Ak4n3

26 minutes ago, adventuredancer said:

make sure to link their booking with you so that you can sit together. you didn't say when you were leaving. have you tried calling carnival directly? one time DH & i ran into some people we know at the terminal. we decided to ask if we could sit together. they couldn't move us/them and do the seating arrangements unless we all did ytd (which wouln't have worked across 4 different couples).

Yes, our booking is linked.  Calling Carnival is a good idea, we board January 2020 so I'm torn to emailing now or wait 4 days before boarding and bug John Heald.   

 

We did YTD before when all 6 of us cruised together, neither the kidlets or the olds liked to wait for our whole party to be called.  Our family likes early dining and having the table ready for us at dinner time.  

 

If push comes to shove, I would have to give up my early dining just so we can have dinner together...but I don't want to....I hope not... 

I booked since 2018 for the Panorama for hubby and kidlets.  I asked the parentals if they wanted to join us, they said no. 

 

Fast forward to Oct 30, 2019, now they asked me what my cruise plans were. I hurriedly  booked them to join us on our same Panorama cruise, and could only get an interior guarantee for them because that was the cheapest I can find.  Pops said that they're fine with that arrangement and don't mind whatever Carnival would give them at the last minute.  They don't even have a dining assignment, the YTD and either of the seating are not available for them.

 

Since my stateroom scheduled early dining, will it be easy to get my parents to join me for early seating?  Should I wait for to speak to the maitre'd once on board?  Any insight would be appreciated.

Seattle September 3

 

The next day,  we all rolled to the MDR for our last breakfast.  Our Seattle Essentials excursion told us to meet at the Piano Bar at 830am. 

 

Hubby's last breakfast.  Breakfast board

 

We boarded the bus, thankful that we didn't have to deal with the luggage.  Going through Customs was a breeze.  Again it was sunny and not so cold.  The views were wonderful and I managed to get a mac and cheese from Beecher’s in Pike’s place.

 

 

 

Amazon Spheres. (Insert immature teenage joke here)

 

We meet again, Space Needle.  Our tour included tickets to the observation deck.  The bluest skies you've ever seen 🎶 (cue Perry Como)

 

Some views at the observation deck.

 

 

 

Walking to Pike's place from where our bus dropped us off.

 

Piggy at Pike Place

 

 

 

Our tour lasted until about 1230pm then we were whisked to the Airport.  Back to where we started.  We parked ourselves in the boarding area and I had my most needed nap before we boarded at 440pm.  

 

We arrived Burbank at 830pm, found our luggage at the carousel, and waited for our pick up.  Thus our vacation is done.

 

My Thoughts

 

As I go through my meager pictures, I realized that I just had a taste of Alaska and is thirsty for more.  I think I would like to do a Land Cruise combo so I will be able to go hiking at Denali and then go back through the south east portion to go to other ports not previously visited.  I have a lot in my  wish list.  Alaska is such a beautiful place and it just makes my heart feel like bursting because of all the beauty and it needs another dose.  Once is not enough.

 

Popsie and Monami are satisfied now that they've been to Alaska.  I guess they just want to go to Alaska for the sake of being able to say "I've been to Alaska."  I asked if they want to join us if we plan a return trip, Popsie said he's probably pass and choose to visit another place.  I think my sister plans to take them on a European tour or something.  That's good enough for me.    

 

Bren wants to go and is still bugging me to book a trip to Alaska.  Land trip, cruise trip, he doesn’t care.  He just wants to go.  He is eyeing that helicopter to the glacier thing with the dogsled and ice cave hiking.  I told him to keep his grades up, we’ll see what we can do.  Hubby and I would probably need to save for 3 years knowing Bren’s penchant for a more adventurous excursion. 

 

Thank you so much for reading along.  I hope that in some way I was able to help someone planning the same trip.  My only request…please take me with you!

 

Victoria September 2

 

I guess the trip now is winding down at this point.  We did the rest of the cruise-y things (casino, shows, trivia, karaoke,  and eating all day).  We also began the sad sad activity that is packing.

 

At the beginning of the cruise, we received a flyer notifying us if we want to participate in Port Valet.  Even if I booked a Seattle Essentials excursion and knew that our luggage will be safely in the bus while we toured, I was happy that we don’t have to bother hunting for our luggage in the luggage zones.  Our flight was at 440pm for Southwest back to Burbank.  We had everything packed up and ready for luggage pick-up later that night. 

