The Alaskan Jewel! Welcome Aboard….You don’t Exist!

[Caretames1]

Whaaaaaat? Are my eyes deceiving me? Is that Carey? So glad to see you!

Um ...do I know you? Gosh your name sounds familiar....Trying to place you.....oh wait yes...you are that one girl with that cute daughter. hahahaha!!!!!



I know... I was so shocked to see her...Now I hope she keeps coming back!

CAREY!!!!!!!

Where have you been? So glad to see you here!

Hi Ladies. I've really missed you as well, I can only say I'm trying

I've lived vicariously through your vacations and I've helped a few people find their way to Jen for her travel expertise. They've all raved about you too!
Hopefully soon, I'll be back in travel mode.

(It's different here and with me only able to access the DIS on my phone, I hope I'm doing this right.)
And I can see now I didn't do it right, I tried to add quotes from Janet and Jen.
I need my laptop back. Ugh

 

[jenseib]

I'm in! Sounds like you plan ahead like i do! I've already got my tip envelope started for our cruise in Feb! Lots of 1, 5 and 10's!

I can't wait to hear more!

I don't always do that, but it really was a good method to have these. It made it so much easier than searching through my wallket for the right amounts.

Um ...do I know you? Gosh your name sounds familiar....Trying to place you.....oh wait yes...you are that one girl with that cute daughter. hahahaha!!!!!



I know... I was so shocked to see her...Now I hope she keeps coming back!




Hi Ladies. I've really missed you as well, I can only say I'm trying

I've lived vicariously through your vacations and I've helped a few people find their way to Jen for her travel expertise. They've all raved about you too!
Hopefully soon, I'll be back in travel mode.

(It's different here and with me only able to access the DIS on my phone, I hope I'm doing this right.)
And I can see now I didn't do it right, I tried to add quotes from Janet and Jen.
I need my laptop back. Ugh

The new Dis is crazy. I noticed 2 days ago that the links I had in my signature no longer work. And I can't figure out how to make a new link with the title rather than just a regular link. Not sure if they did away with it or if I am just not smart enough. It really annoys the heck out of me that the links from my signature don't work though.

What happened to your laptop? I would go nuts without a regular computer. A phone is great on the go, but for pictures and all the rest I need my computer...and of course the phone doesn't help my poor eyesite.

 

[cheermom2four]

Late to the TR but I'm so joining in! my DH could care less about vacations and I'm making him go on our very first cruise in Feb for our anniversary (without kids) and then with two of the kids in Sept 2016. I was just talking to him yesterday that PC and Alaska are the two cruises that are on my bucketlist. I may have to break away from DCL for the Alaska one also because of the price tag that comes with. Cannot wait to read the rest of your TR!!!

 

[jenseib]

Late to the TR but I'm so joining in! my DH could care less about vacations and I'm making him go on our very first cruise in Feb for our anniversary (without kids) and then with two of the kids in Sept 2016. I was just talking to him yesterday that PC and Alaska are the two cruises that are on my bucketlist. I may have to break away from DCL for the Alaska one also because of the price tag that comes with. Cannot wait to read the rest of your TR!!!

Welclome!! Alaska is such a beautiful state. I hope to get back in 2 or 3 years

 

[AquaDame]

She is so tall for her age. We had a school open house last night and she towers over her friends even more than usual. I think her one friend shrunk. LOL.

What line are you sailing on to Alaska? I really want to go back again. hopefully in about 2 or 3 years we will. Next Feb I have a DCL cruise with co-workers and then we are talking about a big family cruise on the Fantasy in the fall, so I know it won't be next year. (Unless I can talk family into Alaska on DCL. LOL)

Lol, oh I hope not for that kid's sake! Next time that friend will probably be taller than Claire, so funny how growth spurts happen!

I am honestly undecided... we have only done DCL so I rely on experts such as yourself to do the leg work! Princess sounded lovely and I have heard great things so they are in the front running right now, but IF both my MIL & SIL want a cheaper line NCL might meet the bill nicely. I thought DCL did Alaska very well! We had an inside in 2014 on the first week in June and it was so lovely! We couldn't get into Tracy Arm though so we went down Endicott Arm instead to Dawes Glacier which was also lovely (and has less traffic to it). Fantasy was great too though (and sure to be warmer!)... I don't think you can go wrong on any of their ships personally.

