All Things EARTH... part 2

[awhfy]

Actually I used to be 5’7” before I had back surgery in 1990

 

 

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[MJC]

Alaska was our first cruise (to celebrate our tenth anniversary), it was amazing, and we always talk about going again someday. We did all ship excursions because we didn't know any better yet. :) I think the highlight for us was a "pilot's choice" helicopter ride over the glaciers with a stop on one for some science talk about them and a bit of vodka. Most people didn't see the glaciers that day because of fog, but our pilot was able to take us around the weather. I got to sit in the front of the bubble next to the pilot, with the glass wrapping under my feet. Thrilling.

 

I don't remember doing laundry at all. It wasn't a sweaty kind of trip, though I suppose if you do a strenuous hike it's possible. The coldest we got was cruising the glaciers, especially when we parked for a bit in front of the Hubbard Glacier (spectacular) and the cold wind was blowing off the ice. The whales in Prince William Sound kept us running from side to side on the ship until after 10pm. We had killer whales leaping before the bow like dolphins do. And the Alaska scenery is just stunningly beautiful.

 

We flew into Seattle to spend some time with my brother, then took the train up the coast to Vancouver (a beautiful ride), and flew home from Anchorage. Some people like to do the reverse and have a shorter trip home at the end, but our TA recommended heading north so the scenery would get progressively more dramatic, which it did. IIRC the challenge was choosing what to do in port because there are so many options that appealed to us.

 

Our cruise leaves the week after Thanksgiving. I work that Monday and then we take off for LA on Tuesday. I'm so looking forward to a 10-day, we haven't had such a long break in a few years. Then we'll be home for a bit more than a week, and then we'll go to FL. I've been talking a lot with my WDW guru, a friend who goes at least once per year (even more often back when her grandma was alive and living in Orlando).

 

Last week was the first week of classes and I'm still recovering. :)

[aoknkentucky]

Other than the glaciers and wonderful L-O-N-G waterfalls we saw from the balcony, my most memorable excursion was a small boat ride to see humpbacks feeding. I would do that one again every time I had the opportunity. We booked private excursions at our other stops, but I think we used on-board credit and booked the ship's offering. I do remember there were less than 10 passengers, so it was a very small vessel. Best day of our trip.

 

I know you have clothing worked out, Anita, but I'll add my trip reflections. Our evening head waiter insisted that we come to dinner in our jeans because our on-board time at one port was late. We took his advice and noticed several others had as well. I took one pair of dress slacks and a few nicer tops (AND my scarves of course) for evening wear. I didn't feel out of place at all. For day wear, I rotated the jeans I wore with my navy Columbia tech pants. Those tech pants wash and dry overnight, so with a pair of long-johns (leggings) under when necessary, I was plenty warm. I took my hooded raincoat (think London Fog trench) with cheap $1.00 cotton stretch gloves in the pockets. Like Margaret said, the only time I really needed the extra warmth was when near the glaciers. I said at the time that it was our First trip to Alaska. I took a look back--we went in 2013. I think it's definitely time to start planning my second trip!

[MJC]

Debbie's post reminded me... do be prepared for rain. Southern Alaska including Ketchikan has the only rain forest in North America, so a lightweight waterproof jacket that you can layer over other things is helpful. I had a nylon reversible jacket with fleece inside that I wore a lot, both ways. And good sunglasses are important, the sun on the ice makes the light SO bright. We went in early June, which made for great glacier calving but not so good land wildlife spotting (I had really wanted to see a moose). I think your end of June choice will be better.

[laurspag]

Margaret. That is so funny because I have always wanted to see a moose. We have a lot of things around here - deer, raccoon, fox, coyote, possums, etc. But no moose.

 

I too have heard that Alaskan cruises are very casual. I would imagine I'd still be wanting to wear dresses, but nothing fancy if I'd look weird. I wonder how RCI does it - do they still call it formal night? I recall a thread about his a while ago and there was a lot of debate. The overall consensus was that it was a much more casual cruise.