 

We still have a short jaunt at Victoria 730pm-1130pm.   Just barely enough daylight to go walking to Fisherman’s Wharf after dinner.

 

 

 

The saddest view when we returned from our walk...

 

 

Ketchikan September 1

 

This is probably the easiest Alaskan port we have, although the ship only stayed until noon.  All we planned was walking in town, go to creek street, hunt for the salmon and just hang. 

 

It was foggy this early morning and I contemplated if I should watch the Lumberjack show...I was out voted "no"

 

I guess hubby and I were too tired and really grateful to just have an easy day.  No more driving.  YAY!

 

We spent the day walking in town and going to Creek Street, taking pictures and look for salmon.  The rest of the morning was spent buying souvenirs.  Which was great, considering Pops wanted to go back the ship to continue watching the US Open.  Oh well, let him and Monami do what they pleased.  

 

So early, no one is here yet.

 

 

 

 

I decided not to tell Pops the significance of this sign. 😄

 

 

The creek all dark with salmon

 

 

 

 

 

By 1 pm I was so dead tired that I napped and only woke up for dinner.

 

The next day was Victoria by 7pm so it will be a very easy port stop for us.  My feet have never been so happy.

 

 

36 minutes ago, Organized Chaos said:

 

 

I have no idea what they mean by different retailers.

 

 

 

Different retailers mean you can buy one card from Carnival, one from Amazon, and one from Apple for example.

2 minutes ago, jbethel11 said:

I had 27,000 points and was active at least twice a week. I only got 4,000 points bonus.

 

Just speculating here:  Did you use your points before the old program ended?  I used up 100k from redeeming all those sweepstakes and carnival gift cards up to a week before the program ended and I dropped to 9k after I'm done with it.  Hubby had still 40k left over from the old program and he never used it to redeem anything.

I believe that higher points  were proportionally  given to those who are very active on AARP's former rewards program. 

 

Hubby received this much I think because I barely went on his account to take quizzes and what not.  He only received 4,000 points

 

I received  25,000 points to start.

 

 

If there are people who received way more points, congrats!  I haven't stalked the site as much as I believed I did.

2 hours ago, mgasaway said:

Love the review!  I leave for my second trip to Alaska on Sunday - last cruise of the season on NCL Jewel.  So sad to see how far Mendenhall Glacier has retreated.  Attached is what it looked like last time I visited.

 

 

Alaska is really beautiful.  Thanks for sharing the before pic.  Now I'm sad.

 

If you're going anytime soon at Mendenhall, please take another pic.  I want to see if there is any difference from my trip.

12 hours ago, Coral said:

Wow - Northern Lights. I have been to Alaska a ton and have never seen them!!!!! Congrats!

 

Thank you.  We were lucky and blessed on this trip.  Calm seas, great weather, during the day,  and a clear dark sky with lots of solar activity.  And I was joking with my friends that I want to see northern lights, even if I know that we were too far south to see them.  I never knew there was a prediction until the naturalist talk embarkation night.

 

If I want to see them, I'll probably go further north (Fairbanks) in September-ish.

12 hours ago, Coral said:

Your dad definitely mastered the concept of "layering of clothes" which seems to confuse many people on this board. Kudos to him.

 

Loving the review and pictures! I have also been underwhelmed by Mendenhall. It probably is different if I landed on the glacier but going to the face of it is just OK for me.

 

Yep, he is a champion at layering.  You should see him when the weather is a cool 85 degrees. 😁

 

I thought about getting on the glacier by helicopter but its too expensive for me.  Probably when I win the lottery

10 minutes ago, ktbraun said:

Scary stories...Ha....the day we were there we heard about a mama bear and her cubs very close to the trail!  I don't know if I was happy or sad that we missed that!  We did see a bear...far away...when we took the tram up Mt. Roberts.

 

 

Happy we didn't encounter any bears.  I am ready and willing to outrun Pops at that point.  Every man for himself!

Juneau August 31

 

One more car rental to go.  The roads are flat they said.  You can walk to the Avis rental place, they said.  Yep, I forgot to take in consideration that I should’ve gotten a trolley for Pops to ride on since he was sooo slow and everything is uphill.  I did ask if they wanted to get a taxi or an Uber to the place, they said they can walk.  So after breakfast…walking we went…for twenty minutes. 

