A Golden Time in Alaska

Last week my wife and I enjoyed an Alaskan weeklong cruise on the Golden Princess of the Princess Cruise line. When we did a Caribbean cruise several years ago most of the people on the cruise spoke of the Alaskan cruise being a “must do” cruise. After experiencing Alaska upon the Golden Princess, I had to agree with their sentiments. With my Living More Than OK concept I don’t like telling people what they should do, but I highly encourage everyone in their lifetime to see the splendors of Alaska.

Seeing nature on the Alaska cruise made for a needed break from the Summer heat of Texas. Seeing the majestic beauty of God’s creation was the highlight of the cruise. For my wife the favorite part of Alaskan nature was going on the whale watching excursion. The humpback whales were very active in feeding while we were out on the small boat activity. The captain of the small boat would follow the circling of the seagulls to find the whales. The seagulls had a sense of where the whales would be feeding and would swoop down to get leftover fish for their lunch. We also had the chance to see some killer whales on that excursion as well.

For myself, the favorite excursion was a 40 mile scenic railway ride in Skagway up to the Yukon territory of Canada. Seeing the trees, mountains, and streams was refreshing way to view the wild and beautiful nature of Alaska. I tried to imagine how they built the railroad there in the late 1800’s. The tour guide mentioned that this particular railroad was an engineering feat in its time. This railroad tour helped me capture a sense of wonder about the creation in Alaska.

We always enjoy meeting a variety of people and cruises are a wonderful place to meet people. The crew and the staff of the Golden princess were friendly and helpful which I believe helped create an atmosphere on the ship of friendliness. One could strike up a conversation with about anyone. One man from California had been on Alaskan cruises numerous times and gave us insightful tips on where to do photography on board when the ship toured through Glacier Bay. With my wife and I being Christians we met with a group of about 9 Christians on Sunday morning. By midweek that group grew to 14. The fellowship of meeting with a group with the same worldview where we could share our mutual appreciation for God’s creation in Alaska was an important part of each day on the cruise. Then there was a delightful elderly couple we met from Louisiana that made our time special as well. New Orleans is one place we have wanted to visit but have never made the time to get there. With our meeting Clarence and Vilma from the suburbs of New Orleans changed that. On the last day of the cruise she gave us their address reminding us they have spare rooms so we would have no excuse not to come. So if you enjoy meeting new people a cruise is a perfect way to do that.

Then with my being a Bookhead, reading is part of the cruise experience. The Golden Princess had a small library on board that I frequented. I read a couple of my books I brought along and then I picked up a Jim Patterson novel, Tick Tock, out of their library to enjoy reading as well. In Ketchikan we stopped in the town bookstore, Parnassus Books. If you are ever in Ketchikan and enjoy books stop by. Their specialty is books on Alaska and they carry a variety of little gifts in the store as well. I have included here a picture from their store window, “Snack, Nap, Read” fits well with the cruise ship experience of good food, rest and reading. I was glad to see that Princess cruise lines promote reading with their library and a book club activity they had on board. I was too busy with other books to be involved with that, but the next cruise with them I will make it a point to try out the book club.

That wraps up my thoughts on the golden time we had on the Golden Princess cruise to Alaska. Hope you enjoyed some of the pictures from the trip. I have heard people say they would never take a cruise. Years ago I was one of those people. Give a cruise a try and you will see it can be one of the most relaxing vacations you ever experience.

Reflection: Here is the link to the Princess cruises http://www.princess.com/learn/cruise-destinations/#.U9pvJzYo61s click on it or search for another cruise line you are interested in and imagine yourself on one of the cruises.

Exploring New Places

This is a continuation of last week’s story of our cruise experience. Aside from the delicious food, enjoyable activities aboard ship and the freedom to relax with a good book poolside; there are travel excursions offered at each Port of Call. These give you an opportunity to explore new areas and try out new activities.

Exploring helps us in breaking out of boring everyday sameness. The process aids in our knowledge of the world around us, increases our multicultural awareness, and increases our appreciation for life and history. Some of the activities offered on our cruise were snorkeling, scuba diving, and walking up a waterfall in Jamaica which connects with those who enjoy higher risk taking activities. I am a low risk taker so I usually am not found on those activities.

The excursions on cruises are extra expenses so you need to watch your budget. That is why with our group of four we chose to go on the Tulum Mayan ruins tour. Click here on Tulum Ruins to view more information about the ruins and photos


The Tulum ruins are set on a Cliffside with access to a beach below. The tour guide who was very knowledgeable on Mayan history shared how the Tulum site was an area for the higher aristocrats of the Mayan society and for religious purposes. From artifacts found buried the guide mentioned Tulum was a major trading center in its days.

We were lucky that our guide was not trying to be a Las Vegas comedian but instead filled us in with historical information about the Mayan culture and the ruins at Tulum. One sad item to learn was that at its height the Mayan culture had libraries with thousands of books. These were destroyed by early visiting priests who believed their culture to be evil. We were told of the mass of Mayan literature only three books survive today and they are in European University libraries. This story shows the importance of respecting other cultures. We can disagree but to destroy without fully understanding one another is a travesty of history.

The guide told us that it is still a mystery why a culture as advanced as the Mayans disappeared so quickly with no reason why. The archaeological excavations continue today as they had recently unburied another dwelling site. So maybe the mystery will be solved at sometime in the future.

