4 September 2006, Monday Whistler

4 September 2006, Monday Whistler

Sleep in till 9.00am, Janet and Evan still sleeping. I find Evan sleeping on the couch, seems the fold down bed is too noisy.

Have a very late breakfast. Janet cooks us chicken and mushroom omelette with the left over KFC with toast.

Don't go out until after 12 midday. Check out the gondola rides, before starting our Lost Lake Loops Trail walk.

Takes us 2 hours to walk all the way around. Lots of hikers and bikers and lots of little trails and nature trails.

When we get to the Lost Lake Beach, there are a lot of swimmers and picnickers. There is also a section for nude bathers. The lake has several floating platforms for swimmers to swim out to and sun themselves on.

Lost Lake Trail - A very popular adventure destination close to Whistler Village accessible by cross country skiers, mountain bikers, hikers, joggers, roller bladders and sun worshippers. The popularity of the trail is understandable since the trail system is so well maintained and is really easy to access.

The area of Lost Lake draws allot of attention in the winter seasons, mainly as a cross country skiing trail system created for all levels of ability. The 30 Km (18.4 mi.) Lost lake Loop Trail explores around the lake and is one of the easier routes. Some of the other cross country ski trails include Les' Leap, Vimy Ridge, Tin Pants, Hydro Hill and Poler's Road.

In the summer the trail takes on a different personality and is better known for the large sandy beach, picnic areas, grass fields and the doggie beach. In the summer the paved and gravel trail in Lost Lake Park is heavily used by hikers, mountain bikers, joggers, roller bladders and dog walkers.

On the north side of the Lost Lake are the main swimming and picnicking areas with a beach and a doggie park. The sandy beach and grass fields are usually busy on a sunny day spotted with frisbees, sunbathers and umbrellas. The beachfront is sectioned off for swimming with a dock floating not far from shore.

The hiking and biking trails are spotted, here and there, with interpretive signs about the local flora and fauna. The trail system is often used as a transportation link for walkers, skiers and bikers because it connects to the Valley Trail . Which is the main trail in Whistler connecting one end of the community to the other.

Lost Lake Park has washrooms, picnic shelter, picnic tables and an automated concession stand.
Evan buys a hot dog which we split amongst the three of us. We head back, but then Evan wants to walk some more, so Janet heads back to the village on her own, while Evan and I take the Upper Panorama trail and do some serious hiking up rocky paths till we get to the scenic lookout. Cross the Tin Pants bike trail a couple of times. Come across a few joggers, and a few hardy cross country bikers.  Even have to ask one where the trail he just came up would lead us, his reply, to the bottom of the mountain, derr.

When we get back to the village we stop and look at the mountain bikers coming down the slopes, doing their jumps. Also view the ziptrek line people going through the loops before they head off up the mountain.

Get back to the resort to find Janet cooking. She had gone to the grocery store across from the resort. She also managed to see a mountie in full uniform, but had no camera to record the moment.

 Have dinner at 6.30pm.

 Try out the hot tub on the roof.

3 September 2006, Sunday Vancouver to Whistler

3 September 2006, Sunday

7.00am Wake up, Evan and Janet still sleeping. Try to log on to net, but no luck.

8.00am Janet wakes up, followed by Evan, they get ready and at 8.15am we head down to have breakast. Scrambled eggs and sausages again with orange juice and tea.

8.30am head on back up to room, Janet stays with bags, while Evan and I walk to Hertz rental car, we go through Yaletown, which is pretty big, but looks more like a night area, very dead in the morning, but most things are, it doesn't come to life until about 10am.

9.00am Get to Hertz, and have to wait in queue, only one man, Rubin, serving and then when he gets to us we have to wait another 5 mins for them to clean the car. Find out we have rented a bright red Toyota Corolla hatch, small car compared to our first one, hope we can fit the luggage in it.

9.30am back at Hotel. Park the car just outside the hotel. Parking meter is 25 cents for 7 mins, so we put in 50 cents and we have 15 mins. Get Janet who checks out and we load up the car.

