Jackets and Shoes for Alaska

[Boulder]

Ncamy,

Why are teachers obsessed with lists? I too teach and am exactly the same, Dh thinks it's hilarious. Busy time of year for me too even though I only work three days a week.

 

Scrumpy - cider?

Bought navy shoes, boring I know but they'll go with all the trousers - well actually they've pre determined the colour of the trousers.

 

Pingo3

I get more confused the more I read but basically I've got what you've got so hopefully we'll be ok. What about head gear?

 

Keep reading and writing I need cheering up!!!

[Scrumpy]

Scrumpy - cider? Ding, ding, ding - you are correct!!! Also - the name of the horse in my avatar. But he was named for the cider :D

Bought navy shoes, boring I know but they'll go with all the trousers - well actually they've pre determined the colour of the trousers. Those will be nice. My choices in the store only included a powder blue shade that wouldn't match anything!

 

Keep reading and writing I need cheering up!!!

 

Hmmmm - what would cheer you up? OT story: I bought a large bag of "squirrel and critter mix" to keep the squirrels out of our big bird feeder. Scattered half a bag on the ground. Full of yummy stuff like peanuts and corn. Squirrels do not visit for 4 days. Then, I look outside and the crows are flying off with the peanuts and the squirrel is in the bird feeder... Fill a feeder on the ground with all sunflower seeds. Smallest birds we get other than hummingbirds are eating that - and avoiding the feed we got them. Nature, huh? The other news is that the deer are back and I see them almost every day. Hopefully, the new fawns will be born right after we return from the cruise. We may miss them by a day or two, but there will be babies around soon :)

The fleece shirt and gloves I just ordered are approximately this shade of fuschia. Also ordered a chartreuse fleece vest. To stay in keeping with muted tones of the locals, I will likely take either a black fleece pullover or the same dark green one I had on the last trip to AK. I am taking at least 6 pairs of long pants (2 zip-offs) and 1 pair of Capris. I cannot decide if I "need" another pair... Still need to get DH's tux to the cleaners and try on my formal clothes. Awfully mushy in the mid-section now, so hoping I don't have to go shopping. He's keen on wearing the tux, but I would consider skipping formal night altogether and hibernating in the cabin rather than go out with a pudgy belly bulging in my clothes. Maybe I'll get a huge padded bra and that will distract people.;) I was in the best shape of my entire life last year. Wore a bikini. Almost totally flat stomach. It's a bummer to get soft again. I bought what is basically a girdle. I am now officially my grandmother.:rolleyes:

 

Welcome Pungo3 - we got rain pants. I don't think they are Gore-tex. They were relatively cheap. I am sure they may be over-kill, but will come in handy here at home even if they don't on the cruise. Your thoughts sound fine to me!

[Scrumpy]

Hi again - DH just reminded me of something that should amuse you:

 

We had our honeymoon in Kardamena on Kos in Greece. DH was gone for a run and I was waiting for him when these two fellas came and the one was kinda chatting me up on behalf of the other. The other seemed quite nice and appealing, but I couldn't grasp why the one fella was making such a big deal over him. He's asking me who the most famous football player is in America and telling me that his buddy has similar status in football back in Britain. I'm clueless and figure it's some kind of scam. Both men seemed okay and were attractive, but I'm on my honeymoon! This was in June of 1995. The quieter nice fella was Ryan Giggs! DH came back from his run and Giggs is clearly impressed that he's been out running in the heat. He tries to talk to him, but no go. DH was put out that someone was chatting up his wife, so he doesn't even LOOK at him and is really rather rude. When they walked away, I asked, "Who is Ryan Giggs"? When I explained who he'd just brushed off, he was very surprised and tried to catch a glimpse of the men who were already out of sight and prowling for other females. A few weeks later, there was a tell-all article about the gal he hooked up with in Greece. I still have the newspaper clipping (somewhere).

 

Small world, isn't it? I forgot I even had a Manchester connection - of sorts...

