Uncruise Adventure Day Six...Last Full Day!

Our last full day on the Uncruise couldn't have been any better.  We were anchored in an incredibly beautiful area called Misty Fiords.  Again, the pictures do not do it justice.  It was just incredible.  Ollie and about 8 other people went on a Guided Paddle (kayaking) for about 3 hours and he said it was amazing.  They saw 5 bears, 3 of them coastal brown bears (grizzlies), a mom and her cubs who walked out of the forest right in front of them (they were in kayaks...) and stared at them for about 5 or 10 minutes before running back in the woods.  They also saw two black bears and we got to see those as well.  Everyone who didn't go on the guided paddle, were signed up for a skiff tour.  One thing about our expedition leader, Annie, that I loved is that she pushed everyone to get off the boat and take part in the adventures offered.  On this day, she didn't even give anyone a choice, she insisted that we all go out on the skiffs and see this beautiful area up close.  

 These first pictures are of Ollie (in the blue canoe) with his guided paddle group.

 Before taking these pictures, our skiff driver took us right up into this little cove and right up to that waterfall.  It was just beautiful.

 Here, the driver was hanging off the boat trying to get a piece of algae that she had never seen before.  The water was so clear, you could see all the way down to the bottom.

 You can see the bears in the pictures above and below.  That little brown spot above is the first bear we saw and than we noticed a second one.  There is one on either side of Jane's head in the picture below.  You can see one better than the other.  We had a better view of them through binoculars. It was thrilling to see these bears!

 Once we got back to the boat, the kids spent the rest of the morning paddle boarding.  The whole group of older kids with the addition of Joe kayaked and paddleboarded around together and even switched around their "toys," while out to give everyone a turn to paddle board.  Below is Hannah and Joe paddleboarding together.

 That's Jane in the yellow kayak.  She and I both spent some time kayaking alone out in this beautiful water and it was so peaceful.  I was just going to kayak for a little while and not go very far but I lost sight of Joe and got nervous so rowed my way far away from the boat until I found him...he was fine and I returned to my peaceful kayaking and got a good workout in.

 Above is Grace and below is Hannah and Joe meeting up with Grace.

 And then....after all the paddleboards and kayaks were in, it was time for another Polar Plunge.  These kids are crazy!

 Hot chocolate to warm them when they came back up on deck.  Half the boat jumped in I think, young and old!  Joe jumped in 3 times I think.

 That little white spot in the middle of the water is a seal who came to watch.  And, with that....our week was about done.  We cruised all afternoon and hung out on the boat, had a great dinner, spent some time with our fellow passengers watching the slide show and listening to music and before we knew it it was Saturday morning again and time to get off the boat.  It was a week we will never forget.

Uncruise Adventure Day Five

 We spent the morning in Thom's Place and Ollie and the kids did a creek hike.  That was just what it sounds like...a hike up a creek.  Joe said it was a blast and was his favorite thing he had done up to that point.  I spent the morning reading, sorting through pictures and enjoying the peace and quiet and relishing some time alone.  We were on the move before lunch, headed to our second stop of the day, Canoe Passage.

 At Canoe Passage most of us took skiff tours, the girls paddleboarded, and Joe and the other younger kids on the boat got to go on a kids only, no parents skiff ride.  I'll tell you about our skiff tour first--we rode out into the wild blue yonder and saw so many beautiful sights.  The pictures do not do it justice but I tried anyway.

Below is a picture of our boat as we were heading back.  It's a cute little boat isn't it?  The kids skiff tour was great fun.  Their guide and skill driver both dressed up and got the kids to dress up as well.  They were all in crazy hats, bandanas, and painted their faces.  The guide served them all Shirley Temples as they left the ship and when they were done with their drink the skiff driver took them on a wild and crazy ride that included donuts behind the boat.  Again, Joe had a ball.  How could he not??  Once he was back on the boat he immediately headed out on a paddleboard for the first time.  Ollie and I grabbed a kayak and followed him out but he didn't need us at all, he was a natural and had a ball.  It wasn't long before he was jumping in from his paddleboard over and over.  It was a fairly warm day but the water was still freezing.

 I love this picture above...those girls are some of the crew members and they loved Joe.  They were all talking to him as he passed them by.

 Ready, set, JUMP!  You can see the splash below...

I don't have any pictures from the girls' paddleboarding fun because they did their thing while Ollie and I were on our skiff tour.  I think they were up in the hot tub while we were out kayaking.