29 June 2017
After what seemed like forever we finally arrived in Seattle. We have checked in to our hotel, Mayflower Park which is supposed to be the oldest operating hotel in Seattle. Once we dropped the bags in the room, we headed off to have a look around the city. We ended up at the waterfront and had a ride on their big wheel which gives a bit of a view of Seattle and the harbour.
From here we made our way to Pike Place Market which has been operating since the 1800’s and is massive - if you like those kinds of things. Back to the hotel and line up for a few drinks and some dinner before jet lag hits. There would be nothing worse then being sleepless in Seattle.
More tomorrow after we have found Frasier’s joint.
30 June 2017
We headed off to catch the Emerald Green Trolley which is Seattle’s version of the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus. We did half of the first circuit and then got off at Pioneer Square which is where most of the original buildings are still in tack and have their original names still painted on their fronts. There is another tour you can take here which takes you to the underground. That is, after the 1893 fire in Seattle it was decided to raise the level of the town so that there is a town below ground level. Unfortunately, we did not have time to take this little side trip.
Back on the trolley and we headed to the Space Needle. This is situated on 75 acres of parkland and entertainment precinct which is a redevelopment of the World’s fair held here in the 60’s. We checked out the queue to go up to the top and it was about a 3 hour wait….. looking from the outside is OK.
Off we go again on the trolley and we stopped on the waterfront at a place called Anthony’s which is a seafood restaurant. 1 bowl of seafood chowder each, a glass of bubbles and a pale ale and we are ready for the afternoon. Anthony’s is down the hill a little bit from Pike Place Markets so off we go to have another look just in case it has changed overnight…. still the same.
Back on the trolley and we finished the tour. Seattle is well known for the amount of rainfall it receives each year but so far we have had nothing but blue skies and sunshine, it has been beautiful. One thing that we have noticed is the number of homeless people around the place which is a bit sad.
Tomorrow we are back on the trolley, but we are doing the North-West tour which so be very interesting.
More then
30 June 2017
This morning, we went on the Northwest Tour on the Emerald City Trolley which took us out to Lake Union where Sleepless in Seattle was filmed, although we could not see the actual houseboat, we were assured that it is there.
Next port of call was a drive through the campus of University of Washington. This university is massive with a current enrolment of approx. 46,000 students. From here we made our way to the locks that join Lake Union and Lake Washington and were lucky enough to see a couple of boats go through the lock.
We then went up Queen Anne Hill which is one of the highest hills around Seattle (most expensive as well) and stopped at a couple of lookouts for some photos.
The tour ended back at the Space Needle which was packed once again so we caught the monorail to downtown and made our way to the waterfront for lunch at Ivars Fish Bar… yummy.
We are now packing for our trip to Vancouver Island tomorrow. More later.
1 July 2017
Today is the day we head off to Canada on the Victoria Clipper, so we got down to the wharf early and get on board ready to go. The day is fairly overcast and there is a bit of a breeze blowing. We set sail with a full ferry and began chatting with the guy across from us, telling him about our holiday and he says, “You really planned this well to go to Victoria on Canada Day for its 150-year celebration”. Huh…. didn’t know a thing about it.
We continue on and the captain comes across the PA to say that they are changing course because the weather has made the crossing a bit rough which will tack about an hour on the journey. We hit the rough bit and people are grabbing sick bags all over the place. On the deck below, a lot of people didn’t quite make the sick bag.
We land in Victoria and go through customs, grab our luggage and take it to the bus that is waiting to take us on the Butcher Gardens and City Highlights tour only to be told that we will have to check our luggage at the dock because they do not deliver to our hotel. Bugger. Off we go on the tour and the city highlights lasted about 10 minutes and we set off for the gardens. Beautiful displays of flowers etc. Time to go back to collect out luggage and go to the hotel.
From the time we left on the tour to the time we got back to Victoria there were people everywhere and heaps of road closures. The driver dropped everyone off close to the middle of town which was just outside our hotel. Pity we had to walk back to the dock to retrieve our luggage. That done we caught a taxi back and took us forever.
