Alaska 2009 - Day 1. San Antonio to Seattle, via Phoenix.

Amy and I and 7 members of her family are doing a 12-day Cruise/tour with Princess. We start in Fairbanks, work our way overland down to Anchorage, where we board the Diamond Princess for a 7-day Inside Passage, debarking in Vancouver.

Day 1. San Antonio to Seattle, via Phoenix.

We stayed at the Mom Inn last night (Amy's mother's house). She's so sweet, and always leaves a chocolate on our pillows when we stay there. I tucked them into a vest pocket for emergency snacks during the day. As we were de-boarding in Phoenix I felt like a pick me up, so I pulled them out. I guess I must have a hot body, because they were liquid. Thank goodness the wrappers held them all inside. I can imagine traipsing around Alaska in a vest that smells like Nestle Crunch could make me very attractive. To bears.

After arriving at Seattle, we caught the shuttle to the Princess-provided Doubletree. It was one of the nicer hotels I've stayed at, and I've stayed at a lot. The only hiccup was that they "lost" the room reservation for Amy's sister Tracy. It took a while to get her settled, and I don't think the desk clerk knew how close to death he came. :-)

After a nice dinner, and a few local beers, we retired to await our 4:15 a.m. bag pull the next morning.

Seattle hangar. I don't know why, but this seems vaguely naughty.
The intrepid travelers: