After much thought and deliberation Alex and I have decided to move our family to Oslo, Norway! We are extremely excited for the opportunity to live abroad. I hope this blog post helps answer all your questions.  I am also going to cover my new goals and vision for this blog while we are abroad. 

Let’s get these answers going…

Alex recently got offered an opportunity to transfer within his current company.  We love the idea of being emerged in another culture.

Don’t worry, we are not leaving forever. Alex has a 2 year contact, so we will be there at least 2 years. We will have the option to extend if we really like it there. The great thing is the company will move all of our stuff back when we decide to move back to the States. 

For the first 2 months we will be given corporate housing. We will use this time to figure out exactly where we want to live. We are still deciding if we want to live in an apartment in downtown Oslo or a house a little outside of the city.  Currently we are leaning more towards the apartment to get more of a European experience. 

We are planning on renting out our house. We will ship all the furniture and things we need over to Norway. Everything else will be sold, donated, or put into storage. 

Zoey and Keagan will be making the trip with us. There is no quarantine period so we don’t have to worry about that. They will have to endure the 10 hour + plane ride but we are sure they will be okay in the end.

Moving Zoey into an apartment is going to be interesting. The good thing is Norway has many public parks with no leash laws for most of the year.  Oslo allows dogs on their transit system for the fare of a child ticket so we will be able to bring her places with us. We will also look into getting her an EU pet passport so she can make weekend trip to other countries with her.

Alex will start his new job on January 21st. We will be moving sometime the week before. 

I am currently in the search for a Mechanical Engineering job in the Oslo area. I can apply for a work visa through my Alex’s company as soon as we get into Norway. From my job searches and talking to people it doesn’t seem like I will have too much of a problem finding work even though I don’t speak the language. Most of the job postings I have come across require fluent English and this is the langue most commonly used in the work place. 

There will be a little bit of a shift to what is talked about on Domesticated Engineer. The big change is that I will be posting a lot more about travel and our experiences on Europe. As of right now I have a goal of posting a craft of some sort every other week. I am also going to start a photo of the week post because I am sure I am going to be taking tons of pictures. I am sad that I will have to put a lot of the woodworking to the side for now, unless we end up moving to a house or somewhere with a garage. 

We will be selling our cars before leave and have no plans on buying cars in Norway. There are way too many taxes for that. We plan on using the public transit systems (trains, trams, and bus). We might rent a car if we have to go to areas these do not reach. 

I hope this answers many of your questions. We will add to this post when others come up.

We are so excited about this adventure we are about to embark on. We hope to keep everyone updated through this blog. Follow Domesticated Engineer on Facebook to get all the updates. I hope to have an e-mail update system up soon as well. 

Our second BarkBox has arrived! Wondering what BarkBox is? Check out my first barkbox post. 

The big winner in this month’s box was the lollycadoodle snake toy. This is the first thing Zoey pulled out of the box when I let her sniff it out. I took it away so I could get some pictures before I let her dig her teeth into it. After I put it on the table it was stolen right away by Keagan the cat. 

He attacked the snake and began to carry it around in his mouth as we moved to different room. I final took it away from him so I could get a picture. 

That didn't last long…

While all this is happening Zoey is laying by my feet giving me the sad “you took away my toy” look.

After letting the cat play a little longer I gave the snake to Zoey. It only took him a couple of minutes for her to have one of the eyes and the end of the tail torn off. 

Then being a little mean I gave one end to the cat and the other to the dog. They both were pulling at it… I have never seen a cat play tug-a-war before. 

In the end I think I am going to keep this as a cat toy. I have not seen our cat like something this much for a long time. 

The other fun product in this box was a Dog Mustache. We had to work for a while to get her to bit the ball part of this toy. She really just wanted to chew on the handles of the stache. 

In total, in this box, we got 2 toys, 1 treat, 2 products, and 1 coupon. Below I have all of the products received listed with the cost, description (one give on card sent in box), and our reactions. 

Moody Pet, Humunga Stache
Website: moddypet.com

Description: For the pup that needs to go indognito or needs a dogsguise, the Humunga Stache is the perfect toy. It’s a ball and a mustache in one! Moddy Pet has a whole line of whacky dog products that have us cracking up. 

Reactions: Very fun toy. Zoey did not want to hold onto the ball part of the toy instead she wanted to chew on the handles. She does play fetch with it. 

Price on website: $17.95 (with shipping)
Price on Amazon: $14.99

Would we buy this product? No, I feel like this is a onetime thing.  Might buy one for a gift. 

Honest Discounts
Website: honestdiscounts.com

Description: Did you know that most of Fido’s medications are available at your local drugstore? With this pre-activated discount card, you’ll save between 10-75% on prescriptions at over 54,000 participating locations!

Reaction: After going onto the website I was disappointed that this card is given out for free. We have not used it so I don’t have a review to how much will be saved. 

Price on website:  FREE
Price on Amazon: N/A

Would we use this product? I will look into using this the next time we have to get pet meds.

Total value of products in box: at least $40.50 (Assuming the dog treats cost about $8)

Overall impression: I was impressed by the variety in this months box. I like that they are making me try products that I would never pick when I go the the pet store. The one thing that I am disappointed about it that a few of the products are not available in my are and are not for sale online. 

Would I buy this box again? Same response as last time...Yes, it is fun to test out new products. I don’t think it is worth the $25 price tag but I do think it is worth the $17 one. 

Do you want to order a BarkBox? Use this link and get $5 off you first order. 

Alex and I attended a couple beautiful weddings this summer and I wanted to make a fun gift for the two couples. After a quick search for wedding gifts on Pinterest I came across different variations of using paper hearts arranged in a shadow box.  I loved the look of these and decided to take the idea a step further and used the lyrics for their first dance song for the background. 

Here are the instructions if you would like to make one of these yourself.  If you would rather have someone make one for you check out these Etsy pages SuzyShppee & Celadon Home.

Measure the area, in the shadow box, that is to be covered by the song text. Type the song lyrics into Microsoft Word and change the font.  I found this free font on dafont.com.  Next, play around with the margins to get the correct width of text coverage.  Then change the text size to where you want it. I used 12 point font.  To get the length to the correct coverage adjust the line spacing.  Justify the text to get a clean edge look. 

Print the text out and test to make sure you have the proper sizing.  It took me a couple of print outs and adjustments to get this perfect. Make sure to have extra printer paper. 

Once the sizing is correct, take the print out and cut it down to size (so it can fit in the shadow). I did this by centering the text in the shadow box and then tracing the outside edge of the shadow box onto the paper. Using a paper cutter I cut on the traced lines. I then cut off small slivers of paper from the edges until I got the perfect fit.

Next cut the velum sheet to size using the text sheet for a size reference. 

Using a silhouette machine cut the paper hearts out of the card stock. 

Also use the silhouette machine to make the text for on the hearts. Using transfer paper and a popsicle stick transfer the words onto the hearts. 

Arrange the hearts on the velum that is over the background text.  After the hearts are arranged, stick down the top corner heart (text heart) using rubber cement. 

The non-text hearts use the Popsicle stick to help make a crease down the center bending to about a 60 degree angle. 

Attach the next bent heart to the velum. I used a T-square to help get the first row straight. 

Continue attaching all the hearts alternating bent sides. 

To help get the velum flat to the text page, apply rubber cement to the back of the velum behind the hearts and along the edges that will be covered by the frame. 

Place your art into the shadow box and enjoy! 

We have way too many dog treats for our dog. Yes, we do spoil her but she is so much happier when she has a large variety of flavors and types of treats.  We recently started subscribing to BarkBox, so Zoey now gets new treats every month. We keep her treats on the counter and my husband (who hates any kind of clutter) pointed out with the expansion of dog treats was not looking very presentable.  

The other problem is Keagan the cat. He thinks the dog treats are also for him and that he can help himself. I am constantly finding him stealing treats from the counter or pushing them on the floor to the dog waiting below (I swear the cat and dog plot together to steal treats).

I don’t think my husband has caught on that when he points out a problem it is going to become a full on project.  I have been planning for a while to use the silhouette cameo to decorate a canister for the dog treats.  When looking for canisters online I came across these on Create & Barrel and fell in love with the chalkboard idea to label the treats.

In the end I ended up getting these canisters from The Container Store (very similar, if not the same, to these on Amazon). On top of putting chalkboards on the canisters, I loved the idea of using square canisters and having different sayings on the bottoms of easy canister that I could rotate to make different small sentences. 

The words I used are: 

First, mark off the areas for the chalkboard paint using clear wrap. I found that this sticks much better than tape.  Use the flat ends of the clear wrap, not the edge that gets torn. Push down the edges to get a good seal for a clean paint line. 

Using Non-sand grout and paint mix up chalkboard paint in a disposable cup. I used about ½ cup of paint with 1 tablespoon of non-sand grout.  With a sponge brush, paint the chalkboard paint onto the desired surfaces.  Take multiple sweeps to make the surface as smooth as possible.  Repeat coats until the surface is evenly covered (I did three). 

