The one with the cider, the sea otters and the slot machine win

I originally wrote this after we came home from our trip to Seattle, Alaska and Las Vegas in May 2025. Reading it again now, what makes me laugh is how many of the things I remember most weren't really the BIG things.

Of course I remember Dawes Glacier, the White Pass Scenic Railway and walking around Pike Place Market. I definitely remember winning on the slot machines in Vegas. But I also remember the rosemary fries at CitizenM, the hot apple cider, an iceberg shaped like Nessie, a ridiculous drink called a Reindeer Fart and filming the curly wurly upy downy escalators at Caesar's Palace for my cousin Donna because it's our thing.

They're all dots. At the time I was writing them down because they were funny little pieces of our trip. Looking back at this now, I can see they're exactly the kind of stories I'm always talking about catching.

So I'm not turning this old blog into a shiny new travel guide. I've tidied it up, added a few things with the benefit of hindsight, but this is still the story of what happened when Jo and Paul went to Seattle, Alaska and Vegas.

Two years in the making

We booked the trip two years before we actually went because cruise deals are almost always better early than last minute, as we're definitely learning!

May 2025 finally arrived and we were off to Seattle, Alaska and Las Vegas. We left Brisbane on Friday 2 May and, after travelling for around 36 hours with stops in Auckland and Los Angeles, we eventually made it to Seattle.

One thing I would absolutely recommend if you're travelling through the US is the Mobile Passport Control app. It cut our immigration wait in Los Angeles from what could have been around three hours to about 30 minutes. Once we arrived in Seattle, we caught the light rail to our hotel for about $3 each rather than paying around $50 for an Uber.

We stayed at CitizenM Pioneer Square, which was exactly what we needed after travelling for that long. The beds were huge and ridiculously comfortable, although whoever sleeps next to the window needs to be prepared for a ninja vault over the other person if they need a wee during the night.

The blackout curtains were incredible and the rosemary fries were even better. After a couple of beers and some food, we slept like vampires.

Pike Place Market, bagels and hot apple cider

The next day we headed to Pike Place Market with legs that were still reminding us we'd spent far too long sitting on planes.

We wandered past the famous Gum Wall, which is both fascinating and mildly revolting, saw buckets and buckets of beautiful flowers and walked past the original Starbucks. The queue for Starbucks was enormous and, let's face it, it's coffee, so we carried on and found something much more important: our first American bagel.

We had sausage and cheese on an everything bagel with mini tater tots. It was delicious but so blooming hot that eating it became an event in itself. Later we found lemon curd crumpets and hot apple cider, bought Seattle T-shirts and wandered along the waterfront where we spotted a starfish.

One of my favourite finds wasn't something we'd planned at all. We discovered the work of 3D artist Burgundy Viscosi, whose coral scenes seemed to come right out of the frame. I loved the colour, depth and lighting in her work and could have stood looking at it for ages.

That's one of the things I love about travelling. You can research all the places you're supposed to see, but sometimes the thing you remember is something you had no idea was there.

Boarding Discovery Princess

Boarding Discovery Princess wasn't quite as magical.

We spent around two hours in the baggage check-in line before finally getting onboard. The app had given us a check-in window of 10.30am to 2.30pm, which apparently was also the check-in window for everybody else on the planet.

Once onboard, though, it felt familiar. The crew's cream jumpers immediately reminded us of Francisco from our New Zealand cruise the previous year and somehow that made it feel like we knew what we were doing.

We also decided that if we were going to Alaska, we were going to eat accordingly. There was halibut, barramundi, crab cakes and plenty of other things to try. We watched Jason Bird's comedy magic show, Rock Opera, Gen Maldonado belting out diva anthems and Viva La Musica.

Then it was time for Alaska.

Ketchikan

Ketchikan was adorable. There were picture-perfect houses, misty mountains and even a bald eagle sighting.

We wandered around, drank coffee and explored the old red light district, which gave us a glimpse into a very different part of the town's history. It was one of those places where simply walking around and looking at everything was enough.

Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier

We woke up at 5am for Endicott Arm and Dawes Glacier, and it was worth every frosty breath.

