Leaving the JEWEL - 243/365

What a sad, sad day!
We had to get off the ship today. NO FUN, no fun at all! We all hit up the "bacon buffet" as we had come to call it, one last time this morning. YUM! It was wonderful, but we have all just eaten non-stop on this trip...LOL! 

After breakfast, we spent some time walking around the ship, taking some last minute pictures. We just wanted to wander and take in as much as we could. We just loved everything about it! We even stopped and took pictures with our fabulous cabin steward and the famous "washy washy" singer! 

 Eventually, they started making jokes over the speaker that anyone that didn't head toward the gangways, were going to have to wash the dishes. That was our cue to get going. 

Getting off was sad and I admit, I almost shed a tear or two. We made so many wonderful memories, for our little family, but also made wonderful memories with my WHOLE family! We had that good of a time! More laughs than we could ever count. 

My dad had arranged a van to pick us up and take us to the airport Marriott for the night. Nana, Papa, Jim, Reagan, Jenny, Raymond, Chips and Kathy were all spending one last night in Seattle, before heading home. Ed and Pam rode in the van with us, just to spend the day, since their flight didn't leave Seattle until 11:30pm. 

Once we got to our hotel, we decided to hit the pool to relax a little bit. They had an amazing atrium with live trees, comfy lounge chairs and a huge pool. We all enjoyed a dip!

After we swam, Raymond and Jennifer suggested we all head over to the The Museum of Flight. They were nice enough to arrange a van for all of us to ride over in, and the return trip, too. 

We got there and were pleasantly surprised! It was amazing! They had life size planes of all kinds. I think Jim and I, liked the Air Force One the best. They had the actual Air Force One that Kennedy, Nixon, Johnson and Eisenhower used. It was amazing to see. Even the communication stations on the plane, looked so OLD! I can't even imagine what the inside of today's Air Force One looks like.

Another really cool thing was, a Concord. British Airways donated one of twenty Concords to the  museum. It was really something to see, the nose of the plane was so weird how it tilted down.  The inside wasn't much different than other plane. It said that Phil Collins, once, did a concert in London, flew home and made it to a show in New York, the same day! Crazy! 

We had fun, just asking Uncle Ed questions about the planes. He is our family aviation expert and knows just about everything about planes. 

After we finished at the exhibits, we sat on the back patio of the museum, enjoyed a few beers and watched some planes land. There was a small airport right next door, where a lot of  Lear Jets were landing. They also offered private rides in an old vintage bi-plane. No one was brave enough to go for a ride in our group, but we saw one or two people go for a ride. No thanks! 

Once our van picked us back up, we headed back to the hotel. We were all starving by this point, so we decided to have dinner at the hotel restaurant. We ended up getting a back banquet room to ourselves. We had the best time back there. We laughed until we cried and just shared stories of the week. It was the perfect way to end the best family fun ever! 

The first picture is all of us standing on the curb after we got kicked off the ship.

Next is Reagan and an astronaut...

I think so....

And finally, a silly picture, I took in the elevator at the museum....

