I just got back from the most incredible Alaskan Cruise aboard the Ruby Princess and I am so excited to share photos and stories with you over the next few weeks. I’ve always wanted to go to Alaska and I knew a cruise would be a great way to do it since you can see different cities and towns more easily. For example, no roads lead to Juneau! You have to boat or fly in to the town! {fun story: one of the shop owners in town told us he and his friends will pool together to helicopter in an order of Thai food from a nearby city! Can you imagine? So not what we’re used to but I kind of love it!}
My Alaska trip with Princess was full of a lot of firsts, and one of the most notable was definitely dog sledding in Juneau on the top of a stunning glacier. The whole experience felt a little unreal. We arrived at the cutest little town of Juneau and helicoptered above the city, through the snowy mountains, to a dog camp of over 100 husky pups. Riding in a helicopter was another first, and surprisingly not as scary as I expected. It was incredible to see everything from so high up! I loved getting to meet the Alaskan dogs, some of which competited in the Iditarod. When I was in 4th grade, my class followed an Ididorad team through the race, even mailing letters to the musher. I remember how fun it was to get updates and see how the team was doing.
Since it’s the off-season the dogs at the dog camp usually don’t train so they were so happy to see us and get some exercise. They are used to running over 50 miles a day, so the 1 mile loop we did was a piece of cake for them. All the pups were so cute, but I especially loved Kindle. He was such a sweetie! All the dogs rolled around in the snow and had so much fun playing with us. I hope you saw some of it on Snapchat!
After our dog sledding adventure we walked around the little town of Juneau. We found a cute little store called Kindred Post, that’s not only a cute gift shop, but it also functions as a neighborhood post office and gathering space. We loved everything they were selling so we asked them if they had any food recommendations. The owner immediately mentioned The Rookery and said something about a James Beard nomination and we were sold! The food was out of this world incredible, better than some spots we’ve been to in LA. I am so glad we found out about this place!
fondue!
halibut carpaccio with cherries and feta
homemade ramen
the best caramel bread pudding…ever!
yummy yummy s’mores dessert! So good I still crave it!
This trip, and dog sledding in Juneau, was such a once in a lifetime experience that I’m going to remember forever. I can’t wait to share more of my on-board and off-board Princess adventures with you all!
xox
photos by Valorie Darling
