Some Reflections On My First-Ever Cruise (And Maybe Ageism Too)

I’m back from Alaska.

I think I just went nine days without writing a single thing on Medium, which might be a record for me in the last four-five years. The reason? I was on a cruise to Alaska via Holland America Cruise Line. It left from Seattle (logical), where I had spent two nights before leaving, went up to Juneau, and came back down to Seattle by way of Sitka and other stops.

Here’s the basic itineraries they offer:

Alaska Cruises 2023-2024 - Cruise to Alaska

Naturally, as a broken middle-aged white male, I got my deal through Costco. That’s the same way my wife and I went to Fiji earlier in 2023.

The Fiji Chronicles: Life Lessons From Nine Days On The Other Side Of The World

I’ve been in Texas about nine years now. I initially moved here for a job at a luxury travel consortium — don’t even try to explain or understand that business model…