After the final coat of paint is applied carefully pull the clear wrap off of the canisters. I pulled at angle away from the edge; this seemed to work best for me. I ended up using my exacto knife to fix little flaws in the paint. I had a few of the corners that were not exactly perfect. 

Let the paint dry for a few hours. 

Using a Silhouette Cameo cut the words and decorations into the adhesive vinyl.  In addition to the words I also cut out bones and paw prints. Using transfer paper, stick the vinyl onto the canisters. 

Fill the canisters with treats and label by using the chalkboards and chalk. 

Don’t forget to give a couple of treats to your pets that will be anxiously watching you fill the canisters!

More info on how to use adhesive vinyl with silhouette cameo: Sarah' World YouTube video 
More info on how to make chalkboard paint: On Houzz

I love to spoil our puppy Zoey and our new BarkBox subscription does just that. I came across this company a few months ago on DailyCandy Deals and knew I had to get one for our pup. 

BarkBox is a monthly box that gets mailed to your house with four or more dog products. 

Cost: The cost ranges from $17 - $25 depending on the length of the subscription. 

I got so excited when I received the tracking number for our BarkBox shipment, I couldn’t wait to go home and find out what was in the box. As soon as I put it down on the ground all three animals (Zoey (our dog), Deuce (Roommates dog), and Keagan (our cat)) all had their noses to the box sniffing. They knew there was something good in there! 

I opened up the seal and Zoey nosed her way into the box. Once opened, she sniffed over everything and then started licking at the Bully Stick that what inside. That was the source of the magnetic animal smell. Oh it smelt SO bad! Now I know why they sell odor free bully sticks.  Of course Zoey loved this treat but it sent me outside trying to escape the horrible smell in my house. She ate it all in one sitting and was not about to share it with any of the other animals. 

Meanwhile, when Zoey was chowing down on her bully stick, Keagen the cat decided to check out the rest of the box that was now on the table. When I was over taking a picture of Zoey I heard the cat run into the kitchen, I knew he had stolen something. I found him on the kitchen floor trying the chew open the sample bag of freeze dried chicken.  

I picked it up and he gave me the stare down hoping to get one of these chicken treats. I gave him one and he devoured it in 2 seconds (I really think he swallowed it because it was gone so fast). He was purring so loud after eating this treat.  I really wish it was more than just a sample. 

The BarkBox also came with a full size bag of treats from the same company; these were freeze dried sweet potatoes.  My little piggy, Zoey ate them no problem, not overly excited about them though. Keagan did not enjoy these, just sniffed and left it. We also shared these with Deuce. He is a very picky eater and ended up putting it down.  Zoey promptly went and stole it.  Deuce ended up eating one later on.  I was very surprised to read the ingredients listed on this bag of treats. They are 100% sweet potato, no additives. 

We also received a crinket in the box. This is a rubber toy that you put an empty water bottle in for your dog to play with. Because we signed up for the medium size dog box we got a medium sized crinket. The problem with this is that it takes the small size water bottles. We don’t have any of those laying around the house so we will have to fully test this toy later. Zoey did chew on the empty crinket for a while though so I have a feeling she is going to be a fan of this toy. 

In total, in this box, we got 1 toy, 3 treats, 2 samples, and 1 coupon. Below I have all of the products received listed with the cost, description (one give on card sent in box), and our reactions. 

LA Fresh: Wag Bath Wipes for Dogs          Website: LAfreshgroup.com

Description: Theses W.A.G. (Wash-and-Go) pet wipes are perfect for when your dog… smells like a dog! They’re great for when you’re on the move so you can quickly cleanse that scraggly fur and thse messy paws. 

Size: One wipe 

Reactions: We have not used this yet. I think it will be good to bring with on our next camping trip. Maybe we will have a less smelly dog sleeping with us in our tent. 

Price on website: They sell them in 20 packs for $4.99 (so 25 cents each), also available in 50 and 75 packs
Price on Amazon: Pack of 75 for $15.99 (so 2 cents each)

Would we buy this product? N/A

Description: This online haven is a one stop shop for all things dog. With over 20,000 items available, we can guarantee they carry your dogs favorite food! Get $10 off your first order using the code provided. 

Reactions: The prices are very comparable to amazon.com but they charge you for shipping for orders under $50. I will end up using the coupon with we run low on both dog and cat food and cat litter at the same time. 

