Has a vacation dream come true for you? Think about it.

Jim and I just returned from a vacation to Alaska we have always dreamed of. We spent eight wonderful days taking in the beauty on a cruise with Senior Life Network.

From the time we left Oakwood Mall at 5:30 a.m. until we returned home at 12:30 over a week later, everything was perfect. With the exception of a little motion sickness, we had a perfect trip. We flew from Oklahoma City to Dallas/Fort Worth and then on to Seattle, where we got on our ship. We were starving, so the first thing we did was go to the dining room, where we had a five-course meal. That meal routine continued until we left the cruise. The food was fabulous. The salmon was the best I ever tasted. We also had lobster and every other kind of fresh seafood.

We cruised to Juneau and worked our way back through the inland passage to Glacier Bay. In Glacier Bay, I saw a bear lopping along the beach. I got pictures of it but it looked like a bug or large ant from that distance. We also saw whales coming out of the water to breath. Words cannot explain the beauty of that part of the country. In all my years I have never seen such a pristine landscape. We were not able to see any calving of the glaciers but we did hear what sounded like thunder, and it was the glaciers moving down the mountain sides toward the bay.

In Ketchikan, we were able to go ashore and see a museum of natural history sponsored by the Department of Land Management. A ranger was there and showed a movie, telling about the various animals that inhabit Alaska.

I was not aware of five kinds of salmon. We were lucky to walk across a small bridge and see salmon swimming upstream so thick they were crowding each other out of the water. Those fish are much larger than I had expected.

There were as many as four fur stores in each town. Some of our group bought minks or chinchillas, as it was the end of the tourist season there, and everything was marked down.

On the ship, there always was something to do and see, beside all the food. There were exciting musical shows, a comedy show and a saxophone player that sounded just like Kenny G. There were cooking schools of exotic meals and salsas. I went to several that were quite interesting. However, the recipes were not the kind we would readily have the ingredients for in this part of the country.

One could easily get spoiled on those cruises as every time we left the room it was made up and straightened. We don’t leave our room messy, but everything was in perfect order every time we returned to it. We had a beautiful state room with a huge picture window (called a port hole). I thought a port hole was a little round window, but not on this ship. We had a beautiful view morning and night.

One of the joys of this cruise was my sister from Albuquerque, her husband and a friend of theirs went along with us. They helped maneuver Jim in his wheelchair, which made it relaxing for us, too. We shared every meal and had lots of fun laughing, visiting and going to shows.

It was the cruise of a lifetime seeing such beautiful country and realizing a different landscape is a huge part of the U.S., too. As much as we loved that trip, we were mighty glad to be back in Okla-homa. With the exception of a few choppy days at sea, no one got sick other than a bit of sea sickness.

Sometimes I think we fail to see the beauty right around us. As happy as I was to see the bear in the wild and the whales, we see beauty right here in good old Oklahoma. Where else are there wild turkeys within blocks of where we live or deer crossing the road every time we take a trip? Where else do we see the variety of birds we have right here in our own backyards?

One food I enjoyed on the cruise beside the ice cream and seafood were the raisin buns they served for breakfast. After that first day, the “bun boy” would slip up behind me and place a warm raisin bun on my bread-n-butter plate without my even ordering it. As soon as I arrived home to my humble kitchen, I tried to duplicate them. I came close so I will share the recipe with you so you will have a feel of our cruise to Alaska.



Dutch Raisin Buns

1⁄4 cup lukewarm water

1 package yeast

1⁄4 cup warm milk

1⁄3 cup sugar

1⁄2 teaspoon salt

1⁄3 cup vegetable oil

2 eggs

about 22⁄3 cup flour

1 cup dark raisins

pinch of ground cardamom or cinnamon (optional)



Dissolve yeast in warm water and mix in warm milk, sugar, salt, oil and eggs and beat well. Stir in half of flour, cardamom or cinnamon. Allow to set about 20 minutes until bubbly. Stir in remainder of flour and raisins until dough is pliable but not stiff. Knead until smooth, cover, allow to double in bulk. Make into 12 rolls the size of eggs. Place on ungreased cookie sheet, cover and allow to double in bulk. Bake in 350 degree oven about 20 minutes until golden brown.



Send your comments to: Peggy Goodrich, Food For Thought, P.O. Box 1192, Enid, OK 73702.