My next week…

I’m trading in a view of this:

for a view of this:

Well, I’m all ready for my Alaskan cruise tomorrow. By ready, of course, I mean that I’ve laid out my jeans, sweatshirts, and bought three different kinds of hard candies to help ward of nausea. I’ve also narrowed down my reading selection from five paperbacks to three. You see, I am usually the best of the best of light packers. But, I cannot skimp on books. What if I’m not digging the Water for Elephants that everyone recommends? Or perhaps, I’ll be ready to finally tackle Anna Karenina since I’ll be in Alaska. And, as Sarah Palin kindly pointed out to us last year, Alaska is just over the border to Russia. And, honestly, where better to ready this hefty Tolstoy classic?

This Alaskan cruise is a Rossini family vacay – I know, I know, I hate me too – but, I’m pretty excited about it anyways, not least because…well, I get to breathe fresh air for an entire ten days. I’m not typically a “cruiser,” but you’d have to be missing some very important part of your soul, I think, to not be excited about a all-expenses paid cruise to Alaska. Besides, I’ve flipped through the brochure earlier this week to map out the locations of all the dining rooms and restaurants on board. This way, when hunger strikes, I’m ready.

Photo Credit: LA Skyline, Los Angeles Times, Don Bartelli; Alaskan Skyline, my Dad