Davis Clan Cruises Alaska

* Crab and fresh fettucine dinner cooked in our Seattle hotel room: around $50
* Letting a "Ride the Ducks" driver teach our children to say "Cha-Ching" when they see Starbucks: $70
* Memories from a week-long Alaskan cruise with the extended family: priceless

The Davis clan gathered for a once-in-a-lifetime vacation. We departed from Seattle on Royal Caribbean's "Vision of the Seas" and visited the ports of Juneau and Skagway, Alaska and Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Canada. We also spent a morning cruising Tracy Arm Fjord to see icebergs and glaciers. God definitely made that part of the country beautiful! On-board we enjoyed dance lessons, board games, a rock climibing wall, Adventure Ocean (free on-board childcare) and more.

Miles and Maria waited patiently to use the ship's pool -- the one at our Seattle hotel was broken -- only to find it was filled with salt water! Fortunately, the hot tub was up to their standards. And although they liked being spoiled in the main dining room, they jumped at the chance to join other kids for a "no silverware required" dinner.

Whale watching was especially fun because we got to spend over 10 minutes watching a baby whale throw a temper tantrum because his mom decided to eat before feeding him. (He didn't cry as loud as our hungry babies did, but he did make quite a splash!!) On a train ride along historic the gold-rush path, we felt like we were on Scooby Doo when the train passed a bridge that disappeared into the fog....fortunately the conductor knew the bridge had fallen apart and didn't take us that direction! And Ray and I learned something new about each other after 13 years of marriage: we both wanted to kayak. What better place to start than a placid Alaskan lake where we could see bald eagles, jellyfish, starfish, and more?? (We also found something to agree on: we'll take kayaking over canoing if given a choice in the future...)

The worst part of the trip was finding out our beds had to be separated for the kids to get up into their bunks. We tried to get Mom & Dad to trade rooms because they WANTED their beds separated to have more floor space, but for some reason, they quickly and firmly said, "No!" Can't blame us for trying.

The photo above shows: (standing, left to right) Austin, Joe, Shannon, and Jennifer Marsh (Jennifer's step-daughter, Kristin, was in Korea and couldn't join us); Brandon; Dad & Mom; (seated, left to right) Ray and Shari Damaso; Jenn and Maddie Davis (Brandon's wife and daughter); Maria and Miles Damaso.

Others (not pictured) with us on the cruise were: Mom's brother, Ted and wife, Ellen; Mom's Aunt Gloria and friend, Dee; and Murray friends Bob & Bev Brown.