We go shopping at a chinese supermarket in Keefer/Abbott St which we spied the other day. Stock up on vegies and some chinese food while Evan waits by the car watching ladies line up for a warehouse sale across the road.

We drive to Stanley Park, where we buy a 1 hour ticket for $2-00 so we can stop and take photos. First stop is the totems, but we don't take photos, next stop is the lighthouse, then we stop a bit closer to the Lions Gate Bridge, then we stop at Prospect Point and then we do a big loop around in order for us to get onto the Lions Gate Brige to head north. By this time it's about 11.30am

We drive pass the Capilano Suspension Bridge and get to the Grouse Mountain, again we need to pay for parking, so Evan pays for 2hours minimum. We head straight for the queue to get onto the gondolo which is $31.75 for adults incl tax.

12.30pm, we head up the mountain.

 It's like a theme park, with a Lumber Jack Show, which we miss, a Bird Show, which we don't get to see, and a Bear enclosure which houses 2 orphaned bear cubs, Grinder and Coola. We see one of them cooling off in the water. It's such a hot day I don't blame him. Close to 30 degrees. We take lots of photos with huge wooden sculptures before it's time to head back down. When we get down we walk to the timber wolves enclosure, Evan says they look just like dogs.

It's just past 2.30pm when we get onto highway 99 and make our way to Whistler. It's a curvey road with twists and it hugs the coastline. They are currently in the midst of improving it and widening it, so most of the lookout points are cordoned off with heavy machinery. It's a 3 laned road and they are added passing lanes. Suppose to be completed by the end of 2009 in time for the Winter Olympics in 2010.

We pass Shannon Falls and don't realise that it is so close to the road, in fact if you turn off the road you can see the falls, oh well, maybe we'll stop there another day.

Pass through Squamish. Stop off at Tantalus Lookout, but can't see much, very hazy and finally get to Whistler at 4pm.

Have problems looking for the Whisky Jack Checkin, we have to do a second loop before we see it. By this time our blood sugar level is low, we are dehydrated and nerves are frayed. Janet checks us in, and grabs the keys and we're told we need to follow a map to our unit at the Fitzsimmons. Find the back door and have to wait for another couple who are unloading. When we unload, they have problems finding the unit, we've been given the number F26D, seems, 26 doesn't mean a thing, the unit number is D. Takes a while for them work it out. In the mean time, Evan has to lug our suitcases up 2 flights of stairs. Our unit is just next door to the laundry. Having unloaded all our bags and shopping Evan and I go in search of our parking which is underground, but you need to go to the Sundial Hotel parking to get to it. They have a staircase that leads back up into The Fitzsimmons. We check out the Hot Tub, and the water is hot, but it's also dirty, need to put the bubbles on and then it looks alright.

In the meantime, Janet is busy smsing Lily. We prepare to go out for a wander when we look out into the Village Square, oh that's right, our windows look right out into the square, seems we're right on top a cafe/restaurant. A street performer is just about to start his act, so we stay up and look at him through the window. He juggles and banters and also has a fire stick which he twirls, nothing too exciting, but it takes at least 30 mins to perform.

After which we take a walk back to the checkin, so Janet can hand in the inventory form, and then we take a wander. Seems they are building a new library. We walk over a bridge and into Upper Whistler. Lots of shops and cafes and restaurants. Eventually come to their marketplace which has an IGA, so we pop in and buy some food for the week. Evan is getting hungry and so are Janet and I, so we buy some KFC (7 pieces with fries and gravy for $18.01) and head back to our unit.

7.50pm and we have dinner, so much for waiters waiting on us hand and foot, no fine cuisine, we're back to reality, dining on KFC. At least Evan doesn't have to dress up, in fact, he's dressed down, no shirt at all and using fingers instead of knife and fork. We miss the waiters, there's no one to clean up after us and no dessert menu offered.  Hopefully we can loose some weight this week, since we're all complaining about double chins and spare tyres.

After dinner, Evan and Janet watch TV, while I try and get a net connection, not much luck. End up trying to catch up with my blogs. Go to bed a little after 12 midnight.