Checked in and off we go to have a look at the celebrations and join in with the rest of the crowd. The place had a great vibe and was a lot of fun. It was getting towards having something to eat time and all of the restaurants and pubs were full. We put our name down at one place and continued looking around and came back to be seated and have a few drinks to wind out the day. The crowd of people at the celebrations were very well behaved and only saw 1 guy being arrested.
Off to Vancouver tomorrow, more then.
3 July 2017
Well, we survived Canada day at Victoria without any mishaps. This morning, we went on the Parliament House tour and the wandered around town before lining up for the world-famous water taxi ballet performed in the Inner Harbour. These are funny looking vessels which move together in time with some classical music played over some loudspeakers… very entertaining.
It was then time to check out of the hotel and catch the bus and ferry to Vancouver which filled up most of the time. Waiting at the bus depot in Vancouver were our good friends Wes and Larry who took us back to the hotel we are staying at just in time for some beers and a meal before hitting the sack.
More tomorrow.
4 July 2017
We set off early this morning to catch the Hop-On-Hop-Off bus for a tour of all of the sights of Vancouver. Stayed on the bus for a while then decided to hop off at the Canada Place which is on the waterfront and includes the cruise terminal and Convention Centre. There were 3 cruise ships in port which should have given us a tip the downtown Vancouver would be crowded.
Our plan was to walk along the waterfront around to Coal Harbour and then jump back on the bus for the rest of the tour. We stopped and had some lunch and a couple of beers then went to the stop. We timed it perfectly put the bus was full, so we kept walking to Stanley Park which is a massive park set aside for the people of Vancouver. Our first stop in the park was at the Totem Poles which is a representation of the First Peoples Nation artwork. Each totem explains a bit about the family it represents.
Back on the bus and off to Granville Island, which is a market area with local artists, stacks of restaurants etc. It was fairly hot when we got here so we had to have a few more beers and then look for somewhere to have some dinner. All sorted.
From here we caught the ferry close to where we were staying and walked back to the hotel with the plan of finding a watering hole on the way. Not one, not bloody one so we had to go to the bottlo next door to hotel and have a quiet couple in the communal kitchen.
Heading up to the mountains tomorrow.
Today we set off for Grouse Mountain which is the closest ski fields to Vancouver. To get to the top you go on a gondola which takes you to the summit of approx. 1300m and offers a spectacular view of Vancouver. It appears we were lucky because normally it is either raining or the cloud cover is so low that the view is diminished… not today it was a clear as a bell. Wes and Larry have never seen it so clear.
Soon as we got to the top, we headed for the lumberjack show which was a bit of comedy while demonstrating the skills required to work in timber. Then it was off to the birds of prey show which was pretty interesting... bald eagle, falcons and owls flying around.
We then took a ride up on the ski lift to the top of the ski run to get an even better view. There was still some snow laying about, but this did not cool us down it was very hot up here. We walked down the ski run to get a feel for it and we worked up a bit of a thirst, so we decided to go for lunch.
We had to queue up for a bit to catch the gondola ride back down and the traffic going back into Vancouver was horrendous.
Off to Whistler tomorrow. More then.
6 July 2017
Wow!!!! What a day we had today. We battled through the Vancouver peak hour traffic to find our way up to Whistler. On the way we stopped at Shannon Falls which is a popular stop off for tourists to check out these magnificent waterfalls. Next stop was the village of Squeamish for a cup of java.
We hit Whistler and checked into our hotel, and we were off on the Peak-to-Peak gondola ride which takes you from the summit of Whistler to the summit of Blackcomb mountains. Crickey's it’s high up there. The day was really hot but there were people up on top still skiing. The area becomes a very popular place for mountain bikers who were everywhere, and it was interesting watching these lunatics go hurtling down the mountain side.
We pulled into one of the restaurants and had a snack and a beer for lunch and then headed back down the mountain on one of the ski lifts… what a view!!! Wes and Larry commented that they could not recall the last time they caught a lift down the mountain, normally they ski.
Once down on level ground we had a few icy colds and called it a day.
More later.
7 July 2017
Today we set off from Whistler for our longest driving day so far. We made for Kamloops which is a big railway town and is where all of the major highways for Canada met. When people think of Canada, they think of mountains covered in pine trees but there are big sections of the country that are not covered in tress and the mountains are bare and very stark.