 

I think planning excursions would be so much fun!

 

Which reminds me...have any of you been to Costa Maya? My next cruise goes there. Nachi Cocum is the plan for Cozumel, and we are probably swimming with the stingrays in Grand Cayman.

 

I believe there are ruins in Costa Maya and I'm trying to remember what they are called. My husband really likes some history mixed in to things.

 

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[Anita Latte]

So I am the most NON wearing jeans person I know. I own one pair and I have worn them twice. I doubt that I will pack jeans on our cruise. I have several pairs of tech pants...we'll see what fits by the time next June rolls around. But I understand what you are saying Debbie about the casual nature of the Alaskan cruise. I foresee quite a bit of activewear being packed next June!

Learning about the excursions available will be so much fun for planning. I do appreciate hearing about everyone's experiences. I think planning Alaska will be a research project and a half...and I'm very much looking forward to it. I've already been enjoying it as a matter of fact.

 

The point of having dry clothing is well made. Depending on our plans, having dry socks will definitely be a top priority...

 

Interesting things to note...I personally believe that the best place to see moose is in Northern Wyoming and Montana. I'll have to look through my photographs (which I think are still packed actually) but I'm pretty sure that I have a few photos of moose that DH and I have seen. I know that for our first anniversary trip (backpacking in Grand Teton National Park) we came upon a moose in the lake...and that was just awesome.

 

One of the most amazing wildlife encounters I've had is with a cow elk. We were backpacking in Colorado...DH drove an old FJ60 Landcruiser (for those that know of such things) and we had the tailgate down and were putting on our hiking boots after parking along the side of some dirt road for trail access. And the elk was at the front of the car. I stepped out to the side of the car and was in awe of the beauty of that elk...and then your brain starts to kick in with observations like...

 

wow...that elk is really tall

wow...that elk is really, really big

it must weigh A LOT

wow...it could really hurt me...

I hope there's not a jealous bull around...

 

;p

 

Just amazing though.

 

I've been whale watching off Monterey Bay. On the boat that I was on, we sited the first whales of the season actually...it was a high school senior year trip type thing. I don't know the migration patterns up in Alaska for the time of year we are going...funny that I haven't taken anything like that into account in the planning...it's been more schedule driven and how it fits into our potential summer more than the advantages or disadvantages of the different times of year.

 

I haven't been to Costa Maya Laurie...

 

We'll be prepared for rain for sure. I really love my rain coat actually. I just used it again today...

 

We went out for some fall color today. Driving the Blue Ridge Parkway for a bit...which is a big deal in this area of the country, though I had never heard of it before. It's almost 500 miles long...you could call it the equivalent of "hiking" through beautiful country in a car. It is a two lane road, with limited access points...so it is literally like a paved car trail through the forest and national park. Very awesome.

 

Anyway...the weather today was all over the place. It was sunny in places and then rainy...and foggy...just a bit of everything...and that rain coat that I bought before our Chicago trip was a champ again. I just had my phone with me...I just took a couple pictures because we only stopped a couple times because of the weather...but for those of you that don't have fall color...this was one perspective at an overlook...a beautiful vista:

 

 

At the same point, but getting a different perspective. You can see how the light changes and the fog/clouds move lower:

 

 

This is at Moses H Cone Memorial Park. I love this shot because you can see the fog coming down and yet you can see the sun shining on the ground AND the clouds making shade...

 

 

I didn't really get to capture the fall color much...but we drove through so much! We're hoping to head back but our weekends are pretty busy for the next several weeks...

[awhfy]

Laurie. We did a Royal excursion in Costa Maya out to the ruins. Fairly long bus ride but well worth it. I believe it was Chacoben. I’ll dig up some of the pictures. Tremendously humid & buggy. I was one of 3 people that had brought insect repellent, I use Bullfrog which is a combination sunscreen/bug repellent (works great). Do a ship excursion if the drive is over 30 minutes.

