Victoria, BC

It was a real treat to be able to visit Victoria, BC Canada on this cruise.  When we went to Alaska in October the Canadian borders were not allowing in visitors.  We were lucky enough to cruise again so soon that we could once again get into Victoria.  It was 12 years ago that Kenyon and I visited during or very first cruise…Alaska.

 

Much like Ketchikan, the plan was to set out on foot exploring with a few planned stops.  The first item on the list was getting a Canada Starbucks mug for my collection.

 

Once we had that we were on the hunt for Diet Dr. Pepper for Kenyon.  That proved to be a much harder task but eventually we found some.  With a happy Kenyon in toe, we continued to the Bon Macaron Patisserie for some fresh made macrons.  It was so hard to pick one or two flavors that I settled for a 12-variety pack.  I had no idea there were both sweet and savory macrons.  Each one was delicious.

 

Next stop was The Sticky Wicket Bar & Restaurant for a local pint.  I had hoped to get a beer flight, but they didn’t have flights.  I wished I had stopped at another brewery as we spotted several in town.  Next time for sure.

 

We walked by the Parliament Building were we saw some deer on the lawn and then down by the waterfront in front of the historic Empress Hotel.  We spotted the water taxi which I had planned to take to Fisherman’s Warf if we ended up not taking the hop on/hop off bus.  The water taxi was so fun.

 

I couldn’t wait to visit Fisherman’s Warf, a community of float houses.  Wouldn’t it be amazing to live in one of these houses?  Post-COVID, they no longer allow you to walk in/around the homes which is a bummer as I’d love to get up close.  Don’t worry, I wouldn’t peek in windows…although tempting.

 

We were able to enjoy a special treat when we walked to the end of the dock and found some of our cruise passengers, I’d met a dinner the night before feeling the harbor seals.  We were chatting with the fisherman that dock there and said the seals have been coming around for years.  It ended up there were three of them.  What a neat experience.

 

We had some time to kill and had hoped to see some float planes take off/land so I grabbed another local beer at Pirate Pizza where we could sit out on the patio and people watch.  We had THE BEST weather and even got sunburned!

 

After spending enough time people watching, we hailed the water taxi back to the other side of the water and continued on foot to Old Spaghetti Factory.  We don’t have one in Boise anymore and enjoy having a bite to eat when we find one.  This particular establishment was not the same as the others we have come to know and love.  Don’t worry, I still got my spumoni ice cream!

 

We made the long trek back to the ship ending our day with 7.5 miles walked.  Victoria is a very large city and we only saw a fraction of it.  I would love to go back as there is just so much to do and see.  We were also lucky to have all day in port.  When we were at dinner, two Carnival ships pulled into dock around 8pm and stayed until midnight.  I would have been so bummed to be there for only a few hours and in the dark and cold.  We really did get the best experience.

 

If you’d like to read about our other adventures:

Read about NCL Sun here ß

Read about Ketchikan, Alaska here ß

The Slippery Slope

The vacation weight continues to come off and I was down 2 pounds this week.  

My plan on Tuesday was to keep that ball rolling as I anxiously awaited my employee weigh-in the following Tuesday.  Of course…life doesn’t always go according to plan!  We were due to celebrate Hailey’s 18th birthday and I had planned to use alllll of my weekly points for pizza and cheesecake.  Tuesday I met up with a couple WW members to organize our upcoming group walking schedule.  Lunch was tracked and all looked good.  Tuesday evening we went to Texas Roadhouse for dinner as we had a free appetizer that needed redeemed before the end of the month.  No problem!  I pre-tracking my dinner including 19 points for 1/4 of a cactus blossom appetizer.  Later that night, the plan got more difficult.

I’m not sure if it was the large amount of points or the what triggered it but later that night I was rummaging through the pantry eating mixed nuts.  That turned into eating chips and queso before finally wrapping it up and calling it a day…so may points over my original plan.

Wednesday didn’t go much better.  Despite pre-tracking pizza and cheesecake it was Tuesday on repeat.  I ate more than I planned and also had some alcohol.  Ugh, even more points consumed.  Welcome to the Slippery Slope.

