United States

Our Time in Valdez, Alaska

Posted on October 29, 2026 by 2btravel

Trip Introduction – Alaska Cruise on Holland America
Lodging Review: Element Seattle Downtown
Our Time in Seattle
Ship Review: Holland America ms Noordam
Our Time in Kodiak, Alaska
Our Time in Anchorage, Alaska
Our Time in Valdez, Alaska
Our Time in Juneau, Alaska
Our Time in Ketchikan, Alaska
Our Time in Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Hullo Ferry Between Nanaimo and Vancouver

Valdez was the prettiest port on our cruise. When we arrived, the ship couldn’t even send any tenders out because the fog (or cloud) was so thick. But once the fog burned off, oh my goodness, was it gorgeous. My photos don’t do it justice.

Continue reading →

Categories: Alaska, Cruises, Holland America, North America, Trip Report, United States | Tags: Alaska, Cruise, Holland America, Ocean Cruise, Trip Report, Valdez | Leave a comment

Our Time in Anchorage, Alaska

Posted on October 28, 2026 by 2btravel

Anchorage is a much larger city than Kodiak and we were blessed with great weather for the second day in a row. While we did not have to use the tenders to leave the ship, we were docked in an industrial area so there were motorcoaches waiting to drive us downtown to the convention center.

Our first stop was the visitors’ center which allows you to fill out post cards for free and they’ll mail them for you (within the US). We sent several to friends and family. I loved this Air Crossroads sign outside!

Continue reading →

Categories: Alaska, Cruises, Holland America, North America, Trip Report, United States | Tags: Alaska, Anchorage, Cruise, Holland America, Mushing District, Ocean Cruise, Street Art | Leave a comment

Travel Tuesday Photo: A Lionfish in New Orleans

Posted on October 27, 2026 by 2btravel

A lionfish at the Audubon Aquarium in New Orleans, Louisiana

Categories: Louisiana, North America, Picture of the Week, United States | Tags: Audubon Aquarium, Lionfish, Louisiana, New Orleans, Picture of the Week, Travel Tuesday Photo | Leave a comment

Our Time in Kodiak, Alaska

Posted on October 27, 2026 by 2btravel

Our first port of call was the town of Kodiak, Alaska. It’s a small town of around 5,500 people at the last census and is one of seven communities on Kodiak Island. Our ship anchored out in Saint Paul Harbor and we had to take tenders to reach the town. If you are mobility-challenged and cannot stand long enough to step from the ship’s dock to the tender, you will not be able to visit any port where tenders are required. We saw a number of people with rolling walkers, and that worked fine, but motorized scooters did not make it aboard the tender.

Our first stop was the Kodiak National Wildlife Visitors Center. You can start your visit there with a short film about the area and then visit the exhibits. The lower level has details about the brown bears in the area.

Continue reading →

Categories: Alaska, Cruises, Holland America, North America, Trip Report, United States | Tags: Alaska, Brown Bear, Cruise, Grey Whale, Grizzly Bear, Holland America, Kodiak, North America, Ocean Cruise, Russian Orthodox Church, Trip Report | Leave a comment

Our Time in Seattle

Posted on October 23, 2026 by 2btravel

I hadn’t done any real planning for things to see in Seattle other than asking AI to give me some suggestions of things to photograph. I knew that we’d be sleeping in since we arrived so late and that proved to be the case.

It was a gloomy morning when we set out and I decided to wear jeans instead of the shorts I’d packed – a decision I came to regret. Later in the day it was sunny and gorgeous and I was hot. Live and learn. Here are some things we saw while exploring the city.

The Troll Under the Bridge

My roomie on this trip loves to find the off-beat tourist things and she read about the Troll Under the Bridge, so naturally we had to hunt it down.

The Fremont Troll

Not only did we find that, we also found the three Billy Goats Gruff!
Continue reading →

Categories: Award Travel, North America, Trip Report, United States, Washington | Tags: Fremont Troll, Photo Essay, Pike Place Market, Seattle, Space Needle, Trip Report, Troll, Washington | Leave a comment

Lodging Review: Element Seattle Downtown

Posted on October 22, 2026 by 2btravel

Since I was departing Memphis on a Friday evening and we couldn’t board our ship until Sunday, we needed two nights’ lodging in Seattle. We eventually settled on the Element Seattle Downtown which was about a 30-minute walk from Pike Place Market and other attractions along the waterfront. While it would have been nice to be closer, the hotel offered free breakfast and as it turned out there were loads of other folks there ahead of their own cruises, so it was a popular choice. I had a free night certificate thanks to my Chase Marriott credit card. The free night certificate only covered the first 25K points but I was able to add 9K points to it to cover that first night and then 34K points for the second night.

