Libby Riddles

Princess Cruise line has the exclusive opportunity to have Libby Riddles on on board. I had the wonderful pleasure to meet Libby Riddles. She is the first female to ever win the
Iditroid dog sled race. If you have never heard of Libby Riddles after her 1 hour talk you will be amazed, inspired and truly in ah over this incredible woman.

In 1985 Libby Riddle is the first female to win the Iditroid. The Iditroid dog sled race covers over 1,100-miles of treacherous terrain. Her thrilling details of her journey, love for her dogs just made you want to stand up and cheer. Libby has been named sportswoman of the year and picked by the vets on the Iditroid as treating her dogs the best.

Libby has written several children's books "Storm Run and Danger: The Dog Yard Cat" . My favorite "Race Across Alaska" her journal about the year she won the Iditroid. Check them out they are great! www.libbyriddles.com

Panning for Gold & Breweries

Simon the Brewmaster

Ice Bergs ...Straight Ahead!!!

This is the view from our Balcony. At 4:50 am All you could see around us was Ice Bergs! I had to check two watches and call the pursers desk to make sure I had the time right. These pictures don't begin to show how beautiful it really was.

When Husbands Pack Themselves

When I read the tempeture was going to be in the 40's-50's I knew it was going to be cold.

This is why men need us girls.

Traveling thru Tracy Arm Passage. At 6am the sun was up and is was now 48 degrees.

Musher - Jillian Rogers and Dog Camp

Jillian Rogers was the musher I trained with. She is Awesome ! Finding her true calling she packed up leaving corporate life behind and moved to Alaska. Currently she lives up on the glacier with her 30 dogs and are training to their 1st Iditarod Race.

Check out her blog @ wannabemusher.blogspot.com

The dog camp is an incredible place. As you can see from the photos everything is white and blends in. The dogs and the Mushers live up on Mendenhall Glacier 5 months out the the year. They each get 24hrs off per week to go into town for baths, computer time & talk to family/ friends. Yep! you read right .. Baths. They have an outhouse, cook & share bunks/ dome looking cabins. But there is no television, Internet or cellphones & no alcohol. Most mushers are up there with there own dogs. Several mushers will take the summer season off & let there doggies go to camp.

All the dogs live & sleep in the white wooden boxes. They run /workout several times day. The dogs eat a high protein diet 3 times a day. I was told they train & eat just like athletes. Think of them as marathon runners. I was amazed on how thin,fit and muscular each dog was.

Dog Sledding is Awesome!!

Dennis mushing at the base of Mendenhall Glacier
My view - The bumper sticker is so true. If your not the lead dog your view is always the same.

Dog Sledding is like water skiing just with a brake. The black dog is wearing a lite weight white coat to reflect the sun. Worn to prevent overheating.

My New Best Friends

These dogs all belong to Jillian Rogers - Musher there are 30 dogs in her camp

Mendenhall Glacier - Juneau, Alaska

A 30 minute helicopter ride & mountains that soar upward of 7000 ft. we flew to Mendenhall Glacier for a day of dog sledding. This breathing taking view & dog sledding experience was worth every penny.

Totem Poles

Totem Poles can be seen all over Alaska. Each one tells its own story. The totem poles represent life, death, weddings, and even births.

Totem Heritage Center, located on the outskirts of Ketchikan includes the world's oldest and tallest (50 ft) totem poles.

Whales

As we sit on our balcony it still amazes me on how close the wildlife gets. There is a naturalist on board the ship. Periodically she will make an announcement of where you can see the wildlife from the ship.

Day 2 - Pier 91

At 9am we leave back to the airport to check in with “Shuttle Express” to pier 91. Shuttle express is a local service that can be pre arranged by internet. By setting up a round trip drop off & pickups each way had an additional savings & only cost $27 each way for 2 people. Shuttle express was easy to find, little wait & very organized. We shared a mini Van with 6 other adults all going to the same pier. Trip was approximate 20-30 minutes.
Seattle has 2 cruise ports. Pier 66 - Located right downtown (Norwegian & Royal Caribbean cruises. Pier 91 is a new port is on the out skirts of town home for Carnival, Holland American & Princess Cruises.
Our paperwork said that the check in began at 12 noon. We arrived at the port 10:30 am and was thru security and in the room by 11:30am. Out of all the cruise ports we have been to Seattle was one of the top 3 a far a fast & easy.
The remainder of the day was spent relaxing. Checking out the boat & heading up on the top deck for sail away. 5:00pm the ships horns blow a loud 3 times and we were off. As Seattle’s down town sky line got smaller the snowcapped mountains in the distance it is 55 degrees & snow on the mountains.