 

Anita. Love the 3rd picture of the fog.

 

Laurie, I was driving in upstate New York just outside Buffalo 6 years ago on the turnpike & a moose strolled across the road about 50yds ahead of me, you definitely have moose there. Les also came way too close to hitting a moose in NH, it’s legs were taller than our car. The semi behind us did hit it & it destroyed the front of the truck. Melody

 

 

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[Sailor_Sally]

Talking about wildlife when I first moved to Florida I lived in Venice which was a small town . The wildlife was amazing . It was nothing to see alligators , otters or bobcats crossing the street .I now live on Sarasota Bay and one day we had a family of Mantee's enjoying the water in back of our house .

About Alaska just remember that you may have warmer weather mixed with the cold.We went in the middle of May and a lot of people were in shorts except for the glacier's. We only had one day of drizzle but it snowed when we went to the Yukon .

[awhfy]

Sally, I love the gentle manatees. When we lived in Cocoa Beach on the Banana River we had a family of manatee that used to cruise by for supper. The kids (6, 8 & 13 at the time) would run out & feed them lettuce (I’d buy large quantities of lettuce) every night. Melody

 

 

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[laurspag]

Sally. After the hurricane I read a few manatees washed ashore, and local residents got them back into water. Was that near you?

 

Well Anita, I'm very excited for you. This is a bucket list item for me so I will really enjoy hearing about all your planning for Alaska.

 

I bring insect repellant with me every cruise. I don't always need it but it is good to have.

 

I am going to try for pictures of the dresses tomorrow. It seems our schedules have been all over the place. Tonight one daughter was working, the other was dog sitting and my husband and I had a fundraiser to attend.

 

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[MJC]

In all the years I've been going to FL I have never seen a manatee in the wild, just the one at Mote Marine.

 

I have to say, this is the closest I've gotten to a cruise without having planned it within an inch of its life already. But, today I bought something new for my cruise! Just now when I saw it online I thought -- hey, I didn't know it had white in it -- but I pulled it out of the bag and it's actually a nice ivory. I used my discount and got another 20% off. I plan to wear it on a casual night when we're at the warmest part of our itinerary:

 

http://www.lordandtaylor.com/main/ProductDetail.jsp?PRODUCT%3C%3Eprd_id=845524442363877&site_refer=CSE_GGLPRADS001_LT&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIxt6lm4Hq1gIVo7vtCh3syQeyEAQYDSABEgLyAfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

For San Diego we've decided to rent a car and do a scenic drive that I found online. We're going to finish at the Hotel Del Coronado for lunch and be back onboard by 3pm.

[laurspag]

Oooh...love that dress!

 

 

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[awhfy]

Margaret, love the dress! We’ve done that drive, it’s great & you can’t beat lunch at the Del! Melody

 

 

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[Sailor_Sally]

Margaret, Love that dress !

 

Laurie, Yes the mantee rescue was right by where I live . When the Hurricane was coming it pulled a lot of water out of Sarasota Bay .You could actually walk out pretty far on the bay . Well the Mantees ended up being beached so they rescued them and returned them to deeper water .There is a spring not far from here were you can see a lot of mantees because the water is warmer .The family that were in front of our house for awhile were so cute especially the baby .

[Anita Latte]

Oh...I love that dress Margaret! Beautifully placed pattern...

 

I'm working hard on figuring out the excursions...if not the exact excursions...a good idea for help with our own wardrobe planning. We're coming up on the cooler weather here and I'm imagining that a lot of what we might use over the cooler months here would be useful in Alaska...knowing what we'll need with be very helpful.

 

I do still have most of the basics of cold weather gear/apparel from our Colorado/Kansas days. I only question the condition of the gloves...we will likely need new ones...and DS doesn't have any, so...advanced planning will help with the budget.

 

I'm booking our first excursion today!!