Value: $10 

Total value of products in box: $34.31 without coupon
                                                 $44.31 with coupon

Overall impression: I think I got myself too hyped up for the first box. I am a little disappointed that Zoey didn’t like the toy. We will see how the next one goes.

Would I buy this box again? Yes, it is fun to test out new products. I don’t think it is worth the $25 price tag but I do think it is worth the $17 one. 

Do you want to order a BarkBox? Use this link and get $5 off you first order. 

Really, what is better than a patio table with a built in cooler! Who really wants to get up to get another beer?

Almost everyone has seen this picture of the wine cooler patio table ether on Pintrist or Reddit. 

Right after my husband saw this he asked me to make it happen. I was already in the process of designing a patio table so I decided to take a stab at it.  I wanted to make a table that was more than just a table with a cooler in the center all the time. I wanted to have to option of covering it when not in use so we can do full meals on it too. I pulled up SolidWorks and started playing around with the idea. Here is what I came up with: 

The first thing I did after having the initial concept sketched out in SoildWorks was go out and find the perfect cooler insert. We first looked into getting gutters but they come in large pieces and didn’t seem like they would work well for our design. Next we contemplated using sheet metal and bending it to shape we were looking for.  At this point we were still planning on installing a drain at the bottom to let the melted ice out. After walking up and down the aisles at Home Depot we came to the gardening department. The idea clicked, why not use planter boxes and instead of having one long one, having 2 short coolers?

Going back to the drawing board, I played around with the design to incorporate the two planter boxes. We decided to have the planter boxes be removable instead of installing a drain. This was much simpler and now we have the option of replacing the boxes if for some reason they break during the years of future use without having to do construction on the table.  The planter boxes also have a nice rim on the outside for the lids to sit on, another added bonus.

After the designs were done was head to our local lumber yard to get our cut list made. At the time, we didn’t have a way to cut wood accurately enough to do our own so we had the lumber yard do this for us (for a small fee). 

The first step after getting home with all the boards is to sand all of them. Alex jumped in and did this for me again; I think he secretly loves sanding. 

Using the Kreg Jig we put pocket holes in both ends of eight of the top center boards (2X4 @ 1' 11-3/4"), the other four are going to be used for the lid and do not need these holes. On a side note, this was my first time using the Kreg Jig and absolutely love it! It is super easy to set up and use. I used this website to walk me through the set up and how to use it. 

Arrange all the top boards on the ground, face down (pocket holes up). Put the planter boxes (PB) into place upside down (hole side down). This was to made sure we left enough space so the PB could lift out from in between the boards. 

Next apply wood glue to the ends of the now Kreg Jigged top center boards.  Using the 2-1/2" wood screws, attach the top center boards to the middle board through the pocket holes.  Make sure to hold both the boards down when doing this. I actually stood on both the boards while Alex screwed them in. 

After the eight boards are attached to the middle board, repeat the same thing for the two side boards attaching them to the center boards. 

The Kreg Jig was used again to make holes down the top long boards. Using a pencil, mark off points where the side and middle boards make contact with the long board (two spots at each junction were pocket holes will be made). Six pocket holes are made on each top long board. 

Attach the long side board through the pocket holes using 2-1/2" screws after applying wood glue.

The next step is to make the boxes to go around the PBs. The first step to do this is screwing together the sides of the box. This is done by first counter boring holes then adding wood glue between the attaching surfaces.  Make sure to use a square to make everything line up before using 1-1/4" screws to attach them together.. 

Then, using a pencil and counter bore bit, mark off and counter bore five even-ish spaced holes on both long sides of the box. The only thing that is important about this step is to get the cross holes to line up enough to be able to screw the bottom supports together. 

Put the pb inside the newly made pb support box. On a flat surface, place this assembly upside down. The plastic pb should be the only thing touching the surface.  Next take the box supports (1X4 @ 2' 1-1/4") and place them up against the wooden box so it is flush on both ends and also siting on the flat surface (the same as the plastic pb). 

Using 1-1/4" screws attach the box support boards to the wooden box. We did not counter bore these screw holes because they are not going to be visible at the end. We did add wood glue.

Here comes a little bit of a tricky part. We need to attach two of the cross beam boards to the box assemblies before assembling the table skirt. This was done by measuring and making the centers of both the cross beam board and the short box side of the wooden box. Use a T-square to make nice straight lines at the prober lengths. I love putting my T-square from my freshman Engineering Graphics class to use. 

