Friday, August 17, 2012

Bon Voyage!

To celebrate my parent's 25th wedding anniversary, Papas booked an Alaskan cruise for him and Mommacita - then, he extended the invitation to Marcus and I! We had to think it over for all of two seconds before shouting "YES!"

Our first stop was flying from the great ol' U.S.of A. to Vancouver. This was my first trip to Canada - other than as a baby - and I absolutely fell IN LOVE with Vancouver!!


After a good night sleep, we were all dressed and ready to head to the cruise ship a little ahead of schedule. One of our favorite things to do in a new place is to take an open air bus tour of the city. I truly think it's the best way to sightsee and determine what areas you want to go spend more time in. So, we dropped off our luggage at the ship's loading area and hopped on a tour bus! It did NOT disappoint!


We love the Olympics in this family, so it was pretty cool to see all of the "added benefits" that Vancouver implemented for the 2010 Olympics. The Laughing Statues were one of our favorite things on the tour. You can frequently see visitors posing like the statues and having their pictures taken. Our guide said the whole idea was to inspire laughter and joy, simply by looking at and imitating these crazy statues.


One we finished the tour, it was time to head to the ship!




Naturally, one of the most fun things to do when first arriving on a cruise ship is to explore and get the lay of the land! We happened to wander into the jewelry store, and while looking around, and one of the ladies working in the shop asked if I would be interested in modeling some jewelry in the fashion show on one of our sea days.

The jewelry loving, performer inside of me practically jumped up and down and squealed - the practical Elizabeth smiled and said "Sure, what do I need to wear?" Luckily, I'm a chronic over-packer and had packed a few long dresses for our time onboard.

When I arrived at the store the night of the fashion show, one of the participants was a no-show. They asked if anyone would be willing to model twice... crickets... "I'm happy to do it!" That's right, this girl is willing to do whatever it takes for the show to go on! Even if it means wearing beautiful white diamonds AND tanzanite. It's hard work, but someone's got to do it!

As you can see, my escort and I had some fun during our walk - we had to be the best of course - and the spin was his idea! Got to love Boston boys! What you don't see in these photos, though, was the mad dash to switch my jewelry and run up the back stairs - in heels and a long dress - for my second walk. We made it back with literally 2 seconds to spare. Smile... and go!


We had SUCH a blast on the ship. Even though we all tend to get "cabin fever," we enjoyed the down time on the boat. There were many games of Kings in the Corner and we even took part in cruise organized bingo and trivia games! Marcus and I dominated the "Name that Broadway Tune" trivia.

Because we took so many pictures, I've broken my Alaska re-cap into 4 different posts. You are going to love the pictures in the upcoming days. I still find myself gazing at them in total awe of the magnificent creation that God whipped up!

xoxo, E

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