 

It's too early for this!

 

Anyway, Juneau was where hubby’s cousin lived for years.  Unfortunately, by the time we decided to visit, they already packed up and left for SoCal.  I asked for recommendations on what to do for the time that we were there (7:00am-3pm) and where to eat and where to go since we have a rental.  Their top to do list  was go to the Mendenhall Glacier, drive to St. Therese Shrine, and eat crab at Tracy’s crab shack.

 

Once we got the car, it was a nice relaxing drive to Mendenhall Glacier.  There weren’t many tourist buses at the time we arrived at about past 9-ish.  Again, another bright sunny day but it was still cold.

 

 

After going to the visitor center to get day passes, off we went to the Photo Point and Nugget Falls Trail.

 

Yep, his ensemble is complete.  He is still cold.

 

It’s a nice and pleasant hike.  ALL FLAT.  There weren’t that many people walking this early so there were spots that it was only the four of us.  While hiking, we spent the time telling scary stories like how easy it would be for a serial killer to be hiding in the thicket and wait for the unsuspecting hiker.  Yep, scary stories before 10am…

 

Squirrel!

 

 

 

 

Nugget falls lake was clear and cold.  I know because I tried reach for a nice shiny rock I saw submerged in about a foot of water.  When my finger touched the water surface, my leg hair curled from the cold.  I asked Pops if he can get it for me, he told me no.

 

Me: “But I am your daughter!”

Popsie: “You’re too old for rocks.”

Monami:  “She’s planning to push you in.”

Me:  😈

 

 

 

We stayed for about two hours at Mendenhall.  It wasn’t as spectacular as we thought but it's still beautiful.  Like the Sawyer glaciers, Mendenhall receded so much in the last 10 years.  They didn’t look like anything in the pictures or the documentaries I watched.  I asked the ranger if there is still a chance for the glacier to recover and look like what it did in the past. The ranger said that ten years ago it was predicted that the glaciers will melt in a 100 years.  However, the new calculations show that the accelerated warming will melt the glacier so much by in 25 years from now.  It’s already past the point of no return.   It was that hot in Alaska.  The snow doesn’t have a chance to compact itself into glacial ice so It just melts.

 

I’m sorry it took us this long to visit.  Even sadder as what was going on in the planet…I just hope when we do visit again, I still have glaciers to see.

 

After Mendenhall, we drove to St. Therese National Shrine.  This is the most peaceful place we’re ever been.  The other sights we went to, you can hear the boat engine, cars, the rush of the waterfall.  St. Therese’s peacefulness was only broken by the squawk of the crows.  It looks like a good place to have a retreat and meditate.  I felt bad to yell at Popsie in such a place so I refrained from doing my regular annoying child nonsense.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The chapel is on the forest-y area at the end of the path.  The crows were noisy.

 

 

At this point of the day, it was getting late and we we’re kind of hungry.  All we had was breakfast at the MDR and waters all day.  Hubby, Monami and Pops were looking forward to…drumroll, please…Tracy’s Crab Shack right on the dock.

 

We dropped off the parental units near the cruise port before we returned our filled up rental car back to Avis.  No way Pops is going to trudge back from the rental place, even as solidarity to me.  Besides, they need to buy an additional luggage from one of the shops for all their souvenirs to take back home.  We returned 10 minutes later, after running from Avis back to the cruise port area so we can have our  lunch.  It was now getting close to boarding time.

 

I’m not allergic to seafood, but I never did see the appeal.  Since I am an agreeable person who doesn’t want to be such a buzzkill in this bucket list trip, I agreed to eat there.  Steamed or boiled seafood I don’t like, but the deep fried crab cake and bisque appealed to me more.

 

 

They happily attacked the large bucket of crab legs and claw.  I happily ate the rolls, crab cake, and bisque.  They had good spice, and bonus points for not tasting like crab.   Will I eat there again?  Probably, if only for those two not the crab legs.  I am a very cheap date.  Now if it was Japanese A5 wagyu on the other hand...

 

 

PS.  Now it was Northern Lights night.  We decided to park ourselves starboard side at Deck 10 near the slides at about 930pm.  It was so cold and windy I used my cabin bathrobe on top of my cold gear.

