Author: dustwel
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Alaska Cruise #1-2 – Juneau, Icy Strait Point, Ketchikan, (not) Canada, Departure
Buckle up – this is another long post! In retrospect this cruise would have been better off as 4-5 separate posts (instead of two very long ones). Each day was action-packed and I didn’t prioritize the blogging, making it more daunting to tackle as time goes by… Anyways, here we go! Day 4 – Juneau…
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Alaska Cruise #1-1 – Boarding, “Day At Sea”, Sitka
Day 1 – Boarding & Departure And we’re off! We boarded the “Bliss”, a Norwegian Cruise Lines Ship, mid-afternoon on the 4th of July. Boarding was chaotic – there was a mix of cheerful, helpful people, but security and check-in were chaotic at best! At one point we were directed to an empty check-in desk…
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Seattle Trip #1 – Space Needle, Mount Rainier, Pike’s Place Market
Background After traveling to warmer climates the last few summers, we decided to hit remix and do something completely different in 2026 – a few days in the PNW followed by a cruise up to Alaska. This checks several “new” boxes for us – first time to Seattle for Meghann, Sage and Vivi (I’ve been…
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Quebec City Trip #1: Airport travel, Le Chateau Frontenac, Toboggan Ride, Epic Meals
Background and Planning After several trips to warmer climates, we decided it was time to go somewhere with SNOW! We’ve never been much of a winter sports family, and the girls have yet to really experience winter weather, outside taking Sage to SLC when she was too small to remember it. We considered several options…
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Hawaii Trip (Maui) #3-4: Cinnamon Roll Place, a Secret Beach, Travel Home and Final Impressions
We decided to keep the final two days more low key at the tail end what turned out to be pretty busy trip. Despite that, we still found some cool new areas to explore, restaurants to try, and things to do. Cinnamon Roll Place We began Wednesday looking for a spot to eat a late…
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Hawaii Trip (Maui) #3-3: Nakalele Blowhole, Kahekili Highway, Jumping Off Waterfalls, and Volcano Snorkeling
Our third day in Maui began with no firm plans, deciding to sort-of wing it and do some exploring. Often times these days turn out to be my favorite, a’la Halona Beach Cove on last year’s trip to Oahu. This one lived up to my hopes – unexpected twists and turns made the day feel…
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Hawaii Trip (Maui) #3-2: Zipline Adventure and Dinner at Plantation House
Sunday, July 6th July 6th is a special day for our family – Meghann’s birthday! We love to travel, and every year we plan a summer trip during this week. While this year and the last couple have been in Hawaii, we visited South Korea in 2023, and Okoboji in 2022. The day started like…
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Hawaii Trip (Maui) #3-1: Airport arrival (not great!), Flying (unremarkable!), Haleakala Sunrise (epic!)
Background and Planning And we’re off on another adventure! After amazing July trips to Oahu the last two years, we wanted to come back to Hawaii but a different island this time. We debated between Maui and Kawaii, but after watching a bunch of (mostly terrible) YouTube videos we decided Maui would be a good…
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Hawaii Trip #2-5: Meg’s Birthday, Final Day and Traveling Home
Morning and lunch Meg’s birthday kicked off with a 90 minute session we had booked for her at Outrigger Infinity Spa, which was located in the hotel penthouse. Last year we went as an entire family, but this time around we let Meghann go while the girls and I hung out at the hotel room.…
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Hawaii Trip #2-4: Hanauma Bay, Skybox Taphouse
Got started bright and early! Hanauma Bay was our earliest excursion of the trip, with a 5:50am pickup time at the Hyatt across the street. We took a roughly 25 minute ride and arrived at the top of a large hill. It was rainy and overcast as we dug through rental gear bags and attempted…