08.10.09

08.10.09

Washington State Capitol

We started our morning by driving down to Olympia, Washington to the Capitol building.  It's a really stately building (ha!  duh...), extremely magnificent compared to Juneau!  There are several "matching" buildings on the grounds that house various branches.  The flags on the grounds were all at half mast.  A soldier from Washington had been killed that week in Iraq, so they were honoring him.

We took a tour and learned so many things about the building.  That's Ryan in the rotunda...

All of the light fixtures are from Tiffany, and were so beautiful.

While in the Reception Room, the guide was talking about the antique piano and said it would be really nice if someone was there who could play it since it really sounds so beautiful.  Of course, I immediately said, "He can!" and pointed to Ryan!  He was kind enough to throw out a little Mozart, and it really was beautiful!  He said he didn't mind:)

The chandeliers in the House and Senate Chambers.

Over the balconies in the Rotunda... These are supposed to represent "Fire Urns" like they had in the government areas of ancient Rome.  And I'm sure I got that wrong, but you get the idea...  they are in front of the flags from each county.

More of the Rotunda...

The grounds outside were nice, too... and it was another beautifully, cool, no humidity day!  We were loving this weather!

Ben and Carly... in case you were missing them.

We had our picnic lunch outside on the grounds, after getting our Christmas Ornament from the gift shop. 

In the afternoon, we drove down to Oregon.  We stopped in Portland to check it out and were sadly not impressed.  We did, however, stop at Powell Books because our Guide Book said it was the biggest book store in the US.  I believe it!  We spent some time there (pretty happy that it was color coded!) Carly got the kids version of "Marley and Me" and immediately started reading it.  

We caught a picture of Mount Hood... you might remember it from our FIRST day of pictures, flying over it.

We got a hotel in Salem, Oregon and went out for Mexican food at El Matador.  Another "Drive By" choice, and it was REALLY yummy!  We were missing Ti'juana Flats!  We called Renae for her birthday!

After dinner, we went swimming at the hotel then crashed in our room catching up with iCarly.  Hey, a new episode came out while we were on vacation, and iCarly and iBen were very excited to see it!

Bed... we stay pretty busy!

08.09.09

08.09.09

Washington

We slept in today since we had decided last night to go to the LATE service at church!  We had, of course, breakfast in the hotel... then headed off to Mars Hill Church for services.  We enjoyed the service, although it was quite different for us considering the pastor (Mark Drischoll) wasn't actually THERE, but preaching via satellite from somewhere else.  Everything else was live.  Ridiculously organized children's program with Top Security.  I might have been all impressed if it hadn't taken us 45 minutes to retrieve our daughter.  I kind of wanted to say, "No need for such top security, we lost her on the cruise ship so we already suffer through OUR OWN inadequate security and we are fine with it".  No one was listening.  The Seattle People were pretty nice.

Afterwards, we went to the grocery store (Safeway) and got our lunch things for the week... had a picnic in the hotel room, then headed out to Mount Rainier National Park.

It took us longer to get there than we thought as we had to drive on some back roads, but the drive was COMPLETELY beautiful!  Probably should have gone to the early service!  Along the way we saw these deer playing by the road... 

We finally reached our destination and got our Passport Stamp in the National Parks book Laurie got us last summer.  

No, we do NOT feel the need to go to every National Park, like we do with the capitols, but we will try to go them whenever we are "in the area"... seriously?  The ones we have been to have all been SO BEAUTIFUL!  And peaceful.  

This picture is just because she is cute:

... and who doesn't love blowing weeds all over someone else's yard?  Although, I'm sure she COULD get arrested for doing it at a National Park.  Perhaps I should delete that picture...

This is Christine Falls.  We liked this stop... super pretty, AND we have a friend named Christine so it really made me think of her!  

Note the Death Grip on the kids... The drop behind me was SERIOUSLY a long ways down... and of course my Not Scared of Anything Children were hanging over the edge while cars were whizzing by on the road.  

The bridge is where we WERE standing for the previous pictures.  We hiked down to the bottom to get this view... you will be happy to know, I was NOT wearing flip flops this time.

See, anywhere where they HAVE to post this sign is probably not a great place to take 2 very active children.  I'm just saying.  Fortunately, ONE of said children is a RULE FOLLOWER.  Unfortunately, ONE thinks she's a monkey.  Hmmmmm.

This is our view of what I like to call, The Very Elusive Mount Rainier.  Truth be told, people who LIVE in this area RARELY see the mountain.  The weather is usually raining and overcast.  Visibility is usually nil.  We knew this heading in... anyways, while we were looking around (remember the Sheer Cliffs?  The valley below was BREATHTAKING!) I got to thinking about how great it would be to "blow those clouds away"... if only it were that easy.  There were people behind us who had a tripod with camera set up and said they had been there all day "waiting".  I shot a quick prayer up, you know one like, "oh come on!  PAAAHHHHlease!  We came all this way.... would it REALLY be that difficult?!?!??!"  you know, because I'm all patient like that.  Suddenly, the clouds blew away!  (apparently whining works with God, too) and we had a pretty good view of the summit!  

