Life with Joel and Amber // Behind the Scenes
We decided a few years into our marriage that we wanted to create a life that stretched our imaginations, understanding, and experiences. Owning 3 businesses (we’re also real estate investors) and traveling the world have definitely helped us do that! We’re thankful that God has blessed us with so many incredible opportunities to work, travel, live, and serve.
And after a most incredible spring wedding season filled with sweet memories, late nights, and many thousands of pictures – we’re heading out for our next adventure!
How did we get there?
Our story starts with Joel’s day job. He works for the government and travels a lot throughout the year (thank you, project, for sending him to Hawaii!). We knew we’d be in Alaska later this month, so we were originally looking for a more tropical way to spend the beginning of June. Anything outside of the US that involved palm trees and turquoise water was pretty high on my list!
Because we were pretty flexible on where we went this time around, we signed up for some pretty cool trip notifications. We tried out stuff like Next Vacay, vacationstogo.com, and my 100% top favorite: Huntsville Traveler. <– If you’re in Huntsville/Atlanta/Birmingham/Nashville and like to travel, go find them. You’re welcome.
We looked at trips to Belize, the Bahamas, and Italy, but we didn’t find just the right fit. Then Joel emails me one day with an Alaskan cruise deal he found through our favorite cruise line. What do you think about an Alaskan cruise, he said?
Glaciers and penguins
It took me a little while to switch my mindset from digging my toes in the tropical sand to sailing past snow covered glaciers, but a few things tipped the scale. Things like an extra weekend to explore Vancouver, a train ride from Anchorage to Fairbanks, and the memories of how super amazing the food is on Holland America ships.
So we’re leaving today for glaciers, penguins, and unlimited chocolate croissants.
For the next two and a half weeks, we’ll be:
- Exploring Vancouver
- Finding new #jacoffeeadventures
- Experiencing Victoria BC
- Cruising through Skagway, Ketchikan, Juneau (another state capitol for our quest!), and Glacier Bay
- Taking a few minutes from our tour of Anchorage to check out Palmer, AK
- A 12 hour train ride soaking in the view between Anchorage and Fairbanks
- A few days of work in Fairbanks before heading home to warmth, humidity, and our own espresso machine!
We invite you to follow along!
When we find internet service, we’ll be filling our Instagram stories with our adventures. We’d love to have you follow along! Head over to Instagram and find us @joelandamber for a peek into the breath-taking beauty God created in Alaska!
Until then, we’ve got a few blog posts already scheduled for you to enjoy while we’re gone, PLUS some Facebook peeks into the royal wedding styled shoot with the amazing Helping Hand Parties and Weddings that we can finally share now that Prince Harry and Meghan are married and the magazine is published!
Bon Voyage!
*hugs*
Amber
Want to see a few of our past adventures? Here are some of our favorites!
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Penguins!!!! I’m eagerly and impatiently waiting for pictures! :) Have fun!!
Thank you! I’m sad that we didn’t get to see any penguins, but we did see whales, otters (sooo cute!), bald eagles, bears, moose, and caribou!
We have taken this cruise, but our pictures are not as beautiful as yours. To see the penguins you need to do an Antarctic cruise. We have fallen in love with cruising and have enjoyed an Antarctic cruise. Would love to see pictures you would get there. I have become a travel agent and specialize in cruising. Let me know if I can help you with a new adventure.
I knew that you guys loved cruising, and that’s so awesome that you’re a travel agent now! What a neat opportunity to bring joy into people’s lives! I realized later that we we wouldn’t be in the land of penguins, and I was a little sad about that! :)