We hit Kamloops and had a bit of a spell in a park by the Thompson River it was only 36C here and not a cloud in sight. Next stop was Sun Peaks which is a lot quieter than Whistler due to the lack of mountain bike tracks.
More tomorrow.
Today was going to be another big drive so we set off early and stop after a bit at a roadside diner just like you see on TV. As soon as we sat down the waitress poured everyone a cup of coffee and then kept on topping them up. I don’t think I’ll sleep for a week.
On our way again and we had our first major wild animal experience… an elk grazing on the side of the road. What a magnificent creature. We also drove past the highest mountain in the Rockies in Canada, Mount Robson. Our first and only stop was Jasper which is very much a tourist town and was very crowded. We had a wander around and then went to have a look at one of the famous Fairmount Hotels… very impressive. We ducked inside and had a drink, and the price could have paid for our motels for a couple of nights.
Heading for Banff tomorrow. More then.
9 July 2017
Well we are really ticking some boxes today. We have sighted some of the elusive Canadian animals which a lot of people do not see on their tours. It all started at dinner on Friday night when an SUV parked below the window of the restaurant we were sitting at. The woman inside decided it would be a good time to change her knickers…. there you have it, our first beaver.
On the road to Banff there was a black bear by the side of the road having a quiet graze and couldn’t care less about the several vehicles that pulled up to check him out. Travelling along from here we went to Athabasca Falls which are truly magnificent… this was just up the road from where we saw the bear, so we all stuck together.
Our next stop was the Columbia icefields where we got to go out on to the glacier and have a bit of a walk around. It was hard to imagine that where we were standing the ice was thicker than what the Eiffel Tower is tall… pretty cool out there as well. The tour also included a walk around the Glacial Skywalk which is a glass floored semi-circle going out over the ravine. Shove that up your bum I didn’t see the weight rating certificate. From here we saw a couple of mountain goats below us which is very unusual as they are normally well up in the mountains… another tick in the box.
We made our way to Banff and stopped of at Bow Lake which is a glacial feed lake and has that beautiful turquoise colour that Lake Louise is famous for. We finally made it Banff and checked to our hotel then headed for an Irish pub that Larry knows pretty well. After a couple we met up with Wes and Larry’s son and his wife and a couple of their friends… good afternoon.
More tomorrow.
10 July 2015
Today was a pretty relaxing day just checking out Banff. First stop was the Cave and Basin Hot Springs which is one of the main reasons for Banff’s existence. This is where hot springs were found inside a cave by 3 railway workers and to cut a long story short a National Park was created.
From here we went to the Fairmount Banff Springs were we were booked in for their famous brunch. Holy moly what a feed. It is easy to understand why people are so big over here. This hotel was used as a set for the movie Where the Rivers Run starring Marilyn Monroe and Robert Mitchum…their photos still adorn the walls of the hotel. We took a bit of a self-guided tour around the hotel, and it would be easy to get lost as it is massive.
After brunch, and when we were able to walk again, we took a drive around Banff and went up to Tunnel Mountain which has a look-out over the city of Banff. Pretty spectacular. After this we went to the museum which depicts the life of the people of the First Nation… really good.
I am unable to upload any photos from this hotel so you will have to wait until I get back.
11 July 2017
Today we went to have a look at the famous Lake Louise with the iconic Fairmont Chateaux Lake Louise on its shores. Our first problem was that, even though we left fairly early we could not drive there. We had to park in an overflow parking lot and catch a shuttle to the lake. When we got there it was like people's day at the Ekka, bodies everywhere. We had a bit of a walk around the lake to take in the view of the Chateaux and then actually snuck into the hotel for a bit of a look. Very nice. We all agreed that paying $900 a night would be a bit excessive considering all the freeloaders hanging around.
Next stop was Sunshine which is Wes and Larry’s ski field. We were lucky because one of the gondolas and one of the ski lifts where working so we could go to the top and check out where they ski during the winter. I think I told them a couple of times that they were nuts especially when you can see the how steep the runs are. When we got to the top of the mountain, we could see a storm rolling in so we got down to the bottom as quickly as we could. Back in the car and driving back to the hotel the heavens opened up. It was just like a storm back home, driving rain, lightning, thunder and hail. Apart from al that it was a great day.
More tomorrow.
