Postcard fun on an Alaska Cruise

My bags are unpacked, photos are edited and posted, and I've worked my postcard finds into files for my family and swap partners.  I guess it's time to report on my finds.  Here are the most interesting ones:

My system worked - almost.  In my last blog, I describe how I packed for my cruise.  For the most part, the system worked.  I just ran out of room in the file box and carefully packed a stack of swap cards separately.  By filing the cards while I was on the trip, it saved me time at home.

Buying ahead wasn't entirely necessary.  Before I left, I'd purchased cards from Alaska photographer Mark Kelly for 25 cents each.  When I walked into the ship's gift shop, I found his cards being sold there - at the same price.  No cruise ship mark-up.

Postcards were abundant and inexpensive in the tourist areas of the main towns.  Competition keeps the price down - typically five for a dollar in Ketchikan, where I found the "Deadliest Catch" postcard - perfect for fans of the show.  We didn't have much time in town on the Juneau stop, but I did find Lantern Press cards - the most desired by many collectors - for 50 cents.  Because our Skagway and Victoria excursions took so long, we had no time in town for shopping.

Prices in tourist spots outside of town were higher, but still worth checking out.  The observation center at Mendenhall Glacier is run by the U.S. Park Service, I expected to find Lantern Press there, but no luck.  I did find a couple of drawings by a local artist, one of which makes reference to the fact that the glacier is receding.  (They also had Mark Kelly's postcards at a higher price than I had paid online or were available in the ship's store.)  I also paid more on our bus trip to the Yukon; I don't really remember, because it was in Canadian money (so it doesn't count, right?).  They had a terrific Lantern Press card of a Mountie for $1 Canadian, which is an acceptable price for LP, which are commonly priced between $1 and $2.  Same story at Butchart Gardens, but again the prices were Canadian so it didn't feel like real money (smile).  They also sold Canadian stamps, if I'd been ambitious enough to write and send the cards before we reboarded the ship.  (I wasn't.)

Biggest surprise? Postcards onboard ship.  On previous cruises (between 2003 and 2008), we'd found postcards of the ship themselves, including a book of cards showing different sites on the ship which was great for scrapbooking.  Things have changed in the past decade.  On our last cruise, we found only one postcard - a 3D view of the ship which sold for $5, which is high even for 3D cards.  On this cruise, not only did I find the Mark Kelly cards at a reasonable price, but also a Lantern Press view of the card for just 80 cents!  (Even less with my 10% discount for being a frequent NCL cruiser.)

Most fun? Seeing the look on the clerk's face when I handed them a stack of postcards.  I buy my postcards in groups of 10 - one of each of my kids, and the rest for other family and swapping.  If there is a line for the clerk, I generally count them out in groups of 10 to make it easier to check out.  I have my explanation down, "I have five adult children and three grandchildren.  I send them postcards every week so they have something in the mail besides bills.  I also swap with other grandmas around the world."  It's an oversimplification, but it satisfies their curiosity.  And most think it's a really good idea.  The tourist towns import young people to work the stores during cruise season.  Homesick, I think I few wish their mom would do the same.

Lesson learned?  If you book a long excursion which takes most of your time in a port, resign yourself to not being able to shop.  That was totally OK with me, since: 1) I had purchased the Mark Kelly cards before I left; and 2) I'll be in the same ports (plus Sitka and Icy Point Straight) next year when Hubby and I take a cruise for our 40th anniversary.  And I'll take some of these cards along so I can send cards to the kids from each port.

What did I spend?  I have no idea.  But as the commercial says, being able to share the vacation with family and recalling cruise memories when I send them to swap partners - priceless!

How a postcard addict packs for a cruise....

Next week I'm taking an Alaska cruise with my mother and oldest daughter.  It's my fourth Alaska
cruise, but their first.  In fact, it's my mom's maiden cruise, so I want to make sure they have a good

time.

OK, maybe I should have recognized I had a little problem when I spent $92.50 to buy postcards from the places we're going, two months before the cruise.  But I found great Alaska postcards online, at a really good price (25 cents each!), so I went ahead and ordered cards to send along the way and for swaps.

So what does a postcard addict pack for a cruise?