[awhfy]

Anita, if you have a Costco nearby the Head gloves are on sale for $10. We stocked up this week

 

 

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[Anita Latte]

Melody...I am not a Cosco member. I knew members back in ATL but I haven't really met many people here yet. Thanks for the heads up though

[laurspag]

It's funny how I don't give much thought to our weather here until I realize how different it is for others on this thread. We all live in different climates with different clothing needs.

 

I do tend to wear fleece a lot in the winter because it is hard to stay warm here. It's lightweight and layers well. I can even put a scarf with a half zip at times to polish up when we are out and about running errands.

 

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[awhfy]

I too wear a lot of fleece, but mine usually has a wind proof layer. Melody

 

 

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[MJC]

Melody, what's our best bet for having lunch at the Del with a view of the ocean? Temp averages for late November are 70ish, so outside would be ok with us.

[awhfy]

Margaret, it’s been 3 years since we were there but there was a lovely patio restaurant. It had a view of the gardens & ocean in the distance. I can’t for the life of me remember the name of it. The renovations should be complete by now. Walk the grounds, they’re spectacular. Melody

 

 

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[Member123]

I remember the Del's lunch options from a short trip we took to San Diego recently.

 

We walked from the ferry landing to the Del and came into it from the front lobby area, which is where I'm sure you would enter since you'll be driving there. As I remember, there is valet parking.... I'm not sure about the self parking options.

 

Anyway, there are several restaurants that are located at the back of the property, which opens up right onto a stretch of beach. I took the liberty of locating the information on this spot for you. To my knowledge, this is the best dining option if you want to experience being right on the beach. The picture that is shown with the menu is exactly how close I remember the ocean being.

 

https://hoteldel.com/restaurant-coronado/sun-deck/

[MJC]

Melody, do you mean Shearwater? That appears to be fine dining and looks out over a garden and then the beach. It has an amazing menu. Then there is the grill by the pool that is only open for lunch in winter, I think that's the one that Pam linked to. It looks like it has the killer view. I doubt the pool would be very noisy because it won't be that warm in November.

 

I am finally letting myself get a little bit excited about this trip! So far we are taking a scenic ocean drive, going sailing, swimming with whale sharks, taking a hike to see petroglyphs, and having a beach resort day at an AI. We have a wad of OBC due to the promotion we booked under, so we are going to splurge on the Sanctuary for one of the four sea days. We've decided to go semi-formal this time (since DH is too fat to fit in his tux, OMG) so I'm hoping to just shop my closet and not buy anything new. I really could use an additional bathing suit but there are none to be found at this time of year, and I have never had any luck buying online. Since it's not a beach-intensive trip, I think I'll be ok.

 

Hey, I'm going on a cruise in 47 days!

[awhfy]

It was likely Shearwater (tho that name doesn’t sound familiar). The meal was stupendous We went for lunch. I did feel rather underdressed (capris & a top) but they welcomed us. We also were there in November, Les reminded me that we wandered the garden after we ate. I’ve been to the Del several times, in fact did a Navy Captain’s retirement ceremony there on the beach, my goodness that was in 2000.

 

 

 

 

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[awhfy]

We just finalized our excursions (we leave in 42 Days!). Two days in South Beach wandering the Art Deco area, then two sea days, then St Kitts & catamaran/Snorkeling to Nevis (we don’t normally do ship tours but there are 8 ships in port [emoji849]. Off to Antigua with Nelsons Boatyard & wandering. St Lucia next with snorkeling with Spencer Ambrose. Sea day. Barbados will be Boatyard Beach. Sea day. Bonaire is Woodwind Snorkel. Sea day. Curaçao (with an overnight). First day will be Cos Abao Beach for snorkeling then a little shopping. Second day will be paddleboarding with SUP Curacao. Then our last stop of Aruba, probably take city bus out to Palm Bay beach & just hang out. Then two sea days & fly home from Miami & get ready for Christmas! Melody

 

 

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