Educational tours such as this one, is one of my favorite exploring activities. Looking at the layout of the small city of Tulum, I used my imagination and wondered what life was like in the 1200’s when Tulum was in its zenith period.

Of course you do not need to go on a cruise to explore. There are sites all over this country to explore and around the world. In your local area where you live there may be small museums and historical sites where you can visit and learn from.

There are many types of exploring activities you can partake in. I am emphasizing an example of historical site exploring as that is something my family and I enjoy. Here are a list of websites you can visit to peruse historical sites in the U.S.A. and around the world.

U.S. sites to see of historical importance:

http://www.historyplace.com/tourism/usa.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_U.S._National_Historic_Landmarks_by_state



World Historical locations:
http://www.worldhistoricalsites.com/

http://www.historicalsitesoftheworld.com/

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/World_Heritage_Site

Our journey on this earth is so brief and when you explore websites as those listed above you can see there is so much to do in life. There is no time to be bored with an ok life. We have opportunities in life to flourish and live more than ok in exploring the vast opportunities around the world.

Reflection:
Go back to the cruise websites from last week and explore some of the travel excursions offered on the cruise ships.
View a couple of the above websites on historical locations and write down 5 you would like to visit in your lifetime.
Take 15 minutes of quiet time to write about one of your favorite exploring times in your life journey.

Enjoy A Cruise For A More Than OK Life

I am writing this posting from a cruise ship vacation with my wife, daughter, and my third grade teacher. This is one vacation I never thought I would do. In the past I always thought of cruise ships as people stuffed into an overgrown tin can floating in the ocean with hungry sharks underneath waiting for a snack. The idea of being on one was as enjoyable as eating a plate of artichokes. And I hate artichokes! So how did I wind up on the Voyager of the Seas on a Royal Caribbean cruise??

This all started one Saturday in the Summer when I attended a creative journaling seminar at El Rocio, a local retreat center in Mission, Texas. The seminar was led by Dr. Marsha Nelson, a therapist who focuses on creative therapy techniques. She gave each of us at the training a pamphlet about a cruise group to the Caribbean she was planning in December. I dutifully took one and showed it to my wife when I went home. She excitedly said, “we need to go!”. Then my daughter overheard and was all excited ,”Yeah! We are going on a cruise!” I was thinking, “Oh, great! Floating in a tin can for a week! How do I get out of this!”.

I told them I would check to see if I could get off work. My perfect out! The cruise was during the end of the university semester so I probably would not receive time off. Well -- I am here so I did get the time off.
When we boarded the ship, my wife, daughter, my third grade teacher and I were amazed by the ship. The size was enormous and the décor was like a top scale hotel. We looked at the daily planner schedule and there were so many things to do, special classes on different topics from scrapbooking, to cooking, to better health classes. Each evening they have talented entertaining and music of all varieties throughout the day. The food is all deliciously prepared and you can eat round the clock if you wanted or would be able to. State of the art exercise facilities are available to work off the pounds from all the food. It was awesome to be working out on an elliptical machine staring out at the sea water with the sun reflecting its rays at sunrise.

All the activities and entertainment have made this an enjoyable time. Also the freedom where my daughter can go off do her thing, my wife and my third grade teacher can relax poolside, and I am free to work on my writing and reading. Of course being a bookhead I need my reading time. Yet the most enjoyable part of the cruise is the wonderful people on board. We came up from the Rio Grande Valley with the nicest group of folks that Dr. Marsha Nelson put together for the trip. Beyond our small group with all the friendliness between fellow cruisers you don’t feel like a stranger.

First of all I want to mention the workers on the ship. I can tell they are dedicated to great customer service. They go out of their way to serve and each person from those at the information desk to the dining helpers always have a smile on their face. Then the other cruisers on the ship are so friendly. You can strike up a conversation with about anyone. I began to wonder if they slip a happiness drug in to the water supply? How else could the emotional atmosphere be so congenial?

Thinking about it further, there are several more probable variables other than a happy drug. One thought that comes to mind is the superb respectful customer service along with their friendliness of the workers helps create a climate in which the friendly spirit spreads throughout the ship. Another is that the type of people who go on cruises are more open to meeting new people, so that aids in the people on the ship having a closer sense of fellowship.

Another reason for the relaxed atmosphere is there are so many things you can do and no pressure to do any particular activity. Family members can do different activities or do the same thing. You can eat when you want, sleep when you want. SO no one feels pressured. I have had several people tell me before taking the cruise that a cruise is one vacation where you go home relaxed and not tired. Many vacations I have been on you feel like you need a vacation from the vacation. This cruise is almost over and I still feel relaxed.

Vacations are an important part of living more than ok. We need time to break away from our work and the routines of life. Vacations are a way to learn new things about the world around us, other people and people groups. This experience of being on a cruise has opened my eyes to a new way to vacation. I would encourage anyone now to be open to having a cruise experience as one of their vacations. I know my family and I will be trying other cruises in the future.

Reflection:
Make a list of your top 5 vacation spots. Then go online and search for cruises that may go to one of those locations. Take some time to explore cruise websites to see what is all open to you in a cruise experience. Create a goal plan for doing a cruise vacation.