1. Box, preferably plastic.  After several trips cramming my postcards into nooks and crannies of
   
   my suitcase or carry on, I bought the perfect-sized Sterilite box at the Anchorage Wal-Mart where I'd scored a great deal on postcards.  I've added dividers with names of the people I regular send postcards to, plus one divider for "swaps."  The dividers not only save me time sorting when I get home, but also lets me pick cards for each recipient while on the road without the risk of sending the same card later.  The box locks, and I feel more comfortable putting it in my checked luggage because it's plastic and will protect the cards in case my shampoo opens.  Bonus: the box is perfect for packing my socks.  As each sock is transferred to the dirty laundry, it opens up enough room for the newest postcard purchases.  (Fortunately, the people I normally travel with accept me despite my eccentricities.)
2. Postage.  A roll of 34-cent postcard stamps, plus some 49-cent stamps for over-sized postcards.  (Double-check at the USPS website to check for updated rates.)  How do you know your
   postcard's size?
3. Cardboard, cut to postcard dimension.  Just pull it out to see if your postcard can use a 34-cent stamp (no more than 6x4 1/2 inches and less than .16-inch thick), or requires a 49-cent stamp (up to 11 1/2 x 6 1/8 inches, and more no more than 1/4-inch thick).  It's important to have the right postage, since postcards can't be forwarded.  Which is why you need....
4. Current addresses. I keep names and addresses on an invitation-quality envelope.  Inside, I keep my stamp supply.  The envelope usually holds up 8-12 months, or until one of my family members moves.  For our Alaska cruise, I added a few more names and addresses.  And because I often make mistakes, I need....
5. White out. Comes in real handy when you make a mistake, which I do approximates every 8 postcards.  In fact, I used it today when addressing....
6. Envelopes.  I want to send postcards to my sponsored children in India, Colombia, Zimbabwe, and Uganda.  I'd prefer to send postcards from every port, but each would require an international stamp.  
   
   Since I work for the sponsorship agency, I know that children are encouraged to respond to each piece of mail, which puts a burden on the staff, volunteers and parents who help them reply.  This way, I can add postcards from each stop, and just have it weighed and stamp at the post office when I get home.  
7. Pens.  It seems obviously, but I have packed several, all in the same color, in cause I lose one, or another runs out of ink.  (My daughter, excited to be taking this trip, bought both of us a set of colored pens for Mothers Day.  Any bets on which color I lose first?)
8. Plastic bag. Because rain is always a possibility, a small plastic bag will keep them dry going
   to and from the ship, mailbox, and postcard store.  I learned this lesson the hard way.  I bought some great Lantern Press cards on the way to a soccer game.  They came in a paper bag, and I put them in my cloth purse.  Having acclimated to Seattle weather, I thought nothing of watching the game in a light rain.  But I forgot about the postcard purchase in my purse sitting beside me.  The cards weren't ruined, but there was enough water damage I couldn't use them in swaps with collectors. 
9. Postcard app.  I've been using Postagram for several years.  Using nothing but your phone, you can create your own postcards.  Add a photo from your phone, Instagram or Facebook accounts, and your own personal message, then with one click send it off to your friends and family.  It's great if you're travelling internationally; since the cards are mailed from Postagram's U.S. facility, they'll arrive before you get home.  Price recently went up to $1.99 per U.S. postcard, but discounted credits can be purchased in bulk, and occasionally go on sale.  (There are several other services, which I plan to try in future, but since I have plenty of credit and all my addresses are in the app, it might be awhile before I get around to it.)
10. Postcards from the places you're going.  Obviously, this is optional.  We'll be taking shore excursions at each port stop, so I wanted to be sure to have a back-up in case there wasn't time to go postcard shopping.  I did an Internet search and found some lovely postcards from Alaska photographer Mark Kelly.  I also have some from Victoria, the last stop on our cruise, which a friend picked up for me as well as a few I received in swaps.  I'm sure I'll come home with more postcards than I'm taking, but having these cards as back-ups will me I won't be quite as annoying to my travel companions by insisting on making a postcard stop instead of visiting that quilt stop in Ketchikan.  

Since we'll be making two stops in Canada, I could come armed with information Canadian postage.  But our stop in Yukon will be brief, and I want to spend my time in Victoria smelling the flowers, not writing postcards, so I'll mail them the next day from Seattle.  

So that's how a postcard addict packs for a cruise. Perhaps you're not as far gone as I am, but I hope you've gotten some good ideas for your summer vacation.

Bon Voyage!

