There's a couple reasons I haven't blogged in the last two weeks. One is that family project I mentioned, which is a Christmas present I've done for the last few years. It takes about 40-50 hours, and I was trying to get it done before the trip, and finished 11pm the night before the flight to Seattle, and from there I hopped on a cruise ship for a glorious week of beautiful amazement.
Visiting Alaska has been on my bucket list for years, and quite a few months ago this trip was planned. The cruise was through Norwegian on their Encore ship, and currently their cruises are vaccination only, requiring a Covid test on site. I went with my parents, and if any of us tested negative we wouldn't be allowed on the ship. I've been junking out on YouTube cruise channels, getting all the updates. Honestly it's like watching a soap opera with all the ups and downs the cruise industry is experiencing. (Some of my favorite channels: Don's Family Vacations, La Lido Loca, The Shiplife, EECC Travels).
The CDC has a cruise ship color status, and the Encore was yellow, then green right before our trip, and then turned orange while I was on the ship. It's still orange, which means that the CDC is currently monitoring the situation. During the cruise I never felt at danger and felt quite safe.
The cruise itself was amazing. We had four ports (Icy Strait Point, Skagway, Juneau, and Ketchikan) and a cruise to Dawes glacier. Leading up to the cruise the weather looked grim, but the only port that got rained out was Juneau, and it was still fun. That was such a nice day.
This cruise is also a blessing for another reason. When I met with the surgeon about my gallbladder situation, I expected that the surgery wouldn't happen until I got back. He's been to Alaska and had a great time, and wanted me to enjoy the experience as well. Getting me in that Wednesday gave me a month to heal. After the operation when he said I wouldn't have made it a month, what he technically said was that I wouldn't have made it to the cruise. Makes me wonder how I would have been without the rush. On the cruise I was able to overcome some of my food fears that developed this last year, still had some issues, but overall it was good.
Glad to be back, but it was nice to unplug. I didn't have a wifi package, and connection was iffy on shore, so I was completely cut off. Been catching up on the news since getting back, and it's gut-wrenching. But for a week it was nice seeing beautiful things and experiencing some normal at the same time.
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