 

Remember I told you earlier that we have no idea what we are doing with the camera?  Well, I was in tears for not being able to get a decent picture.  If you squint just right, you can see a smear of green in a background of dark.  Fail!    😢  I want a redo.  All I have are the spectacular memories of that moment.  Too bad I don't have a decent picture to prove it.

 

The northern lights are beautiful...honest!

 

 

 

6 minutes ago, Coral said:

Enjoying the review! I hope the kids are alive at the end of the review 🙂

 

Glad you were able to take your parents!

 

Spoiler alert:  The kidlets are alive.  Though, Sissy spoiled them rotten by the time we returned a week later.  Introducing Bren(14) and Aria(5).  They may or may not be featured in future cruise reviews depending on how they feel or how hammy they get  in front of the camera...or if I feel like writing one.

 

Aria and  Bren sending off their aunt at the airport.  See how Baby girl doesn't want to let go of her leg. 😑

 

 

The parentals are at the age that my siblings and I decided to take them to vacations to far away lands so they can enjoy it while they can still walk whether the want it or not. I'm glad we can do this for them.  💖  

 

 

On 9/20/2019 at 9:30 PM, Cairns Cruisers said:

I noticed on the  first sea day there was a “brunch with a view “option in Nouveau restaurant. I have never seen anyone talk about that option(I know it’s extra cost) on CC. Do you meet anyone who tried it?

 

No, we didn't meet anybody who actually did this option.  I didn't even go to to check it out to see if anybody was there brunch time.    I thought that the brunch was scheduled on Tracy Arm day and they were just advertising this at the beginning of the cruise to get people to sign up.

 

Hopefully someone can enlighten us how it was.

 

 

I hope everybody had a good weekend.  

 

Skagway August 30

 

After yesterday’s tiring adventure, I know we are going to have a long day.  I got everybody ready and went to the MDR again for breakfast.  We need to get out of the ship at 730am to pick up the rental car from Avis. 

 

The wall of ships just when you get off.

 

 

So, with our passports and equipment in hand, off we go to get the car to beat the rush of everybody wanting off the ship.

It was foggy and cold but that quickly dissipated.  I know that  later the sun will be out again and it will be a beautiful day.

 

 

The olds...yep, Pops is wearing a beanie, a scarf, a jacket, a sweater, a long shirt, and a tshirt...never liked the cold...

 

Bye, train!  Maybe next time, we'll try you.  Monami was actually looking at the thing forlornly.  I think she wanted to get on the train.  We told her that we want to be able to stop and take pictures along the way and we might see wildlife.  (Nope, not happening on this trip.  Nancy the naturalist said, you don't need to run fast from the bears.  You just need to out run your slowest person.  I was already thinking how to  ditch Popsie to the bears...)

 

Now that she's happier,   we continued a not so far walk to Avis.

 

 

Here are some of the highlights of our drive from Skagway to Emerald Lake and back again.

 

Yay, we found it!  My mom's favorite stop.  They take credit card, so we were set.  There wasn't much of a wait.  We spent the time playing and cuddling with the pups.  We were in doggie heaven.

 

 

 

Doggies happily mushing away

 

 

 

Carcross Visitor Center.  Here we bought maple syrup.

 

Carcross Dessert.

 

Emerald lake.  I wish it wasn't this sunny, but the lake was breathtakingly beautiful

 

FInally got to this sign on our return.  Yep, it was HOT!

 

More views of Tracy Arm Fjord excursion

 

Enjoy my shots of the fjord.  Oh, if I didn't catch the calving on video, did it really happen?

 

North Sawyer Glacier

 

I missed the calving by one second...

 

 

 

More cascading waterfalls

 

Glacier Ice

 

 

The Legend stalking us

 

First views of the South Sawyer Glacier

 

 

 

 

I thought I didn't have videos of the seals.  I found it!

Tracy Arm Fjord Day August 29

 

This has got to be my most favorite day cruising ever!  We all had breakfast together in the MDR, since I don’t want to deal with people without being fortified with caffeine and carbs.  After prepping for the morning, we grabbed our gear to set out base of operations at the serenity deck.  It was perfect, the restrooms are there, food is just around the corner.  There, we patiently waited for the “bing-bong” of the Nancy the Naturalist’s announcement about wildlife and such. 