Sea otters zipped past us while blue icebergs floated through the water. We even spotted one shaped like Nessie. Princess handed out blankets and we'd brought our travel mugs, so we stood outside wrapped up with hot chocolate and marshmallows watching everything go past.

A naturalist onboard told us about hummingbirds that appear in Endicott in July. His theory was that they ride on bald eagles like tiny feathery hitchhikers.

I have absolutely no idea whether that's true, but I really want it to be.

Juneau

After getting up at 5am for the glacier, a nap was definitely required before we arrived in Juneau.

We joined Jimmy, our very funny bus guide, and headed out to Mendenhall Glacier. We walked a mile or two to the waterfall, took plenty of photos and heard whispers that there might be bears nearby.

Once again, the bears failed to make an appearance for us.

The waterfall more than made up for it though, and walking through the mist with the glacier in the background was one of those moments where you stop and think, we're actually here.

Skagway, the railway and a Reindeer Fart

Skagway brought the Wild West history.

We rode the White Pass Scenic Railway through the mountains and heard stories about the people who built it in incredibly difficult conditions. At some points they could apparently work for only five minutes before needing ten minutes inside a hut to warm themselves back up.

Afterwards we headed to the Red Onion Saloon, another historic brothel, because apparently former brothels had become an accidental theme of the holiday.

I had a Blueberry Mojito followed by a local shot called a Reindeer Fart, which is Baileys, Kahlua and Peppermint Schnapps. It tasted like Christmas in a glass.

Paul and I wobbled back to the ship afterwards, giggling like teenagers.

Of all the things I could tell you about Skagway, I suspect the Reindeer Fart will be one of the things I remember forever.

From Alaska to Las Vegas

After the cruise we flew with Delta to Las Vegas. Delta gets our airline award from this trip because the app was good, the flights were on time and everything worked the way it was supposed to.

We stayed at NoMad, which is non-smoking and therefore gets an immediate tick from me. We had some free nights and credits included and even managed a few wins on the slot machines. One of them gave us around $400 from 50-cent spins, which made me very happy.

We ate a Hob Burger at House of Blues while Santana happened to be playing next door and had a brilliant prime rib dip at Tom's Urban with gravy and horseradish.

Of course we wandered around the Strip too. We saw the Bellagio fountains, visited both the North and South Outlets and went through Caesar's Palace, where I once again filmed the curly wurly upy downy escalators for my cousin Donna.

I don't know when filming those escalators became our thing, but it is now, so they have to be filmed every time.

Paul also bought me a new Samsonite suitcase because my Mickey Mouse one was finally giving up, and I discovered Columbia skorts. Colourful, comfortable and no leg chafing after walking around Vegas all day. Winner.

One useful thing we discovered was the bus route to the outlets. If you're heading there, Bonneville Transit Centre is the change hub, although it isn't particularly well signed. On the way back to the Strip, you need to cross the concourse and catch the next Deuce.

We tested the maze so you don't have to.

Books, dogs and coming home

I finished John Gwynne's Blood & Bone series during the trip and read The Mysterious Bakery on the Rue de Paris by Evie Woods on the flight home.

On our final layover in Los Angeles, we met a family travelling with two Scruff-sized dogs. Obviously I needed cuddles because by that point I was missing my own little furry mate terribly. One of the dogs even offered me one of his cake treats, so clearly we'd become very good friends.

Eventually we arrived home, unpacked the suitcases and were reunited with Scruff.

The things I still remember

Reading this again more than a year later, I don't think it's only the big tourist attractions that make me smile.

I remember Paul and me wobbling back to the ship after a Reindeer Fart. I remember getting excited about spotting a starfish. I remember filming an escalator for Donna and meeting two little dogs at LAX when I was missing Scruff.

Of course I remember standing there looking at Dawes Glacier. How could I not? But somehow my brain has kept the rosemary fries too.

That's why I keep banging on about catching the dots.

We think we don't have stories because nothing particularly exciting happened today. Then a year later, it's often the silly conversation, the thing you spotted while you were walking or something that made you laugh that takes you straight back to that moment.

You don't have to turn every one of them into a profound lesson or find a way to make them useful to somebody else.

Some stories are worth catching simply because you don't want to forget them.