North to Alaska! - Day 1

North bound!

Today we set forth, like great adventurers of old.... well, we were enthusiastic anyway.
Leaving home and heading north for a cruise to Alaska.
Last summer while cruising to the Caribbean, we "rebooked" for this summer. Disney Cruise out of Vancouver, BC to the Last Frontier.

In Canada! 

We grabbed a bite on the road and arrived in Vancouver about 3:00 this afternoon. Our plan was to go to the Vancouver Aquarium and see the newly-opened expansion.
We were all excited and full of anticipation, but four laps around the parking lot really took a toll. It took about a half hour to secure parking. It was all luck and finally it was our turn.

What is the picture of?  

Who cares, let's just go check it out! 

The new expansion was really nice. We still aren't sure what -- beyond a big loverly lobby, a new ticket area and a coffee spot/cafe -- they added. We can't confirm any new exhibit areas - a few new small display tanks, but that's it.
Anyway, we cruised the Aquarium and saw all our old favorites, and enjoyed our visit.
Oh and the gift shop is new.... again :)
By the time we left, our hotel for the night was ready for check-in. We splurged and booked a room at the Pan Pacific at Canada Place; which is more or less at the cruise terminal and is also where we leave our car for the week. The room is lovely and the views are AWESOME. We buzzed down to the Gastown for dinner at the Old Spaghetti Factory, which was very comfortable. Then back to the hotel.
The boy and I stayed in the room and had some quite time and the little lady and Dad went out to explore Canada Place and scope out breakfast possibilities.
I hope to wake up early enough to see the Disney Wonder come in tomorrow!

View of the pool from our room

View toward Stanley Park and the dock

The Room..... Very Cool

Tale of two Lodges

Today we say goodbye to the

And hello to the Great Wolf Lodge (sorry no pics of that)

It could also be described as going from mellow country living to a kid's version of Vegas with total sensory-overload.... but that is just me :)  I go and enjoy playing in the pools with the kids, I don't mind the slides, but the noise and crowds make me a wee bit crazy!

So, a few parting pics of the mellow country lodge......

 And the view on our way. Clear skies and open roads.

Beautiful day and BIG trees

Today breakfast was something new to us.... Orange Roll Waffles.
We have had Orange Rolls (Pilsbury, in case you are curious), they are a family favorite. And of course we have had waffles... quite recently in fact. But today we put the rolls in the waffle iron to cook them... Crazy? Nope. Awesome!

And a very quick way to make them... 3 minutes, compared to the traditional way - 20 mins.
We thinned out the glaze a bit and drizzled each little waffle - such fun!
Both kids agreed it was a hit. Thank you pintrest.

We had amazing weather today. After two days of overcast and rain, we weren't sure if we were going to see the mountain while we were here... but today I took sooo many pictures of the elusive Rainier, that I finally had to just put my camera away.
We started off the sightseeing back at Longmire for lunch at the National Park Inn. Then started the trek over to the Grove of the Patriachs, with several stops along the way.

It was all so beautiful. We had such amazing weather and crowds were still light, a great day.
Back at the cabin we couldn't waste this good weather... tonight we gave S'mores another go, and it was good.

Waffles with Peaches

Our second morning in the cabin we had waffles again for breakfast... This time with an added warm peach topping - oh yum!

The kids settled into playing, finger-knitting and a puzzle, with a bit of time kicking it in the hot tub.

By midday, we were all dressed and ready to settle into some sort of activity... for the Dads and younger kids it was a hike in the park along Kautz Creek. For the Moms and two oldest kids it was chatting and watching DVDs at the cabin.

By two-thirty we were all back together and feasting on panini sandwiches.

Then it was time for our guests to head out, so we said goodbye and see you soon.

We decided with a few hours left in the day, it was time to see more of the Mountain.

Back into the park, this time heading up to the visitor's center at Paradise. Today was a foggy day with occasional rain coming around. 

Little lady and Dad going up into the snow

But we enjoyed the drive... some of it is VERY high up. And the visitor's center is great - they have lots of hands-on exhibits. We hit the gift shop and snack bar and even played in the snow.

Just like in the pictures

Our first morning at the cabin and it's just like it looks in the pictures.

The cabin comes with breakfast: waffle mix, waffle iron and syrup are provided. Oh, and of course coffee!

Little Lady lazing on the couch

We enjoyed a lazy morning, with family on the way to join us.

They arrived in time for lunch and a short hike before the rain hit.

Our cabin is very close to one of the entrances to the national park... From the main drag near us, you can see the Mt. Rainier sign. And our hike was one of the closer options: Trail of the Shadows. We parked near Longmire and walked to the trailhead. This loop was under a mile and very scenic.

Mt. Rainier National Park 

Hubby checking to see if the hot springs are hot... Nope!

girls standing my one of the old springs

We had planned to hit another trail about the same length afterwards, but the rain sent us back to the cabin instead.  

Dinner was yummy. We enjoyed hanging out and my little lady and I shared our new hobby with the cousins - finger knitting.

Our smores were almost rained out, but a few braved the rain and a few of us utilized the gas stove.... Gooey smores were enjoyed by all.

The cabin sleeps 10 and we are a group of 9 this evening, with every bed full.

I know there is a comment to make about it being "just right", but I'm not feeling that clever right now. I will give it a shot later.

A few days away....

We are off on our first adventure of the summer.

We have the next four days in a cabin near Mt. Rainier. For years, I have had the "Three Bears Lodge" bookmarked as a place I wanted to go... And we are going!

We left home at a reasonable time to get to our destination at a respectable hour... But then we needed dinner - Of course. And at that point realized we forgot something rather important, so back we went. And.... Take two.

We arrived rather late, but still wanted to explore. The cabin is homey and well stocked. Very comfortable.

Making up the trundle bed in the loft bedroom

view of living room from loft

The first night will just be our little band of four, but soon we will have guests.