[alaskamt]

Boy there are some major overthinkers out there. Pungo3 - you got it.

 

You have all forgotten the backpack that you make kids/husband/boyfriend/girlfriend/dog/eagle/bear/moose/grandma carry - in it you will have extra socks. If your feet are warm and dry, you will feel a lot warmer and drier. And you won't be going on any excursions that will take you into the wilderness for days (think Chilkoot Trail - you won't be doing that). At the most, you may be uncomfortable for a few hours. It is just that being cold and shivering while standing in front of a 20 billion ton block of ice makes glacier viewing much less fun. So if you feel cold, put on the clothes. Don't worry if they look funny or don't match or were in style last year - have fun. I wore sandals to work last week (with socks) and just avoided the leftover snow and mud puddles. And we do wear jeans - but if it is raining, cover them with rain pants. We have real stores; you are gonna want some things to remember us by, so what if they end up being fleece pullovers with a moose monogram?

[Boulder]

Hi again - DH just reminded me of something that should amuse you:

 

We had our honeymoon in Kardamena on Kos in Greece. DH was gone for a run and I was waiting for him when these two fellas came and the one was kinda chatting me up on behalf of the other. The other seemed quite nice and appealing, but I couldn't grasp why the one fella was making such a big deal over him. He's asking me who the most famous football player is in America and telling me that his buddy has similar status in football back in Britain. I'm clueless and figure it's some kind of scam. Both men seemed okay and were attractive, but I'm on my honeymoon! This was in June of 1995. The quieter nice fella was Ryan Giggs! DH came back from his run and Giggs is clearly impressed that he's been out running in the heat. He tries to talk to him, but no go. DH was put out that someone was chatting up his wife, so he doesn't even LOOK at him and is really rather rude. When they walked away, I asked, "Who is Ryan Giggs"? When I explained who he'd just brushed off, he was very surprised and tried to catch a glimpse of the men who were already out of sight and prowling for other females. A few weeks later, there was a tell-all article about the gal he hooked up with in Greece. I still have the newspaper clipping (somewhere).

 

Small world, isn't it? I forgot I even had a Manchester connection - of sorts...[/quote

[Scrumpy]

Boulder,

Hey - there wasn't a reply in your message :( Are you an Arsenal fan? :p

 

Hope all is well over there!

[pungo3]

Ah yes, the backpack. Almost forgot about that. I'll keep a pair of dry, alpaca socks in there, along with my 'rain pants', hat and gloves. :D

[6Arabianhorses]

Whenever we go somewhere, I always have the challenge of getting out of my "farm/barn" wardrobe groove and actually wearing something stylish every day..........not to mention getting dressed up for formal nights! :eek: All of a sudden I'm having to coordinate shoes and outfits. Don't get me wrong, I'm a clothes horse (no pun intended :p ), but all the nice stuff stays in my closet along with all the cute shoes, hardly ever seeing the light of day. Even the girls and patients at our office are used to seeing me in jeans and sneakers every day! It's just easier to buzz home and throw the horses in.............like yesterday when we had some bad thunderstorms................and not get good clothes "horseified". Although, inevitably, someone will point out that there's hay on me somewhere! LOL :D The other thing is we live in such a small town up here in the mountains of western NC that EVERYONE dresses either casual or super-casual, so again, my challenge is to NOT look like a total hick farm-girl when out amongst the "city-folk".

Scrumpy, I absolutely know what you mean about leaving the horses, (our cats and dogs are well taken care of by my aunt who comes and petsits/housesits). Even though the same couple who help us with the barn chores and horses on a regular basis, take care of the horse babies when we go out of town, there is ALWAYS the concern that they aren't taking care of my babies the way I take care of my babies! I worry that they don't get put in when we have bad lightening and thunderstorms; or that they don't get fed on time, etc., etc. The fur children are always what I worry about the most when we go out of town.