2 September 2006, Saturday Disembarkation in Vancouver.

2 September 2006, Saturday Disembarkation in Vancouver.

7.00am I'm up and out on the deck watching the sunrise and wandering where Evan is. Seems he is still sleeping. We've pulled into Vancouver harbour and the ship is docking.

Head back down and find that they are now both awake. Pack up everything to take with us and head up to deck 9 for breakfast.

8.00am We're having breakfast for the last time in the Lido Deck. Evan says since it's our last breakfast we should have everything, but we just have our usual, Janet and Evan start with cereal, while I have my fried eggs with toast and hash browns. I pop down to deck 3 to purchase our formal dinner 2 photo. After eating we sit and wait for our ticket colour and number to be called, brown 1.

At 8.40am, we get our announcement so we head on down to deck 2 midship and say goodbye for the last time. We have to line up for Canadian Customs where they check the declaration form and our passports. Then our forms are collected and we're shown to baggage claim. All bags are lined up by ticket group and colour. We collect our bags and head on out to the taxi queue. Since we have a voucher, the dispatcher arranges a yellow cab for us, and then it's off to the hotel. The taxi driver is not familiar with the hotel, but lucky for us, we remember the street and can tell him where.

9.20am we get to the hotel to check in. Apparently they don't have any rooms ready for us, so we leave our bags in storage while we go for a walk. Evan and I still have our back packs which are heavy but we shoulder them and walk to Chinatown where we finally find the Sun Yat Sen Gardens. Wander in to the free section and take lots of pics. Then we walk up the streets where all food is displayed on sidewalk, like any typical chinatown, this is the place to shop.

Walk back to the Chinatown/Stadium skytrain station where we buy an all day pass for $8.00, hop on and head out to King George, where it terminates. So we get off and head down the stairs, before hopping back on to the next skytrain, Evan and I buy a booster juice to wake us up.
Hop back on to the skytrain and then change on to the Millenium line, passing scenery is like any city, find ourselves nodding off, so decide to get off at Chinatown and head back to the hotel to see if they have our rooms ready. They do, so Janet and I stay back for a nap, while Evan heads out again to Gastown where they have a vintage cars display on, he takes lots of pics of the cars and also finds the Steam clock.

At 3.00pm Evan's back and we head out again. Decide to go to Science World by skytrain. Get off and discover they are holding dragonboat races over the weekend for a Taiwanese Cultural Festival. We are at the starting line and apparently the loading and festival is at the Place of Nations, which is in front of our hotel. Anyway, we talk to the 2 starters and find out that it's a 2 day event with 500m races using 2 different types of boats. The taiwanese boats have high seats, looks very hard to row in them.

4.00pm comes around and having watched a few races and gotten some tips from the race starter of where to go and what to do in Whistler, we head off to catch a ferry. Get the Aquabus, which is different to the False Creek Ferry, Pay $9.00 for a return trip to Granville Island from Science World. The aquabus takes us to Granville island with a few stops in between.

At Granville Island, it's time for an early dinner, not having had any lunch, so we head to Tony's Fish and Oyster Cafe for some steamed mussels, steamed clams, clam chowder,tiger prawns in garlic butter and a bowl of chips, hmm very yummy and filling. Also very expensive, $65, plus tax and tips.

After walking the bits of Granville Island which we hadn't the previous time, we catch the aquabus back to Science World. From there we walk over to the Place of Nations, but find that they've fenced the area off for the Taiwanese Festival. Seems you need to pay to get in, so we head on back to the hotel. It's been a long day, time for a shower and an early night.

1 September 2006 Friday Day 7 Cruising the Inside Passage

1 September 2006 Friday Day 7 Cruising the Inside Passage

We get to sleep in today. wake up and have breakfast at 9am before we head on down to the Vista Lounge for the Disembarkation talk and crew farewell at 10.30am.

11.30am, back to cabin to download photos and recharge battery, while I'm doing that, Janet and Evan take a nap.

12.00pm Back on the Lido Deck for the Great Alaskan BBQ, lots of boiled crab and mussels, looks good, but could have done with some flavour.