I am back on track today and I’ve prepared and tracked all my food for work tonight.  I am working straight through to Monday night and I’ll face the sale on Tuesday for my employee weigh-in regardless of what the number says.  I’m not sure if it was self sabotage or what cased the spiral of all the high point foods, most of which were not worth it.  

It feels good to be back on track.  I’m determined to make the rest of this week successful. 

Ketchikan, Alaska

Our first top on our five-day cruise was Ketchikan.  We had just visited in October and had no plans other than wondering around and trying some local food and beverage. 

 

NCL cruise ships dock at Ward Cove where you take a shuttle bus to the center of town.  There was a woman on our bus transfer from the airport to the cruise pier that had again boarded our bus at Ward Cove.  We visited with her on the ride to town and learned she was a widow traveling alone as she checked off bucket list items.  She ended up asking if she could tag along with us, which was quite enjoyable.  We were also dropped off at a different spot than our previous trip, which made for some new scenery. 

 

We walked Flo, our new friend, to Creek Street and up Married Man’s Trail.

 

We spotted the salmon ladder although it must not be salmon season because it was empty.  I heard when the salmon are spawning it looks like the water is boiling.  It would have been really neat to see but now we know how to get to it on any future visits.

We continued our walk taking photos of the totem poles as we passed.

 

We said goodbye to Flo, who had shopping to do as we had eating/drinking to do.  We continued to 108 Taphouse & Burger Bar where I ordered a local beer flight and we shared an interesting menu item that caught my attention.  Alaskan Cheesecake Bites: strawberry cheesecake wrapped in Indian Fry Bread, dusted with graham cracker crumbs, and served with a scoop of Tillamook vanilla ice cream.  Kenyon also ordered some fry bread.  OMG!  It was amazing and I enjoyed every single bite.

 

Our second stop was The Asylum for another local brew and a bite to ear at the nearby historic Burger Queen.  I really liked the bar tender at The Asylum, he was so nice.  It was definitely a local’s bar and had that laid back vibe.  We shared a two-piece fish and chips (amazing) and a bacon cheeseburger (just so-so).  It was a good experience and if we went back, I’d get the fish again.  Plus, the vibe was just fun. 

We had nice weather, overcast, with bits of sunshine here and there.  It was quite cold as long as that sun stayed hidden, so we ventured back to the ship.  I don’t know when we will be in Alaska again, but I have enjoyed visiting this little town and found the food and beverage to be a great way to explore.

If you missed it, you can read about our time on NCL Sun here ß

Weekly WI: Working Off Vacation Weight

The days past so fast and are so busy I can’t keep track of it all.  What day is it again?  I am well overdue for a Weekly Weigh-In Post.

My weight was up eight pounds post cruise vacation.  I don’t ever get on the scale when I get home from vacation because frankly, I don’t need that type of negativity in my life.  My usual routine is to back to healthy eating and exercise, which we are usually active on vacation, and then wait it out until the next weigh-in (depending on when we return home).  I went to see a doctor about my “bad hip” and back problems and figuring I’d be put on the scale, I weighted myself at home so I was prepared.  Welp, they didn’t weigh me at the doctor’s office.  Oh well.  As least I know I had eight pounds (plus some with the extra weight gain I’ve been struggling kick) to lose.

I had a bit of a struggle upon return from this trip as I was dealing with some extended family drama and stress/sadness eating.  I was back on track officially Saturday and all in all, I was still up for my Weekly WI but down as far as post-vacation.

I am still over 200 pounds but I am glad to still have hung onto my 100 pound lost and am still in the 100 pound club.  Now, to get back to Onedarland.  I also have an employee weight-in to be accountable for this month sometime in the next two weeks.

Anyway…busy is the name of the game.  Our overtime is just a lot right now and two WW workshops plus a 40 hour work week has been kicking my booty.  Not to mention I am now juggling physical therapy twice a week for my back AND hosting a graduation party for Hailey on Saturday.  Whew.  Is it nap time yet?

The “House Husband” (did I share with you all Kenyon quit his job back in December?) helped out a ton in getting the outside ready for Saturday and I tackled the deep cleaning inside as well as working on the other party related items.  I repurposed our outdoor Vivid Lights advertisement sign into a graduation sign for party guests who have not been to my house.  I also got some balloons from the dollar store to tie on them.  

