September 30, 2007 - Cruise to Australia - Port #2 - Hilo, Hawaii

Aloha!

Hawaii brought us to another great port of call. While the morning arrival brought us rain showers, double rainbows arching over the ship brought lots of oohs and aahs.

As quickly as we disembarked the ship we headed for a Helicopter Tour of the volcano. Even with cloud cover and rain showers the volcano provided us clear views of brilliant orange lava flows and smoke from the burning brush and trees.

Nancy, of course, managed to snap photos of almost every bloomig orchid on the island.

September 25, 2007 - Cruise to Australia - Port #1 - San Francisco

We had an absolutely spectacular day in San Francisco. Skies were clear and the temperature was crisp - just right for walking. We got such a rush cruising under the Golden Gate Bridge! Gliding under this massive structure on such a tall ship provided us an incredible experience. We knew the ship would clear the bridge, but it was certainly a optical illusion. The 50' clearance looked a lot closer to 10' at best. It was great - an awesome experience we'll not soon forget!

When we departed Seattle we encountered strong ocean currents that managed to delay our arrival in San Fran a couple of hours. Any disappointments from the late arrival though were soon forgotten as the day was glorious. We lunched at the Farmer's Market while enjoying all the gorgeous displays of cut flowers, hanging baskets, amazing displays of fruits and vegetables, gourmet cheeses, wine and olive oil.

Port #1 - Terrific! It was so gorgeous - we could not have asked for a more enjoyable day.

Alaska Photos and Stores are Coming!

I Think I Need A Bigger Boat!

July 24, 2007 - Cruising Glacier Bay, Alaska

Our first day on the ship was in open water heading for Glacier Bay Alaska. As each hour passed the scenery around us changed. We sailed through small clusters of Islands, then through areas with mountains on each side. Before long we would spot the occasional chunk of ice floating in the water. With each mile that passed ice chunks became more frequent and larger. Finally we entered some of the most beautiful land in the world. Click here to see more photos of Glacier Bay.

July 23, 2007 - Bon Voyage!

Cruising from the Port of Seattle

We left Indiana for Seattle on July 21st eagerly anticipating our first cruise. After a one-night pitstop at Lisa's Apartment, we boarded the MS Noordam from Pier 30.

As this was our first voyage we weren't quite sure of what was ahead. We had an amazing experience, and certainly too much detail for this entry. We will tell you that it was fantastic and that we cerainly were NOT disappointed! From the moment we boarded the ship until we disembarked, we couldn't have asked for a more wonderful experience

Our internet connection here in Indiana is less than great. Nancy's been trying to download photos but all attempts have been futile. Bear with us - stores and photos are on the way.

July 8, 2007 - Ester's 90th Birthday Celebration

The Chamness family paid loving tribute to their Mother today in celebration of Ester's 90th Birthday. It was a lovely party and fine opportunity to visit with family and friends. To see a few of the pictures we took at the party CLICK HERE.