2.00pm we leave Janet to go see the ice carving. She is off to view the Cruise Chronicle DVD. Evan and I go to the Lido deck midship to view 2 chefs perform the ice carving. They chip and chisel two blocks of ice into a fish and and parrot. Lots of people viewing and you need to jostle for a good viewing position.

After the ice carving we head on up to the open decks as we'll be heading into the Johnstone Strait where orcas can be sighted.

Evan and I position ourselves on two deck chairs and snooze a while, until an announcement comes over the ship that orcas, and humpback whales have been sighted. Also past a point where bald eagles nest. Can only manage to see them through the binoculars.

We finally pass a school of orcas playing in the water next to some kayakers and sailing boats. At last we see some wildlife.

Then it's time to go get ready for dinner because at 5pm the finals of the Zuiderdam Supterstar is on and after than will be dinner time. The 3 finalists are fantastic, but Jack is the ultimate winner singing American Trilogy. The guy who sings like Elvis is also good. We manage to hear all 3 sing before we have to pop out to go to dinner.

For the last dinner, the chefs and waiters sing a farewell song, while all the diners wave their napkins in the air. Lots of photos taken and we thank our waiters Dian and Andri for looking after us.

Say our farewells to our dinner companions, the kiwis and Neil and Maree and we head on down to the Front Office to pay our bills and settle the account. They charge us for a mini bar item which we never had. Janet manages to get them to waiver it the next day.

The sun is setting as we head to the Vista Lounge for the Farewell Variety Showtime. Evan decides to head on up deck to take photos, while Janet and I head to the lounge, I stick around outside for a while.

In the Variety showtime, the magician, James Cielen performs, then they have a comedian, Jeff Burhart and he's followed by the singer, Alfreda Gerald.

Then it's back to the stateroom to pack. How to fit all our stuff back into our bags and still manage to close them. Have to have them outside our rooms by 1am, we manage to get them out the door by 12 midnight.

31 August 2006, Thursday Day 6 Ketchikan.

31 August 2006, Thursday Day 6 Ketchikan.

Welcome to Ketchikan, Alaska.

Sailing from Glacier Bay to Ketchikan. Today we make port at Ketchikan.

Woke up at 9am. Got to sleep in today. Weather looks lousy outside. Can't really tell yet, as I'm still in the cabin, but from the ships broadcast of the bow and stern, it doesn't look good.

9.19am Late breakfast. The weather outside is overcast and drizzling. We've had a sleep in and now having a late leisurely breakfast, We're joined by Ann, who has lost Mike. Watch them pack away the breakfast and prepare for lunchtime. Sit at the table until it's time for lunch. Chat to Ann. At an adjoining table, sit Kerry and Brian and Darrell. After only just having had breakfast, do I really feel like eating again. Oh well, what the heck, Janet has already tucked into the roast chicken and chips, so I might as well join her.

2.00pm and we've docked in Ketchikan. It's wet and drizzly and no one feels like going off the boat. Some of the tours have been cancelled, but ours is still on, so we pack our wet weather gear and head down to deck 1 where we are to get off. I decide to change into shorts, don't want my jeans getting wet, so I hurry back to the room to change and get back in time for us to get off and join our tour of the town and Totems.

It's 2.54pm when we get on our bus which will take us around town and then to Totem Bight. At Totem bight we're given umbrellas to use and they come in handy, although the rain holds off until the end of our tour. Each totem tells a story and there is no right way to read a totem pole. Most include a raven or eagle as well as the chief of the clan.

We sit in the clan house while the guide explains what took place in the clan house. It would house the entire tribe and there was only one doorway which was so small you would have to stoop to enter and leave it. That way any enemies who did enter could be struck down before they could attack. They've made the doorway bigger to accommodate tourists.
Inside they have a fire pit right in the very centre. Very similar to a Maori House.

We're given time to visit the gift shop before it's time to board the bus and head back to the ship. We get back just in time for me and Evan to dash to our rooms to change into long pants and make it to dinner at 5.30pm. No time to walk the streets or buy any souvenirs, plus it's pouring down with rain still.