12 July 2017
When we left Banff, it was a lousy rainy day, so we took our time and stopped in a place called Canmore for breakfast and a bit of a look around. This place has a Nordic Centre where all of the potential Olympians come to train. We saw a couple of guys skating up the hill as part of their training. We also ran into a small herd of elk as they wandered across the road.
Made our way to Calgary and stopped at a Western outfitter called Irvines which is really in the middle of nowhere. Walked into the shop and bugger me the place is massive and anything you need they have it….3 room full of saddles… rooms full of cowboy boots and hats… you name it they have it.
Next stop was a mall for a bite to eat. Here they have a shop called Bass Pro Shop which caters for people who like to go fishing and hunting. Talk about Duck Commander…crikeys they have everything. To give you an idea about the size of the shop it is about the size of Myers at Chermside full of guns, fishing rods, cameo gear, boats and all-terrain vehicles.
Later in the afternoon we went to Wes and Larry’s hangout…a place called Ranchman's Bar and Grill. This is a cowboy bar that is massive, and the place was packed because of the Stampede. They play both kinds of music here… country and western. What a magic place. Had a few beers and then back home for supper.
We tried to find a live stream for the 3rd State of Origin but no luck. Imagine my surprise when I woke up this morning and looked at the front page of the Calgary Times and the headline was “Maroons Win” - a new dynasty is born. I can’t wait to get home to watch the recording.
More tomorrow.
13 July 2017
Today was supposed to be a quiet day before our Stampede activities commence tomorrow… not quite. We headed of downtown to have a look around and see some of the festivities. Everything is centered around the Stampede, there were square dancing demos, a parade of cowboys and Indians going down the mall, there were line-dancers in the square, as well as lots of pop-up stalls for sales opportunities.
I think Charmaine and I were about the only ones in town without a cowboy hat, soon fixed that..yeehaw. We grabbed a bratwurst from one of the vans for lunch… ah death by sausage. We went up the Calgary Tower for a good look at the city but unfortunately the smoke haze from the wildfires limited our view of the mountains. It was still worth the look.
We headed back home to get ready for our dinner at what is supposed to be the best steakhouse around Calgary and is located at a place called Longview about 50k from where we are staying. On the way we went through one of the biggest hailstorms I have ever seen, and it was a complete whiteout. Apparently, these storms are commonplace here and nobody was really concerned. We hit the restaurant and order up. How good was the food.
On the way home we had to call into a small-town call Black Diamond and have a drink in the hotel. This place is miles from nowhere and is one of the best bars I have ever seen and was packed full of people. Great stop.
Tomorrow, we start our Stampede activities. Looking forward to it.
Sorry folks, I missed a day because we have been very busy, and I didn’t get a chance to update.
We had a big start to our Stampede experience. We caught the train to the grounds because of the number of people and lack of parking around the grounds. To give you an idea we tried 3 train stations before could get a park.
Hit the grounds and had a couple of hours to kill before we could get into the grandstand for the start of the events. Walked around and it reminded me of the Ekka pretty much with side show alley (bigger than ours) food stalls and in the pavilions, there were stacks of sales opportunities. It was very hot strolling around, so we found a beer garden to have a cold one or two, but it didn’t help much.
In we go to the grandstand and find our seats and the first event is the Chuck Wagon races. You need to try and view this on YouTube because it is very hard to describe, needless to say it is very exciting and gets the crowd going.
Next up was the Grandstand Show which was spectacular and the cast is made up young Canadians who put on a great show and is followed by a fireworks display that was terrific.
Next day we headed for the Canadian Badlands which is their version of the desert. To get here we had to travel across the prairie for an hour or so, but the countryside was typical farmland, very green and lush with plenty of crops growing.
We hit the badlands and went to a town called Drumheller where a significant find of dinosaur remains have been found over the years and a museum has been built to display the finds. You could spend several days here and still would not cover the entire museum.
Lunch time called and we headed to The Last Chance Saloon in Wayne for a bite and a beer. This place was very popular and on weekends a lot of bikers congregate here.
We had to rush home and prepare for a BBQ so we could meet a lot of Wes and Larry’s friends. This bunch of guys are a crazy mix of people, and we had lots of laughs and beers. It reminded me of being at an Aussie BBQ because these people carry on much the same way as us.
