The Cruise Begins

Sunday morning, July 14th, we picked up Kent, Linda, Greg and Kristie from the Seattle airport and made our way to Pier 91 to board the Golden Princess.  The twelve of us completely filled the taxi van and nearly toppled the luggage cart at the pier!  We had beautiful views of Seattle as the ship started to pull away.  Shortly thereafter, we were summoned to our "mustering stations" for a safety drill, and see the port authority guide boat directing us out to sea.

Monday is a day at sea and we continued to familiarize ourselves with the ship.  Here's a few photos of the Golden Princess which were taken throughout the week. 

  The first formal night provided an opportunity for us to see each other at our best!

At one of the silly games played on board, Kristie was selected to be one of the participants in "Peer Factor".  She put on a large and roomy costume which her teammates had to stuff with more balloons than the other team.  Although they lost that game, they came out later with a winning dance routine that earned them the championship title that evening.

Another memorable "game" was when Sandra's daughter, Michelle, sent her a text saying that she had gone into labor and delivered baby Harvey a little before her due date.  She even sent this cute baby picture as proof.  Isn't that a proud Grandma!  But the next morning after texting with her son, Parker, it was revealed that this was simply a cruel joke!  I'm not sure if I've ever seen steam escaping Sandra's angry brow like it did then!

There were karaoke nights, magic shows. bingo games and some hilarious comedy routines along with the traditional Broadway style song and dance show.  Some of the food was fabulous (and some was not) but it was always plentiful.  I think Bob and I found our favorite to be the thick rich chocolate malts!  (That's what living in Korea does to you!)  But the true highlights of this cruise were found in the natural beauty of Alaska discovered at each port and from the deck along the scenic voyage. (To be seen in the next few posts.)

 But the best part of the whole experience was being with some of our very best friends - our family!  Here's lookin' at the handsome bunch of us one more time from our second formal night:  (My brothers and I - oldest to youngest - with Mark missing as the second youngest in the family.  Seriously, do we look anything alike?!  Maybe the chin?)

 And here's the message we want to leave with you:

Alaskan Cruise - Seattle

Every other year, my siblings and I plan a "Hill Reunion", and we decided that the summer of 2013 was to be a reunion of siblings and spouses only.  We love having all the kids and grand kids together, but sometimes it is very difficult to accommodate the whole gang.  I think the posterity of Max and Donna now numbers around 66!  So, at Doug's suggestion, we booked a 7-day Alaskan cruise for July 14th.  Mark and Sarah had to bow out of the arrangements when they found out that Sarah was due with daughter number two early in May.  Norah's arrival was a far greater gift to the Hill family than the cruise, but we sure missed having Mark and Sarah with us!

Doug, Sandra, Jim, Shauna, Dave, Melita, Bob and I arrived in Seattle on the 12th and spent a couple of days exploring the city.  We drove down to the pier and found a nice seafood restaurant for dinner.  Then our next stop was to drive out of the city to see Doug and Sandra's old stomping grounds and make a surprise visit to Brian and Paige Ballard.  Brian is our cousin - the second son of Linda (mom's sister) and Dell.  I think we both shocked and scared the family with our unannounced arrival!  But of course, they were perfectly welcoming - until Jim had their kids in tears with his teasing, as usual.

 

On Saturday, we wondered around Pike's Peak Market.  What a great place!  We admired the fresh fish, flowers, fruits and more.  We sampled lots of yummy food including crumpets, pastries, Turkish delight, chocolates, and Rainer cherries, of course!

Seattle is a fun city with a vibe all it's own.  We laughed at the crazy "artwork" we enjoyed while strolling around the home of the original and only naked Starbucks mermaid.

  

Later that afternoon, we headed over to the space needle for a bird's eye view of the city. A polish festival was going on nearby where we grabbed some lunch before ascending the tower.  Next to the needle is a Chihuly glass art museum which we caught glimpses of.  From the observation deck of the Space Needle, the view was amazing and we were fortunate to have such perfect weather!  Mt. Rainer looked like a massive floating guardian hovering over Seattle.  We enjoyed watching pontoon planes land on the lake and discovered the port from which our Princess cruise ship would depart the next day.  Did you notice the 40-ft. giant daddy long leg spiders atop one of the nearby buildings?  Our visit to the needle produced one of those cheesy photos that makes no sense - it's supposed to be a view of the city from the observation deck - but what do you see in the background . . .

A full day of fun ended with dinner at the ole' Spagetti Factory, followed by sweet dreams of Alaskan wilderness and never-ending food buffets dancing in our heads.  Are you ready to cruise?!