Greetings from Alaska

We are in port in Juneau today, and we have Internet access, so I thought I'd check in. We boarded our Holland America cruise on the 25th, and have been having a wonderful time on board as well as at the two ports of call. It hasn't been nearly as cold as we were expecting, and for the most part, the seas have been pretty calm. The kids have been loving the kids' camps and have spent almost all their time there, hanging out with other kiddos. This has given Jeff and me a ton of time to attend some of the on board activities, take naps, and read lots of books. The library is a favorite spot for our whole crew, and of course, everyone loves the buffets and the dining room. We have had one gala night already, where we got to dress up in our formal wear, which was one of the things the kids were looking forward to the most about this cruise. We have seen bald eagles and whales and spectacular scenery and sunsets. We are having a blast and are glad we have a few more days to enjoy all the ship has to offer.

Everyone loves the library

Tennis on the sport court

Enjoying some couple time

This sunset lasted for over two hours and was amazing!

Gala Night

Towel animals are my favorite

A fun day in Ketchikan

The totems of Ketchikan were a huge hit

Juneau

A "beary" nice seat

Afternoon tea in the ship's dining room

From Denver to Boulder and back again

Our day started around 5:30 this morning, because we really wanted to visit the Mint, and we had heard that you pretty much had to be in line by 6:30 to have any realistic chance of getting tickets for any of the day's free tours. As luck would have it, we did get tickets for the 8:00 tour, and by the time we were done around 9, the ticket office only had a few more tickets available for the last tour of the day, which was to start at 3:30. It was a fascinating tour and a nice complement to our recent tour of the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Ft. Worth.

Early birds at the Denver Mint

In order to make the idea of getting up so early more palatable to the kids, we promised them we would take them out for breakfast. And we made good on that after the tour by taking them over to Dozens.

Dozens

Most important meal of the day

After breakfast, we drove over to Boulder to take a tour of the Celestial Seasonings tea factory. We were able to go out on the factory floor and get very close to all the machinery, which was really interesting to see. We also thoroughly enjoyed the tasting room! But the best part of the tour was the smell! Heavenly fragrances wafted up from every corner of the property, both inside and outside.

Celestial Seasonings

Clay with the iconic Sleepytime Bear

Enjoying a cozy seat

The tasting room

When we were finally able to pull ourselves away, we drove over to the Scott Carpenter Park, so the boys could burn off some energy on the playground, while the rest of us either napped or just relaxed and enjoyed the beautiful scenery.

Having a blast at the park

View of The Flatirons from Scott Carpenter Park

Finally, we headed back over to Denver for an early birthday celebration for Ruth, which started with dinner at The Populist and ended with rolled ice cream from Chaos and Cream. We also managed to toast National Wine Day in the process. It was a full and fun day, and we loved every minute!

Dinner at The Populist

Seared Scallops

Cheers to National Wine Day!

Rolled ice cream for the birthday girl

Zealong Tea Estate

Yesterday, we got to spend several lovely hours at the beautiful Zealong tea plantation, celebrating Ruth's birthday a little early. We had a private tour of the grounds, participated in a super-cool tea ceremony, and had lunch at the onsite cafe, which utilizes tea in a variety of ways in its dishes. It was a unique and thoroughly enjoyable experience! We all have a new appreciation of tea and hope to experiment more with it in the future.

Zealong Tea Estate

The story of tea in sculptures

This series of sculptures, made of teapots and tea cups,
with a dragon head on the first pot and a dragon tail on the last one,
represents the spirit of the plantation, since "oolong" means "black dragon."

So happy to share this experience with my people!

The trimming machine is the only machine
that touches the plants while they are in the field.
All tea leaves are picked by hand.

The oversized chairs at the function center were a big hit with the boys.
(And, even with plenty of room to spread out, they are still touching each other!)

Trying on the tea picker hats

Everything about the tea ceremony was awesome--
from the table and chairs, to the process, to the five varieties of tea we got to try.
We tried a green tea, a pure oolong, an aromatic oolong, a dark oolong, and a black tea.
There are very specific ways in which the varieties of teas are prepared
and specific rules of etiquette to follow when participating in the ceremony.
The little picture in the middle on the right shows the two cups used in the ceremony.
The tall one is the scent cup, used only for smelling, and the short one is the drinking cup.
When it's time to drink, you are supposed to drink in exactly three sips:
the first for taste, the second for warmth, and the third for thirst.

A special treat:
passion fruit macaroons infused and sprinkled with aromatic oolong tea

This is not the variety of camila used for making tea,
but they are scattered throughout the plantation to give a pop of color,
as the plants from which the tea leaves come are never allowed to bloom.