Anyway..................back to packing. One thing I'm taking with me is a Tide pen. They work great on spots. I've got the backpacks for the shore excursions, but it sure is going to seem strange to not take my purse with me!

[Set2travel]

Hello everybody! I have really missed this thread. I took a mini 4 day vacation to Highlands North Carolina...and I felt as though I was practicing for Alaska. It was cold. The high Sat/Sun was high 40's :eek:

We golfed a mountian course on Friday and during the day it was low 60's but got really chilly later in the day.

OK Scumpy I am going to have to Google your Ryan Giggs. What a great story! I see the animals are still a big topic. Our squirrels have turned over the bird feeder numberous times and I have tried everything I know to get them to stay grounded to eat. They will leap from the deck onto the feeder I saw on one of these threads a website http://www.petsitters.org/index.cfm and I typed in my zip code and a whole host of sitters were diplayed. They are bonded and come with references. I might have seen this on this thread so please forgive me if this is a duplicate. I thought it was great that they listed their specialty. Good luck with all of your babies. I left my boys home alone with our little furry babies for the first time ever...the house was still standing and the dogs were alive ...Success!

I bought a new suitcase...very nice Nine West 30" rolling bag. Great buy too...TJ Maxx for $79.00 regular $350..or so they say. I am taking it and a carry on. This trip I am taking colors that mix and match black being my basic color. I am trying to decide if we are going to bother with the Formal night or not...honestly the only reason we ever do is because it is the only time we are in a picture together!

[NHCruisr]

Last night I decided to do a trial run with my Alaska outfit. It was 50 degrees and raining here in NH. I checked the weather in Juneau and it was 55 and raining so I figured it was a good comparison.

 

I wore jeans, a short sleeve tee shirt, a fleece, and my rain jacket with hood. I had on my hiking sneaker type shoes that I've sprayed with waterproofing.

 

I took our dog, Danny Boy, for a nice long walk. I was warm enough and dry enough, except for the legs of my jeans which were wet and uncomfortable. Now I know I am definitely taking my golf rain pants. If I was going to stay out for a long time, I would have wanted a fleece hat and gloves. By the way, the dog was soaked!

 

I think I am getting obsessive about this topic.

[vfb2girls]

Actually that idea of wearing your clothing in similiar weather conditions is not a bad idea. I am going to be going fishing through out the spring and summer and at least one of the week-ends we go it is cold, windy and rainy so I am going to be trying out my goretex jacket and pants to see just how well they work. We are not going to Alaska until June 2007 so this will give me plenty of time to find the right clothes. I also am not to keen on having to not only buy but drag along formal wear for our cruise but since this will be our very first I figured I at least needed to attend one of the formal nights but with not only doing a 7 day cruise we also are doing a 12 day land tour that we have to drag clothes around for so I am really interested in what others pack when they take an Alaskan vacation.

[luvthis]

Hey...wouldn't it be cool if there were clothes dryers that were accessible on all the ships? Drat...I know the Mercury doesn't have that. We leave Monday for Alaska on Mercury. Infinity had a laundry area that passengers could use 5 years ago, but I don't know if she still does.

 

I just don't know how to stay within the weight limitations set by the airline and still pack for 3 formal nights and for all types of weather. Hmmm...sure doesn't help that Bob & I are chubby, too. Somehow we'll figure it out. The tips on this site are great. Thanks to all of you.

 

Best,

--Jean & Bob, Racine, Wisconsins

[sea_u_onboard]

I just don't know how to stay within the weight limitations set by the airline and still pack for 3 formal nights and for all types of weather.

Are you going in early? The reason I ask is you can always MAIL yourself a box to your hotel - put your suitcase inside. Then you take it on the ship. When you get to your last port you pack it back in your box - which you have saved - and mail it back to yourself. Use a softsided suitcase so the weight is less. It MIGHT save you over what the airline would charge - plus you only have to worry about getting the bag from the hotel to the ship.

