We'll have to give you lots of WARM welcome homes to make up for the freezing temps. Welcome Home, hope you had a wonderful time, and have lots of photos/stories to share. Shirley

First time I went, we flew into Vancouver and got to experience Canada Day. As well as Fourth of July during cruise. Here's pic of me meeting Karla, a KT'er, in Anchorage, for lunch. We just finished eating reindeer hot dogs. You can see short sleeves. Never experience cold temps, except at Glacier Bay, and I had a nice raincoat which was suffice. Denali, remember sitting out on patio at lodge, evening without a jacket. Friend did Mt McKinley and thoroughly enjoyed the plane trip. Only experienced mosquitoes once, in Denali, and I did have repellant. Never felt the need to layer. July was nice weather, at least when we went.

It was a busy day at work trying to tie up everything before abandoning ship for two weeks so I couldn't write much earlier. So now I'll address individual suggestions... Glenda I'm not sure we'll be doing the lumberjack show, I already feel like I've met them all through you and it's quite evident they have been spoken for. ;-) No Talkeetna so I'm sad to say, no moose poop :-) Talkeetna is one of the checkpoints on the Iditarod so I'm sad we're not going there. Nanny You and others have suggested Mendenhall and White Pass et. al, so they are a definite consideration. The idea of seeing the suburbs really appeals to me too. I agree, museums in AK are quite well done. Interesting, one of the most impressive museum-like exhibits I've seen was at the Alaska Native Medical Center. Happyladi I like the idea of renting a car in Skagway and taking that drive to Emerald Lake unless the train goes that way as well. I love trains. I subscribed to cruisecritic.com about a month ago to learn more about different cruise lines. I've been so busy at work that I barely had time to read it. I'll go back there tonight and take a look. And I'm all bummed out ... because of my busy schedule, I wasn't able to dedicate much time looking for my new frames/lenses until just this last week. I finally found frames I loved. After the eye exam at a place that doesn't honor VSP, it was determined even with short lenses, my script would not fit. I found another pair at another optometrist that does accept VSP. I go for another exam tomorrow morning and will see if they can fit my new choice. Why am I sad? Because of course I've sat on this project too long and now I will go on vacation with old glasses which no longer work for distances. Hmmm, maybe I'll pay for the $100+ exam for contact lenses and just wear my sexy new frames without any lenses at all, I hear it's all the rage in Asia. :-) Carol I sure wish DH and I liked salmon because people rave about the barbecues. I do love just wandering around places I visit. Sitka was my favorite stop last time because my travel friend booked a tour and I did not. I just wandered the shops, streets and neighborhoods. The glacial silt soap sound interesting. I'm a real sucker for unusual soaps. Cherbo Have not been to Denali yet, but one day. Kat Fortunately I have family in Seattle to ease the pain of not meeting you. :-) Socks We rented a Netflix documentary last night that talked about Haines so I jotted down the name. While walking around Sitka, I found the Sheldon Jackson Museum but didn't go in. Can't remember if it was closed or I just decided not to go in. The school next door was all boarded up and made the area feel kind of ghost-town-like. The Rainforest Wildlife Sanctuary sounds just up my alley! The ship we're sailing is the Celebrity Mercury. I was born in Seattle so family is meeting us down at Pike's Place. Where we're going from there, I'm not sure. We might drive down to Gig Harbor to see a friend of mine and my sister who probably won't be going to Pike's Place. Jodi-

Ah! Cruising in the Caribbean sure sounds good right now. I slalomed home from the hairdresser yesterday afternoon in sleeting snow and *mush* on the streets. If I'd been on Glenda's ship I could have just gone to the salon -- and even had a manicure, which is useless in this cold. (My cuticles are staging a takeover of what remains of my broken nails.) What ship is Glenda aboard? Going where?