 

[jenseib]

Lol, oh I hope not for that kid's sake! Next time that friend will probably be taller than Claire, so funny how growth spurts happen!

I am honestly undecided... we have only done DCL so I rely on experts such as yourself to do the leg work! Princess sounded lovely and I have heard great things so they are in the front running right now, but IF both my MIL & SIL want a cheaper line NCL might meet the bill nicely. I thought DCL did Alaska very well! We had an inside in 2014 on the first week in June and it was so lovely! We couldn't get into Tracy Arm though so we went down Endicott Arm instead to Dawes Glacier which was also lovely (and has less traffic to it). Fantasy was great too though (and sure to be warmer!)... I don't think you can go wrong on any of their ships personally.

We went to Endicott too and Dawes. It was very peaceful. No other ships around...except a small excursion boat.
Princess is a good line for Alaska too. My friends sails them all the time.

 

[DisDance]

I'm in! Love reading all your reviews, it's crazy to see how much Claire has grown, she is beautiful!

I was on an Alaskan cruise back in 08, I'm dying to get back, you review will help ease the pain

 

[jenseib]

I'm in! Love reading all your reviews, it's crazy to see how much Claire has grown, she is beautiful!

I was on an Alaskan cruise back in 08, I'm dying to get back, you review will help ease the pain

Glad you found us!
Yes she is growing like a weed. At some point she is going to have to stop or she will be a giant.

I am already dying to get back. hahaha

 

[jenseib]

Our shuttle bus arrived sooner than I thought it would and we loaded up. The driver asked where everyone was going and we were told we would be the first ones off.


sea7 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


sea8 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


One thing we noticed right away was the Seattle was BROWN! They really need some rain.


sea9 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


As we passed this stadium I tried to read the name…SAFECO. Ok, that should be pretty easy to read right….


sea10 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


Not for me who does not watch any sports at all. I was calling it Sah Ef Co. Yep, I’m a dork. Skip then mentioned the name and I was totally laughing at myself. I guess I was trying to give it an Indian name or something.


I also want to note the traffic. It was a lot of stop and go. It was crazy busy and we were really surprised at how bad it was. I had heard it could/would be but it was worse than I expected.


When we got off the expressway we saw a homeless guy with his cardboard sign. Skip joked it was the same guy from our area. I found out later that there are a TON of homeless in Seattle. Something else I didn’t expect. I was talking to my friend from NYC and her husband had recently been to Seattle for business and she said he said it was worse than NYC.

Right away I spotted our hotel but we passed it. I thought we were going to be the first off? We then went around the block and he dropped us off at the side. He got our bags out and showed us where to go in. We mentioned the traffic to him and he said that that was actually light traffic and as the day went on it would get worse, especially with all the activities going on down at the waterfront. I had read in my researching that there was a lot going on, which included boat races and the Blue Angels as well.


We went inside and a bell man took our bags and pointed the way to check in. I got us checked in without any issues. She handed us a letter from NCL about what time the shuttle would be picking us up, where to meet and when and what time our bags should be ready for pick up in our room. A nice perk with booking your hotel through NCL is that they take your bags from your room and you never see them again till on the ship! We asked about our bags as we didn’t see the guy and she said she would let him know and he would be right up.


We headed to our room and rested for a few minutes…well they did and I took pictures.


Claire is good about not messing things up till I take pictures but Skip plops right on the bed every time.


cp1 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


She claimed this bed for herself.


cp2 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cp3 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cp4 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cp5 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


The view out the window.


cp6 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cp7 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cp8 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cp9 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cp10 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


The room was big and we approved of it.


After a bit no one showed up with our bags and we were antsy to go get something to eat so I said I would head down and find out and if he came up for Skip to let him in….and don’t forget to tip!


