Alaska!  We left on the 9th to Seattle.  I wasn't expecting Seattle to be as clean and safe feeling as it was.  We had an easy direct flight and success using the light rail and buses to get to our hotel to drop off luggage.  The hotel was a two bedroom suite since we had my favorite egg's parents with us and it worked out quite well.  There were several eateries nearby but we returned to the one (Queen Anne Beer Hall).  We walked to the space needle, which I was at when I was maybe 6 or 7?  It is definitely not what I remember inside, but it remained pretty cool.  Then we took the bus to Pike's Place market for a bit of a stroll.  Didn't see some of the cliche sites on my list, but it was nice to walk around and relax a bit after a long day of travel.

The next morning we were up and headed to the cruise port to meet Anthem of the Seas.  When I tell you I didn't know how to pack I mean it.  It's supposed to be colder (50-60) this time of year, especially on a moving ship but I'm always warm.  I tried to have a nice balance so I could layer.  I didn't need too much of the layers or my waterproof jacket - the weather was amazing with the exception of our second day at sea, which was very foggy, but then I got to hear the horn every minute or two as a result.  We saw blue skies and the tops of mountains.  There was so much sun we could barely see the Mendenhall glacer when the ship spun around in the channel to give us a view.

One day at sea at the start allowed us to adjust to the time change further, then we were in Sitka where we took the free shuttle into town and we walked adventuring on our own.  We went to the Totem Trail and it was a beautiful forest to walk.  A quick stop at a local grocery store, and then a local frequented place for some of the best (and most expensive) fish and chips I've ever had.

At the end of the day I had a voice mail, our tour for the next day in Skagway was being cut short due to a landslide:  https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/north/mudslide-south-klondike-closed-aug-11-9.7229001 fortunately it didn't happen while we were on the other side of it and instead of a full day tour we had a half day tour.  We road the railway up the mountain and bused back through Chilkoot Charters - and it was beautiful and peaceful.  Not much for wildlife - you needed binoculars to prove the one spot on the hill was a goat.  The shorter tour gave us time to walk the local area here too and I had a lesser fish meal and a drink at the Skagway Brewing Company.

The next day was Juneau, but in the early morning we cruised in the channel and saw the mendenhall glacier.  As mentioned it was hard to see from the ship, so I was really glad we had planned to shuttle to the area where we could then walk a trail to Nugget Falls.  It was all stunning.  On the way back we got a quick treat at a local coffee place and I didn't stop to get king crab at Tracy's but I probably should have.

Finally, Victoria BC which was also easily walkable - we meandered to some of the local sites like a government building and the Empress Hotel then to a park before we stopped at a local place and had the most delightful rootbeer with ingredients that don't aim to kill you:  https://phillipssoda.com/soda/captain-electro/

As mentioned there was then a day at sea and a return to Seattle where we headed to the airport and after only a small delay in our flight we were on our way (pretty smooth).

It happened, I may have gotten sick while traveling... at first I thought it was just my sinuses being ridiculous because I was back in PA and mowing my lawn multiple nights in a row but last night I was trying to get liquid to flow with the neti pot, having minor aches in my legs, and feeling off.  No fever at the moment at least.

This morning is the first day of third grade - and with our transition to public school the bus was an hour later than it was in years past.  I desperately needed that extra window of time attempting to sleep and the couch continues to call me.  Regardless, girl is on the bus without a hitch.  She's trying breakfast and lunch at school today - they have choices each day, it blows my mind.  As to me with this switch there are hitches.  I still can get into the powerschool account after needing to call to get student ID numbers and them giving me some other kid's number.  When they removed that kid it locked me out of my account, so that's fun.

I'm grateful for vacation, but the lead up and the come back are rough.  I always try to clean and get a lot out of the way so when I come back I'm not already behind.  When I come back there are the several loads of laundry, the lawn that got an abundance of water in my absence, running for the dog and groceries - and this time a quick ortho visit before school starts back up.

We landed at midnight last night, got home at 1, I greeted kitties, emptied suitcases, and showered to be in bed by 2:30.  Gave myself a bit of grace and had an alarm set for 7am.  Then it was on with all the things.  While I had a bit of a boost from an airplane nap and time zone changes in my favor I'm wiped.

Many tomatoes turned and rotted out back in my week away.  I picked what I could and got the other yellow pepper which ripened to perfection.  I got the front and side lawn mowed while dinner cooked - mind you the mower REALLY didn't want to start this time (it's been acting up and sounding unhappy all summer), grabbed cupcakes for an early birthday sing before kiddo's Nonni left (they spent the night after and we went to the ortho appointment (kid is now rocking school colors on her teeth.) followed by brunch since the fridge was pretty bare), brought the doggo home, and still got 7.5 hours in today.  Huzzah.

I have a lot to say about vaca, but I'll save it for another day when my fingers are cooperating with my brain.  Time to move the last load of laundry to the dryer and get in the shower.  Goodnight moon.