Alaska | The Beginning.

...is always the best place to start, right? We all arrived in Vancouver at different times, but Thursday, August 17, we were there together. The cruise left that afternoon, so we had the morning free. After I wrote a quick blog post, I walked over to Stanley Park with Karen and Ron.

It was a beautiful blue skies day and we had a gorgeous view of the city from the park.

We boarded the ship just in time for lunch.

That was the first of many (many!!) wonderful meals, but the only time I visited the "all you can eat" buffet for lunch. It was also the only lunch I had outside!

It was a beautiful afternoon and evening as we sailed from Vancouver.

After a restful night's sleep (also the first of many - I love sleeping on a ship!), I was up early to see the sunrise.

This was a day at sea, and we had no plans but to explore the ship and get our sea legs. It took the better part of the morning for me; and by the late afternoon, we were all in good shape. We showed up for Team Trivia (this was a cruise-long tournament; we played every day!) and got off to a great start - second place! We called our team "Famous Grouse" after Daddy's favorite scotch.

We had dinner that night at The Grill, a poolside restaurant featuring "hot rocks". Yep, they put a hot rock in front of you; you cook your food yourself! It was fun, but messy (and chilly). That was the only time Mother and I ate there.

The evening was really windy!

But the sunset was glorious.

We all went to bed early, anticipating a full day when we docked in Ketchican the following morning.  And so ends the beginning!

A quick Irma update - my mom is bunkered down at her house with my aunt and her friend, who evacuated from North Palm Beach yesterday. The three of them are well-provisioned and prepared for heavy rain and wind. We are getting evacuees here, too (and expecting a few more at Sunday's luncheon as a result). The lines for gas and groceries are already long.

Wishing everyone a happy and safe weekend!