 

Now, Pops would rather watch the US open all day if he had his way.  I dragged him with us to the Serenity Deck, no way I’m going to let him leave his beloved wife on her own since hubby and I were busy running port to starboard and back again.  I got him situated with food (breakfast burritos, arepas, coffee, fruits) near the couch so he can nap and Monami could sit with him whenever she’s tired of looking at the views.  He’s a simple man.

 

 

The views were wonderful, and again it was sunny and clear.  I could just stare at it all day.  The whales were cavorting and there were sea otters floating as the ship passed by.  A

 

At deck 9, the wildlife looked tiny.  On my re-do Alaska trip (please let there be a re-do!), I'd rather be at the Promenade deck forward or directly aft since it is wrapping all around the ship and it's closer to the water.  Towards the forward area, it's easy to pop from port to starboard because of the doors into the ship.  Unfortunately, there are not seating areas outside for the parental unit to rest.  

 

Since I booked the Tracy Arm Ford explorer excursion for 11am, I made sure everyone was nice and warm and camera, batteries, and binoculars were packed before we went to the Follies Theater (comedy club deck 1) for the assembly area.

 

 

 

We chose to hang at the top deck of the boat.  Popsie and Monami decided to keep warm when the boat is traversing the fjord, the wind is blows bitterly cold.  My eyeballs hurt after the excursion because of the chilly wind, it dried my eyes.

 

 

More views going to Sawyer Glaciers

 

 

 

Craggy rocks

 

 

 

 

You're welcome!   Glad to have helped.

Sea Day August 28

 

I already told the Olds to have breakfast by themselves wherever they liked so we didn’t see each other all morning.  It felt good to sleep in FINALLY!   

 

Okay, I forgot my timeline.  Its a good thing I had my Fun Times to remind me what we did...

 

After dinner embarkation night, Nancy, the naturalist, gave an interesting talk about Alaska.  I tried to absorb all that she said.  What stuck in my mind was there is a high likelihood of seeing northern lights this far south of Alaska!  According to the website, the northern lights will appear as far south as Juneau on Sept 1^st with a five hour window about midnight UTC, which is about 5 hours ahead of Pacific Time.  I set my alarm for August 31 at around the 10pm to 2am window the next day.

 

 

I'm glad I purchased a premium internet package and I made use of it researching the heck out of when and where we would most likely see it.  My son facetimed me to let me know that the announcement was all over the news and he will be disappointed in me if I don’t have a picture.  I tried to facetime him while on the outside deck, but he couldn't see anything...

 

Well, I did see it. And I want a re-do!  More on that later.

 

Fast forward next day...

 

 So after brunch, hubby and I head to the sports bar where, surprise surprise, Pops was in the middle of watching the US Open.  Monami was there looking at the TV.  But I know by the glassy look in her eyes that she was probably daydreaming of being anywhere else but here.  I guess that she's already there for a good two hours.  She was happy like a puppy when I finally showed up to take her out of her misery....

 

Since it was a sea day, we spent it doing the usual cruise-y things to do (casino, eating, spa, drinking, etc) because I know that we will be up and running once we get to port.   There was another talk at  around 9am from our naturalist about animals and volcanoes.  I think we were late for this one but no worries, the talks were shown in the cabin tv on a constant loop.  The naturalist also informed us that if there are anything interesting outside, she will make the announcements in the stateroom hallways and through the tv channel that shows the ship forward cameras. 

 

I don't know how many times that whenever we hear her announce "Whales starboard 3o'clock!" that hubby and I would stop what we're doing and barrel down toward Deck 3.  Imagine when my mom, husband and I would be chatting in the areas and we will hear the "bing-bong" of the PA, hubby and I would just stand up and just run out.  Monami knows where to follow us, she's a quick study.

 

 So after brunch, hubby and I head to the sports bar where, surprise surprise, Pops was in the middle of watching the US Open.  Monami was there looking at the TV.  But I know by the glassy look in her eyes that she was probably daydreaming of being anywhere else but here.  I guess that she's already there for a good two hours.  She was happy like a puppy when I finally showed up to take her out of her misery....