Brown's Point Lighthouse - Tacoma, WA

We celebrated our 39th wedding anniversary with a visit to the Brown's Point Lighthouse in nearby Tacoma, Washington.  Both of us had ulterior motives.  I wanted to compare lenses to see which to take on my upcoming mother-daughter-granddaughter cruise to Alaska.  My husband hoped to spark an interest in lighthouses that would someday lead to a vacation serving as lighthouse keepers.

The lighthouse, operated by  the Coast Guard but located on land belonging Tacoma's Metro Parks, it can be visited during daylight hours.  Saturdays from May through September volunteers offer tours of the lighthouse keepers house and boathouse from 1 to 4 p.m.

The house is more picturesque and interesting than the lighthouse itself.  The main floor includes the music room, office (converted to a bedroom which can be rented out), remodeled kitchen, parlor and the house's only bathroom.  Upstairs are two more bedrooms and a closet displaying clothing typical of the early 20th Century.  But the most interesting portion is the basement - which includes a school room, kitchen typical of the era, a period kitchen, profiles of locals who served in the military, and a small gift shop.  The gift shop carried two different postcards for 40 cents each, one a nice artists rendering of the house and boat house, and the other a photograph of a decades-old Christmas light display.  It also sold lighthouse "passports," with space to be stamped at each lighthouse visited.

All of the volunteer tour guides were very knowledgeable, but my favorite was in the basement.  She provided interesting background on the Tulalip Indians which originally inhabited the land.  Local streets have Indian names - some of which have been lost in the Tulalip language.

The Boathouse

The boathouse displays tools used during the era, which my husband - who like his father and grandfather served in the Navy - enjoyed examining, while I went outside to photograph flowers in the well-kept gardens.

It's a winding road through a residential neighborhood to reach the park, located at 201 Tulalip St. N.E. Tacoma, WA 98422.  The tour is free but donations are accepted.

Parking was a bit of a challenge; I'd suggest arrive early, or be prepared to walk in.

It's definitely worth a visit.

Confessions of a Postcard Addict

I don't know when it started, but I'm pretty sure it's hereditary.

When my older brother went off to college, my mother would type recipes onto blank postcards she'd purchased at the post office.  The primary reason was to prevent him from starving while living in an apartment with three roommates.  But it also meant he had something in the mail besides bills.

Fast forward to when I went away to college, and spent four months in Europe, taking summer courses Monday to Thursday, and traveling on the weekends.  I discovered two things:

1. I could buy postcards for less than getting my photos printed - and they were better shots, because the photographer had access to the best angles under ideal photographic conditions; and 
2. Postcard stamps were a lot cheaper than regular air mail stamps.  One of my friends took me to buy a superfine pen, which enabled me to write super small and cram as many words onto the postcard home to my parents.  (It would be a few decades before I understood how hard it was to read small type once your eyes passed 40.)

Over the year, I continued to buy postcards of the places we went.  They came in handy when I took up scrapbooking.  Again, the postcard photographers could get better shots than I could.  

When my oldest son went away to college, I started sending postcards once or twice a week, so he'd have something in the mail.  (Later, he and his roommate both became photographers; his roommate, Kevin Russ, now sells beautiful postcards.)

I almost did the same thing when my second son went away to Marine Corps bootcamp;, but I was warned off by other Marine moms who suggested it was best not to give the drill sergeants any reason to single out my recruit.  A few years later when he deployed, I found  a set of "Star Wars" postcards.  I wanted to make sure he heard his name at every mail call. While I could send him e-mails, it wasn't the same as knowing he would hold something in his hand that I had sent.

As each child left home, I continued sending postcards a couple times a week - so they'd have something in the mail besides bills, and they'd know I was thinking of them.  Today I send postcards to five adult children, three grandchildren, my mother, sister-in-law and best friend from fifth grade.  

Some signs that I'm addicted to postcards?

1. Before I leave on a trip, I check my files to see if I have one from that location so I can pre-address and stamp postcards to send while I'm at that location.  (I usually do.)
2. I call ahead to the local Wal-Mart to see if they have postcards.
3. I have no idea how much postcard stamps cost, because I ask my husband to pick up a 100-stamp roll at the post office.  
4. My husband knows he can propose any day trip, as long as there are postcards involved.
5. When I'm checking in on Yelp, I note whether the establishment sells postcards.
6. At check-out, I let the other customers go ahead of me since the clerk will be counting out dozens - if not hundreds - of postcards.
7. I swap postcards with other postcard friends around the world.
8. When my friends downsize, they know exactly where to send their old postcards.

This blog will be about travel - and postcards.  Follow me, and grab your 34-cent stamps!