Back to the Stampede tomorrow for the rodeo after we have been to some bar and had a beer and burger.
Hopefully more tomorrow.
16 July 2017
Yesterday was a massive day starting out with breakfast at Limericks Pub. Breakfast consisted of a beer and burger… these Canadians never stop drinking!!! But we can’t let Australia down, so we had to match them. On to the bus and off to the Stampede grounds to watch the second last day of rodeo competition. We had seats at the very top of the grandstand which gave us a fantastic view of all the action. I’m pleased to report that there were no injuries to either animals or humans, so it was a good day.
Caught the train home and had some supper (notice I am using the Canadian version for dinner) of leftovers from the previous night's BBQ. More beer and then off to the Legion (RSL club) for a Western dance. You’ve got to be joking right. It was great to sit back and watch these guys dance in their western way and listen to both kinds of music… country and western. I let them know that the only western song I knew was Toby Keith’s “I’m not as good as I once was” and of course they played it. I think it was a trap to get me to get up and dance. Epic fail.
Tomorrow we are off to a breakfast. Apparently, there will be more drinking involved. If I survive, I report in tomorrow.
Breakfast of champions. Yeehaw!!!
It was with great reluctance that we said goodbye to our friends Wes and Larry today and flew back to Vancouver to prepare for stage 2 of our journey.
We checked into our hotel and then went for a wander around Gastown and then made our way around the waterfront. There was a couple of cruise ships in port, so the waterfront was pretty busy.
Today we have to check in to the Fairmont at the Vancouver Airport to start our tour of Alaska.
More then
19 July 2017
Got up this morning and set off in the direction of a couple of cafés that are supposed to be the best in Vancouver. We found them both but were told we would have to wait up to 45 minutes before we could be seated. Fair dinkum they were lined up down the street. It would have to be good if they wanted the Gentleman Tourist to line up. Forget that… we found a nice place next to our hotel. Breakfast done.
From here we decided to have a look at the Vancouver Library which is in a fascinating building. Then it was off the find the shrine to Jimi Hendrix and Bob Marley… found them but it did not open until noon and was in a dusty part of the city. By the time we got back to the hotel it was time to check out and head for the Fairmont at the airport and check in for our tour.
We walked into the hotel in I heard the receptionist say “Hey that’s the Gentleman and Lady Tourist. We should offer them the upgrade to Gold for a small fee”. So here we are in Gold, sitting on the top floor with a telescope in the room for aircraft viewing, access to the lounge for free food and coffee, snacks and dessert later tonight and a free buffet breakfast in the morning.
More when we reach Whitehorse.
20 July 2017
We set off for Whitehorse in the Yukon Territories and were met by our tour guide at the airport. There is a total of 33 people on the tour and are a mix of nationalities but are mostly Americans and fairly old but could be a bit of fun.
We checked into our hotel, and we took off for a bit of a look around the town before our “meet and greet” session. Approx. 42,000 people live in the Yukon Territories with approx. 32,000 living in Whitehorse, so it is a fairly small town, and it didn’t take long to get around.
There are a few optional extra tours tomorrow, but we haven’t decided which one to take, hopefully the one with the least number of sales opportunities.
We went for dinner at the Yukon Rib and Salmon restaurant which is very popular, and we had to wait for approx. 20 minutes to get a table. Well worth the wait because the food was fantastic.
More tomorrow.
22 July 2017
Well, we left Whitehorse in one piece and headed for Dawson City (population 1500 on a good day). The bus journey took 9 hours with 5 stops along the way for dunny breaks and bites to eat. The scenery along the way was fantastic but unfortunately, we did not see too much wildlife except for some birds and a couple of rabbits.
We stopped at a First nation reserve for lunch, a placed called Minton, which is right beside the fast-flowing Yukon River… yummy. We finally reached Dawson City which is a place right out of the wild west. The streets are unpaved, and the footpaths are boardwalks. The only thing missing are the cowboys riding into town and a couple of gunfights… slap iron pilgrim!
The reason the streets are unpaved is because the town is situated on permafrost and apparently it is too difficult to pave.