 

Sunny day in the somewhere North Pacific

 

 

 

 

We just enjoyed the calm open ocean.  I was afraid that we might encounter rough seas for the first time in our cruising history.  I lucked out.  In this cruise I really lucked out…too much luck.  Be careful what you wish for.  On hindsight, I wish the sun wasn’t out in full force that made the pictures of the glaciers too washed out (be gentle, we still don’t know how to deal with the camera.)  Like I said,  I need to have a re-do trip back to Alaska 😛 

 

Please enjoy the outdoor pics that we practiced with the day before

 

This is my house...in my dreams

 

As we were leaving Seattle embarkation day

 

Sunsets...so prettu

 

 

Fun times are up in the carnival forum.  Link below

 

 

Let's try this, shall we?  I benefited a lot in the forums so here are the fun times.  Hopefully, they are readable...

Day 1.pdf Day 2.pdf Day 3.pdf Day 4.pdf Day 5.pdf Day 6.pdf Day 7.pdf

I'd say yes!  I took my daughter about a month after her 2nd birthday because we can drop her off in Camp Ocean.  Just be prepared for the camp to call you on the camp cell phone in case your child gets cranky.  The counselors are good with children.  I think they called us a total of 2 times to get her, but other than that it was fine.  Just make sure she is nice and fed and had her nap before leaving her there.  🙂 

 

 

Embarkation day August 27

 

Yay! I woke up everybody so they can start preparing.  No way am I going to let them sleep in after all.  It’s cruise day!  I booked a one way shuttle from the hotel to Pier 91 with Seattle Express with a pick up at 9am.  I believe it was $15 per person. 

 

There was a bit of traffic on the freeway, but after the driver got off the freeway and took the surface streets, we managed to get through the worst of it.  

 

The Starbucks building

 

The shuttle drove beneath the Space Needle.  We will revisit the place at the end of our cruise.

 

Our home away from home

 

We arrived at Pier 91 a bit earlier than 1030am, the terminal wasn’t opened yet but there were a couple of lines already forming.  We didn't wait too long. The terminal let us enter by 1030am, it wasn’t that bad even though there were a lot of people.   

 

 

 

Our boarding number was A01 so we were one of the first people to board (after the Plats/Diamonds, FFTF, of course). 

Protip:  once you step into the ship (any ship), go aft and take the elevators to the lido deck (or wherever the buffet is served).  This completely gets you away from the first bank of elevators you see where most of the people would fall in line with their carry-ons and wheelchairs.   We found a table and we’re enjoying our first Guy’s burger by 1130am.

 

Follow me, my little ducklings!

 

 

My traditional Fun Ship and Guys burgers in the background

 

As soon as it was ok to go to our cabins, we deposited our carryons.  Our luggage didn’t arrive yet, if I remember correctly, they arrived sometime 3pm.  After freshening up, I dragged everybody for the obligatory ship tour.  Since the Legend has the similar layout with Miracle (and the rest of the Spirit Class ships), hubby and I were familiar what to do.  We started from the top to work our way to the lower decks.

 

 

I do so love a good shot of the Olds with the whale tail

 

After going though all of the public places from the top deck,  Popsie had enough of touring and the obligatory photo-ops because the next he asked me was “What channel is ESPN?” 

 

The cruise doesn’t have ESPN in the cabins, I told him, knowing full well what his next question was.

“Where is the Sports Bar?” 

 

I hear a collective sigh of surrender from Monami and Hubby before we marched to the Sports Bar located in Deck 2.  Popsie is notorious in our family for being the only one who liked to watch ANY and ALL organized sports.   Popsie doesn't drink alcohol anymore (doctor's orders) so he just parked himself where he won't be a bother to the other patrons who were watching some sort of sporting event on several of the tv screens.  

 

Popsie now made this place his base of operations. He's not very difficult to lose track of.  As long as the TVs are on, he is there, even if the bars are closed.  After breakfast, he is there...after dinner, he is there....after losing in the casino, he is there... A big shout out to the bartender Carmelo at the Dream Team Sports Bar for being a friend to Popsie. 

 

Since tomorrow is a sea day, I told the olds to do as they pleased until our dinnertime where I will brief them on what we plan to do for the next day.

 

I'll try to post fun times later...probably on the carnival page if anybody is interested.

 

Until the next installment...

 

 

4 hours ago, ktbraun said:

Cant wait to hear more about your adventure!  I hope the "OLDS" had a great time with you!  

Thank you so much for following.  Yes, they had a great time.  All tired but very happy.  I hope to do more trips with them in the future .