 

Just be sure to ask the hotel HOW to mail a package to yourself. When you mail it back you can send it the cheapest way possible.

[luvthis]

Unfortunately, we are flying to San Diego on the same day we depart. That's a great suggestion, though. I have had friends suggest we mail our souvenirs home from our last port and we may just do that, depending on how much we buy.

 

It's our first time to Alaska and we are excited. Since we're from Wisconsin our bodies are still in "winter mode". We will pack in layers, but don't have rain pants, etc...I hope the weather will be sunny part of the time, but I know there aren't any guarantees.

 

--Jean

[6Arabianhorses]

I just don't know how to stay within the weight limitations set by the airline and still pack for 3 formal nights and for all types of weather. Hmmm...sure doesn't help that Bob & I are chubby, too. Somehow we'll figure it out. The tips on this site are great. Thanks to all of you.

 

 

I think most airlines only charge $25 for 51 - 75 pounds when you are over and it goes up from there, but not sure of those figures. It's hard to pack with a 50 pound weight limit when the suitcase itself weighs 10+ pounds!

 

BTW, I like to think of DH and myself as "fluffy".........like our kitty, Patches. She's not fat, she's just fluffy! :p

[luvthis]

I think most airlines only charge $25 for 51 - 75 pounds when you are over and it goes up from there, but not sure of those figures. It's hard to pack with a 50 pound weight limit when the suitcase itself weighs 10+ pounds!

 

BTW, I like to think of DH and myself as "fluffy".........like our kitty, Patches. She's not fat, she's just fluffy! :p

 

I wish I could just call Bob & I fluffy, but fluff doesn't require XL sizes. Phoey! Anyway, I guess if we end up over the weight limit, we'll just have to pay the piper, so to speak. Thanks for the info. It's been 5 years since our last cruise and that was to Hawaii, so we had a lot of light material stuff packed. Hmmm...it will be okay, I'm sure.

 

--Jean & Bob

[dderm]

It's been 5 years since our last cruise and that was to Hawaii, so we had a lot of light material stuff packed. Hmmm...it will be okay, I'm sure.

--Jean & Bob

 

Sorry about hijacking this thread for a minute, but just wanted to see if you are the Jean & Bob that DH & I (James & Rosemary) sailed with on the Celebrity Century back in '98?

[luvthis]

Sorry about hijacking this thread for a minute, but just wanted to see if you are the Jean & Bob that DH & I (James & Rosemary) sailed with on the Celebrity Century back in '98?

 

Do you realize how many times we've thought about the two of you!! Yes...it is us!!!! That was a wonderful vacation that was, even though we did end up doing a west/west back to back cruise instead of a east/west back to back cruise due to the hurricane that fall. How are you both? Wow! See, fellow cruisers, what can happen when you cruise? Friends are friends, even if they lose the connection for awhile. My mind is racing remembering all the fun times we shared on week 2 of that cruise package with you & James.

 

Send me your e-mail address and we can catch up! You can reach me at jean@eumchurch.com

 

--Jean

[jigger_b]

This is all too much fun reading! Thanks...needed the laugh.

 

Packing this weekend for an Alaska cruise we're headed for on 5/22. We work full time and hubby wants to go camping the weekend before the weekend we leave (having head examined for saying OK). We're doing a 7 day cruise & a 6 day land excursion...this will be fun. It's our 25th wedding anniversary.

 

Add to this, I had a complete rupture of a rotator cuff a few weeks back and have since had surgery so...gee, what formal goes with a blue & white arm sling? At least I get out of physical torture, I mean therapy, for a few weeks. The woman heard screaming behind the cabin door is not excited, she is doing her stretching exercises!

 

Will look into that LE 3-in-1, was going shopping for something Gor-Tex as I hear that's a good fabric for this trip. I can guarantee you I will have one suitcase and hubby will have two, three, four...