After dinner we go to the Vista Lounge for Showtime, it's a salute to the stage and screen with the Zuiderdam singers and dancers. This is followed by round 2 of Superstar Idol in the Queen's lounge at 9.30pm. After which I head to the library to try and complete the puzzle.

30 August 2006, Wednesday Day 5 Scenic Cruising

30 August 2006, Wednesday Day 5 Scenic Cruising

6.30am and Evan is up and out on the deck to see the Glacier Bay National Park Rangers board the ship.

Apparently he waits for us on the Lido Deck, but we've slept in and don't know he's waiting for us.

I go out on deck at 7.00am to the bow of the ship to take a few pics.

Today we sailed into Glacier Bay. Evan woke up early to watch the whales, but didn't manage to get any nice shots. Janet and I slept in, but I did go to the Observation deck 4 and I did see a whale or two, but from a distance.

Then I join Janet for breakfast. After breakfast, we sail past the John Hopkins Glacier which is pretty big, but it's not until you see the Margerie Glacier which is enormous.

As we sailed into glacier bay, no sign of Evan was to be seen with his camera, he appears to have been on Deck 6 in front of the gym, whereas Janet and I were at the stern, back of the ship. I had gone to Obeservaton deck 4, but it got too crowded, so I made my way down to deck 3, promenade level and had a nice view of the glaciers all to myself, then I made my way to the back of the ship and then back up to the lido deck 9 where I joined Janet.

 It's bigger than the ship. Lots of pics taken. Still no sign of Evan, apparently he is on the front of Deck 9, while we are at the back of the ship on Deck 9. We get ambushed by the ships photographers.

12.30pm Time for lunch while still drifting near the Margerie Glacier.

After lunch Janet goes to the Vista Lounge to hear the Park Rangers and Hoonah Tlingit Interpreter do their talk and presentation. While I spend time in the library with the jigsaw. After which we're back on deck to see the Rangers and Interpreter get off the ship around 4pm when we leave Glacier Bay National Park.

Then it's time to get ready for dinner. It's another formal night. Although dinner time has been adjusted to 5.45pm, we're there and it's another sumptious menu of escargot and surf and turf with lobster tails. This is followed by the Baked Alaska Parade, which is the dessert for the night. The waiters all carry a dish of Baked Alaska lit with sparklers and march around the tables and up and down stairs to music.  Later tonight is also the chocolate extravaganza.

After dinner it's straight to the Vista Lounge for showtime with James Cielen, the magician. He performs sleight of hand with doves, a poodle and the usual rings and scarves. Also makes a passenger float as well as puts a sword through a girls neck.

At 9.30pm we go to the Queens Lounge to view Superstar Round One. Not as packed as round two and the finals. But good for a laugh.

After which it's back up  to the Lido Deck 9 midship for the Dessert Extravanganza. Cakes and desserts galore. It's sickening, but deadly. It's a diabetics nightmare. So much for watching the weight. After dessert it's time for bed.

29 August 2006 Day 4 Skagway, Alaska

29 August 2006 Day 4 Skagway, Alaska

Welcome to Skagway, the gateway to the Yukon.

Although they forecast showers and cloudy skies, the weather turns out perfect and it's a nice sunny day.

6.30am and I'm out on deck to see the boat already docked. Another cruise ship is docking alongside.

9.00am having a very late breakfast

10.00am we leave the ship and walk the pier, waiting for the start of our trolley tour of Skagway.

Our tour starts at 10.45am, but we have to wait for another trolley car. They have two trolley cars full of people. We do a loop before we head to a hall where a guy does a talk about the arctic brotherhood, which is open to all who are looking for gold, golden memories, golden moments. After the song and film presentation we are back onto the trolley and driven up to a lookout where you can see the town of Skagway. From there our next stop is the cemetery where the outlaw "soupy" Smith is buried. Then it's back into town.

Walk a bit of the town, until it gets too hot and we decide to go back to the ship to change and get some lunch.

After lunch it's back off the ship to continue our walk around town.
 See a creek with salmon spawning. See the original log cabin of Jack London, the founder of the town. Do some shopping and buy some souvenir shirts as well as my charm of Alaska. See the steam train as well as the other engines.