Of course, I yell out, "there it is!! Hey, There's the top" and noticed that the Tripod People were NOT listening to me, so I said again, "There it is!  No One is listening to me!"  and just to make me laugh for a very long time, about 5 minutes later they exclaimed, "Oh my!  You can see the summit!  Get to the camera dear!"  Do you see why I'm so easily entertained?

ANYWAYS, while looking at our Surprise Glimpse of the top, I got thinking about how like God... I mean, thankful that He granted us that glimpse, but how He reveals Himself to us, much like the clouds being blown away for mere minutes... those seemingly "random" things that happen to us.  Where we actually get to see Him orchestrating it...   My sister always says "It's a God Thing".  I have a much better picture in my mind now.  I say it all the time: nothing is Random.  Which made me think of that Chris Tomlin song "How great is our God" because, Really?  How can you NOT think of that when surrounded by THIS?  

The Splendor of a King

Clothed in Majesty

Let all the earth rejoice

Let all the earth rejoice...

Ok, so that was MY mountain-top moment... but a really great one, and I'm so thankful for this visual I have ingrained in my head now.  I needed that.  

Back to the Park:

After taking about 100 pictures of the same thing (remember when I said I took over 3000 pictures on our vacation?!) we moved on to Narada Falls, further up the mountain...

They are waiting for me to hike down to the bottom...

It's a steep hike down and of course, BOTH kids went down on their bums, but they were giggling about it, so I'm not so sure it wasn't on purpose...

It is so hard to capture the real beauty of the things we were able to see... can you see that bridge they were on in the previous picture, near the top...

I will take this time to give the weather update... when we started out it was 65 degrees and no humidity (*sigh*) and the closer we moved UP the mountain, the cooler it got.  Just beautiful weather!  

Carly's great photography... 

We stopped near the summit (well, the highest place you can stop, then you hike up, which we DID NOT do... this time!) and walked around... then headed back down the mountain.  Just as we were passing the ViewPoint where we were able to see the summit earlier, THERE WAS THE MOUNTAIN in plainer view than before, so we stopped for 100 more pictures!  I should say, we BACKED up and pulled over, which I'm sure they really don't want people doing near Sheer Cliffs...

This is a close up of the Nisqually Glacier that is on the top of the mountain. There are several glaciers on the top (that "Snow Capped" Appearance would actually be glaciers) and they are VERY COOL to zoom in on... if you click any of these pictures they SHOULD get bigger so you can see details better...

We spent about 4 hours in the park since we didn't get there until 4pm... we WISH we had gotten there first thing in the morning so we could have stayed longer, it was just so beautiful and peaceful and well, BIG... so if you ever go, take that into consideration!  

On our way heading back into Seattle, we saw this sign...

Which made us laugh, you know until we realized that could be information we might need, considering Mount Rainier is actually a volcano.  Hmmmm.... Not to worry, Ben had figured out our McGregor Family Evacuation Plan by the time we got back to the hotel... It's always good to be prepared...

We stopped at a Chinese Buffet for dinner (just a random pick that turned out to be GREAT!) then got back to our lodgings for a much deserved rest!  

08.08.09

08.08.09

Seattle

Cruise is over:(  We were all pretty sad to be leaving the ship!  Also, our last day with Ryan's parents.  Just sad.  We had to be out of our cabin by 8am, so we headed up for one last "Fancy Breakfast".  Afterwards, we waited in one of the lounges until it was our turn to disembark.  This all went pretty smoothly, considering they had a couple of thousand people to clear off the boat!  Locating our driver AFTERWARDS was the tricky part... eventually he found us in the sea of people.  Might have helped if ANY of the drivers had "marked vehicles" instead of all driving the exact same SUV's and vans... We went back to the Fairfield Inn where we started out the week before.

I had to do about 3 loads of laundry and repack everything for Week Two of our fantastic adventure...  while I was doing this, the kids went swimming and before you feel TOO bad for me, I did jump in the hot tub in between loads.  VERY RELAXING (you know, in case I hadn't been relaxing enough in the last week!)

We headed out to Subway for a late lunch/early dinner... pretty happy to actually be eating HEALTHY food!  Afterwards, we had to say goodbye to Grandma and Grandpa and that was kind of sad... they stayed behind in our hotel room while we took off to see, who else, the RAYS!  Just for the record, WE DID NOT plan our cruise by the fact that the RAYS were going to be in Seattle on the last day.  Really.  We were just pleasantly surprised that our timing was so perfect:)  Ryan and I had seen them in Seattle 2 years ago and were pretty excited for the chance to take Ben and Carly to Safeco Field.  Very nice park!

