12 days and counting!

In just twelve short days we will be on the road again! We will be flying from San Diego to Vancouver, British Columbia and boarding the beautiful Holland America Volendam for a 13 day adventure on water and land.

As a travel agent and an Alaska Destination Specialist, this is a trip that we have been looking forward to because it will take us to places we have only dreamed about visiting.

We will start our adventure in Vancouver - the home of the Winter Olympics in 2010. As we sail out of Vancouver in the late afternoon, we will pass Stanley Park (one of our favorite places to visit in Vancouver) and our voyage will begin North to Alaska.

We will enter the Strait of Georgia and travel along Vancouver Island which is the home of a resident pod of orca whales known as "J" pod. Granny and Ruffles are the two oldest members of this pod. Granny is the matriarch and thought to be almost 90years old! Along with her son, Ruffles, they lead the pod through the waters in and around Vancouver Island. There are over 40 members of this pod. We hope to get a glimpse of them gliding graciously through the waters as we pass by!

From Vancouver we will continue on up the Inside Passage past Wrangell and Petersberg to Tracy Arm Fjord which is off of Stepens Passage across from Admiralty Island. We will visit the North and the South Sawyer Glaciers (Twin Sawyer Glaciers) and then spend an afternoon in Juneau, the capital of Alaska.

From Juneau, we will continue up Stephens Passage to Lyn Canal where we will cruise to Skagway. We will disembark the ship in Skagway and will spend the night there. That afternoon, Jim and I are scheduled to take a float plane ride!

The next morning we will board the White Pass and Yukon Railroad traveling along the same route that the gold miners hiked one after the other in 1898 hoping to strike it rich in the gold fields in the Yukon. We'll visit Lake Bennet and eventually arrive in Whitehorse, where we will spend the night and enjoy the Frantic Follies Vaudeville Revue.

From Whitehorse, we will board a motor coach to Dawson City and stay overnight in the Klondike National Historic Site. We will then visit Dawson City or Tombstone Park and learn more about the Gold Rush and visit the gold fields and explore where a full range of wildlife roams free.

On Day 8 we will cruise the Yukon River on the MV Yukon Queen II catamaran and hear tales of river pilors, mail carriers, prospectors and Mounties as we travel to the small Alaskan town of Eagle.

A motor coach will take us up the Alaska Range and along the TransAlaska Pipeline to Fairbanks on Day 9 where we will visit Gold Dredge No, 8 and actually give a good try at panning for gold ourselves.

On Day 10 we will board the McKinley Explorer (Alaska Railroad), and travel along the scenic byway as we travel through the heart of Alaska to Denali National Park where we will stay for two nights. Not only do we hope to get to see Mt. McKinley, we have high hopes of seeing a lot of wildlife on our Tundra Wilderness Tour. We could see Caribou,moose, grizzly bears, wolves, Dall sheep, bald eagles and
much more.

From Denali on Day 12, we will again board the McKinley Explorer and travel the rail down to Anchorage. In Anchorage, we have plans to meet up with my dear pen pal Pattie and enjoy some time catching up with her. Our last day will find us on a 26 Glacier Cruise out of Whittier that will take us into the Prince William Sound to visit 26 "named" glaciers including those in College Fjord. We will see all types of glaciers including Alpine (hanging), Piedmont and Tidewater glaciers( glaciers traveling down valleys towards the ocean). Getting up close to these towering masses of ice, we will be able to "hear" them move while they groan and crack as they move ever so slowly to the icy glacial waters below. There will be many "bergie bits" (small chunks of ice floating in the water) and the glaciers will be brilliant colors of blue and turquoise.

And, as with all vacations our time will end sooner than we want and we will find ourselves on our way home. We hope you'll join us on June 30th as we take to the skies to Vancouver and set sail on the first day of our journey. I'll be posting blogs all along the way, so you can come along if you want!

Now - I've got to start packing!