Ok, we don't have all the pictures yet of the wedding and stuff, so I'm going to break with my standards here and write about the Honeymoon first.

For the honeymoon we decided to go on an Alaskan cruise aboard the Coral Princess. This one lasted about 7 days with 3 stops along they way for off shore activities. So basically what happens is when you give them a down payment they send you a book of offshore activities to go through and what you can do in every port. Helicopter rides, tours, trains, dog sledding...etc, you name it and it's probably in there somewhere. Most ports have what I would call an "extreme" activity and a safe one (ie. for older people) like a tea garden, or mountain train ride. Oh and let's not forget the popular "gold digging" ones and of course whale sighting.

So we went through the book and balanced fun vs. money. I mean for example....a helicopter ride to a glacier sounds awesome doesn't it? But the $500 dollar price (each) kinda of takes the sheen off it a bit. Or another one like the back country jeep safari sounds cool until you realize you have to share the driving with 3 other people. 2 of which you probably don't know.

And there's a few things we actually learned on the trip (our first cruise) that in hindsight we got lucky on. Let me break it down for you:
- Alaska...not the sunniest place. Rain and clouds are common.
- Rain and clouds, not the best things for helicopters and planes. Those events can and do get cancelled. Sure your money get's refunded, but there goes your day.
- Anything else is fair game. These tour companies don't make money by cancelling stuff, so even if it's pouring rain you can bet your still gonna be going biking....in the cold pouring rain. Same goes for rock wall climbing.
- Every town has the same stuff, just with different names. A lot of the stores by the docks are seasonal and owned by the cruise lines. When cruise season is over they shut down...kind of like Great America.
- You can bring beer back on the ship. We didn't think so at first, but we were able to get a couple of 6packs back to our room no problem. This helps with the $3.50 bottles of becks...total ripoff, but what can you do.
- The buffet serves the same food as the fancy rooms downstairs...just in a more "old country buffet" style.
- Bring a jacket that is wind and water resistant. Jen bought us both a Wind Challenger Fleece from L.L. Bean, and we would have been dead without these. They're amazing at stopping wind, and even though they are not water proof, then are as water resistant as you can get without being water proof. Really highly recommended.

So...the day after the wedding we started packing for the trip. Of course this was 2 days after the FAA or whoever placed a ban on any carryon's that have fluids and liquids. The only thing we both wish we had packed were a pair of jeans. See we thought cruises were going to be all fancy and stuff so I brought dress slacks and fancy shoes that I never really used.

Now the way we did it, we let the cruise book our flights (something we regretted later) so we ended up going from Ohare to Minneapolis, and then hopping on a plane to Vancouver, BC. This is probably a 6 hour trip total, and here's the best part. When you land in Vancouver you have to pass through customs to get into Canada. After standing the longest line I've ever seen (although pretty quick) your allowed to pass and look for the princess cruise lady holding the sign. Now, since we forgot to put the Princess luggage tags on our bags we had to give our checked luggage to her once we picked it up. But that's not the best part. After that you get on a musty smelling bus that is going to drive you through downtown and to the dock where the boat is. To get on the boat you have to go through customs again. So we went through customs to get into Canada so we could go through customs to get out of Canada. Nice.
After all that, you have to check in so you can get your little swipe magnetic card that will basically be your everything. let's you on the boat, off the boat, charge things to your room, etc. And then finally, they let you head up the gangplank to get on the boat. But not before they take a picture.

Because everyone want's a picture of them right after they've been travelling all day....

Part 2 to come tomorrow....
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Our honeymoon pictures can be seen here, and a slideshow is available here.