When I got down to the lobby he was there and said he had just looked up our room number and was about to come up. I told him the gal had said she would let him know and he said she never did but perhaps she had gotten busy checking in more people. So we went back up to the room with our bags. I then asked him how to get to the Cheesecake factory. Anyone who knows me knows I have a little obsession with that place and there is not one locally so when I find them I usually try to eat there. I was jumping for joy when I was looking online for nearby places to eat in my research to find one just a few blocks away. He pointed out the window and showed us the direction to go and it sounded easy enough. Yay!


Once he left we got ready to head out for some dinner!


As we walked along I spotted some sailors. I thought that was so neat and took a picture.


sea14 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


We ended up seeing sailors all over the place so we assumed a ship must be docked.


sea13 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


One thing I also didn’t realize is that Seattle is very hilly. I was amazed at some of the streets that seemed to just drop off so steeply.


Soon we spotted the Cheesecake Factory and Claire and I let out a cheer! This would be Skip’s first visit to one.


sea15 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


sea16 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


We went in and put our name in. I think they said it would be about a 15 minute wait. I took some pictures as we waited.


I saw this bus go by and I thought it was so cool…Disney has some of those accordion buses too.


cheese2 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


cheese1 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


sea21 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


We walked over to the cheesecake display case and we picked out some favorites that we may want to try.


sea17 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


sea18 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


sea19 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


A look at the bar.


sea22 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


We were called and taken back to our table.


sea20 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


It really didn’t seem that busy so I am not sure why we even had a wait, unless they just didn’t have a lot of wait staff at that time of day. Even though it was dinner time at home, it was only after 3 PM here.


Bread was served and we just love their bread. I think we ate 2 baskets worth.


sea26 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


Skip was amazed at how big the menu was. On our first trip to a Cheesecake Factory it was in Orlando and that menu was even bigger. I am not sure if it was just that location or if they have since taken items off, but it was like 30 pages longs there.


I ordered raspberry lemonade and it was delicious.


sea24 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


sea25 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


At home I have put a limit on how much pop we drink. Claire and I were drinking a lot every day. It’s now 1 per day except on special occasions and vacation was a special occasion and Claire was so excited to be able to have limitless pop.


We debated on an appetizer…well mostly Skip did, but in the end we decided not to since we wanted to get cheesecake too. Plus I kept telling Skip that the portions were pretty big.


He went with fish tacos and he said they were really good.


sea27 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


Claire went with what she always gets…pepperoni pizza.


sea28 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


I had the parmesan crusted chicken.


sea29 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


I love this stuff and I crave it at times. It is soooo good!!!


cheese3 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


We didn’t quite eat it all so to go boxes were made and we ordered cheesecake to go as well. We were given one bag with the to go box and another bag with the cheesecakes. Both bags were kind of small. I wish they would have given us one big bag. If I had been smart, I would have taken 1 of the cheesecakes out and put it in with the to go items….but that required thinking ahead. LOL.


I had bought cheesecake factory gift cards at home just for this occasion. I had $75 worth and figured it would be good to cover it. We were actually just a bit over that amount. (Skip had some alcoholic beverages).

 

[JKSWonder]

The last time we went to the Cheesecake factory, Allison was two. Before any of us could stop her, she picked up a giant glass of ice water, wasn't able to hold it with her little hand and dumped said glass of ice water all over her father's lap. Mike is generally an extremely good sport, so he just requested napkins and moved on. His mother and I thought it was hysterical.

We haven't been back to the Cheesecake Factory since. Not sure if that's the reason though.

 

[AquaDame]

One thing we noticed right away was the Seattle was BROWN! They really need some rain.

I also want to note the traffic. It was a lot of stop and go. It was crazy busy and we were really surprised at how bad it was. I had heard it could/would be but it was worse than I expected.


When we got off the expressway we saw a homeless guy with his cardboard sign. Skip joked it was the same guy from our area. I found out later that there are a TON of homeless in Seattle. Something else I didn’t expect. I was talking to my friend from NYC and her husband had recently been to Seattle for business and she said he said it was worse than NYC.

Oh, you have no idea... it has been brown since June here in the NW! Rain is severely lacking and the fires around here are just out of control. We lost a train trellis to a fire last weekend (a HUGE one but nothing could be done) and now there is a 41K acre fire raging in John Day. I am so grateful for the hundreds of firefighters and red cross workers and volunteers sleeping in tents over there battling it right now...!