[emarismom]

Okay everyone, back to the clothes issue. I live in jean capris, short sleeve tops, and sandals. I always wear sandals because I really don't like the look of capri's and sneakers. So should I just plan on not bringing any jean capris? I think I only have two pair of normal jeans, guess I may have to just buy more;). I will also have 3 days in Seattle, will the weather there be okay for capri's and sandals?

6Arabianhorses,

I'm going to try to have four pieces of luggage for a family of four.

One for my husband and I, one for the kids, one garment bag, and the last one for any extra things that I couldn't fit in due to the weight limit. I'm hoping that the fourth one is really light so that I can fill it up:rolleyes: . I'd rather have an extra piece of luggage than pay the extra money.

[Boulder]

Sorry Scrumpy don't know what happened to my reply off in cyberspace probably.

 

Two coincidences - First of all I went to Kardamena in 1984/5 when it was just a little fishing village with only a couple of restaurants near the beach. Then last year we went back, what a change, didn't recognise the place. What hotel did you stay in? Reason I ask is I've always kept in touch (Christmas cards) with the lady who was our maid there. When we went back last year ,she met us as we stepped off the plane and then spent several days showing us all the non touristy places on the island. Anyway, her husband is the executive chef at the Norinda Hotel and it's sister hotels whose name escapes me.

 

Now fancy you being chatted up by Giggsy, Mike was going to speak to him about that today when he went into work!!!

Know him quite well, but know his mum even better, we met up on a European trip back in 1999and have spent many a racous evening together since!! Giggsy is a lovely lad, a fantastic dancer and does a mean Elvis impersonation. Eldest daughter was quite smitten for a time.

Arsenal? who are they? are they the 'English' team with a French manager and no English players?

 

Things hectic here just now, one of England's great young players has just broken his foot, he just happens to play for Man Utd so DH is under mega pressure to get him fit for World Cup. It's been headline news for the last 5days, the world and his wife has suddenly become an expert on broken metatarsels. You would not believe the amount of rubbish he gets sent to try, when this happened to David Beckham we got sent dried cow pats from Africa, chicken bones to stew from China etc etc. One day DH

will write a book on his experiences and we'll be rich!!

 

When are you off on your trip? Loved the colour of your jacket maybe I could borrow it?

 

Oh well must go and plan science lesson for tomorrow.

Bye

[Boulder]

vfb2girls - you should worry we're over for 41/2 weeks - Banff, Rocky Mountaineer train, Vancouver, cruise, Vancouver again, Seattle then San Francisco and you should see the size of our new suitcases DH bought, I've taken bigger ones on a long weekend trip!!

Can guarantee we'll fall out when it comes to packing

[stampinshauna]

Thanks to all for the suggestions in this thread. After reading the first 4 pages I decided that I really should get a 3-in-1 jacket for my cruise which leaves THIS SATURDAY. Thank goodness LLBEAN has expedited shipping!

[Scrumpy]

Whenever we go somewhere, I always have the challenge of getting out of my "farm/barn" wardrobe groove and actually wearing something stylish every day..........not to mention getting dressed up for formal nights! :eek: All of a sudden I'm having to coordinate shoes and outfits. Don't get me wrong, I'm a clothes horse (no pun intended :p ), but all the nice stuff stays in my closet along with all the cute shoes, hardly ever seeing the light of day. Even the girls and patients at our office are used to seeing me in jeans and sneakers every day! It's just easier to buzz home and throw the horses in.............like yesterday when we had some bad thunderstorms................and not get good clothes "horseified". Although, inevitably, someone will point out that there's hay on me somewhere! LOL :D The other thing is we live in such a small town up here in the mountains of western NC that EVERYONE dresses either casual or super-casual, so again, my challenge is to NOT look like a total hick farm-girl when out amongst the "city-folk".