Last night we went to Diamond Tooth Gertie's for dinner. This joint is a gambling hall, a saloon and they have a couple of shows every night… singer and can-can dancers. The show was great, and the food was OK, the saving grace was that the beer was cold.
We decided not to take any of the optional tours as they did not realty appeal and stumbled across a walking tour of the town run by Canada Parks and Wildlife. This was fantastic as they have a lady in period costume who would pop up every now and then when we went into a restored building and describe how things happened back in the gold rush days.
This afternoon we are going on a paddleboat cruise on the Yukon River which should be fun. After that we plan on having a Sour Toe Cocktail which involves alcohol and a real human toe… go figure.
More tomorrow if I can find internet.
I forgot to mention yesterday about the couple we met on our walking tour. They paddled to Dawson City in a canoe from a town just outside Whitehorse and it took them 8 days to complete the journey. Along the way they had a couple encounters with bears, one was a bear swimming across the river about 10 feet in front of them and the other was when they discovered that a bear was on the small island they intended to camp on for the night. Nothing like a bit of adventure to get the heart pumping.
Today was pretty slow as we have done nearly everything you can do in Dawson City. We went on a cruise on the Yukon River on an old paddle steamer which was very fast going downstream but a bit of a struggle coming back upstream which gives you an idea how fast this river runs.
After the cruise we decided to check out the "sour toe cocktail". It turns out that you buy a shot of whatever spirit you like then you take it to a table where this old guy sits, and he drops a real human toe into the shot, and you drink it. To qualify for the club the toe has to touch your lips. Pass.
Tomorrow, we take a chartered flight to Fairbanks in Alaska.
More then.
24 July 2017
We left Dawson City this morning on a chartered flight and because it was an international flight we had to go through Border Security which happened on the tarmac beside the plane. All very sketchy. Because of the permafrost in Dawson City the runway is gravel which is something very different to experience.
Landed in Fairbanks, Alaska and ferried to our hotel and assigned rooms. As soon as we were settled, we took off to have a look at downtown Fairbanks. This place is not quite the arsehole of the Earth, but you can definitely see it from here. Downtown consists of some gift shops, a couple of very seedy bars and a couple of nearly pleasant parks. The one saving grace was the community museum which was a good display and a lot of history about the 1898 gold rush into the Klondike area.
We also stumbled across the start and finish line of the Yukon Quest which is a big dog sled race. The girl looking after the display was quick to point out that it is an international race because it crosses the border into Canada before returning to the finish.
Today we head off to have a look at a gold dredge and pan for some gold. With a bit of luck, we might pick up a nugget to pay for this trip.
More then.
This morning when we woke up it was drizzling rain and cold which seemed appropriate for this place. We had a full day of tours booked and the first was to an old gold mining dredge, Dredge No 8. Before we started the tour, we were told about the Alaskan Pipeline which was running just outside the entrance to the dredge. The pipeline is responsible for approx. 70% of Alaska’s revenue. The dredges came into play early in the century when most of the gold panners gave up. The dredging recovered millions of dollars worth of gold but left a trail of destruction behind them, namely the tailings which are massive. The tour guide said that they were being considered for heritage listing…go figure. At the end of the tour, we were given a demonstration on how to pan for gold and a poke sack of dirt/gravel and a pan each. Away we went and it is not as easy as they made it appear. The Lady Tourist and I managed to find $24 worth of gold in our pans… won’t quite pay for the trip.
Next point of call was a trip on the paddle wheeler Discovery 3 on the China River. As we set sail, we were given a demonstration by a plane on floats on takeoff and landing and it was all done beside the boat. Next stop was alongside a dog mushers’ kennel and were given a demonstration on how the teams are selected and hooked up to the sled. In this case they were hooked to an ATV and as soon as each dog was put into harness they just wanted to pull. It was amazing to see how strong and eager they were. The lady giving the demonstration said that it only took a couple of months to get them to pull properly but a couple of years to get them to whoa up.
When we got back to the hotel, the lady Tourist and some of the other folks arranged for a minibus to take them to North Pole was is about 20K north of where we are staying. When you were young, and you wrote a letter to Santa Claus this is the place where your letter was sent. They have a very large Christmas shop here but unfortunately Santa has Monday and Tuesday off.
Off to Denali National Park tomorrow.