The traffic in Portland is at or beyond capacity as well and it seems to get worse every year. Now that gas is cheaper its up 6% over last year and no signs of slowing back down - lots of reports on it, but of course no plan to take action on it. As it is my city is strapped for cash and can't maintain the roads and bridges we already have properly. Despite that, there is just no way we can move up to Seattle because we know it is worse.. my husband can only move up in his company if we make the move, but we just can't bear to - its bad enough down here!

Our homeless is also out of control too... this summer its worse than I have ever seen it and my tin foil hat reasoning thinks it may be due to the lack of rain that makes being outside more unpleasant. People were literally walking into the street to get around all the sleeping bodies this morning as I came in to work and there were groups every block - I see tent cities everywhere I go. They claim other cities ship them here with one way bus passes and no plan, but I don't know how true it is. Its all so sad, but I don't know what we can do. The same woman has been standing at the same overpass every day for the last five months. Nowhere to go.

We have a cheesecake factory close to us, but the portions are so huge we try to "forget" its there except for maybe once a year... lol! It might be almost time.. I do love some pumpkin cheesecake..! What kind did you end up with?

 

[canyoncam]

I have a friend who lived in Seattle. She actually lived there then moved to Georgia, then Colorado, back to Seattle, back to Colorado and is now in central Washington state. Anyway, when they moved back to Seattle it was in 2009 and she said Seattle had been hit the hardest with the recession. They couldn't get any work and had moved in with her daughters family. I guess Seattle is a big banking city and that was the reason. I too was impressed with the hills when I went to visit her. And the traffic!!!! SCARY

Looks like a nice hotel. Looks like a good dinner. Love Cheesecake Factory myself but can no longer eat the cheesecake as it does not agree with me

I used to drink a lot of soda too. Up to two 32 oz cups a day When I quit I lost 20 lbs in one year. However that came back on once I decided I like Margaritas

 

[Caretames1]

My laptop... A virus plus some connection in Windows was disrupted causing my documents and eek! My pictures not to open!
I got it back yesterday and my pictures are safe! All 151,000g of them! I got the back up and clean up my pics lecture.


Mmm, Cheesecake Factory. We ate there last month in Milwaukee after visiting the Zoo. And on National Cheesecake Day! All cheesecake was half price. Sooo good.

 

[bcwife76]

Following! We live in Vancouver BC (just outside) and are looking at doing Alaska summer 2016. Considering Disney (convenient as it leaves from here and also - it's Disney!!!) but also considering cruises that leave from Seattle as it's cheaper Everything is very brown up here too, we are desperate for rain and forest fires are burning all over the province!!!
Anyway, can't wait to read more and see how you fared on this cruise

 

[CraftyMommy]

Joining the TR late. Looks like a fun trip so far. Although I know from Facebook that some not so good times are coming up...

I must try that parmesan chicken this weekend.

 

[jenseib]

The last time we went to the Cheesecake factory, Allison was two. Before any of us could stop her, she picked up a giant glass of ice water, wasn't able to hold it with her little hand and dumped said glass of ice water all over her father's lap. Mike is generally an extremely good sport, so he just requested napkins and moved on. His mother and I thought it was hysterical.

We haven't been back to the Cheesecake Factory since. Not sure if that's the reason though.

That's too funny!!!

Oh, you have no idea... it has been brown since June here in the NW! Rain is severely lacking and the fires around here are just out of control. We lost a train trellis to a fire last weekend (a HUGE one but nothing could be done) and now there is a 41K acre fire raging in John Day. I am so grateful for the hundreds of firefighters and red cross workers and volunteers sleeping in tents over there battling it right now...!

The traffic in Portland is at or beyond capacity as well and it seems to get worse every year. Now that gas is cheaper its up 6% over last year and no signs of slowing back down - lots of reports on it, but of course no plan to take action on it. As it is my city is strapped for cash and can't maintain the roads and bridges we already have properly. Despite that, there is just no way we can move up to Seattle because we know it is worse.. my husband can only move up in his company if we make the move, but we just can't bear to - its bad enough down here!

