i was an old lighthouse // excursions to seattle, alaska, and canada

Hey y’all!

It’s been a good while, I know! Last week, I wasn’t able to post because I was on a cruise ship in the middle of nowhere and I had no post to begin with.

Eep, it kinda killed me to just let it sit there without anything for you guys to read that was new. However, it was better that way because I was able to spend more time in the moment with my family. 🙂

SO.

It’s been a hot minute, y’all xD I tell you, summer has gone by in a flash. It feels like school just ended, yet it begins again for me in a week. I’m not too sad about summer ending because I love me a good schedule, and I am completely ready for the schedule to be in place again.

Even so, I think that my summer has been a quite delightful one! This last week, I got home from my cruise to the northwest area of America and a little teeny bit of Canada. (fun, eh?)

(laugh please, i think i’m hilarious)

It was a really fun trip because we went with my dad’s side of the family. There was a total of ten of us and it was crazy at times but fantastic.

I have some pictures with me so I can tell you all about the trip!!

*hauls out carpet bag*

*begins to take pictures out*

We left on the 17th late in the afternoon and drove to Nashville to stay the night so we wouldn’t have to get up and drive at like 2am. It was a smart move but we had to get up at four in the morning anyway so it kinda balanced out xD The sunrise was beautiful but that was literally the only perk besides knowing that I would get to be in the clouds soon.

*dips hand in bag for cloud pictures*

So this was landing in Seattle. Despite being the “rainy city” and whatnot (which i was looking forward to actually), it didn’t rain the entire trip except for like two hours in the middle of the ocean. It was sad. But hey, you win some, you lose some.

Anyway, that was a Thursday, I believe, and we landed and located our family in the airport, and then went to a restaurant next to our hotel for lunch. (I got a balsamic and goat cheese salad and it was heavenly.)

After that, we walked around downtown and toured the space needle. I had a picture of this, but my phone did a stupid thing and didn’t send like 65% of the pictures I wanted to include in this post. You are just gonna have to trust me on this. It was very high and I nearly had an anxiety attack on the glass floor level. That was quite fun. 😀

The next day we got on the boat, Ovation of the Seas! Supposedly, it was the ninth largest cruise ship in the world according to wikipedia. That’s a reliable source, I know. Either way, it was very large. Ninth seems like “eh it could be second which would be better” and yeah, if I said I was on the second largest cruise ship in the world, that’d be crazy. But it held like ~5,000 passengers, not even counting staff.

Say w h a t. That’s a loooot of people…

Introvert Madeleine would like to inform you that she shied away from most of the crowds, unlike her extravert cousins who partied in the teen center till like 12am each night. Madeleine was asleep by 11:15. I would rather go sit on the balcony and eat free pizza, thank you very much.

Leaving the port that Friday, we quickly sped off into open ocean so as to reach Juneau by Monday.

hi i would like to take a moment of silence to remember the beautiful draft of this post that I forgot to save after this point and accidentally reloaded the page only to lose that content. that made me actually cry. you pay for stupid, kids. always save your drafts. a l w a y s.

Okay continuing on… *SiGhhhs*

To prevent the passengers from going absolutely stir crazy from being on the sea for two whole days, they had formal night in the main dining rooms on Sunday night. Cruise planners are very smart. The cousins looked so good that heads turned in the dining rooms. Maybe that’s a slight exaggeration.

*rummages in bag*

In Juneau, we went whale watchin’! It was so cool, and I didn’t know how many whales we would see but we ended up seeing lots!! We saw big whales, a mommy and her baby, two sleeping whales, and SOME SEA LIONS ON A BUOY IN THE MIDDLE OF NOWHERE. That was really funny. They were just sleepy water dogs. XD it was adorable, but I wouldn’t want to meet them close up because they are heckin huge. The scenery surrounding Juneau was gorgeous, but nothing compared to the day after that.

Tuesday, we were in Skagway, Alaska. Dude, it was my favorite I think.