After the cross beam board is lined up use a clamp to hold it in place. Don’t forget to put wood glue between before clamping, 

Then using eight 1-1/4" screws to attach the cross beam board to the wooden box (four screws in the box supports and four in the wooden box). 

Next lay out the pb assemblies and table skirt boards on top of the facedown table top. Mark out the placement of the needed pocket holes to attach the skirt to the table top. Using the Kreg Jig make the pocket holes at the marks. 

After making sure the pb box assemblies are completely center with the holes in table top, wood glue the table skirts and attach them to the table top via the pocket holes. 

Next pull up the pb box assemblies, added wood glue on the areas that make contact with the table top and placed them back down making sure the holes are still lined up. To attach the cross beams to the table skirt drill two counter bored holes at each junction. Using 1-1/4" screws attach all eight junctions together. 

Next line up the legs (2x4 @ 2' 5-1/4") and the outer long skirt (1X4 @ 5' 2-1/4"). The outer long skirt is just for on the long side of the table, it will cover all the holes made to attach the skirt to the cross beams. Attach the outer long skirt by first applying wood glue to the backside and screwing it together through the inside using 1-1/4" wood screws. 

Raise the table up onto sawhorses to attach the legs (this just makes it nicer for your body to get in the correct angle).  Attach the legs by adding wood glue and using four 1-1/4" wood screws in each corner. Use a clamp to help hold the boards together. We did the two holes closest to the corner then moved the clamp outwards for the second set of screws. 

The table is now ready to be flipped over onto its legs. Used wood filler to cover the few counter bored holes that are showing. Don’t forget the ones on the towards the bottom of the side of the wooden box (we forgot and they do show). After the wood filler is dry the last step for the main table in to sand down every imperfect surface to prep for the finish. 

The two lids are the final part to finish off the construction portion of the table. We made the lids by taking two of the center boards and attaching them together in four spots through pocket holes with 2-1/2" wood screws and wood glue.  Use a clamp to help hold them together. 

Using a 1-1/2" hole saw bit, cut a hole through the lids so they can pull them up after they are covering the coolers.

The lid ends might need to be sanded down to help them slid in and out easier. 

Using a sponge brush apply Benite wood conditioner to all the surfaces of the table, top and bottom. Really coat everything! This is really going to help protect the table while outside. After applying it to all the surfaces wipe what little excess is left on the top with a rag. Let the conditioner dry for 24 hours. 

The wood stain comes next. Apply as thick of a coat on as possible, you really want it pooled on as much as you can. I applied the wood stain and Alex came about 3 minutes behind me wiping it off with a rag. We used a test piece beforehand to figure out how long we wanted to stain on to get the color we wanted. Wait 24 hours before starting the next step. 

The last step is to apply the Seafin teak oil to the table surfaces. We did this by using a sponge brush to put an even coat on all the exposed surfaces. We were told by the local stain store to do at least 7 coats and to let them dry at least 12 hours in between. Teak oil will wear down over time and will need to be recoated after about four years. The one nice thing about it is that we don’t have to take the table in or cover it during the Seattle winter. This might be different for a cold climate I am not exactly sure. I would recommend going to your local stain store and find out what your climate requires.  

Another top coat option the guys at Daly’s were telling me about was SeaFin Aquaspar. If I remember right they told us we would need to cover this table or bring it in for the winter. They also said that when this needs refinished you has to sand it all the way down to refinish whereas the teak oil you can just add coats on top of the old stuff.

Don’t forget to stain and finish your lids too. We hung ours from of garage ceiling using wire so we could do both sides at once. 

One thing I wish I had done before stain the table was pick out the chairs. We had a really hard time finding chairs they sell without a table that matched our stain. We ended up finding the ones in the picture from Big Lots. Very comfortable but they sit a couple inches to short for the table. Nothing we can't fix by cutting down the legs a little bit.

Now it is time to sit back and relax, with a glass of wine (or beer) and enjoy the rest of the summer!

I finally decided to do something with the huge double wide pallet that has been leaning against our house for about half a year now. There are so many different ideas of things to do with pallet wood. I really liked the idea of using the wood for wall art because it has tons of character. I have seen people paint and add stickers to create wall art. I decided to try something different and experiment with staining a image into the pallet. I am so happy this worked on the first try. 

The most time consuming part of this project was getting the wood off the pallet. Apparently we had one of the really well made pallets that are really hard to take apart. I was really determined to get this project done so I acquired the help of my husband. With a combination of a sledge hammer, crowbar, rubber mallet and pure strength we got four of the boards off the pallet. 

