Alaska

So, I've been putting off posting about our great trip to Alaska simply because it's all so overwhelming, but here goes...

Day 1: Seattle

We drove up to Seattle with James's parents, brother Mark, and Grandma Patty. We dropped the fam off at the Heathman Kirkland (nice place!) and James and I met up with my old mission comp Holly and her hubby Nathan, who took us on a tour of their city. We saw the troll under the bridge, the city lights from some great viewpoints, ate dinner at a great Indian place, and had ice cream at a fun burger joint. We got back to the hotel pretty late, but hey, we're on vacation!

Day 2:

We got on the boat. There were some hiccups involved with getting our cards to read, but we figured it out.

Day 3:

At sea. We amused ourselves as best we could...

Day 4: Juneau

I'm always convinced I've spelt that name wrong. Anyway, we went to see the Mendenhall Glacier with James's brother and his family. Lots of ice. Also, there was a waterfall. Lots of water.

Day 5: Skagway

The main attraction of this frontier-themed town is railroads. We didn't shell out the blunt to actually ride a train, but we made our own way along the tracks (as you can see, the tracks didn't go very far).  James wanted his picture taken alongside this big snow plow train, so I made him happy.  Also, I bought my traditional souvenier earrings here, from a little boutique shop that reminded us of Multnomah Village, in spite of all the touristy jewelry shops.

Day 6: Glacier Bay

More ice. It was a nice day at sea and fun to just watch scenery instead of wandering around tourist towns.  There were also many victories on the rock-climbing wall (this ship had everything!).

Day 7: Ketchikan

This town's main "thing" is totem poles. We saw many. Also, we went by the fish hatchery for some reason, again with D and family. Luckily, there was this darling little park next to the hatchery to make the walk all worth it.  On the way, James took a walk along Married Man's Trail.

Day 8: Victoria

We docked for 6 hours in Victoria, BC, requiring everyone on the cruise to have a passport for the whole trip. James and I went to Victoria back when we were still dating and loved it, so we were looking forward to going again. Although not as magical the second time around, we did have fun posing with the street performers, as did my parents, who roved around the island with us.

Day 9: Seattle again

Landed in the morning and took a shuttle to the train station. James was in pain something terrible due to having slept in his contact lenses and then ripping them out of his dry morning eyes, so Mom was practicing her palliative arts on him, but I enjoyed the ride home. Then the number 64 Tri-met bus home. It was wonderful to spend time with family, really get to know some of James's SF family better, and just relax before the last term of school! A special thanks to James's parents for getting us all together on such a wonderful trip. Best Ritzman family reunion ever.

Baby Tiger!

Ok, so I was early getting downtown to get my hair cut, so I grabbed a copy of the Willammette Week to read about the Rose Festival carnival going on by the waterfront.  The article wasn't highly flattering about the attractions in general, but it did say that you could have your picture taken with a BABY TIGER!

Ok, by way of explanation, I've wanted a pet tiger since first reading The Blue Sword, by Robin McKinley, so there was no way I was going to pass this up.  I called James (who happened to be at the PSU Library writing his final paper), and he and I went over to the Waterfront Village (I think that's the name).  The tiger was feeling rather tiger-ish at the time, so we waited for him to calm down a bit before sitting on the tiger-holding-chair and we held the baby tiger while he chewed on his handler's arm and the assistant took our picture.  Here are the results:

My Boy

I saw this on my sister's mother-in-law's blog and thought it too cute not to pirate.  Thanks, Debi.  :)

Name: "The Boy," although for some reason, everyone else calls him "James"

How long have you been married? 3 years

How long did you date?  11 months to the day, including engagement.

How old?  He's 2 1/6 years younger than me.  He digs the "older woman" thing.

Who eats more sweets?  I do, hands down.

Who said "I love you" first?  He did.  (Upon reading this, he replied, "I did?")

Who's taller?  He is, unless I'm wearing heels, which he encourages, since he also digs the "taller woman" thing.

Who can sing better?  Photo finish, but I'd have to say him.  Sexiest bass voice you'll find in a white guy.

Who's smarter?  Again, it's a toss-up.  Let's just say that we're going to have darned smart kids.

Who does the laundry?  He does, almost exclusively (he just started a load).  Whenever I start a load, he has to wash it again a few days later because they never made it to the dryer and have soured.  On the other hand, I'm pretty AR when it comes to folding, so I usually at least fold my own clothes.

Who mows the lawn?  Our apartment manager (ha ha).  I tend the small container garden on our back patio, but that was my idea in the first place.

Who cooks dinner?  If it's one of us, usually him, but we love to cook together.  Cooking is our second favorite thing to do together.  ;)

Who drives?  Usually him.  After working as a home health aide for two years, I'm tired of driving.  Also, my driving makes him nervous, so he volunteers to drive even in my "girly" car.

Who is more stubborn?  He's too easy-going to be stubborn, and I'm too absent-minded.  Ask again in twenty years.

Who kissed who first?  He kissed me first.  Of course, given that it was my first kiss in almost three years (mission plus a date-less post-mission year) and he'd just gotten off of his two year kissing-celibate mission, it was without a doubt the worst kiss in the history of our relationship.  Of course, we've gotten a lot better with practice.

Who asked who our first?  I'd have to say that I initiated that one with "Do you want to give me a reason not to move to England?"  Straight out of a romantic comedy, if only we'd been at the airport with my flight being announced over the intercom.  Needless to say, he did.

Who proposed?  He did (of course, I told him to).

Who has more siblings?  I do, but he has more nieces and nephews.

Who wears the pants?  The Boy made me say this: we each wear one pant, becoming the greatest three-legged-race team of all time.  (Of course, since he made me say that under threat of nipple abuse, I'm not sure I believe it.  You'd think with this "older, taller woman" fetish, he'd be okay with a domineering woman.)