Introduction
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September 1999
I've always been fascinated by Alaska and the far north. Last Thanksgiving, I finally made my first trip to the Great Land, a 3 day stay in Anchorage. I thoroughly enjoyed myself despite some ugly wet weather and bitterly cold temperatures (but not by Alaskan standards). As soon as I returned home, I started planning my next trip. I was looking for some sort of whirlwind journey that would give me a taste of what Alaska has to offer, and quickly determined that a cruise would be a wonderful way to do that.
NEWS (May 2000): I enjoyed my trip so much, I now live in Alaska!
I knew also that my Mom had always wanted to go on a cruise, though she certainly had someplace warmer in mind. Since I'm allergic to sunshine and heat (not really - I just act like that), that didn't seem like a possibility anytime in the near future. So, I asked if she'd like to come along, and she gamely said yes. She certainly never dreamed of going to Alaska, but once she committed, I think she became more excited than I was.
This then is the photographic tale of our journey, with commentary as appropriate. There are lots of photos (some better than others - I'm still getting the hang of my new digital camera). I've tried to collect the best of these and present them as the main body of this gallery. I've also collected many other photos that aren't part of the main photo gallery, but are available as little side trips off the main gallery - watch for the
buttons that appear on several pages.
I've included a number of links to sites of interest about Alaska, especially those that relate to the pictures shown here. I can't guarantee that these links will always be valid - they were valid at the time of this writing, but as you probably know, web sites come and go and reorganize all the time. If you find a link that no longer works, please let me know so I can update or remove the link as needed.
There's also a section at the end with information, tips, and other suggestions about cruising Alaska, especially with respect to Princess Cruises. Another section at the end details my overall impressions - the good, the bad, and the ugly - about cruising with Princess. A cruise is a major expense for most folks. Figure US $1,500 absolute minimum, and likely double that or more depending on the cruise you take, the time of year, cabin upgrades, etc. A few tips certainly can't hurt in helping to get the most enjoyment out of your dollars, pesos, yen, euros, or whatever.
I have avoided as much as possible all of those little web page features that make web browsing an often frustrating experience, such as required plug-ins, cookies, Java and Javascript, frames, etc. The photo gallery should be fully accessible by anyone with a graphical web browser, and makes little use of special Netscape and/or Internet Explorer specific features - those special features used are not critical to the enjoyment of this site. If you do encounter any problems specific to your browser, let me know and I'll see what I can do.
I am a bit on the long-winded side when I start writing - I hope I haven't gotten too long-winded here.
I hope you enjoy this site! Comments may be directed to me at .