After getting the boards off I sanded down the parts I was going to end up using. I didn’t heavily sand them, I just sanded them enough so that we wouldn't get splinters. 

I then lined them up and drew a line where I wanted them to be cut. We used a circular saw to cut them on this line. I then sanded the edge I had just cut. 

Next I arranged the board in the layout I wanted them in. I used two one by twos and cut them down to a little under the length of the stacked boards. Using 1 ¼” screws I attached the pallet boards to the one by twos. 

In the Silhouette Studio program I designed the image I wanted to be stained onto the pallet boards. Using a measuring tape I measured the surface of the pallet wood assembly and sized my images accordingly before printing them out. 

I then peeled away the edges of the vinyl (the vinyl around the wanted image). Using scissors I cut the images apart and arranged them on the pallet wood assembly. 

Next I used transfer paper and a Popsicle stick to stick the vinyl to the pallet wood. I made sure the stickers were on really well so the stain didn’t get under them. 

Using a rag I wiped wood stain over the top of the stickers covering the whole surface. I made sure to use the smallest amount need to prevent stain from seeping under the stickers. Using the clean end of the rag I wiped any excess stain off. 

I then peeled away the stickers to see the image that remained. 

I love how it ended up turning out! The only two parts of the image that did not work out perfect is one of the robots ear (this sticker gave me problems when I was sticking them down) and the binary ones on the bottom (they were just too thin). I actually debated about stopping after putting down the stickers because I liked how the brown stickers looked on the wood. I am so glad I didn’t because I love the finished product even more.  

I actually flew this out to San Francisco for a house warming gift for a friend. Now I really want to make another one for our house. 

Day 7: June 17, 2012     

Our last day… fun, yet sad at the same time with the lingering thought of going back to our normal life. Most of the day was an at sea day; but because we cross through Canadian waters we are required to make a stop there.  I will get to more on this later, first I have to talk about the fact that it was father’s day! Katie and I made these really cute shirts for both of us and our dad. We ended up spending hours in the laundry room trying to get the iron-on material to stick. We finial figured out if we let them cool after ironing they would stick… I wish we had known this in the beginning. 

Our mom and dad happened to be up on deck 9 whale watching when we finished the shirts (bundled up head-to-toe because it was chilly).  Katie and I decided to walk around outside with only shirt sleeve shirts, eating ice-cream just because we wanted to show off our shirts. Oh and it was pineapple ice cream! So good!

The whole rest of the day we were finishing up the things we were planning on doing during the week. Katie and I went swimming. Really wish I had done more of this. The water is heated to a really warm, bath water temperature. The horrible part was getting out of the main pool and walking to the hot tub! The air was so cold! We got a lot of funny looks when walking dripping wet in our suits on deck 4; we had to make the trip from forward to aft and didn’t want to do so outside.

We ate lunch at Beach Blanket. The buffet line was packed with sea food. I decided to do a dessert only lunch… don’t judge, it was the last day! 

Due to the late port this day we had the option of seeing the farewell show early before early dinner seating. The show was called, “Remember the Magic: A Final Farewell” and brings back all the stars from the other night’s shows.  They also show a video, we were really excited because we got filmed to be in it!  My mom, Katie, and I were randomly wandering the ship one of the days when they asked if we would like to be filmed for the video. It was just us saying remember the magic but it was still really exciting!

All of our bags had to be packed and put outside of doors before leaving for port. This meant having them done before heading up for dinner because we were leaving straight from there (the boat docks during the first dinner seating). Make sure to save enough room in your carry-on bags that you can put everything you need for that night and the morning in it because everything left in the room after the bags are picked up you have to carry off.

At dinner they had a special father’s day cake that they served to all the males at the table. This was an awkward moment for my cousin’s fiancée, Jordan, when he got told Happy Father’s Day. Our waiter then got into a discussion on how all men are fathers. It was kind of fun watching his face. 

We were in Animators Palate eating from the "'Till We Meet Again" menu for our last dinner. They ended up doing the show this night because of technical problems the other night we were here. I don’t have a ton of food pictures because of the lights getting too dark for the camera expose. 

As soon as dinner was over we heading off the boat to catch a bus. It was about a 15 min ride to downtown Victoria from where the boat docked.  This is a very short port! We had about two hours total to explore.  This was a very strange port for me being from Seattle. I have been here before and is not that far way. I knew where the ferry station was that could take me home in a few hours. It almost made it feel like my vacation was already over. But if you have never been the Victoria it is a very cute town to walk around, it has a very European feel to it. 