We headed over to the field and got our tickets, then watched a little bit of batting practice.   We were happy to see Aki warming up with them, even though he wasn't able to actually play yet. 

GREAT WEATHER!  It was about 70 degrees to start out and probably around 62 as it got darker, so REALLY REALLY nice and we LOVED being in the outdoor park, which would be next to impossible in our steamy climate in Tampa!

One of the cool things about this park (other than the retractable roof!) is their Nintendo wireless connection.  The kids brought their DS's and where able to get a free download (only works in the park)... they could look up any MLB player and read their stats, play games, see any scores, watch the current Safeco Field game on a live feed, or a computerized feed... and if they wanted to play their own regular games, they could have the score from the baseball game posted across the top of the screen.  Also, they could order food and have it delivered to our seats (well, we did not let them do this!)  That was pretty fun for them...

Our other FAVORITE thing about this park (and yes, Ryan and I distinctly remembered this from our last visit!) would be the giant bags of kettle corn you can get for $4.  It is so good!  What we DIDN'T remember is how HUGE the bags are, and we got 2, then carried them around with us all week afterwards, eating them up!  It is really tasty!  

During the game, the Mariner's TV crew came up to our area and were trying to tape their fans, and very uncharacteristic of Ryan, he and Ben jumped up and got on the jumbo-tron in their Rays shirts... the camera guy was trying VERY HARD to keep them out of the picture.  Usually when we are in "Someone Else's House" we try to be very low key and quiet (not NEARLY as obnoxious as we are at the trop!)  you know, NO COWBELLS... so this was pretty surprising to me that he was acting like that!  And perhaps a little funny that they were on the Big Screen!

The Rays won, 10-4, which was nice for us!  Afterwards, we went down near the dug out to look for friends (Evan, Carl, Carlos, Jason.... THOSE friends) and Carly got a ball from the "Bat Boy" (it pays to be cute with crazy blue eyes!).

We headed back to our hotel... where Grandma had left the kids a "Goodbye note" that they LOVED and some candy.  After they fell asleep, I was turning the lights out and noticed her note sitting there, and then a note one of them "wrote back" that said, "Thank You" and that made me giggle!  We are so thankful that they were able to spend part of our vacation with us.  It was a really nice time, and something we really, really needed!

We interupt this vacation...

... to bring you an "Real Time" blog post... well, it's really Rochel's post, saving me the trouble of doing it myself, you know, since I have 7 more posts to make.  

In case you want to know what Ben and Carly were up to yesterday.  I told you Carly was accident prone.  I'd say she might have "jinxed" them yesterday, but she gets this trait from Aunt Rochel, who was ALSO in the car!  Ha!  Thankfully (duh) everyone is OK. 

We are off to play with Eli this morning!

08.07.09

08.07.09

Victoria, British Columbia

We slept in a little on our last full day on our cruise... by "a little" I mean, until 8am when Mom called to see what we were doing. We hopped out of bed and met up with them for a fun, fancy breakfast in the dining room. MMmmmm!

Afterwards, we all went to the Culinary Show which was pretty cool and included a very brief tour of the galley. 

We then went on a tour of the backstage area of the Princess Theatre. Provided by the Dance Captain. This was also a Q&A time, so we got some pressing questions answered... like, where do the girls change. And the answer would be "in the same dressing room with the boys". Nice. They are spending a lot of extra time rehearsing right now as they just got a new company on board and are doing new shows.

Next, we had lunch... Pizza because "Pizza" hadn't had enough of it the night before. And, it's really good:) We were quite happy to see our regular dinner waiters working in the pool area and we got EXCELLENT service from them! They were pretty pleased to see us, too... Well, the kids.

Ben and Carly went to KC for the last time afterwards, and Ryan and I and Mom went to see the "Life at Sea" presentation. Another Q&A, this time regarding what it's like to live and work on a cruise ship. Super interesting... 

Points of interest:

~ their friends and family can cruise at a significantly reduced rate if there are empty rooms available.

~ they do a 6 month contract then get time off and can then sign another contract

~ their cabin assignments are based on rank and the officers have suites.

~ they get fired for fraternizing with "guests"

~ they can (and most likely do!) work up to 14 hours a day, 7 days a week with NO days off.

~ the ship is based out of Bermuda... so they don't have to follow US labor laws (but THEY didn't bring that up, we knew that from before...)

~ they will only be required to do that jobs they were hired for, so waiters would never go around making beds when their shift was over, for example.

