I had a conversation with my kids recently about how God makes such beautiful things; the evidence of his beauty is everywhere.  And, remarkably, some of his creations will never be seen by human eyes, he creates them entirely for himself, the ultimate artist.  What an incredible notion, I can’t think of many things I create that I don’t want someone to see, I want to share it and, if I’m being honest, receive some sort of praise.   God, because beauty overflows from him, creates landscapes and seascapes that he both shares and keeps to himself, not for praise but for his enjoyment.  

Such a beautiful thought. 

This conversation happened because Jeff and I were telling the kids about our recent cruise to Alaska; I’ve decided it’s impossible to describe the beauty of everything we saw.  Enormous snow peaked mountains looming over the horizon, hundreds of miles of tree covered rough terrain, angry rivers racing to nowhere, jagged cliff edges threatening any unsuspecting soul, boulders as big as freight trains, all of it wrapped up in enormous Feltleaf Willow trees. I have never seen such beauty.  

Our cruise began in the port of Seattle, Washington.  I’d never been to Seattle, Jeff had only been to the airport there.  We went a couple of days before our cruise was set to leave port to make sure we got there in time.  Not so fun fact, Jeff has seen people miss funerals, weddings, cruises, graduations, you name it, because they planned their flight with no time to spare before their event, not leaving any room for delays and cancellations, so we’ve learned to go early.   We stayed downtown and walked to a great little pizza bistro for dinner. I love a dive; they’re usually local and, so often, the food is amazing.  Our group of six barely fit into the ragtag restaurant and we were very close to the kitchen, so we watched as a pizza pro threw our crust at least six feet in the air as he shaped it for the pan.  We hadn’t been in Seattle long, having only recently landed from all over the southeast, so the conversation was easy and joyful.   We were all so excited for the days ahead and what we might see in Alaska.   The next day we explored the port of Seattle and saw the original Starbucks!  Definite highlight for me.  Then we walked along the dock and checked out the market, enjoyed the aquarium and then Jeff and I went to the Chihuly Garden and Glass and were entirely blown away with the beauty.  I never knew glass could take on so many shapes and be so amazing.  We closed out the day at the Space Needle, the views were amazing, and the rotating floor was so cool!  

The next morning, we were up early and ready to board the ship! 

This trip was a year in the making.   We booked our rooms through a travel agent, reach out to me if you’d like her name, I actually know a couple of really good ones.   Then we started the payment plan, booked our excursions, bought the insurance, you know, just in case something happened, and started the daunting task of deciding what in the world to wear.  This trip was a dream come true; I’d always wanted to see Alaska.  I remember thinking, “I wonder what I’ll feel like when we get on the ship?”  I can only describe how I was feeling by likening it to a kid on the night before Christmas. 

Boarding the ship was absolute chaos.  You can imagine my “deer in the headlights” reaction when I realized this fact.  This wasn’t at all how I imagined the whole experience starting.  There were thousands of people trying to get on and the lines were long, and it was raining.    I remember thinking as I stood there, in the cold, “why did I want to see Alaska?”   I’d sat by a girl on the plane who was going on her third Alaskan cruise, it was her favorite of all the cruises she’d ever done.    I replayed that conversation in my mind to encourage myself that we’d made the right decision and that this trip would be all I ever dreamed.  Once on the ship, our rooms weren’t quite ready, so we spent time wandering around the glamorous decks while trying to warm up.  It really was a sight to behold.  Gold, or what looked like gold, everywhere, chandeliers, beautiful tile and colors, I’m not used to such fancy surroundings; I’m a simple girl.    I’m sure my mouth was hanging open while we explored, there’s no hiding the country girl in me.   The staff and crew were all so friendly, and the overall mood of the ship was electric; you could feel it in the air.   Once our rooms were ready we headed there ready to find our luggage and change for dinner.  We’d made reservations at one of the main dining rooms that we heard was pretty amazing.  When we walked up to the door of our room, the door unlocked.  Jeff and I were very unsettled with this, I mean, how did it unlock and why did it unlock and would it stay locked.  My husband stays in hotels all the time and he is extremely careful about door locks and room safes.  This didn’t make sense to him, to either of us, really.  Thankfully we found our room statesman and he very patiently told us that our medallion, the lanyard we would wear around our neck all week with all of our info on it, was what unlocked the door.  But why was it unlocked when we walked up, my husband wanted to know, it didn’t seem very safe to him.   Well, after a lengthy explanation, we understood that the technology in our medallion allowed our door locking sensors to sync while we were still walking up so it would be already unlocked when we got there.   Very fancy, I decided, what happened to room keys, so much easier. 

Our first meal, the one we’d waited a year for, the one I’d packed the cutest outfit for, didn’t go as planned.  Why, you wonder.  Well, my luggage never made it to my room.  That’s right.  So instead of being cute and fresh, I was travel weary and smelled like an airport.   I was also very nervous the luggage would never make it and I would be forced to wear the same clothes every day, I know, these are all first world problems, but at the time they seemed very real to me.  I think because I was anxious after traveling and wanted it all to go perfectly.  I would soon find out that nothing is ever perfect, not even close.  

Our first day on the ship would be spent on the sea.  No stops, just sailing at twenty knots across rough waters, I’ve never been one to get seasick, but I think I almost did this time.   Eating in the dining room at the back of the ship while bouncing over the open ocean made for an interesting combo.  The wait staff that night would prove to be a treasure and we requested them from then on, the food in the main dining room was so delicious and in the middle of my crème brulee, I totally forgot all about the missing luggage and my very “un-cute” outfit.   

It was going to be a good week.