The Alaskan Frontier

I've always known that I wanted to embark on an Alaskan Cruise for my babymoon.
What's a babymoon you ask? It's those last few months of husband and wife before mommy and daddy.
Why an Alaskan Cruise you ask?
1. You can't drink --> Booze on a cruise is pricey!
2. You can eat as much as you want --> hello free buffet and 5 course dinners!
3. You are HOT-->Alaska is not.

So off we go to Alaska for our babymoon. I am 21 weeks pregnant and counting.
P.S.A. Cruises have cut off dates for traveling while pregnant AND you have to get a doctors note. Be sure to check regulations before booking if you are considering!! Most cut off around 23 weeks.

I'd highly suggest either booking everything with the cruise line or a qualified travel agent or creating a DETAILED schedule for yourself. I took the latter route. Here is a quick outline, sans the excel sheet.
Aug 27 -  Fly to Anchorage
Aug 28 - Anchorage
Aug 29 - Train to Seward, board cruise boat
Aug 30 - Cruise Hubbard Glacier
Aug 31 - Icy Strait Point (Whale Watching)
Sept 1 - Juneau (Mendenhall Glacier, Nugget Falls, Glacier Garden)
Sept 2 - Skagway
Sept 3 - Ketchikan (Deadliest Catch Fishermans Tour)
Sept 4 - Cruise Inside Passage
Sept 5 - Deboard in Vancouver
Sept 6 - Fly home

First stop: Anchorage!
After settling in, we hopped in a taxi and headed to hike flat top mountain. At this point, I was 21.5 weeks pregnant, but feeling super so I was really excited!

Anchorage was amazing, but it was time to see some more of Alaska. We boarded a train for a 4-hour trip down to Seward where we would board our cruise boat and stop at few coast cities before ending up in Vancouver.

First stop on the cruise was actually not a stop at all. We "cruised" by Hubbard Glacier. This thing was MASSIVE. Per typical, the pictures don't do it justice.

Next day we stopped at Icy Strait Point where we hooked up with a local whale watching tour guide. We went with a private charter instead of a big boat with dozens and dozens of people and it was WORTH IT. Talk about a dream come true. Check out how close these orcas came to our vessel.

Next stop, the capital of Alaska, Juneau. I was super excited about this stop because we opted to not have a tour guide, but to do our own thing. It was a great idea! First stop was Mendenhall Glacier and Nugget Falls. There is a Visitor Center you can stop at before entering the area. It explains all about glacier melting, global warming, and local animal life. The difference in Mendenhall Glacier over the past 30 years is startling. Regardless of its shrinking size, its still magnificent to see in person. Nugget Falls was beautiful too, but I think Toby enjoyed skipping rocks the most. 

After a wonderful hike near Mendenhall Glacier, we headed to Glacier Gardens, a local garden famous for its upside down trees. I think of them as works of art myself. Entry to the park included a guided tour on a buggy. Good thing... the garden's ground were on a pretty steep (and big) hill. These pictures show the beautiful indoor garden area, view from the top of the hill, and the famous upside down trees.

After a long day, we were ready for some sleep... but the weather had different plans.A few years ago, nature granted us the wonderful gift of seeing the Aurora Borealis in Sweden. It was majestic and green and dancing and utterly spectacular. Not to be outdone, the skies off Alaska's coast tried to top the event. We saw not only greens and dancing, but pinks and solid sky illumination. It was truly breathtaking. And definitely worth being frozen and staying up until 2AM.

Next stop, Skagway! Not going to lie... we had been hitting it pretty hard so we need a relaxing day. We strolled through town and enjoyed backgammon in a local coffee shop. Is it time for a nap yet?

Next day we got back to our "Go get em" attitude and went on the Deadliest Catch Fishermans Tour. We had such a fun time learning about fishing tactics and marine life in the area. I think these pictures do the tour some justice. Loads of fun!... and screeches!

After a couple days of cruising, we deboarded our home away from home cruise boat in Vancouver, Canada for a 1 night stay before flying home. We decided a walk through Stanley Park and __ Island were our top two picks so we set out for a day of exploring.

Stanley Park was incredible. I think I could spend an entire day or even a week in just this park.

OK, I'm exhausted... time to head home and recharge. Thanks for the memories Alaska and Vancouver! We will DEFINITELY be seeing you again.

#DeenAdventures