A Is for Alaska

Greetings from Alaska

It was a close vote, but the choice to begin our travel  A to Z Blogging Challenge is Alaska. Arizona was right behind and there was a vote for Australia, too. I've written about visiting Alaska several times, but probably not in the last ten years. It's fun to be back revisiting one of my favorite places.  

Alaska wasn't especially high on my travel list before my 2008 visit. I was "saving" it for when I was older. Silly me! The scenery was extraordinary and I loved my visit. I came to Alaska via a friend who was eager to visit and I have no regrets. We took a cruise and enjoyed a few days in beautiful Vancouver before and after the trip. I had been to Vancouver once before and I was eager to return.  

The cruise was incredibly fun, both for the activities and the people we met. I'm still in touch with the group we joined with for trivia competition -- we were the ship winners -- and our dinner company, which included two people from Canada and four from Ireland, were delightful. It's close to twenty years and the memories are still warm.

The best whale watching ever!

One of the high points of the trip -- or any trip -- was a photography/whale watching excursion. I went out with a dozen others in a small boat. I've been on whale watching excursions before this, but never so close to so many whales. There were a few moments where I thought the whales might swim right into our boat, as they were so close. Our trip was in 2008 and this was photograph is as good as my limited photo skills and equipment permitted, but I remember thrilling to see five whale spouts in a row.  

I hope you've enjoyed our visit to Alaska. I know I'm happy for the opportunity for a virtual visit. The next post is "B," and we'll be visiting the first of the four new countries I'll be adding to my travel list next month. I've visited a number of times in my reading, so I'm excited to visit in person.

As ever, thanks for visiting and happy travels to us all.