It's North to Alaska, goin' north the rush is on...

     Well, the bags are packed and standing by the door.  There's (maybe) a little room left to bring something home for the family, some little trinket like a key ring or potholder. The house is as clean as it's going to get, because the oomph is all gone. It will be pleasant to enter, but not good enough for a BHG spread.  So now it is time to review the packing list one more time, knowing that no matter how many times I review, I will always leave something behind.
     I've checked for my passport at least a dozen times, and still fear I won't have it. Can you tell I am an unseasoned international traveler? When I went to Canada, it was basically just a quick greeting, and off we went to the real purpose of our trip.  Times have changed.  We'll have fun with it, too, because we'll be going in and out of Canada a few times.
     The beginnings of  this journey actually reach back more than four years. Beth had moved to the Atlanta area, and her girls came to this school district.  Katie, the second grader met a new BFF she could not quite talking about at every possible opportunity.  A couple of miles away, Lily kept talking about the Katie in her class who was just her best friend.
      Of course, good mothers got curious, and decided to both accompany their daughters to "Skate Night".
The girls skated, fell, laughed, fell, and generally giggle most of the night. The moms became great friends, and both of those friendships continue to flourish.  When I arrived on the scene the two moms thought it would be fun to do something with their two moms, so dinner and a play gave the two grandmothers a chance to get acquainted. Sue-Ann and I had pleasant conversations discovering similarities.  We had lunch or dinner a few times, and then she invited me to her Traveler's Club.  One of the potential trips was an Alaskan vacation, and I just set that off to the side as something to think about. That fell through, but Sue-Ann was just reading her emails from Holland America and saw a cruise, calling me when I was in Arizona.
       I decided retirement money should be spent before it's all spent on a nursing home, so the cruise was on. And now the cruise is here, I'm about to turn thermostats up and water temperature down, check windows and doors. run the dishwasher, grab a bite and go to a hotel near the airport, so we can get up at 3 AM without someone from our family having to get up them, too.

So, it is my hope, based on absolutely no real idea of what will happen to record some of the memories here. I'll post on Facebook, but for those who enjoy reading a little more of a story, I'll share the link to whatever short or long thing I've done along the way.
   
So join with me as the journey heads North to Alaska.