how I have missed you!

Things i love on land that I didn't realize how much I missed until I came back:

radio.
driving.
bathtubs.
making cookies.
fast internet.
heating up leftovers in the middle of the night.
couches.
my faaaaamily.
my parent's puppy. (and fat cat) (keeps getting fatter)

going home.

Tomorrow, early morning, I leave the ship. It is bittersweet. Work-wise, I am ready to be done. People-wise, there are a lot of people I will miss. There are a lot of traditions I will miss. A lot of drinks I will miss. I am leaving the small town that I have made a sort of home. I always dig my heels in to change, but afterwards I am always glad of it. So this week will be a little rough, and I am still living out of a suitcase until the middle of August.

Tomorrow, in the very early morning, I will leave the ship. I have all day in Seattle - my flight doesn't leave until 11:45pm. I fly all night and arrive in Maryland on Saturday morning, where I hit the ground running. Wedding shower and then other wedding. Then sleep.

So what do you think? Continue to blog? I am continuing to travel, not on sea, but on land. I'm moving to Minnesota to go to Minnesota State College - Southeast Technical for violin repair and making. Maybe I'll convert this into a violin blog and you can continue to follow my adventures!

[gratuitous puppy picture]

snowball fight in july

Yesterday we went hiking to the top of Mt. Roberts in Juneau. It was a short hike, only a couple miles, but uphill (obviously) so the way back down was a lot quicker and easier than it was on the way up. It was completely worth it, though, and got some amazing pictures. Also had a snowball fight at the top.

from the top looking down..

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to the right..

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saw some deer or elk, from across the valley.. 

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the hills are alive with the sound of music..

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and pretty flowers..

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and good company..

and more pretty flowers..

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I'm king of the world.

Sled Dogs in Skagway!

The adventure started with a long walk, farther into Skagway than I had ever been (or knew existed). It was gray and chilly, but a lovely walk with beautiful scenery.

We arrived at the puppy place and there were only a few people there. Fortunately, we caught the guy right before he went to lunch, so he led us into the pens with all the beautiful little puppies! We asked how much it would cost (we had heard rumors of a $20 fee to get in) and he looked at us like we were crazy and said, "oh, don't worry about it at all. You're crew, and you just want to play with the puppies!" So that was awesome, and then we found out we could go back next week and do the entire 45 minute program to learn about sled dogs, for free, because we're crew. Plus, since these puppies are getting kind of big, he said there would be new and smaller puppies next week. (so stay tuned for more cuteness.)

Thomas, Me, Ashley, Chelle

You may notice that there is a penguin in this picture. His name is Winston, and he has been all over the world with Thomas. You can check out his travels at http://winstonadventures.blogspot.com/

In other news, this is our last cruise. A little bittersweet, but mostly sweet. All the people I will miss have already gone, or I will see them again soon. I'm ready to get back on land and learn to plane a fingerboard and then move to Minnesota!

Tracy Arm Fjords - South Sawyer Glacier

This morning, I woke up at 7am for the first time in a long time to see the South Sawyer Glacier and watch as we went through the Tracy Arm Fjords. It was worth it! Since pictures are worth a thousand words, here's a few thousand for you.

in memory

the Celebrity Infinity will sorely miss these guys:

I will especially miss this one:

aaand this one:

People come and go so quickly around here!

Speaking of going.... I'll be home in three weeks. :)