Exploring Seattle - 235/365

Today, we were just going to spend the day exploring Seattle.
 We took a cab over to the Space Needle. The ride to the top was only 40 seconds. It was amazing! The views were spectacular!
We got even more excited for our cruise, because there were two cruise ships docked. It was a little windy and chilly up there first thing in the morning, but it was still awesome. After we checked everything out, we walked over to the Chihuly Glass Museum. What an absolutely jaw dropping place! Every way you turned was a more beautiful piece of glass.
When we finished up there, we took the monorail over to Pikes Market. The monorail lets you out in a shopping area, where my mom, Jenn and I decided to take a restroom break. We walked in, hit the stalls and realized that the top of the stalls, only went up to shoulder height. Therefore, we could look over and talk while getting all put back together. It was bizarre!
 Next, we headed over to Pikes Market. What a crazy place that is! It was jammed packed! We did see the world famous fish throwers, which was cool. One came straight for my head! Yuck!
After the market, we wandered around Seattle looking for a bathing suit for Reagan, since I forgot hers. Looking for a bathing suit in Seattle, is not an easy task. We finally found one at Macy's. It's not the best, but it's better than not swimming.
Once we found the suit, it was time for lunch. We found a great place right by the Marriott at the pier, where we meet the ship tomorrow. Lunch was fantastic, the food was great! Although, Reagan fell asleep, sitting straight up at the table. It was hilarious! She did a nearly 20 hour day yesterday, with only an hour long nap. And this morning, was up at 6am Seattle time, so she was pooped!
After lunch, we all went back for some rest and relaxation, while we waited for Ed and Pam to arrive. We met them in the lobby of the hotel for some beers, then they went to get settled in their room.
We all met back up at the Hearth and Plow for dinner. It was yummy, too! We had a great time with a lot of laughs.
After dinner, Nana, Pam, Jim, Reagan and I went down to the Seattle Sky Wheel for a ride. It was super cool to see the city at night. We got to go around three times. Jim sat out the wheel, so Reagan had a good time looking for him as we went around and around. Mr. Fuzzy stayed with Jim to "keep him company". At one point, Reagan said, "I don't see Mr. Fuzzy!" She was quite concerned! LOL!
All in all, it was a really great day exploring the city. We are ready to get on the ship now though.
The photo of the day is all of us at the top of the needle.

 Here is Reagan sound asleep at lunch...

Safe in Seattle - 234/365

It was travel day today! 

The anticipation of going somewhere is fun, but travel day is really not all that fun. 

We got up and out the door by 6:40 to catch our 8:30am flight. Our bus was on time to take us from the hotel to the airport. Security was pretty easy, lines were long, but what else is new. 

The flight was fine, but a little bumpy in spots. We traveled over a few storms on the way. I HATE turbulence. Jim and Reagan don't even pay attention to it. Reagan did say one time, "the airplane ride is bumpy," then just laughed. I was thinking, "that's not funny." 

Reagan did pretty good on the plane. She slept for an hour, which was nice. Other than that, she played games on the iPad and colored. 

Jennifer had a little 10 year-old-girl next to her, that was traveling alone. Her mom lives in Seattle and her dad lives in Cleveland. She chatted up Jennifer the whole 4 hour and 40 minute flight! LOL!

We got to Seattle and headed for baggage claim. It took forever to find our carousel. AND, it took forever for the bags to come. We finally got situated and were off to the Waterfront Marriott! 

 The hotel is gorgeous and right across the street from the where the ship docks. We can't wait to see it sitting out there! Thankfully, our rooms were ready, so we went up, dropped off our stuff and then hit the town. 

We were only a 5 minute walk away from the aquarium and a bunch of waterfront restaurants. We had lunch at a place called Fisherman's Restaurant and Bar. It was a cool little place with an awesome patio overlooking the water and it sat right at the base of the big wheel. The food was excellent! The crab/spinach dip was to die for! 

After that, we walked over to the aquarium. It was a great little aquarium, small, but really nice. They had seals and otters which were a favorite for all of us! Reagan is all about otters since Myrtle Beach. Papa bought her a stuffed otter that she just loves. There was an otter bench that she kept going to sit on and would hug the little otter head. She made Papa sit with her, too! It was so cute!

After the aquarium, we took a boat ride around the harbor. It was so beautiful out and a perfect day for a cruise. It was interesting learning all the fun facts about Seattle and see the whole city skyline. We even saw a few California Sea Lion chilling on a buoy. 

After our boat ride, we hit the lounge at the hotel for a night cap and a snack. Then it was off to bed! It was a long, but fun first day of our adventure! 

The photo of the day is the Seattle Skyline from our Harbor cruise... 

 The next is Reagan and Papa enjoying the Otter bench.