip would be an understatement. I don't know how many times I've had to pin down a screaming-at-the-top-of-her-lungs baby in a public restroom to change her diaper. Once a lady even came over and gave me a hand.
Overall, with lots of prayer and bribes, we survived, made memories, and made it all home in one piece. Until our next adventure,
Love,
Mommy