We ended up walking over to the totem poles by the science center. They had a totem pole stake with no totem so all the kids decide to create one for a fun picture. 

We then took a walk up the water front and then headed back to the bus because it was already time to head back. 

One cool thing about this port is that it is already getting dark by the time we got back to the boat. It was neat seeing the boat all lit up.  I really wish I had brought my tripod with to take some pictures! 

Once we got back inside we stuck around the atrium for the “Till We Meet Again Party”. They do a little show on the atrium stairs with all the Disney characters and they all stay after for last minute pictures for anyone you may have missed throughout the week.  They also have the stars of the live shows and a lot of the cruise crew members to say your goodbyes to and snap a few pictures with. 

We then headed down for one last night of adult-only fun at Wave Bands.  The entertainment staff did a pub skit of “If I Were Not Upon the Sea”. You must not miss this, especial if you have gotten to know the staff over the week, very funny and a lot of fun to watch. 

We ended the night watching some more Disney movies in our stateroom. I really wish my tv at home had multiple Disney movies playing at one time! 

Our towel creature was not really a creature this night but here is the picture anyways. 

Day 6: June 16, 2012    

Day 6 was a rainy one. Really we lucked out the whole trip not getting much rain with the skies being overcast for most of the time. 

Our group slit up this day with all the “kids” but me going on a zip line and suspension bridge excursion. They had a blast and said the staff was very friendly and had a lot of fun with them.  One the girls in our group  was a little scared of the zip line but the staff was really nice walking her through it and letting her take her time. They even got metals (made out of metal, not cheap) at the end saying they completed the course. 

As for the parents and me we went on an adventure of our own to find a free totem pole park.  We walked into the information center to find out the best way to get to this park. Just a warning when you walk into the building (the end that the ship ports at) you are bombarded by people trying to sell tours. There is a tour to another totem pole park but this park is not free and is much farther away so it requires a tour bus to get there. If you walk past all of these people you will find a real information booth with a nice person not trying to sell you something. She helped us figure out where to catch the local bus and was very helpful. 

We took the blue line bus all the way to the last stop, this took about 45 minutes. The bus comes by every hour and the bus driver let us know what time to be back at the bus stop by. 

The totem pole park, called Totem Bight State Historical Park, has a welcome / information center with a wonderful lady inside. She talked us through the history of the park and a little information about the clan house and totem poles and the stories they tell. She pointed us to the start of the trail and sent us on our way. 

The total round trip of this trail is about 10 minutes if you take no stops so we were encouraged to walk slow and enjoy the totem poles. 

It was a beautiful area even with the rain falling. There were only a handful of people there because of the rain so it was really peaceful walk.  We were told on a nice day it is much more crowded.

This park started to being restored in 1938 with the use of Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) funds to both create jobs during a low economy and also to teach a new generation the art of totem pole making so it doesn’t disappear. 

The poles either restored or duplicated depending on their state. After they were complete they were raised off the ground on metal rods to help prevent the bottoms from rotting in the wet climate. 

The clan house at the park is not an original. They are not sure if a clan house ever existed at this sight used as a fish camp.

On the way back to town we took the blue line bus all the way to Creek Street which is Ketchikan’s old red light district. It was really neat walking around the raised shops over and along the creek.  

After our stop at Creek Street it was already time to head back to the boat. This was a lot shorter port this day, port to call was at 12:30pm. Make sure you take a look at the aft of the ship to see Donald Duck painting the ship. This is the only port that it is visible the whole cruise. 

After meeting up with the rest of our group we headed to our stateroom to change into dry clothes. We then headed up to Triton’s for a sit down lunch. I really wish we had done this more of the days. It was so much better food and a welcome change from the buffet lines! Make sure to get there as soon as you can on this day because a line starts to form with everyone coming back from port at the same time. 

We spent the rest of the day before dinner walking round the boat and relaxing.  Dinner this night was in Triton’s from the Captain’s Gala menu. This is a little dressier of a night but not to the extreme of Golden Mickey’s night. 

The show this night was Disney Wishes. This is our favorite of all the shows! It is with Peter pan and has tons of classic Disney songs and characters in it. “All you need is faith, trust, and pixie dust!”  For the adult show they had comedian Rondell Sheridan who played the part of the father on Disney TV show That’s So Raven. I showed up a little late for this one but what I caught was pretty funny.

