My wife and I just returned from a vacation that included three days in Seattle and a week-long cruise to Alaska. We had a really nice time seeing the ports and relaxing amidst the breath-taking landscapes and the cool weather.

Seattle

We spent three days in Seattle, the cruise’s starting port, before getting on the ship. (I grew up near Seattle and still feel at home there.) We went to Pike’s Place Market, just as we did the last time we were in Seattle, and enjoyed eating the fresh produce and browsing the work of local artists. We drove out to Mount Raineer this time and wore ourselves out hiking up a steep, snow-covered trail.

My wife looked online for things to do and discovered the Science Fiction Museum, which has some cool memorabilia, movie costumes and props, and information about the history of science fiction and about the many other different worlds science-fiction authors have created. One exhibition called Homeworld discussed the value and relevance of science fiction, which reflected some of the same ideas I have begun exploring in my Journey to the Sea web site.

Alaska

The cruise stopped in three ports in Alaska (Juneau, Skagway, and Ketchikan) and one port in Canada (Victoria). We went on various excursions in each port: my two favorite were dog-sledding in Skagway and viewing totem poles in Ketchikan.

• Dog-Sledding: We took a helicopter ride up to a glacier and spent a couple of hours with a dog-sled team. Many of the dogs we saw had participated in the Iditarod, the prestige and internationally acclaimed race of over 1100 miles. Our short, two-mile ride was quite exhilarating! We really enjoyed meeting people following their bliss, especially talking with them about how they have made that pursuit financially viable through these excursions and through sponsorships. (You can learn more about the team at their web site, bartlettsleddogs.com.)

  

• Totem Poles: We visited two sites in Ketchikan containing totem poles carved by the Tlingit and the Haida tribes. Totem poles tell stories: some depict legends and myths, other recount tales from a particular family line, and still others commemorate the life of an individual. We learned about their history and how they are constructed, and we heard some of the legends depicted in the poles we saw at the sites (raven steals the light and fog woman and the salmon). These great stories reiterated how important myth is to me.

  

  I was particularly fond of the Tlingit style artwork, using red, black, and turquoise paint. We went back to Pike’s Place Market in Seattle at the end of the trip and met a Tlingit artist selling her art. I bought a journal with Raven on it. I jotted down her site and various others I discovered on the trip, and I may end up buying some art like this in the future.