Our Alaska Cruise and Seattle

Our Alaska Cruise Began with an Unexpected Surprise in Seattle

We had spent months wondering about the best time to visit Alaska. Would it be cold? Rainy? Foggy? As it turned out, we couldn't have picked a better week. Once our cruise began, we were treated to sunny skies and temperatures in the mid-60s to upper 60's  almost every day—perfect weather for exploring Alaska's beautiful ports.

This photo was taken in the Space Needle overlooking Seattle. 

Before boarding our cruise ship, we spent two nights in Seattle, Washington, giving us time to see a few of the city's famous attractions (we went with 3 other couples). What the eight of us didn't expect was to arrive in Seattle during a major heat wave.

The afternoon we landed, temperatures soared into the high 90s with high humidity. Since we had packed for Alaska's cooler weather, our suitcases were filled with jeans, sneakers, and long-sleeved shirts—not exactly ideal for a sweltering hot Seattle day- which they said was unusual for Seattle.

Despite the heat, we headed to Seattle's famous Pike Place Market. More than just a fish market, it's a lively waterfront destination filled with local artisans, flower vendors, restaurants, specialty food shops, and, of course, the fresh seafood and fish-throwing demonstrations that have made it world-famous.

Normally, we would have loved wandering through the market. Instead, the combination of the oppressive heat and no air conditioning made our visit there much shorter than we had  originally planned. 

Feeling overheated and exhausted, we decided to call it a day and returned to our hotel to cool off. Dinner was a simple meal at a popular local hotspot. It was crowded but we still were able to get a table for 8 with no prior reservations.

Fortunately, our second day in Seattle was much more enjoyable. The temperature dropped into the  70s, making it comfortable to explore on foot. We visited two of Seattle's iconic attractions—the Space Needle and the spectacular Chihuly Garden and Glass exhibit. Both were worth seeing. The Space Needle offered spectacular views of the city and the Chihuly exhibit was exceptional glass art!

Both were within easy walking distance of our hotel, making for a relaxed and enjoyable day. Dinner was in a nearby food court with lots of choices for everyone. Since we knew we would be eating fancy meals on the cruise, we did some simple eating in Seattle. 

The Chihuly Glass Art was exquisite. Here is a small sampling.

Hot Spot for locals for dinner: Walking distance from our hotel.

When we were leaving the grounds surrounding the Space Needle in the late afternoon, vendors were busy setting up booths for what looked like a large outdoor arts and crafts festivity. We were disappointed to learn it wouldn't begin until the next morning.

The next morning, however, we boarded our cruise for Alaska. Later, we learned there had been a random shooting at that very event and 3 people were killed. It was heartbreaking and frightening and to think that, had our schedule been just one day different, we might have been there when it happened.

In fron to ehe entrance to the Space Needle

We left Seattle grateful—not only for the experiences we enjoyed but also for the good fortune of perfect timing. As we boarded our ship to sail north toward Alaska, we were ready to leave the heat behind and begin what would become a wonderful cruise. 

Have you been to Seattle? How about Alaska? 

Alaska Vacation

I'm on vacation in Alaska on a cruise. I'll have lots of photos to share when I return, which should be any day since I left well over a week ago.

 Hope you are enjoying your summer. 

Cat Sitting and Photos of Our Adventures

Cat Sitting 

My sister-in-law lives about 15 minutes away from us. She went to California for 10 days. We made a trip daily to her house to feed, clean litter boxes, and play with her two cats. We usually spent about an hour there.

They were a lot of fun and we had a good time with them . 

The black and white cat is named Cookie ; the brownish colored cat is named Maple. They are great company for each other, but they still enjoyed our visits. 

I made sure to give them a "Churo" treat each time I came. They went wild over the treat and warmed up to me. 

I'm sharing some photos I took of them over the course of the week. 

Maple liked to go high up on her cat playground to give herself some space away from everyone.

Cookie is the quieter of the two. She is not as playful

Cookie likes to lay on her back

Maple loves her round tunnel. She often zips right through it in a flash!!

Maple looks like she posed for this picture. What a beauty.

Cookie on her scratch pad .

We had fun with them but- we and I am sure that they -were glad when their mommy came home. 

Do you have cats? We don't have any of our own- but most of our local family members have cats. 