Our homeless is also out of control too... this summer its worse than I have ever seen it and my tin foil hat reasoning thinks it may be due to the lack of rain that makes being outside more unpleasant. People were literally walking into the street to get around all the sleeping bodies this morning as I came in to work and there were groups every block - I see tent cities everywhere I go. They claim other cities ship them here with one way bus passes and no plan, but I don't know how true it is. Its all so sad, but I don't know what we can do. The same woman has been standing at the same overpass every day for the last five months. Nowhere to go.

We have a cheesecake factory close to us, but the portions are so huge we try to "forget" its there except for maybe once a year... lol! It might be almost time.. I do love some pumpkin cheesecake..! What kind did you end up with?

Yes, I had heard about the fires and I really expected it to be more hazy in Seattle...and Victoria later on, but both were so clear.
I did see people piled up with their things on benches early in the morning.
Gosh I think I got snickers....I can't even remember now, but it was good. Skip got carrot and Claire got strawberry.

I have a friend who lived in Seattle. She actually lived there then moved to Georgia, then Colorado, back to Seattle, back to Colorado and is now in central Washington state. Anyway, when they moved back to Seattle it was in 2009 and she said Seattle had been hit the hardest with the recession. They couldn't get any work and had moved in with her daughters family. I guess Seattle is a big banking city and that was the reason. I too was impressed with the hills when I went to visit her. And the traffic!!!! SCARY

Looks like a nice hotel. Looks like a good dinner. Love Cheesecake Factory myself but can no longer eat the cheesecake as it does not agree with me

I used to drink a lot of soda too. Up to two 32 oz cups a day When I quit I lost 20 lbs in one year. However that came back on once I decided I like Margaritas

I lost 15 lbs this summer but some came back on over the cruise. I am trying to get back at it, but sadly I keep falling off the wagon...daily.

My laptop... A virus plus some connection in Windows was disrupted causing my documents and eek! My pictures not to open!
I got it back yesterday and my pictures are safe! All 151,000g of them! I got the back up and clean up my pics lecture.


Mmm, Cheesecake Factory. We ate there last month in Milwaukee after visiting the Zoo. And on National Cheesecake Day! All cheesecake was half price. Sooo good.

Thanks goodness your pictures were safe. I would freak if I lost mine. I try to back them up on CD right away in most cases, but sometimes I forget.

We missed cheesecake day by 1 stinking day!

Following! We live in Vancouver BC (just outside) and are looking at doing Alaska summer 2016. Considering Disney (convenient as it leaves from here and also - it's Disney!!!) but also considering cruises that leave from Seattle as it's cheaper Everything is very brown up here too, we are desperate for rain and forest fires are burning all over the province!!!
Anyway, can't wait to read more and see how you fared on this cruise

Seattle isn't too far and if it saves you money it might be worth it! I would love to do Disney too, but I would have to book it far out when it is at its cheapest.

Joining the TR late. Looks like a fun trip so far. Although I know from Facebook that some not so good times are coming up...

I must try that parmesan chicken this weekend.

Not too late. Still getting started.
And then post a picture of that chicken for me so I can drool!

 

[jenseib]

After settling the dinner bill we headed out and agreed we wanted to do some exploring. I had Skip hold the cheesecake bag and Claire hold the to go bag as I was going to taking pictures.


sea23 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

sea32 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

For those who don’t know, Seattle is the home to Starbucks and there seemed to be one everywhere.


sea33 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


I don’t know if I ever saw the original one. I am told it is down by Pikes Market area and I was down there a few times so there is a chance at one point I passed it without realizing it.


sea34 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


More sailors.


sea35 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


As we came to the cross walk I asked the sailors if we were going the right direction for the water and they said we sure hope so. LOL.


sea36 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


sea37 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


Finally we saw the market up ahead…but this road was sooooo steep. We slowly walked down for fear of tumbling down and breaking our neck. Skip has a little more trouble with his bad hips and he said there was no way he was walking back this way up that hill! LOL.