Afterwards, we did a little packing (no one wanted to pack). We then went to our last dinner in the dining room and got some pictures with our favorite waiters!

We went off the ship in Victoria at around 7:30pm, when we got to the Port. Mom and Dad were smart and had already decided they weren't going to get off the boat... it was REALLY cold and windy.   (this picture is for YOU Sue...)

Unfortunately, the ship was docked about 5 miles from town and we didn't have much time there anyways, so we took a couple of pictures and just got back on board.

We went to our room and I packed a little more and we watched Star Trek on the TV (did I mention this is a REALLY good movie?) and relaxed... Ryan and Ben went up to listen to the RAYS game on the XM radio... 

then Carly and I met up with Mom and Dad for the "Princess Idol" finale... There were 4 singers and they were not that great. But funny, so entertaining anyways.

Off to bed for our last night on our fabulous Rockin' Boat. We are so sad our week is almost over!

08.06.09

08.06.09

Ketchikan

We got into the port at Ketchikan, Alaska at 6am. We were at the International Cafe for croissants and coffee by 7 as we had to be off the boat at 7:20am precisely for our excursion to the Saxman Native Village.

We loved this village! It is the Tlingit (pronounced like "clink-it") Village of Saxman. They were the first official settlers of SouthEast Alaska. We started out watching a video explaining the tribe, then walked on a nature trail. 

Our guide, Wayne, explained many of the native trees and how the natives used them for their basic needs, even how they made baby diapers. It was really interesting. 

We were able to go into the Clan House for a dance demonstration. There is traditionally only one SHORT narrow doorway into the Clan House, so anyone coming in had to stoop over and come in one at at time. This was a defense mechanism so their enemies couldn't over take them. 

The dancers were pretty cool and you know, Native. After THEY were done, we got to get up and dance with them, wearing their garb! 

Oh yeah! Ryan and I, and of course, CARLY completely enjoyed doing this:) Mom was kind enough to take pictures. 

Afterwards, we went outside and heard all about their totem poles which they are apparently known for. 

We learned that these were not idols that they worshiped, but rather more of a family crest, or story poles. 

We went into a carving shed where they are working on new poles. They run about $3500 per linear foot, so a little pricey, considering the tallest totem poles in Alaska are 40 feet tall! 

Our favorite pole was the one that told the story of the boy who went down by the water when his mama told him not to and he got his hand stuck in a giant clamshell and they couldn't free him, and then the tide came in a drowned him. 

They put this pole near the waters edge to remind the little ones to obey their parents and stay away from the water! Carly enjoyed this pole completely and acted it out herself. Of course, then she fell on the gravel and busted her bum and there were tears all around. She's fine. Apparently, accident prone:)  Tears stopped with a little "Fry Bread" that the dancers were selling for $2 to raise money to travel. Tasted like fried dough, so it was really, really good. This was a fun excursion... interesting and educational.

After our tour, Mom and I and Carly did a little Power Shopping... we had to be back on the ship at 11:45am, so there wasn't much time. 

To make sure we didn't miss anything in Ketchikan, Ryan, Ben and Dad walked around taking pictures for us. I know. Lame. But we sure enjoyed THEIR memories!

We were sad it was such a short "Port Call" because the weather was a BEAUTIFUL sunny, 70 degrees! 

Apparently that is nearly unheard of in Ketchikan. It's a pretty cute little town, too.

We ate a "fancy lunch" in the Donatello Dining room, then the kids too off for KC as we cruised off towards British Columbia. Mom and I decided we needed naps, so we had a nice relaxing afternoon! Ben and Carly had a little rest after KC and I enjoyed reading my book in one of the many quaint lounges with a nice cup of coffee... we got this Coffee Card for $24 the first day and you can have all the coffee, tea, and hot chocolate you want, plus 16 lattes, or specialty coffee's. Actually a really GREAT deal as we CERTAINLY drank well over $24 worth of these items. Coffee Addict here.

The kids wanted to attend the dinner with the KC people (it was formal night, AGAIN! so we weren't going to the dining room anyways). 

They were having "Pizza and Pasta" night and Mom decided these were great nicknames for Ben and Carly. I had to agree there. So, we enjoyed a quiet dinner at the buffet withOUT our own personal entertainment provided by Pizza and Pasta. Then we went to the "Cinematastic" show, which was pretty good. We learned the next day that it was the first time the cast had performed it and that actually impressed me. There was so much intense dancing, they HAD to be exhausted afterwards, and they still had another performance at 10pm!

We hung out in the cabin, letting the kids play together until they went to bed. I went up to the MUTS area and brought them back popcorn, which they thought was pretty fun. We had to set our clocks ahead an hour before sleeping so we'd be in the right time zone when we got up in the morning, near Victoria.

Another really fun day...