Lovely Alaska

We returned from our Alaskan adventure on the 15th and I've been busy working on our photos and video ever since. We had fun and the weather was fabulous. I was anticipating rain, but we had sunny (or partly sunny) skies every day except one, and our days in Skagway and Hubbard Glacier were phenomenal. I'm including a link to my Webshots album so you can see for yourself the blue skies and beautiful scenery we enjoyed.

Mom and I both survived our first "girls only" vacation with our relationship intact. I hovered too much while trying to make certain she was getting the most out of our vacation, and she didn't speak up when she needed a rest, but I think we both learned a lot from the experience. Mom enjoyed eating wild blueberries and seeing "Alaska cotton" in Hoonah, watching Hubbard Glacier calve, shopping in Skagway, and spending time with the dogs in Juneau. We had wonderful tablemates (two couples from Canada) and Mom enjoyed chatting with them and sharing her daily adventures. We met nice people from all over the world -- although most passengers seemed to hail from Canada -- and it was a wonderful time overall.

Since then I've been doing research for our upcoming Caribbean cruise on the smallest ship we've ever sailed: Azamara Quest, a former Renaissance cruises ship now owned by Celebrity (Azamara is its new subsidiary). The maximum passenger count is 710, which is much lower than the typical 2,000-2,500 passenger ships we're used to. We're visiting many new ports, so it's been an adventure just attemting to locate private tours, but I think we've got it almost narrowed down. Packing for that won't begin until early November.

In the meantime, tomorrow morning is my CT scan, followed by x-rays of my ankle and a follow-up visit with Dr. Healey. My appointment with the oncologist isn't until the 12th, so unless I receive a copy of the radiologist's report before then, I won't have any news until after the 12th. We'll be dining on McDonald's tonight. I was determined to stop eating there, but the fries are really salty and the combination of fries and a cheeseburger prior to my last scans seemed to really help keep my veins plump. Just goes to show what a daily diet full of salt can do to your body. Since it's only once every three months (next year it goes to every six), I'm not going to obsess about it. Keep your fingers crossed that I have continued good luck with the IV needle!

Webshots album: http://community.webshots.com/album/560786570mUrzzY