 

Scrumpy, I absolutely know what you mean about leaving the horses, (our cats and dogs are well taken care of by my aunt who comes and petsits/housesits). Even though the same couple who help us with the barn chores and horses on a regular basis, take care of the horse babies when we go out of town, there is ALWAYS the concern that they aren't taking care of my babies the way I take care of my babies! I worry that they don't get put in when we have bad lightening and thunderstorms; or that they don't get fed on time, etc., etc. The fur children are always what I worry about the most when we go out of town.

 

Anyway..................back to packing. One thing I'm taking with me is a Tide pen. They work great on spots. I've got the backpacks for the shore excursions, but it sure is going to seem strange to not take my purse with me!

 

It's a challenge to go out into the world and change gears. I haven't had to dress in years except for weddings, funerals, and cruises. By the time I stopped working, the company had gone to business casual. The idea of panty hose is downright frightening now and I only wear makeup under duress! The good side is that now my preferred dress is the one that makes sense:) Oh - the hay...it's everywhere and inescapable. I love fleece, but have to wear a jean jacket or barn coat over it or I am dripping it all over the house. Last year, one of the horses got a huge swelling on his chest right after we left. Vet came to check, but nothing ever came of it; you can feel something in there now - a year later. We reckon it is scar tissue or something. He never did abscess. We've had some mild colics and cuts/scratches come up when we were gone. They're normally very healthy, so it's almost like they save up sick time so we can panic a thousand miles away... My biggest worry is not that they won't be fed properly; they don't have a really set schedule any more and I think they are less anxious this way. I'm worried they'll be turned out too much and destroy the pastures. We have so little grass that management is very serious. I am trying to have faith... Gee, I don't really want to take a backpack. I will have to find my fannypack. I know they look dorky, but that's okay with me :D

[Scrumpy]

Set2travel – Your time away sounds great. Sorry the weather wasn’t warmer for you!!! Ryan Giggs is a famous, very talented soccer player in England. At the time, the best comparison I could come up with in terms of ability and celebrity was Emmitt Smith from the Dallas Cowboys. He seemed like a nice guy. DH was horrified when he realized who he’d brushed off. I felt really bad that he didn’t get to actually talk to the guy. They weren’t being inappropriate or anything, so his reaction surprised me. Guess it’s because we had only been married a few weeks… Ahhh – the critters: success at last!:D I am happy to report that today I had three squirrels eating off the GROUND. They will always get in the bird feeder, but I was glad they actually ate the food I got for them. They were also eating the sunflower seeds. It was very peaceful until the dog tried to go through the window, LOL! One thing that is easy to keep safe from squirrels is suet. I hung it over the winter and they can’t reach down when it’s dangling. Your reason for attending formal nights is the same as ours. I initially suggested that we get a photo done professionally once a year when we were first married. Thought it’d be nice to see the changes through the years. We have never done it. So…that means we buy the ones on cruises and any awful, tacky souvenir ones from Universal Studios or anywhere else they snap a picture and offer it for sale:rolleyes: … Great news about all the choices you’ll have for a pet sitter! There were only a few in our area when I checked, but it’s been a while. I hope it works out for you!!! And, congrats on the new luggage; the price sounds great to me.

Emarismom – I am taking (olive green) capris and sandals. I figure I can at least wear them on the ship. Some people wear those cute little canvas sneakers or slip-ons with capris. I think that looks okay. Docksiders might look okay, too, if you are firmly against sneakers and questioning bringing sandals. I’m probably taking these horribly ugly Birkenstock sandals, but they are comfortable and pack flat. (Not a fashion plate here!) I am also considering a pair of Dr. Scholl’s sandals, but I don’t know where they are. I think I bought 2 pair last year and I gave one to my mom when she visited. She got all excited because she always wore them when I was a kid and she hadn’t seen any in years. The only problem is now I don’t know what happened to the other pair - or what colorthey are, LOL!:eek: Anyway, I am taking casual sandals of some kind. We also have 3 days in Seattle, but with all the walking we do there, I may wear sneakers.

Happy shopping and packing, ya'll!!! :)