Continue reading →

Categories: Award Travel, Element, Hotel, Lodging Review, Marriott, North America, Trip Report, United States, Washington | Tags: Element, Hotel, Hotel Review, Lodging Review, Marriott, Seattle, Trip Report, Washington | Leave a comment

Trip Introduction – Alaska Cruise on Holland America

Posted on October 21, 2026 by 2btravel

Welcome to my next trip report where I’ll cover my late-summer cruise, which was round-trip from Seattle to Alaska.

A friend from Australia already had this cruise booked, so when my Los Angeles-based friend – who had never been to Alaska – suggested we join her, it sounded like a great idea. My only visit to Alaska was a cruise in 2005 so I was happy to go back.

Continue reading →

Categories: Alaska, Award Travel, British Columbia, Canada, Cruises, Element, Holland America, Hotel, Marriott, North America, Trip Report, United States, Washington | Tags: Alaska, Anchorage, Award Travel, British Columbia, Canada, Cruise, Element, Ferry, Holland America, Hotel, Juneau, Ketchikan, Kodiak, Marriott, Nanaimo, Noordam, North America, Prince Rupert, Seattle, Trip Report, Valdez, Vancouver, Washington | Leave a comment

Travel Tuesday Photo: Grey Whale Skeleton

Posted on October 6, 2026 by 2btravel

The dead grey whale was found by a local science teacher on a beach in Kodiak. Recognizing the significance that a full-sized skeleton could be, the town worked quickly to bury the whale on the beach for four years and let nature take its course. Once the whale was exhumed, there was very little meat left to debride and the skeleton now hangs at the Kodiak National Wildlife Visitors Center in Kodiak, Alaska.

Grey whale skeleton at Kodiak National Wildlife Visitors Center

Categories: Alaska, North America, Picture of the Week, United States | Tags: Alaska, Grey Whale, Kodiak, Picture of the Week, Travel Tuesday Photo | Leave a comment

Travel Tuesday Photo: the Fremont Troll, Seattle, Washington

Posted on September 15, 2026 by 2btravel

The Fremont Troll (aka The Troll Under the Bridge) is a mixed-media colossal statue under the north end of the George Washington Bridge in Seattle, Washington.

And yes, the three Billy Goats Gruff are nearby too! Stay tuned for my trip report to see them!

Categories: North America, Picture of the Week, United States, Washington | Tags: Picture of the Week, Seattle, Travel Tuesday Photo, Troll, Trolls, Washington | Leave a comment

Travel Tuesday Photo: A Meerkat in California

Posted on August 28, 2026 by 2btravel

A meerkat doing a pretty good job of blending in with its surroundings at The Living Desert in Palm Desert, California.

Categories: California, North America, Picture of the Week, United States | Tags: California, Meerkat, Picture of the Week, The Living Desert, Travel Tuesday Photo, USA | Leave a comment

	Hotel IKEA: precios… on Lodging Review: IKEA Hotell, Ä…
	Holiday Inn Auckland… on Lodging Review: Holiday Inn Au…
	2btravel on Our Time in Ancient Olympia (K…
	Diana on Our Time in Ancient Olympia (K…
	2btravel on A Brief Tour of Amsterdam

United States

Our Time in Valdez, Alaska

Our Time in Anchorage, Alaska

Travel Tuesday Photo: A Lionfish in New Orleans

Our Time in Kodiak, Alaska

Our Time in Seattle

The Troll Under the Bridge

Lodging Review: Element Seattle Downtown

Trip Introduction – Alaska Cruise on Holland America

Travel Tuesday Photo: Grey Whale Skeleton

Travel Tuesday Photo: the Fremont Troll, Seattle, Washington

Travel Tuesday Photo: A Meerkat in California

Recent Posts

Recent Comments

Archives

Categories

Follow me on Twitter

Meta