More then
27 July 2017
Well really it is USA but who cares. We made our way by bus into the Denali National Park which covers approx. 6 million acres… just a good size farm back home. Unfortunately, once you are here it is a captive market for the resort owners, and everything is noticeably more expensive.
First day here we just explored around the resort and took the shuttle bus down to the ranger station where there was a sled dog demonstration. While we were waiting for the demo to start a heap of US soldiers marched in to watch as well. Apparently, they were here to do a 26 mile march the next day. I must say that the American people a very proud of their men in uniform and there was lots of cheering etc. when the boys walked in.
From here we went to the visitor's information center which is jammed packed full of info on the park and all those things that live in it. Next day we went on a Tundra Wilderness tour which is a guided bus ride for about 62 miles into the park. The main purpose of these tours is to spot wild animals, and we were not disappointed. We covered off on all of the major critters like bear, wolf, caribou and the elusive moose. Most of the animals were a good distance off except for the grizzly bear and her 2 cubs that were right beside the bus. It was amazing. The rule when this happens is that everyone must remain silent so that everyone has a good experience but try telling that to some of the Yanks on board. The mother bear got a bit cranky and had a swipe at the door of the bus. I’m pleased they don’t know how to push buttons!!
Lady Tourist has booked a flight to the Arctic Circle for later this afternoon and unfortunately there are weight restrictions, so the Gentleman Tourist has been excluded. The photos should be good.
More tomorrow.
6 August 2017
We are now back online, and I will try to catch you up with what has been happening over the last week or so. As I mentioned previously, Charmaine went on the flight to beyond the Artic Circle and really enjoyed it. The first town they landed in was Coldfoot which could be called a one-horse town but there are no horses. From here they travelled up the only piece of sealed road to Wiseman where they met with a permanent resident of the “town”. This fellow lives here all year round with his wife and family and explained the rigors of living and surviving there. Why wouldn’t you move?? The Lady Tourist finally got home at about 12:30am and had to be up early the next morning for our train trip to Anchorage.
The train trip took approx. 8 hours and we saw some extraordinary scenery which was accompanied by some narration by our on-board guide. Fair dinkum the bludger would not shut up. We arrived at Anchorage and were then ferried to our hotel to settle in for a couple of days. We did the usual things around town - sightseeing trolley, visit to the markets etc. The markets were interesting because very thing sold there had to made in Alaska… lots of arts and crafts. The highlight of our stay was dinner at 49th Brewery which had a 45-minute wait. What else to you do when you are waiting for a table at a brewery… you guessed it, a couple of cold ones. Our table was situated on the roof (all 49 steps and the drink list had all 49 brews included… do you see a bit of a pattern developing here? The challenge here is to drink one of each of the 49 brews to win a t-shirt. I might try it next time I’m in town. Our meal here was one of the best steaks either of us had ever had… yummy.
Time for another train trip, this time to Seward to board our ship the MS Zaandam for our 7-night cruise. The ride this time was only 4 hours and once again the scenery was spectacular. Fortunately, the gibberer didn’t make this trip and was very pleasant all around.
On board the Zaandam to find our suite, all the rooms and levels look the same… this could be a problem later. The room was very spacious with a private balcony which offered tremendous views of the passing shoreline and the ocean. We signed up for the obligatory drinks package which covered every type of beverage under $15 which is not hard to do. Our first day was an at sea day and was a good opportunity to explore the ship and find out where things were. We were fortunate in the initial part of the tour to have found some playmates and we arranged to meet for dinner every night which was great. Most nights were finished off with a visit to the Crow's Nest for nightcap and we usually saw midnight come and go every night.
Our first port of call was Glacier Bay were 3 glaciers meet the ocean and they “calve” into the ocean. You have all seen this on TV but sitting in front watching it for real is another thing. It was extremely cold during our visit here because it was like sitting in the middle of an Esky.
At all of our stops we are offered optional extras but after reviewing what was on offer, we decided to conduct our own walking tours around the towns either because we had seen that stuff before or the expense of the tours.
Our next stop was Haines. From here we caught the 9:00am ferry to Skagway but because of the number of people in port the return ferry was not available to us until 4:00pm. We meet up with a couple from our tour who were from Florida and were happy to poke around the town looking at shops and having the occasional beer. We had a nice lunch at a bistro and continued our shop browsing until it was time to catch the ferry back to Haines. Unfortunately, by the time we got back most of Haines had closed for the day.
