High Tea at the Hamilton Fairmont Hotel

High Tea at the Hamilton Fairmont Hotel

We learn it is the only place—and the place—for a traditional English Tea. In the 1840s, Anna, the 7th Duchess of Bedford, wanted a snack for tea and thinly sliced bread and butter.

The rain stops in Bermuda

The rain stops in Bermuda

Not sunny, but not raining. Just 66,000 people live on this pristine island—actually a series of about 360 small coral island, which is part of the British Commonwealth. Yes, we see businessmen wearing Bermuda shorts, knee-high socks, and shirts and ties to work. Hedges are manicured and lawns mowed. Houses are painted a rainbow of colors—bright orange, green and blue, pastel pinks and yellows.

Cruising when the sun doesn’t shine

Cruising when the sun doesn’t shine

It’s not the weather we imagined on our trip to Bermuda. The seas are rocking. It’s pouring and the waves are high. We get sprayed standing on our little balcony.

Cheering on the humpback whales

Cheering on the humpback whales

“HONK! HONK!” They are really whales—eight to 10 of them right in front of the boat alternately spewing water high in the air, honking and “fluking”—diving for food and showing us their magnificent tails. We watch them “blow” spewing water high into the air. It’s fun to watch them!

No better way to get the kids interested in nature

No better way to get the kids interested in nature

There are seven kids aged 11 to 16-six of them boys — in our group. And in Alaska, of course, we don’t let the rain stop us whether we’re kayaking to a glacier and ice caves, looking for bear on the beach or trying to track them as we bushwhack our way through old forest.

To Glacier Bay on a converted WWII minesweeper

To Glacier Bay on a converted WWII minesweeper

We’ve joined three other families — together we have seven kids ranging from one 11 year-old girl and six teenage boys — for a week-long cruise through the 300 square acre (the size of Connecticut!) Glacier Bay on the 12-passenger Sea Wolf — built in 1941 as a U.S. Navy Minesweeper

Our last day on the catamaran with Turo

Our last day on the catamaran with Turo

DAY 8 — Sad! It’s our last day on our Catamaran with our captain Turo Aritu, who for the past week has regaled the girls — and all of us — with his tales (mostly in French) of his four sons with four different women who now live around the world. He...