After the night time shows we headed up to deck 9 to take a look at the rough seas that we were warned that we were sailing through that night. The boat was pretty rocky and the pool looked like a really fun wave pool! Too bad it was closed.  We had a lot of fun walking back down through the halls to our stateroom because we couldn’t walk straight. That night we got nine foot swells. I slept like a baby being rocked to sleep the whole night but my dad was having a problem keeping himself from rolling out of bed. He said that the swells were going way above of deck 2 stateroom window. I am actually sad that I missed this. 

I can’t remember when exactly we got this (morning cleaning or night turndown) but we received a beautiful art piece for the Alaska-Seattle inaugural sailing (with certificate of authenticity and everything). We were the only ones from our group to get this. I still don’t know why, the only thing I can think is because I had a local Seattle address. If anyone knows please let me know. All I know is I am going to frame this and hang it in my house. 

I am going to leave you like always with our towel animal of the night, a cute bunny rabbit. 

Day 5:June 15, 2012   

Yet another early morning on day five, with a 6:15am port. We ended up leaving the boat around 8:30am after having breakfast at Beach Blanket. 

Like Skagway, the port in Juneau was also within walking distance of the downtown area. They also had the option of a shuttle if you were not up to the short walk. 

We did not book any excursion on this day so we walked over to the tour sales booths. Some of these guys were very pushy and it was a little weird having them all yell out for our business. One good thing about having so many people trying to get your business is that you can barter for a better rate.  We ended up getting a private tour bus to the Mendenhall glacier for $20 a person. 

One big regret we (especial my mom) had for this day is not going on a whale tour. We overhead so many people talk about all of the whales they saw that night back on the boat.

Once we were dropped off at the glacier we were given 1 hour to explore the area.  We walked down to the outlook area and took some pictures. 

With 40 minutes left all the “kids” decided to take the estimated 45 minute trail walk up to the water fall and closer to the glacier. We sped walked the whole way and had plenty of time to spare to enjoy the water fall and glacier from that view point.  

The parents stayed behind and explored some of the trails near the lake and stream. 

The tour also included a stop at an outlook to the downtown Juneau area. 

After getting back into town we had some time left to walk around the town. We stopped at Red Dog Salon to check out the inside. Then I headed over to Silverbow to get a snicker doodle cookie because I had heard from a coworker that grew up in Juneau that they were the best. After finding the place they were sold out of snicker doodle cookies, so I walked away still craving dessert. 

This was a very short stay with a port to call at 12:15. After a short walk along the water front we headed back to the boat for lunch.

It was a wonderful view sitting outside at Beach Blanket. There were actually eagles flying around over the boat when we were eating.  

We spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing around the boat before getting ready for pirate night! Pirate night was created on the Disney Cruise Line after the move Pirates of the Caribbean came out. Normally on this night there is a pirate deck party and fireworks but because of the cold weather and noise pollution laws in Alaska they are not able to do the fireworks and they moved the party inside.  Guests have the option of dressing up like a pirate for this party and for dinner this night. 

I decided to use a silhouette machine and iron-on material to make shirts from an image I found online. They turned out really cute. I will have more on how I made the shirts in a later post. I was just really excited that we had people coming up to us and asking were we bought them from because they wanted some for their family. 

Before and after dinner they had photographers out like normal with pirate themed backdrops and characters out. Over by the theater Captain Jack Sparrow was taking pictures. He has a very long line so if you plan on meeting him go up early! 

Dinner for us this night was in parrot cay, I know perfectly themed, I don’t know how we lucked out. They were serving off the Alaska menu. 

One fun thing is they let you order more then one meal if you really want to try something but are not quite sure about it. Katie and I did this this night. We ordered our normal meal and then order the Elk to split. The elk dish was amazing! I wish I had ordered it myself so I didn't have to share. 

During dinner the waiters hand out pirate mickey bandanas to everyone. This helps everyone join in on the pirate fun even if they didn’t plan on it. 

After dinner this night we went to the live stage show of Toy Story. This is a unique show to Disney Wonder, no other Disney cruise line ship has this one. It was very well done like all of their shows. 

Right after the show we headed out to the atrium to get good standing spots for the pirate show that takes place on the main staircase in front of Tritons. This show is full of different songs and dances that the audience is encouraged to join in on. Some of the dances they do were taught to us at the sail away party. It was a little hard to dance because there were so many people standing around that were not dancing.  We made the best of it and had a lot of fun.

After the show they have a pirate late night buffet up in beach blanket (closes at around midnight). Not that anyone is really hungry but you have to go to get a big turkey leg like they have at Disney World. Nothing ends a pirate night like a big slab of meat. 

This night was my favorite towel creature, a monkey!