*hastily fishes around for skagway pictures because she loves them*

I really wish my computer would’ve been more happy to comply with pictures because I had some good ones from here. My parents and I went on a train into the mountains around there and then the edge of Canada (Fraser). It was so pretty and the train cars were like from the 1800s and dude I had history buff chills. Basically this was the town that was the base/stopping point for new miners headed up to the Klondike Gold Rush in the upper parts of Alaska and again, Canada. It was the coolest little town and I fell in looooooove.

The next morning, we woke up at 6:30 because we wanted to sit on the deck and be cold. At least that’s what it felt like. Am I bitter about it? Probably. XD but in all honesty, it was very cool. We passed a glacier and got to see the mountains and ice chucks around it. It seemed honestly a little overrated, but it could’ve been because the sun was shining directly behind the glacier so I couldn’t see much. I saw some harbor seals boppin’ around the boat kinda observing the large thing sailing through their house and that made my day. They were so cute. ❤ 🙂

After the glacier, we ate free food and played cards. We went and saw the musical theatre form of modern art that night too and that was strange. It was cool, but there was no plot. XDDD I was confused. But I did look nice so that was fun. 😀

Yet another day spent at sea, and once again, another formal night where the cousins were gorgeous and walked through the restaurant like a hair commercial. We were show-stopping. Jk no we probably looked derpy in all honesty. XD

Oh my goodness, I forgot to mention that whenever the dining rooms got overwhelmingly loud or I got sensory-overwhelmed in general, I would kinda just find myself staring blankly at some point on the table and pretending like I was a medieval maiden at an important banquet and I would make sure my posture was perfect and that there was some sort of diplomatic importance to the banquet. It made things a whole lot more fun. #dinnertipswithmaddy

Next, VICTORIA, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA. They are so nice there. Crazy expensive apartments but like practically stereotypically Canadian. It was the best. We went to The Buchart Gardens and it was gorgeous. We had afternoon tea and then roamed among roses. Gosh darn it, I wish the pictures loaded. Oh well. Imagine yellow roses and a little metal turtle on a fountain. There you go.

Then, the most stressful day of all, DEPARTURE DAYYYYY.

*screaming from the easily-overwhelmed people hiding in the bathrooms and similar places*

Back in Seattle, we got off the boat (a stressful experience) and then took a shuttle back (somewhat less stressful) to our hotel and upon finding it wasn’t ready yet, we walked down to Pike’s Place and Downtown Seattle. I got some nummy mac&cheese from a place called Beecher’s and then some REEEEEEEEEEEEAALLy good boba that I wish I was closer to. I spilled it on me a little but it was worth it. I also somehow developed blisters on my feet a little because of my shoes but hey we walked a lot. It was the last day too, so I was fine.

Entirely exhausted and wanting to go home by this point, we returned back to the hotel to pack and then go to bed early. The next morning was crazy and we made it to our gate at the airport like fifteen minutes before boarding despite being there for like two hours… yeah.

Highlight of the day: either watching Monsters, Inc. with my brother on the plane or seeing a girl and her parrot at the gate next to us. It made cricket noises every once and a while and then the marimba ringtone sound. It was precious.

After reaching Nashville, we drove two hours home and were reunited with our dog (my baby), Chuck. He missed us.

The trip was overall a good time. Thanks once again to my grandparents for taking us! I had a lot of fun and I loved hanging out with you guys! I am tired and really bad at closing these types of things. The Hadestown Original Broadway Cast album dropped a couple days ago, I would definitely recommend. Additionally, my bandmate friendo posted on our channel a beautiful song she wrote for her graduation and it made me cry. Please go watch it.

I love you guys a lot and I promise I’ll be here next week XD

Now go forth, mis amigos and amigas, and smile. Your day is just beginning. Make the best of it. Don’t procrastinate. Work hard. Make me proud. 🙂

Love you all,

Madeleine  ❤

Hello Seattle, I am a cold seahorse

Feeling warm in your sand

I sing about the tide and the ocean surf

Rolling in the evening breeze

Hello Seattle, I am an albatross

On the docks and your boats

I sail above your inlets and interstates

Through the rain and open wind

Hello Seattle, I am an old lighthouse

Throwing beams of bright lights

Red in the morning, blue in the evening sun

Taking heed from everyone

Owl City, Hello Seattle