Vancouver...and Then Home

I love lighthouses and my one regret from our first cruise to Alaska was that I didn't get a decent photo of the Point Atkinson Lighthouse as we sailed out of Vancouver. I didn't really expect to see it on this cruise either because I assumed we would sail by it very early in the morning and I would miss it.

When I woke up and saw daylight was peaking through the curtains I got up and peeked outside. And there it was...the lighthouse!! I grabbed my camera and stood on my balcony in my pajamas and snapped about a million photos hoping I would get at least one that was decent! 

The sun was just coming up above the mountains as we were sailing into Vancouver...

...and the Disney Wonder was following close by.

It had taken us over 8 hours to reach the Lions Gate Bridge since we had spotted it with the binoculars the night before. We had spent all night long going no where!

This was our view after the Sun docked at Canada Place. Although it was Memorial Day in the U.S., it was a busy Monday morning in the city of Vancouver. We had breakfast in the buffet and then returned to our cabin to wait as long as possible. When we did leave the cabin around 8:30, it was just a short time until our color was called for debarkation. We had chosen luggage tags with the earliest time possible for debarkation following those who did self-assist.

Our flight was scheduled to leave out of YVR at 1:05 and I was nervous about getting to the airport, but everything went very smoothly. Finding our luggage was easy and then we followed the signs to where a long line had formed to wait for taxis. We debated about trying to share a van with Kent & Laurel to the airport, but the representative we talked to said that there were fewer vans than cars and the wait would most likely be longer. There was no way we could get all of our luggage into a single car so we took separate cabs.

Even though we waited for a little while, the process to get a taxi was orderly and controlled and we arrived at the airport in plenty of time. We were able to pay for the ride with a credit card which was easier (since we didn't have any Canadian currency) and the price was less when you considered the conversion to U.S. dollars. At check-in, it was a little stressful when my luggage got put onto the scale, but I was OK...under 50 pounds! Kent & Laurel were on the same flight with us to Minneapolis and then would change planes to go to St. Louis.

Bob and I grabbed a couple of sandwiches from Tim Horton's near our gate and took them onboard for lunch. A little dry, but still much more appetizing than what they sell on the plane. The in-flight movie was "Hidden Figures" which I had been wanting to see so our time in the air went by quickly.

Having a direct non-stop flight takes away a little bit of the pain of ending a vacation and we were back in Minneapolis shortly before 7 pm local time. We said our good-bye's to Kent & Laurel at the gate as they headed off to find their next flight. 

Once our luggage had been retrieved, we called the shuttle and were taken back to the Hilton Doubletree where our car was parked. It is a little over a three hour drive from Minneapolis to where we live, but our bodies were still on west coast time which made it seem not quite as late as it really was. 

I am convinced that Alaska is one of the most beautiful places on earth, but as we enjoyed the sunset on the drive home, I had to admit that our prairie has a beauty all its own!!

This ends the posts for our Alaska cruise, but Lord willing it won't be the end of our travels! With the prospect of Bob retiring soon I am looking forward to hitting the road more often...or more likely...sailing the seas! Stay tuned!!

A Very Special Day in Nanaimo, BC

Click here for a Video of our Day in Nanaimo

I am going to begin this post by taking a step back in time...40 years to be exact. And EXACTLY 40 years ago on May 28, 1977 we said "I do"! What better way to celebrate a milestone anniversary than by being on a cruise!

Forty years ago I would have never dreamt that one day we would be able to take a cruise...let alone the dozen that we have enjoyed! In fact, we felt like we were living large by taking a 4 day honeymoon in Branson, Missouri. (And that was well before Branson became the tourist destination that it is today.)

I wish I could remember what we paid for a night at the Cloud 9 Cabins on Lake Taneycomo outside of Branson, but I'm sure it was WELL under $50/night. Our one room cabin was right on the lake and had a creaky old double bed and a quaint kitchenette which we used to prepare some of our meals to save money. Nothing fancy, but the memories are still special.

Bob on the steps of our little cabin on Lake Taneycomo.
Our mode of transportation? The little orange VW Beetle that we named "Burpy"!

Now 40 years later we were in Nanaimo, British Columbia! Kent & Laurel were spending the day with friends that lived in Nanaimo and left the ship early so we were on our own for the day. The Budget Rental Car office didn't open until 9 am, which made our morning a little less rushed.

As we left the ship there were guys in golf carts waiting to shuttle anyone who was mobility impaired down the long dock to the terminal. Bob said "hello" to one of them and he said. "come on...get in!" We didn't need the ride...but it was appreciated!

Once we were in the terminal, I gave Budget a call to request that they send someone to pick us up (per their email instructions.) We were told to wait in the parking lot and someone would arrive soon. Well...we weren't the only ones waiting and it took quite some time before an unmarked minivan pulled up. There was only room for part of the waiting group and the ones left were not happy when they were told it would be another 20-25 minutes before the van would return to pick them up.

Both representatives at the Budget office were busy so we waited...and waited...and waited while they went through minute details with the customers ahead of us. I kept checking my watch wondering how long we were going to be stuck there. At last it was our turn and we stepped up and gave the gal behind the counter our names. She pulled out a large envelope and said...everything is ready...I'll go pull up your car. And that was that! I guess Budget means it when they called their loyalty program "Fastbreak!"

