My family had talked about the trip for years, planned it carefully and each of us were excited about doing it, but we never were able to find a long enough stretch of time when all four of us were free. After all, you don’t just do Alaska in a long weekend! That’s how my sister and I found ourselves tagging along on a family vacation that summer rather than taking summer session classes at the U. Dad insisted. “It’s our last chance because soon you’ll both be busy building your careers and raising your families.” Neither Sis nor I were married or even in a serious relationship, but Dad was already enjoying the grandchildren he was sure he could will into existance. He was right about the trip, though. If we were ever going to do it we had to make it work now.
It was a dream trip. Fly to Anchorage, Alaska Railroad to Denali, then down to Seward to explore the Kenai. We took the cruise back because it was *the* way to see the glaciers. We sailed out of Seward and were getting our sea legs, four land lubbers hoping and praying the Gulf of Alaska would remember it was attached to the Pacific Ocean. Mom had a good supply of dramamine just in case. Luckily the crossing was uneventful and we sailed in to our first port of call.