5.00pm head back to the ship in time for dinner.

Tonight's show is with the lounge singer, Alfreda Gerald. Not my cup of tea, so I head for the library. Evan takes pictures of the town at night.

9.00pm we leave port bound for Glacier Bay.

At 11.15pm Janet and I head to the Vista Lounge for the Indonesian Crew Show. Evan retires early to watch the movie on TV and an early night. We watch the Indonesian crew perform a hand clapping/slapping routine, a couple of singers as well as the bamboo instrument "angklung" orchestra before retiring to bed at 1am in the morning.

28 August 2006 Monday, Day 3 at Sea

28 August 2006 Monday, Day 3 at Sea

Welcome to Juneau.

Up at 6.30am. Today we are cruising through Tracey Arm. I'm up early to see if there are any whales. Janet tells me to go to Deck 4 up the front of the ship which they will open up to passengers, but when I get there, the door is closed and there is no one around, so I go up to the Lido Deck and try the door that is next to the gym, but this is closed, so I join a lady who is also there spotting whales. We see some breaching and others just spouting, so I go back in and give Evan a wake up call. He gets Janet up and they go to Deck 4, while I'm still up on the gym level waiting for them.  See a few more whales spouting off, before I decide to go up on the outside deck. Still no sign of Evan or Janet, until about 8.10am when I spy them on the upper outside deck.

8.55am Breakfast on the Lido Deck and scenic cruising through Tracey Arm.

Do a right turn into Stephens Passage and make our way to Juneau via Gastineau Channel. The temp drops.

11.35 pm Lunch time. Hmm sushi.

After lunch, we need to take out the scarves and beanies, getting colder as we pass icebergs in the water.

12.30pm we sail into the port of Juneau. The ship cannot dock, so it anchors just off the harbour and we see them unload the tenders (lifeboats) which will take us to shore.

1.15pm we go to the Crows Nest to kill some time before getting off at Juneau.

2.00pm we wait in the Vista Lounge. They've given us stickers for our tours and tenders, we have lucky number 13 green. When we leave the ship, we need to show our key cards to get scanned and when we come back on we also need to have our cards scanned as well as have a photo id.

2.42pm Finally on board the tender to take us ashore. Once on shore we look for our guide, we're told to go to the second last bus which will take us on our tour of the Mendenhall Gardens and Glacier. We have a short tour of the town before we head on out to the gardens.

3.24pm we get to the Gardens where we are met by a guide who tells us the history of the gardens, how it is all built by one man, his wife and his rented excavator. The gardens are famous for the tree stumps which are turned upside down and have flowers growing in the roots of the trees. In order to see the gardens, groups of 4 people are taken on golf buggies up a steep and winding path. Takes a while to get through a group of 41 people, we were in the second to last buggy. While waiting for the buggy, we could hear a baby eagle cry, and the nest was in a tree which you could just see.

3.45pm we were back at the start and in the hothouse where there were so many hanging baskets and a huge heart shaped rose bush used by many weddings.

4.27pm Arrive at Mendenhall Glacier where the bus driver explains to us that the best way to see it is to see the bears first in the salmon viewing area, before heading up to the Visitor center. As we get off the bus, some people spy a bear heading down stream, by the time we get to the viewing platform, it is walking away, all I get is a photo of the bear's butt.

We walk the trail, see a lot of dead salmon, and crushed bushes where the bear has been. Smells very fishy. No more bear sightings, so we go in search of the glacier. Lots of photos later, we end up in the visitors center, quick look around, before it's time to get back to the bus at 5.30pm

Then it's back to Juneau and a quick walking tour of the town before it gets interrupted with the rain, so we head back to the ship. Need to wait in line to get a tender back.

By the time we get back on board, it is too late to go to the Vista Dining room, so we head up to the Lido deck to grab a late dinner. When we pop into our stateroom to drop our gear off, we discover Mo has left us a towelled elephant.

10.14pm I'm in the library working on the jigsaw puzzle. We meet Mike and Ann there.