Dad and Mom's Alaska Cruise

This is going to be in lots of installments!  I only snapped over 700 pictures!

Got a good price on a balcony Alaskan cruise quite a while ago.  We had sailed with Carnival on our first cruise but the deal had us sailing with Celebrity.  It is suppose to be a step or two above Carnival.  We sailed the inside passage with stops in Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan and Victoria, BC and cruising the Tracy Arm Fjord.  We flew to Seattle and got there early enough to visit Pike Market.  What fun place!  There are several stalls and shops surrounding a few blocks near the docks.  You can find fresh fish, beautiful flowers, spices, fruits and vegetables, etc there.  We had fun touring the area.

 

 

We stopped here for breakfast.  Lowell's is a popular place.  You order off the menu boards and then your meal is made to order.  There were 3 levels of seating but also a line of customers waiting to order out the door of the restaurant.
 

Can you imagine being able to go to a Farmer's Market anytime you wanted to go?  The fruit and veggies were so pretty!
 

 

 

Several flower stalls.  One of those bouquets of flowers were only $5!
 

 

 

These babies were huge!
 

 

 

Beecher's cheese shop.  We got to watch how cheese was made and get a free sample.
 

Cigar box guitars.
 

Looking at our ship from the market.
 

People like to draw on the walls here.
 

 

The OWLS.

Just in case you don't read my quilting blog, I thought I would show you the Thank You gifts I made for Janessa's shower.  26 owls.

These 2 were my test owls.  The pattern was one fat quarter.  Very easy to make and lots of fun.

Here is a close up of the quilt I made.  

Also made these banners.  These are very popular right now at parties.

 

Las Vegas Baby!

For Christmas I bought dad tickets to see Bob Seger in Concert.  The closest venue was in Las Vegas so I also bought tickets to fly down there.  It was a quick trip....just overnight, but we did alot!

Got off the plane, rented our vehicle and then headed to Hoover Dam.  I was surprised to see the crowds there since it was December 30.

Inside the dam on our tour.

I searched for a hotel on Las Vegas Blvd, where all the big casinos were but the prices were outrageous.  I found this hotel away from the strip.  It was very nice.  Here is the bathroom with all it's marble.

Separate shower from the tub.

Our view down to the pools.

We drove the loop at Red Rock Canyon.  It would be a place to visit again when we have time to hike.

Since lunch was Panda Express, I wanted to eat somewhere nice.  Yup.  We did.  Food was good but you only got what you paid for.......2 filet steaks and salads, even veggies and potatoes cost extra!  It definitely was a good steak though!

Concert was good...hopefully your dad had a great time!  We were a bit late getting to the concert because there was no where to park so I left my camera in the car.  Hence no pics of the concert.  We flew home the next morning.  A great way to end 2011!

How we celebrated Jessica's birthday!

Happy Birthday Jessica!  We had a party!