Celebrating 50 years of marriage!

And that’s what we have been doing for the last year!!!

We began celebrating our 50th year of marriage by filling one of Ron’s biggest items on his bucket list ~ going on a cruise to Alaska. We decided to go on the same cruise as my niece, Christi and her hubby, Doug. They were celebrating Christi’s 50th birthday ~ A Double Celebration!

We began our trip flying from Tampa, FL to Seattle, WA where we picked up a rental car and made our way to Blaine, WA – we had lived in the state of Washington for 30+ years of our marriage. We were excited to be going home ~ even after all our travels we still consider Blaine our home.

We spent a week in Blaine ~ we spent time with friends, attended services at Northwood Alliance Church now called Northwood Chapel. It was nice to be with our “church family” and share hugs!!! We were also able to attend and participate in Bible study on Tuesday evening with Keith & Beth and being able to reconnect even more with our Northwood family. We had a family dinner with Ron’s two sisters, Kathy & Judy, as well as Kathy’s kids, Andrea and James and their families.

We also visited with good friends, Marla & Glenn, Jim & Mary, Kathy & Don, age lunch at Paso Del Norte and hugs with Aydee and of course eating Pollo con Creme! We spent a day walking around Semiahmoo, seeing where Ron’s dad worked, walked along the spit which was the background of my story “Walking the Dog, Walking with God”, enjoying the breeze and the beautiful sunny day. We also spent a day driving around Whatcom County checking out our old stomping grounds.

We returned to Seattle to get ready to board Norwegian Encore. We met up with Christi & Doug on Sunday morning and then went together to get on the ship. It was great to spend time with C & D, sharing hugs and just reconnecting. And Alaska was beautiful!!! We saw whales and dolphins, striking glaciers, high flying eagles, beautiful sunsets and spent a day with a friend from our carnival days in Skagway!

We ate delicious food including a fancy chocolate dessert, watched two great comedians – one family friendly and one that was definitely for adults only. We played the Newly Wed Game, sharing the story of how and when we met and that we were there celebrating 50 years of marriage!! We spent time sitting outside just watching the scenery and visiting with C & D. Our trip to Alaska was definitely a once in a lifetime trip.