Grant, Baron and I had the incredible opportunity to join the Raper Family on The Trip of a Lifetime (#TOL) as they journeyed to Alaska on their beautiful boat this past July. Well technically my whole family was invited but there was no chance I was taking a pair of 3 year old twins on a boat for 10 days.....do you blame me? I didn't think so :)
The craziness started when I picked up my mom or "Nana Laurie" at the airport on 07/01 since she was holding down the fort at our place with the twins, dog and cat while we were gone. The next 24 hours were busy to say the least with LOTS of instructions for mom (mostly Mav's shots, tube and night feedings), laundry, packing and organizing. Our actual trip started the evening of 07/02 with Grant, Baron and I traveling to WA to meet up with the boat/family and we left port first thing on 07/03 (think 5:00 am). Baron was SO excited to be on the boat! He loved everything about it and most of my water worries quickly slipped away as we ventured on. He understood and respected that he had to wear his life jacket anytime he was outside and there had to be an adult with him. He had complete freedom inside and had a total blast with his cousins. I really enjoyed my time with Shannon/Joel, the kids and the utter relaxation of journeying on a boat. Here is a rundown of our stops in BC and our final destination of Ketchikan, Alaska:
Day #1 - Leave WA on 07/03 and travel into Canada. We dock at Telegraph Harbor for the night. A beautiful little area with great weather. The kids enjoyed ice cream cones and then kayaking & paddle boarding.
Excited Much??
Canadian Customs
Grant & Baron
Cousins Kayaking
Day #2 - Happy 4th of July! Another early morning departure and full day of travel. Day consists of visiting, games, books and naps. Does it get much better than that?? We dock for the night at Campbell River and wander up to the closest shopping which is....Canadian Target. Purchase some great souvenirs and back to the boat for dinner.
Napping Cousins - Ava & Baron
Day #3 - Early morning departure on 07/05 and day consists of Baron discovering a new passion, Wii golf. Travel to Port McNeill where we dock for the night. Out to pizza for dinner and after, the kids burn some energy rolling down hills. *Note - Canadian pizza toppings are NOT the same as American. At least not where we stopped.
Day #4 - 07/06 Started the morning out a little later due to bad weather. This day was one of only two that we traveled in open ocean and the men wanted to try to avoid anything too nasty for the ladies/safety of the boat. Baron and I ended up napping most of the time we were in open water and while there was movement from the waves/wind, neither of us got sick and enjoyed the ride. We ended up at a little fishing resort called Duncanby and it was beautiful. Scenery was beautiful, the family had dinner at the resort restaurant, big kids did some kayaking and while Shannon/Joel & Grant/I were sitting outside having adult time, we heard whales swimming by.
One of my favorite pics of the trip!
Grace paddle boarding
Day #5 - 07/07 Early morning departure and traveled to Shearwater. Arrived fairly early in the afternoon and wandered around the tiny town. Not much to see or do here but the kids spent time on the water while the guys fixed something on the boat (water pump, I think). Highlight of Baron's day was watching a helicopter land and then take off again right in front of the boat. Low point of the day was when one of the inflatable (rather expensive) kayaks accidentally was popped. After that, we got rid of all bananas on the boat.....
Day #6 - It's July 8th and Happy Birthday Ava! We had sunny weather as we traveled, spotted humpback whales and explored a waterfall. We arrived at Khutze Inlet and anchored for the night. Beautiful scenery where we put the tender down and took a ride up the river. Had a fun night celebrating Ava with individual cheese cakes for dessert (Shannon was thinking ahead), games and movies. Grant, Baron and I got up early and took a quick ride the following morning where we saw loads of bald eagles and mama seals with their pups.
Whale watching
Day #7 - Took off in the morning on 07/09 and did some fishing on the way out. Caught a halibut, octopus and starfish. Passed an old cannery which was very neat to see and traveled to Lowe Inlet for the night. We heard there was a high likelihood of seeing bears here, so what do we do?? Go for a hike in the middle of nowhere where we get attacked by bugs and I end up falling on my tush....in the mud(figures!). Good memories to laugh about later. Really seeing the days stretch out since at 11:00 pm it is still light and felt more like 7:00 pm.
Day #8 - Travel to Prince Rupert on 07/10 and we are again blessed with gorgeous weather. This is our last stop in British Columbia before we pass into Alaska. We arrive fairly early in the afternoon and are eager to explore. It is a very cute & clean area with fun shops and I believe a lot of cruise ships stop here.
The rough life ;) Cousins watching movies together
Exploring Prince Rupert
Leaving Prince Rupert the following morning
Day #9 - 07/11 Goodbye Canada, Hello Alaska! We make it to Ketchikan in the early afternoon and head out to explore. Loved it here and the weather loved us back. The temp was in the upper 70's and we kept hearing from locals that it was rarely that nice. Spend time exploring, picking up souveniers and walking around town. There were at least 3 cruise ships docked when we got there which made for a lot of downtown activity.
Day #10 - Travel day for the ladies and kids but first Shannon and I run back into town for more shopping. Back to the boat for a quick lunch and the men are dropping us off at the Ketchikan airport (literally docking the boat long enough for us to jump off with our bags). We say goodbye since the guys will be going out for another week of fishing in Craig. This is Baron's first airplane ride and he LOVED it! The take off and landing were his favorite part. He also got his first train ride (from airport terminal to baggage) AND rode in a limo from the airport to our cars. What a day!
Day #11 - 07/13 Baron, Nancy and I get up early to start our drive home. We make it home by early afternoon and are so, so happy to see the twins! We get to spend the day with my mom before she heads to the airport the next morning for her flight home.
Whoo.......What a vacation!!
*Note - Since I am so behind on updating this blog, I am sure there are moments I missed and tons of photos that I didn't post. There may be a follow-up or two in the future as I recall priceless moments:)
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