I'm back!!

Phew ... do you ever feel like you need a vacation when returning from a vacation? We got home last night around 5pm and I think I'll need another week to get caught up. Our trip was great! Leaving Maysen for a week at NaNeNu's and Papa's was harder than I thought it would be, but Nathan and I had a great time being a couple again! I took 294 thousand pictures and I have a million stories, so if you're interested, I'll give you the shortened overview and a few highlights from our trip. So grab a cup of coffee and settle in!

Day 1-3: Bend

We spent the first few days in Bend with Maysen. We did a little hike/walk to look at the river, went swimming, and just relaxed. On the 3rd day we visited Bob and Aunt Bonnie who have babysat Maysen since he was 3mo old. They have a motor home and a boat that Maysen play-drives when they have him. We met Bob and Bonnie at Lava Lake and Maysen REALLY got to drive the boat. He loved it. Of course he played in the dirt until he was almost unrecognizable. That was the delirious stage of exhaustion!

Day 4-7: Baker City

We then headed to Baker City to where Nate's dad and step mom live. They were going to keep Maysen for the week we were on our cruise, so we went early to visit for a few days. I don't know why I don't have pictures of these few days as we had a lot of fun! One day we went to an old abandoned Hotel/Sanatorium that was built back in the early 1900s. A family from LaGrande decided to tackle the job of restoring the old brick site which sits right beside a 200F natural hot springs lake. When it was first built, it served as sort of a "mall" if you will, of a bunch of services to the area and was traveled to mainly by train. It had a hospital (where they actually had an operating room with viewing as students came here to learn), a hotel, many hospital rooms for those recovering from pneumonia and many with tuberculosis, as well as a restaurant and various shops. When finished it will have a hotel/bed and breakfast, restaurant, a couple of artist shops (including a bronze sculptor and a water color painter), and part will remain a museum. All of this is being done on donations and sponsors. It was truly amazing walking through the halls thinking of the history as antiques that had sat since the early 1900s sat plainly in the hallways waiting to be moved and dealt with.

Day 7: Seattle

We arrived at Seattle and boarded our ship, the Norwegian Star. I was surprised at how much room our cabin actually had. Of course it was a "mini-suite" but still. I was impressed that our bathroom had a tub/shower and separate seating area for the toilet! We spent that night and all of Day 8 at sea. The scenery was breathtaking!

Day 9: Ketchikan, AK

This was my favorite stop in the whole cruise. We walked Creek Street, which was the street that the fisherman prowled once getting off their vessels. This had all the naughty things on it - prostitution, alcohol, and gambling. "Dolly" was a famous woman for the "services" she provided to the men in the pier, and her house was the most decorated. There was a more discreet street named "Married Man's Trail" that went up and back through the woods ... for the most bashful of men. I shouldn't find that funny - but for some reason, it intrigued me to see this historic street. We watched a real lumberjack competition, which was more fun than I expected it to be! We then got to tour a retired ship from Deadliest Catch (reality show on Discovery Channel, which totally rocks!). It was on the Season1, which we didn't watch. But Don, our guide, was an actual crew member from that Season and was on The Sea Star for most of his fishing career. Being a fan of the show, it was neat to be on an actual boat from the show.

Day 10: Juneau, AK

We decided not to plan much for this day as the ship was leaving port at 1:30 to cruise around Sawyer Glacier the rest of the day. We decided to take a bus tour to Mendenhall Glacier. Boy was it absolutely amazing!! If you've never seen a glacier but have seen Ice Age, they depicted it pretty accurately! It really is aqua blue and turquoise! We got back on the ship and decided to take naps (we were already pooped). We woke up about the time we were to be at Sawyer Glacier and when we looked out our balcony - we saw bunches and bunches of icebergs! You see, lucky for us we'd had nice weather (mid-60s) most of the days so far and it was warm enough that huge icebergs had fallen off Sawyer Glacier and was obstructing our entrance into the cove to see it. Our captain came on and said it was too dangerous for us to risk going back there as we were hitting icebergs with the ship - and they were even getting the life boats off the racks! We were lucky we had chosen the bus tour earlier and had gotten to see Mendhenhall Glacier.

Day 11: Skagway, AK

We took a train ride up the railroad built in 1901 during the big Klondike gold rush. We saw another glacier up at the top of a mountain that actually provided water for the famous 22-tier waterfall down DeadHorse Gulch. Amazing views, except we were in the last train car, first seat. We were lucky to be able to get out of our seat and walk onto the platform. Well, this Indian couple had a million kids with them, and they kept hogging the whole platform so it was hard to get out there and get pictures, but we got a few.

Day 12: Prince Rupert, Canada

Ok. To all my Canadian friends - I'm sorry. But this town sucked. Our main attraction at this port was the Safeway which were filled with humorous things to comment on to we Americans. First of all, what are "Ketchup Lays" potato chips? Everything is written in English AND French on most items. And perhaps the most entertaining: Promoting Prostate Cancer Awareness over the loudspeaker! It was a great little stop thanks to Safeway!

Day 13: At sea.

Best part of this day was the Chocoholic Buffet at midnight! That could put anyone in a diabetic coma!

Day 14: Home!

We met Papa and S at McDonalds in The Dalles, which is midway. They got to McDonald's right before we did and were walking in. My plan was to sneak up on Maysen and surprise him, but right as I was getting out, I hit the panic button on the van and he turned right around. His little hand beat on the glass saying "MAMA!!!" then he ran back out the door and right into my arms. Verrrrry warm feeling! We got home and the most surprising thing to find was my yard! It had exploded over night. With weeds and flowers, just the same. Last year we planted a garden, which burned up in the sun and was pointless. This year I planted wildflowers in it as I love to have vases of fresh flowers in my house. When we left, they were about 6" tall and none were blooming. This is what I found when I got home:

And now that you're asleep .. I'll let you go. Tomorrow is my first official day at being a Stay-At-Home Mommy. It's also Nate's first day at his new job.