We have a grand-cat named LuLu that I have shared about before. Lulu does not like other cats!!!

LULU 

My Notes: 

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My Soups Cookbook contains over 80 healthy soup recipes and 80 inspirational quotes and time saving cooking tips to help encourage, guide, and inspire readers to reach a greater level of wellness. Plant-based soups cookbook (affiliate link)  on Amazon with a "look inside" option to see all the recipe titles and introduction.

Red Lentil Potato Dal | An Easy Plant-Based Indian Dinner

Do you enjoy Indian cuisine? It's one of our favorites, and last night I made a simple, comforting red lentil potato dal that was relatively quick and easy- as vegetarian cooking goes. You gotta chop!

We're still hosting our cousin from Los Angeles, who is in the area for work. He's a film producer and spends most of the day working remotely, making him an easy houseguest. (His latest film is called "Monument" with John Voight). Since he only eats two meals a day, I like to make sure dinner is something filling. He is not a vegetarian, but he likes ethnic food.

Asian Summer Rolls- no cooking needed

Vegetable filling for Summer Rolls along with sliced pickles, mint, cilantro etc.

To start, I served fresh Asian summer rolls filled with grated raw vegetables, fragrant herbs from my garden, and a few unexpected additions like sliced pickles for extra crunch and flavor. I paired them with a gluten-free peanut dipping sauce that I found at Wegmans, and it was a perfect match.

No Lettuce Salad- no cooking needed

For the dinner, I made a delightful salad without lettuce using canned hearts of palm, cherry tomatoes, red onion, and chunks of avocado. It's one of my favorite combinations because it's fresh, colorful, and the slight juice from the hearts of palm and the creamy avocado kind of make its own dressing.

Rice and Red Lentil Potato Dal-25-30 minutes cooking

For the main course, I served my hearty red lentil potato dal over fluffy white rice. The simple dal was flavored with cumin seeds, ground cumin, turmeric, freshly grated ginger, cracked black pepper, and garlic powder (I had run out of fresh garlic). As it simmered, the kitchen filled with the warm aroma of Indian spices, making it hard to wait until dinner was ready.

The dal (and the rice cooked separately) cooked in pots on low rather quickly (about 30 minutes) so the kitchen didn't heat up too much.

Corn on cob- eaten raw- no cooking needed

Oh, I almost forgot ! I also served fresh corn on the cob from a local farmer who says his corn is Non GMO. It was so sweet, we ate it raw without cooking it. Corn is fabulous eaten right off the cob without cooking. It is sweet, crunchy, and delicious.

Yes, it was a filling meal; we were all so full that dessert wasn't even a consideration. We were stuffed!

The weather here has been brutal—104°F yesterday! It's definitely the kind of heat that makes me crave simple, nourishing meals that don't require hours in the kitchen.

How's the weather where you are? And what's been on your dinner table lately? I'd love to hear what you're cooking this summer.

Ingredients for the Red Lentil Potato Dal:  

1 tablespoon of cumin seeds

1 medium onion, diced

1 cloves of garlic, pressed or 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1 tablespoon of grated fresh ginger

2 cups of diced potatoes, or chopped how you like it

1 cup of red lentils, washed and drained

1 teaspoon of salt

cracked pepper to taste

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon of ground cumin powder

1/8 teaspoon of curry powder 

4 cups of water 

2 tablespoons vegetable bouillon powder

Optional: hot pepper of your choice

Directions: 

Sauté onion, ginger, cumin seeds in a wide rimmed skillet in a little water, or oil if you prefer, for 5 minutes stirring. Add chopped potatoes and coat and stir for 1 minute. Add red lentils, turmeric, pepper, cumin powder, curry powder, salt, water and bouillon. Stir, bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and cover and cook for 25 minutes until potatoes are soft. Serve over cooked quinoa or rice.

My Notes: 

1. You could add jalapeño peppers or any hot pepper while cooking if you like it hot!! I don't... 

2. Use vegetable broth instead of water and bouillon powder.

3. Everything in this meal is gluten-free

I used a julienne peeler to grate the vegetables in a jiffy. 

It was called ReNext Multifunction Stainless... and it works great. 

Disclaimer: I am an affiliate for Amazon. If you click on a link and go to Amazon and you make a qualified purchase on Amazon- I will get a small commission.