Today we have major winds but Saturday should be a nice day for a party.

What else?  I had a great single day off spent with my parents.  We met at the outdoor range go Kenyon and my Dad could test out some of their firearms.  We went to lunch at the Mexican restaurant in Marsing followed by wine tasting at Fujishin Winery.  It was a really enjoyable today.  Today, I met with my friend Melody for a bite of lunch at a downtown spot I enjoy, Big City Coffee.  It was wonderful to have some downtime before my OT shift catching up with a friend.

And with that…off to work…

NCL Sun

We have returned from a fabulous five-day cruise aboard NCL Sun.

 

This was the return-to-service for NCL Sun post-pandemic and her first sailing in over two years.  There were a few kinks with the ship, mostly the sewer system and overflowing toilets from time to time.  With only 640 total passengers on board (with the capacity of about 3,000) it was as if each person had four crew members all to themselves.  The ship was staffed with the nicest crew most of which had not worked in two years, were new to NCL, or were new to working on a cruise ship all together.  It was the weirdest and the coolest experience rolled into one.  I don’t think I’ve been able to interact with staff as much on any previous NCL cruise.

 

With just two ports of call, we had two days at sea.  I forgot what it was like on a smaller ship, and it felt like there was just not much to do during the at sea days.  I was able to convince Kenyon to spend some time in the observation lounge and I wished I had a remembered to pack a deck of cards (I ended up getting some when we stopped in Ketchikan). 

 

This was the first time having the drink package and I made it my mission to try as many drinks as I could.  I also wanted to hit up all the different bars.  I ended up hanging out at the Windjammer, which had the best cocktail menu on the entire ship.  I especially loved the Perfect Margarita and the Sidecar too.  Oh man, so many wonderful drinks.  I am looking forward to our NCL Breakaway cruise in January 2023 where we have the drink package again and I’m sailing with friends.

 

The entertainment on NCL Sun was top notch.  I didn’t love the two major production shows, but I really enjoyed the guitar player, Devin, the pianist, Shelli, and the main band, LMH.  Oh boy was the main band amazing.  The final night of the cruise they had a band mash-up between Devin, LMH Band, and Brenda, whom I didn’t get an opportunity to catch her shows.  They were absolutely fantastic.

 

I was able to convince Kenyon to join me for the sail away party, which took place indoors as it was raining in Seattle.  He also joined me for some live music, sat with me at the comedy show, and came to the glow party.  He isn’t much of a goer, so it was nice when he ventured out.

 

I’ll be back with more on our two ports of call: Ketchikan and Victoria.

 

Let’s Do This!

We passed our COVID test and will soon be boarding the cruise ship for a 5-day vacation.  

The weather looks to be pretty good (hoping for no rain on port days).  Our bags are packed and we are ready to go.

Facebook memories reminded me that I’ve got a lot to be grateful for, even when the scale doesn’t reflect so.  

See you in few days.

Weekly WI: The Uphill Battle Continues

I had high hopes I could get my employee weigh-in on record before our cruise later this week.  When I stepped on the scale this morning, that was not the case.

 

WOMP:WOMP

Another gain.

Ugh.

 

I was able to pep talk myself into staying on track today despite wanting to go into vacation mode early and maybe drown my sorrows in high point foods.  I know that won’t help but it is very tempting.  I had three high point days, but I really thought I was still going to be good this week.  I can’t pinpoint what exactly is going on and when we return from vacation, I plan to re-focus and see if I can tackle this weight gain.

I saw on Instagram that our ship has arrived at port.  WhoooHoooo.

 

I will soon be on board, and I am looking forward to it.  The month of April has been busy, stressful, and with very limited days off, I am tired.  It will be nice to have eight days off in a row where I can’t be called in for coverage.  Plus, I get to turn off the work cell and stow it in the cruise safe as I won’t have cell service. 

I don’t really have a vacation plan.  I would like to say the plan isn’t to go cra-cra.  The scale is really up there, and this will surely push me back over 200 pounds.  I hope it won’t mean a long road to bring it back down, but we will see.