Jan's Super Sweet 60th

My siblings and I threw my Mom a surprise 60th birthday party this last weekend.  My older brother and his sweet wife were generous enough to have the party at their home. We all texted back and forth figuring out party details for months. It was fun to see it all come together. Per usual, I forgot to take photos of everything set up and completed, but I did manage to snap a few iphone pictures along the way. Unfortunately, the night before the party, I got really sick with food poisoning (nasty taco bell). So I was up all night and didn't have a chance to rest before the party. My siblings were awesome and set everything up, loaded and unloaded cars and my little brother even put up with me being a little bossy. My oldest sister hung gorgeous lanterns from Japan town all over the yard, it was stunning. The party was perfect, our Mom was in 7th heaven having all of her friends and family there to celebrate with her. Oh, and I can't forget to mention the food. The freaking incredible food. Sadly, I wasn't really up for eating just yet, because I was realllllyyyy looking forward to the flatbread pizzas that were catered. My sister and little nephew made desserts to die for (see her blog here), and he even pitched in on making his favorite mushroom pizza (see pic below). 

 

The Worst Day

The last day of the cruise was the worst day. We cruised back into the San Francisco Bay and docked. We had beautiful views of the city and perfect weather but I hated that our journey was over.  The whole trip was so relaxing, so fun and definitely a trip I could take over and over again. 

Victoria

I love California, my family is in California, I was raised in California, the weather is perfect in California, BUT, if I didn't live in California, I would want to live in Victoria BC. It is so beautiful. Gorgeous buildings, on the water, colorful city, amazing food, I just love it. We got picked up at the dock by our driver for the day. He showed up in an incredible old-school Cadillac. My dad was in 7th heaven. He took us all over Victoria and knew so much about the beautiful city. Any and every fun fact you may need or want to know- this guy had the answer. We mentioned how beautiful the hanging floral baskets were on the light posts and he knew how many there were in the city! We drove around the different areas, Stopped at Butchart Gardens, walked around the Empress Hotel downtown and saw the Capital building. I am hoping to plan a trip for a few days to explore the city even more.

  

Tracy Arm Fjord

As we started our journey back to San Francisco, we stopped and sailed through the Tracy Arm Fjord. A Fjord is formed when a glacier cuts a U-shaped valley by ice separation and abrasion. The Tracy Arm Fjord ends at a glacier. We entered the Fjord at 5am and turned around at the glacier at 8am to head back to open water. The water was so brilliantly blue and green, it was breathtaking. There were large pieces of the glacier that had broken off cluttering our way through the Fjord. It was so beautiful and peaceful. We dragged some lounge chairs out to a balcony on the back of the ship and just sat in awe. 

Skagway

After Juneau we headed north to Skagway. Skagway is one of my favorite little towns in Alaska. It was one of the largest populated towns in during the Yukon gold rush and the whole town still looks like it is stuck in 1898. We spend the day on a speed boat tour and then on a train ride up to Canada. 

 While out on the speed boat, this whale came up 15 ft away from us. We were all in awe of the size and beauty of this creature, but as soon as he dove back down under water I was nervous that he would re-surface under our boat. 

My little brother received his call to serve a mission for our church while we were in Skagway. He was called to serve in Lubbock, Texas and will be speaking spanish.  

Our ship.