sea38 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


So you may ask…What is Pike Place Market? Well it’s like a farmers market. It has produce, flowers, fish, crafts and all sorts of little businesses. I mainly wanted to go to take pictures and just see what it was like. What I didn’t know was that it closes at 6 PM and it was now after 5, so some of the places were already starting to take down their goods. But for the most part we got a good look at everything. I am glad we didn’t wait till later to come down here though.


pike1 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


I really wanted to see the fish displays.


pike2 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


pike3 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


pm1 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


pm2 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


Aunt Mary had talked about how they throw fish around here and Skip was hoping to catch a glimpse of that.


pm7 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


pike4 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


pm9 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


It’s hard to tell in the picture, but this lobster tale was HUGE!


pike5 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


Someone wanted a fish weighed for pricing so we watched that.


pm10 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


pm11 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


MMMMM! Crab legs.


pm12 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


I told Skip how one of my goals on this trip was to have some King crab in Alaska.


pm13 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


We kept walking and found a door to go outside and look at the water so we did just that.


eye6 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


I think I took these pictures through glass.


eye1 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


eye7 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


pm4 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


eye8 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


I zoomed out to the sail boat as I thought it looked so cool.


eye3 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


I looked out the other side and snapped a picture.


eye9 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


I said to Skip that I think our ship will be docked over there….and then I realized that the Marriott was over there and knew it was where it would dock. I knew the Marriott was right next to the port and was the place I ideally wanted to stay.


Did you notice the ship in the background on that last picture. I didn’t either till I got home. I was too busy looking around.


eye5 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


Skip however did see a ship sailing so I tried to zoom in and get a better picture.


eye10 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


We couldn’t tell which line it was, but when I got home I zoomed in on the picture in photoshop and found out it was a Celebrity ship, probably the Solstice.


A look back the other way at Mt. Rainier.


eye11 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


Though we entered the Market at ground level, the other side shows just how steep the area is as the back side has more levels to it.


pm3 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


pm14 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr


And zooming in on the Marriott.


pm15 by Jennifer Dowling, on Flickr

 

[canyoncam]

Pike Place Market. So neat. We did get to see the fish tossed while there. The original Starbucks (if I recall correctly) was facing the water and what I felt was a little "off" the Market itself though still considered the Market place.

My sister and parents took a Princess Alaskan cruise in June/July and they ended in Seattle spending the night. Though they had plenty of time they did not go to the Market. My mom had been and my dad had no interest (like he doesn't for anything other than politics and stocks). Her husband was too tired and she just didn't make herself go by herself which I found unusual for her. The real sad part of this story is between them all they took maybe 200 pictures and NONE of the ship.

Sorry I digress. Loving your pictures as always

 

[Angeejoe]

Following along!! Looks like it going to be a good family trip!!!

I'm a big lover of the Cheesecake Factory also!! We just went last week for DH's bday. There's a newer one up at 12 Oaks Mall in MI, only about 1.25hrs from Toledo...... The carrot cake cheese cake is my favorite!

 

[jenseib]

So weird as I replied to these yesterday and they are not here???

Pike Place Market. So neat. We did get to see the fish tossed while there. The original Starbucks (if I recall correctly) was facing the water and what I felt was a little "off" the Market itself though still considered the Market place.

My sister and parents took a Princess Alaskan cruise in June/July and they ended in Seattle spending the night. Though they had plenty of time they did not go to the Market. My mom had been and my dad had no interest (like he doesn't for anything other than politics and stocks). Her husband was too tired and she just didn't make herself go by herself which I found unusual for her. The real sad part of this story is between them all they took maybe 200 pictures and NONE of the ship.

Sorry I digress. Loving your pictures as always

I probably did walk by Starbucks then at some point.

They probably thought they took a lot too. hahaha. I took quite a few of the ship, but looking back I wish I did take more.

Following along!! Looks like it going to be a good family trip!!!

I'm a big lover of the Cheesecake Factory also!! We just went last week for DH's bday. There's a newer one up at 12 Oaks Mall in MI, only about 1.25hrs from Toledo...... The carrot cake cheese cake is my favorite!

Now I might have to mark that down and make some random trip up to MI. LOL.