Hello to our friends, both old and new. Tim and I have been staying healthy and busy here in HOT Southern California. We hope you are also doing well and enjoying life to the fullest.
Just a short “sneak peek” of what is in the works.
Cruiseshiptracking.com
We are all packed up and ready to head out the door for our next big adventure. This time we will be flying from Orange County to Seattle and then boarding a Princess cruise ship. We will be on board for 14 days, cruising north to Alaska with stops in Ketchikan and Whittier (Anchorage), before continuing across the Pacific and eventually arriving in Tokyo.
Tim and I were last in Japan in 2000, but have never had the opportunity to visit the capital. We will spend nine nights divided up between Tokyo and Kyoto with a couple of day trips included. Most of our sightseeing for the first four days is planned out where we will try to squeeze in several “must see” spots.
I’m especially looking forward to taking the Bullet Train down to Kyoto.
AND, I’m beyond grateful that my little sister and her husband will be joining us! That will definitely be the icing on the cake.
The first part of this trip will include a lot of “at sea” days. We have already loaded up our Kindles with some new material. I’ve stuck in a couple games, planning on attending some on board lectures, perhaps trying the cruise long scavenger hunt, taking a Thai Chi class, and whatever else catches my attention. Honestly though, I’ll probably be curled up most of the time with a good book and watching some breathtaking scenery pass by.
We hope you will join us. We will post some highlights and a few favorite pictures along the journey.
GRATITUDE MOMENT: Today I’m especially grateful that I’ll have this time with family. Not only will it be fun to share this with my sister and BIL, but having time with my husband will be a wonderful blessing. Also not having to cook or do dishes for a few weeks sounds “quite nice” (I’m thinking fondly of our Australian friends we met some time ago on another cruise who explained that “quite nice” means something entirely different to them.) 😂
So excited to hear of your upcoming “ adventures and anxiously waiting to “hear all about them”!
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Thank you Nancy! We are also quite excited 😆
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Sounds like a grand trip. We spent 2 1/2 weeks in Japan recently with our daughter, who speaks Japanese, and her roommate. It was quite an adventure. I hope that we’ll one day be taking a cruise along the Alaskan coast, too. Seems like the best way to see it. Have fun.
janet
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How wonderful that you had all of that time together with your daughter. It must have been so helpful to have her be able to translate for you. Any favorite places that you visited?
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We loved our tea farm visit, the traditional village, sake brewery tour, and awesome Kubota Itchiku Art Museum in Lake Kawaguchiko, and our time in Sendai, a city but much smaller than Tokyo and the other major cities.
Our daughter speaking Japanese made the trip just wonderful and spending time with her was great.
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So glad that you and Tim have remained healthy! Am glad that you are traveling again! We did a 14 day Alaska Cruise with Princess back in 2010. It was one of my favorite adventures. We have been back to Alaska four times since – driving from Chicago on the Alaska Highway three of those four times. Enjoy each and every day!
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Driving the Alaska Highway must have been an amazing experience! The fact that you did it three times speaks volumes for how much you enjoyed Alaska.
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Safe travels and have a fantastic time. Sounds like a wonderful trip and I look forward to following your travels. Lois
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Thank you Lois! Wishing you and Gary an amazing trip as well! Enjoy, have fun and don’t overdo it ❤️
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Bon Voyage🌏✈️ Will look forward to your photos!
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Bon Voyage🌏✈️🚢 Will look forward to your photos and comments!
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Thank you so much!
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Have a wonderful trip! I love your itineray!!
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Thanks Darlene!
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What a lovely trip to share with family. The days at sea sound like a welcome chance to enjoy a good book before exploring Tokyo and Kyoto. Wishing you, Tim, your sister, and her husband a safe and wonderful journey. Looking forward to your photos and stories along the way!
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Thank you so much! Yes, this will be such a wonderful experience, first all the time together onboard, and then trying to find our way around Japan. We appreciate you following along 👍👍
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We are so excited for you! We hearing/reading all about your travels! Have a safe and wonderful trip!
Best wishes,
Linda and Paul 😁
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Thanks Linda and Paul! How wonderful it is to stay in touch with people we have met throughout our travels. We miss seeing you two and hope our paths will cross again some day 😘
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Hi Tim and Joanne. I started following your blog in 2013, about the same time that I started mine. I see you are going to Japan, and I’ve just returned this Monday from a 12 day trip with similar itinerary. Hopefully you can get some tips, ideas, or avoid some mistakes from my blog (I’m still working on a few more posts). You can find it here: https://sabbatikos.net/category/Japan/
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Hi Marc, thank you for the link. I look forward to checking it out!
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Wow, I just took a quick look and I can’t wait to have the time to read more about your time there.
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I hope the book isn’t so good you miss the scenery! Or you only read after dark… I’ve taken the ferry from Haines to Prince Rupert; the scenery was amazing, and I slept little. Have a wonderful trip – glad to see you in motion again.
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Hi Kayak,
Yes, balance is important 😊. I definitely plan on giving the beautiful scenery my full attention. We will have a couple days of scenic cruising along the coast of Alaska, but once we leave Whittier, most days will be wide open waters. I should be able to accomplish both.
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Wow, this looks wonderful! I look forward to seeing your posts from this trip!
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Thank you Christie! Sending love your way…
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Steve and I are over-the-top excited for you! Having this special time with Tim in itself is a blessing, and with Jan and Mark experiencing all this beauty and adventure with you-even more so! We are looking forward to your captivating writing and photography skills, showing us the beautiful scenery, learning about the history, culture… and food photos!
Safe travels dear friend. 🤟🏼
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Thank you dear friend, you especially know how much I have been looking forward to this trip. This will be a very special time with family and I’m overjoyed that we are able to do this together. 🥰🤟
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Your upcoming adventure sounds wonderful, especially the leg of the trip on a Princess cruise ship and the ride on the Bullet Train to Kyoto. Fourteen days at sea with stops in Ketchikan and Whittier will give you plenty of fresh ocean air, and having your sister and her husband join adds a special touch. On long cruises a simple routine of seated knee lifts or ankle circles every couple of hours can keep the hips and knees from tightening up before you explore the ports. I hope the sights in Tokyo and the serenity of Kyoto bring you lasting memories.
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Hi Dan, thank you so much for your lovely comment. I think this trip will be very memorable for lots of reasons, but having this time together with family will be my favorite.
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