Off to Juneau, the capital of Alaska. This is the only capital that I know of where the only access to it is either by boat or seaplane, you cannot drive to it. Once again, we conducted our own tour of the town visiting the local museum and had a bit of fun in the jewelers' shops… talk about the hard sell.
Next stop was Ketchikan where we jumped on the local shuttle bus and had a look around town. After the bus ride we went back to the ship for a bite of lunch and then back out again for a look along Creek Street where we hoped the salmon might have been running. Sadly, they hadn’t started yet which was a bit of a disappointment. To make up for it there were plenty of shops along here to browse through and a lot of historical buildings that have had a very dusty past. One such place was called “Dolly’s” and is now a museum for the former red-light district.
Our final day on board is an at sea day but unfortunately it was foggy/smokey from all of the wildfires in BC. We were still able to pass the time away pleasantly and after dinner a bigger than normal group met in the Crow's Nest to say farewell.
Docked in Vancouver this morning and are now ensconced in the Rosedale Hotel for a couple of days.
More later.
Another catch up blog. Spent a couple of days in Vancouver and walked around to places we hadn’t seen last time we were here. Unfortunately, the smoke from all of the wildfires has settled over Vancouver and is not very pleasant. One of the things we noticed on our walks is the number of homeless on the streets, it really is appalling to see this, but I suppose it happens in all of the major cities.
We finally set off for Hawaii with Air Canada Rouge and I have got to say that the flight is one of the most uncomfortable I have ever been on. I would not recommend Air Canada to anyone - $25 each to book a seat online, $50 each for each bag and no leg room on the plane. Forget about receiving a meal during the flight, only if you buy one. I guess we were lucky to get a couple of drinks of water during the flight.
Aloha. We made it to Honolulu and checked in to the Outrigger Reef Hotel for a good night's sleep. This morning, we were booked on the Great Circle Tour which is a driving tour around the island of Oahu. Our guide was really good and had a great general knowledge of the cultural significance of the different places we passed. He also pointed out areas that were used to film a lot of movies from modern day ones back to “From Here to Eternity”. The tour was well worth while even though there were plenty of sales opportunities.
Off to pearl Harbour tomorrow.
More then
Today was our day to visit Pearl Harbour and visit the USS Arizona Memorial and have a tour on the USS Missouri. Once we had done the run around to all of the hotels to pick up our fellow tourists we headed off and were treated to a narration from the driver.
The security to get into the memorials is very strict and no bags of any kind are allowed on the site. Once in, we had a chance to look through the museums and get a feel for what happened in 1941. It was then our turn to go into the theatre and watch a documentary with actual footage of the attack, then board the launch to visit the Arizona. They are very strict about people stopping to take photos, everyone must keep moving into the memorial where we received a lecture from one of the volunteers who made the visit more than just numbers of people killed. He told some stories about some of the people who were killed which humanised the whole visit.
We got back just in time to go through the gift shop… they are everywhere!! Back on the bus and off to our tour on the battleship Missouri. For those who don’t know the signing of the surrender documents were signed on the deck of this ship which put an end to the bloodiest war ever with an estimated 60 to 70 million people killed.
With the formal part of the tour over we had a self-guided tour below decks which seemed to take forever. This ship is huge -. approx. 3 football fields in length. The crew’s quarters are fairly cramped but appears to be comfortable enough.
When we got back to the hotel we decided to have a bit of a walk around Waikiki. This place is like the Gold Coast but on steroids, it is very, very commercial. We bumped into the Cheesecake Factory which is on our bucket list, so we had to have a coffee and some cheesecake… I feel ill.
More tomorrow.
Yesterday we went to a luau at Paradise Cove which included demonstrations on how the islanders used to live. It included how they climbed trees for coconuts, spear throwing, how they fished and rides in their canoes. The most important part was the actual feast which was followed by the entertaining show. The show was a sample of all of dance types from all of the Polynesian islands performed by some really good dancers.
This afternoon we board the Pride of America for our cruise around the islands so this may be the last blog for about a week.
I’ll catch up when I can.
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