Our first destination was Cathedral Grove, home to giant Douglas Fir trees in MacMillan Provencial Park.

There were gravel pullout areas on both sides of the highway by Cathedral Grove, but no real parking lot. Bob dropped me off and then went about a 1/4 mile further down the highway until he found a spot to pull over and park the car.

Trails were on both sides of the highway, but we opted to go left to see the biggest tree in the park. The trail through the giant trees was beautiful. Many trees had come down during a wind storm years ago and other than clearing the trail, they were just left to decompose.

The largest tree was over 800 years old, 76 meters tall and 9 meters around the circumference. They estimate that the tree was over 300 years old at the time Columbus came to North America in 1492!

Moss covered many of the trees and ferns grew in abundance. At times the trail followed along a little creek.

Leaving the park, I'm sure we could have found a nice spot with a picnic table to eat the lunch we brought, but instead, Bob pulled the car over and we sat on a rock overlooking Cameron Lake.

Leaving Cameron Lake, we continued to backtrack towards Nanaimo. Our next stop was at Little Qualicum Falls where we walked the trail to the Upper Falls. The water was flowing fast down the gorge.

The next stop on our road trip was at Coombs Old Country Market. The store sold just about everything...groceries plus lots more...

These shelves were filled with different kinds of olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Honey was available in bulk!

...but their claim to fame are the goats who graze on top of the sod roof.

The market was a real zoo...figuratively speaking. Not literally unless you consider the goats. The parking had spilled over onto the sides of the highway which made for some treacherous crossing when we squeezed into a spot on the opposite side.

I'm not quite sure if the whole area was all part of the Country Market business but there was also a fruit & vegetable market and a pizza place right next door.

Ice cream seemed to be a popular item at the market, but we didn't buy any...nor did we buy anything else. We had a ship full of ice cream just waiting on us back in Nanaimo and I'm sticking with my philosophy of collecting souvenir memories...not things.

Well...almost. Our last stop on the way back to Nanaimo was at the Qualicum Trading Post. From the highway the place looked like a typical tourist trap. But the research notes that I had compiled said that it was a great place to see and purchase authentic native art so we stopped...and it was true.

Bob really enjoyed looking at the carved masks but I made the only purchase...a piece of abalone shell that I hope to turn into a necklace pendant. The already inexpensive item was an even better deal when I got the favorable exchange rate on the credit card purchase.

There was enough time left in the afternoon that we could have squeezed in another stop or two, but at this stage in the trip, we were content to return to Nanaimo in a more leisurely fashion.

We dropped off the car and joined another family in the shuttle back to the ship.

I thought this photo of the terminal building with the reflection of the Sun was interesting. My guess is that there was free wi-fi!

A great photo op! Say "cheese"! 

With a couple of free hours before sail away, I knew I should finish up the packing. Our bags needed to go out in the hallway before we went to bed and I was still quite a ways from being ready.

It was such a beautiful day that I kept the balcony door open and checked periodically to see if I could see Kent & Laurel returning. As soon as I would step outside, I would get distracted and forget what I was supposed to be doing!

I had the best time watching a couple of seals (sea lions?) playing right next to the ship. They would pop up and then disappear and it was fun to try and guess where they would surface the next time.

It was obvious that logging was a big industry in this area. 

I was starting to get worried that Kent & Laurel had lost track of time (which they did) and weren't going to get back to the ship on time. All aboard was at 5:30 pm and at EXACTLY 5:30 pm they walked up the gangway...pretty much the last ones to board!

Their friends waited at the dock and waved to us as we sailed away.

After watching the ship leave the harbor at 6:00 pm, we decided dinner at the buffet was a good idea. As we were eating, we sailed past an island with a lighthouse. I was so frustrated because all I had was my old pocket camera that I kept in my purse. No chance of getting a good photo. 😧

But...Laurel had brought her good camera and got a great picture. We usually ended up taking the same photos, but it was nice to know if one didn't get a shot the chances were good that the other did. What a difference a good zoom makes!

The mountains were beautiful along our route by Vancouver Island. So nice to see all of the mountain instead of having the peaks shrouded in fog and clouds as we had at so many ports.

"World Beat" was the name of the evening show that the production cast presented in the Stardust Theater...and it was excellent. Great music, great singing, great costumes. I think there were four different production shows during our cruise and all of them were being performed for the first time with the new cast.

I was very confused about the travel logistics of our last night. The distance from Nanaimo to Vancouver is about 50 miles, yet we were leaving at 6 pm and weren't due to dock in Vancouver until 7 am the next morning.

Following the show, we went back to the cabin to enjoy the sunset and then it made sense...we were going in a giant circle! I'm sure they wanted to be "at sea" so the casino could be open, but yet even sailing as slow as possible it wasn't going to take all night to go 50 miles. 

Using his binoculars, Bob discovered that he could actually SEE Vancouver from where we were! We must have just slowly turned and turned all night long because when I woke up the next morning we still hadn't gone under the bridge!

With binoculars, the Lions Gate Bridge was barely visible through the haze.

I tried to video the sunset, but when you are spinning in circles, the sun kept disappearing!! I did get some photos however...

From the gentle wake, you can tell the ship was turning S-L-O-W-L-Y.

Sitting on the balcony...such a beautiful and peaceful way to spend our last evening on the ship. 

Good night, moon.