Prepping for Alaska

Lilia and I at Hanuama Bay during the holidays

Lilia and I have been friends for what seems eternity. She might as well be my sister and this year, on June 26, she turns...50!! That's a big number and it needs to be celebrated in a big way. Her wonderful husband, Mike did an amazing job on June 9th, giving her a surprise party. It was held at the Maison Riz on the Redondo Beach Pier. Maison Riz is a fusion of French and Japanese cuisine. We referred to it as "Frapanese". All her closest friends were there and she was truly surprised. Watching her get so emotional seeing her friends almost brought me to tears. The party was a hit and many kudos to her husband Mike for putting it all together!!

All along Lilia has been saying that for her fiftieth, she wants to be in Alaska. So we managed to book a Carnival cruise that will take us from Seattle to Seattle. Cottles, Greens, Martha and Sylvia will be taking this cruise together. That makes a group of nine of us! Luckily for us, we have friends that live in Seattle. Frank and Rhonda. The have graciously opened their doors and taking all nine of us in for a few days before we board the cruise. Going to be one very busy and full house! After the cruise we come back to Frank and Rhonda's house and will be spending 4th of July there!

Frank and Rhonda last January pardoned from Folsom Prison

So we are flying out from Sacramento to Seattle on Saturday June 23rd. We all plan on meeting at SeaTac Airport and catching a shuttle to take us to Frank and Rhonda's. Plan includes hanging out with the Torres's on Saturday, visiting wineries on Sunday and then doing Seattle on Monday. Tuesday we board the ship. Our itnerary for the cruise includes, Skagway, Juneau, Ketchikan and Victoria BC, Canada. I am excited about blogging this trip!