Two Days at Sea, and Victoria, BC (Last Post About the Cruise)

Once we were done with the Alaska part of our cruise, we were totally satisfied with our experience and ready to come home and see the kids.  However, we had two days to spend at sea until we were back to Seattle.  We didn't take a lot of pictures, but we did a lot of lounging, eating, enjoying the shows, reading, and being lazy.  On the first of the two days at sea, the rocking of the boat was bothering me a bit, so I took a "non drowsy" Dramamine.  I'm glad I didn't take a regular one!  I felt like I lost that day.  I did some reading, but probably even more dozing.  It got rid of my seasickness, but it also put me into a fog.  And here I am at the rear of the ship.

On our last night on the ship, we stopped for a few hours in Victoria, BC.  Due to some rules about international waters that I didn't really try to understand, we were required to land on international soil.  So, here's the Victoria skyline.  It was a very pretty city!

Victoria had pay phones.  We used them to avoid international charges on my cell phone because, remember, Jeff's phone was at the bottom of a fjord.  

At one of our dinners in the fancy dining room, we hit it off with Blake and Cathy, who were celebrating their 25th wedding anniversary and go to church with friends of ours.  It's a very small world, and it was funny to realize that we had friends in common.  We spent our evening in Victoria (after we enjoyed dinner on the ship) exploring the town and chatting about our lives that we'd be rejoining the next day.  We really had a fun evening with Blake and Cathy!

Part of our little tour was looking at historic homes.  We thought Grace would like this one!  We also poked around a famous hotel where you can pay too much for high tea, walked to the small Chinatown because Cathy had not been to one, and explored a store that reminded Jeff of REI.

The next day, Jeff (expert travel planner) had our transportation from the ship to the airport all set for us.  We flew home and got to see the kids for dinner and before bedtime.  Everyone was doing great!  We were so thankful for Cheryl and what good care she took of our kids.  The younger two were not too anxious for us to get back, although Jonathan was ready for normal (which is his favorite condition.)  My houseplants were healthier when I got back than when I had left, by the way!  The kids did great.  We had missed them so much!  We were also thankful for my mom taking over when Cheryl needed a break (and who could blame her?  :)  )  Thinking back on our trip after almost two months back home makes me want to return to Alaska…would you like to join me?