travel log: ketchikan, alaska

Tuesday, August 21

alaska was magnificent
a wonderful escape from the heat wave of the summer
and such a blessing to be with my family. 

i discovered that cruises are really perfect for family reunions. 
you can do your own thing, but always come together for dinner, which was really a treat 
(no pun intended)
almost 20 of my family members came, and it was a blast. 

the ladies did zumba every morning
our family killed it in trivia (and by killing it we failed miserably, but had so much fun!)
we laughed at comedians, saw dance shows, and really just enjoyed one another. 
oh yeah, and my sisters and I sang "wanna be" at karaoke
it was seriously the best thing ever, 
especially because our whole family was in RazMataz bar, including my almost 90 year old grandpa. 
when we got done, gramps looked at us and said "what the heck did you sing?"
evidently spice-mania never hit him. 

we had 5 days where the boat was docked. 
our very first port we explored was ketchikan
evidently alaska's "first city"
it was extremely quaint and adorable, i loved it. 

it was a nice mix of hiking to the totem pole national park
seeing bald eagles in the wild
and soaking up the local blueberry festival! 

at the end of the day, dad, peter, kevin and I all went and found an irish pub
where we watched the olympics 
(as a side-note, the cruise didn't offer the olympics, and when I found out i cried, like really, heavy tears fell! but it ended up allowing me to take more advantage of the cruise and all it had to offer, so i ended up seeing it as a good thing!)

ketchikan is a must see in alaska, it's adorable! enjoy the pictures:)
 {the totem poles were really amazing}
{so of course polly and i had to climb on them}
 {i was so excited that we saw a bald eagle in the wild, that the next people that walked down the path i excitedly pointed out the eagle, and they were like "oh, we live there, we see them all the time." like no big deal! i felt so lame, haha!}
{alaska: home of the creepy howling wolf shirt.}
{creek street! cute now, but it used to be alaska's first red light district!}
 {love this handsome man}
 {YES, we are having fun!}
{evidently ketchikan is the salmon capitol of the world! go ketchikan!} 
 {walking to the irish pub, and then watching some olympics with my most favorite men!}
{as we pulled away from the port, this is the beautiful view we saw. just stunning!}

enjoy your sweet tuesday friends! 
love love love
Katie 

18 comments :

  1. Looks like an amazing time......

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  2. that sounds like such a fun trip! and those pictures are beautiful!

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  3. You're right, that place is so cute! Sounds like an awesome adventure, I've always been interested in doing an Alaskan cruise!

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  4. I love it!! I love quaint towns!!! It looks like y'all had so much fun! It's so special that you got to see so much family and explore a new place!!

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  5. Ah! It looks so majestic. If it weren't so cold I would want to move right now!

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  6. I've never cared to go to Alaska before but your photos are changing that. I love the look of all their buildings!

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  7. ooooooh wwooowww...that trip looks amazing! And your pics are beautiful!

    Thanks for sharing!

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  8. looks like a great vacation and those pictures are AMAZING! What kind of camera do you use?

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  9. beautiful pictures katie!! and i love the idea of a cruise for a family reunion. something for everyone! xox

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  11. The more pictures of this trip I see, the more bummed I am that we didn't just go against doctors orders not to travel at 8 months pregnant :) Looks like such fun! You Rystroms are the cutest family ever, by the way.

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  12. Cooler weather sounds more than delightful after our heat wave here... although, I'd be pretty bummed about the no Olympics thing too. Great pictures!

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  13. It looks like you all had a wonderful trip...can't wait to see more pictures!

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  14. These pictures make me want to go to Alaska! Nicely done!

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  15. Um, hello. I am drooling. That is the cutest little city I've ever seen and I MUST go! I've always wanted to see Alaska. Please stop going everywhere I want to go or just bring me with you ;)

    P.S. No Olympics on the cruise?! Your tears are justified!

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  16. Ahhhhh Southeast Alaska is my favorite place in the whole wide world! So glad you could experience it!

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  17. Awesome blog! i really like this pictures to. Thanks for sharing!

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