Sixth Post
Not that impressed with Hawaii so far. Long walk in the heat to get the bags then a long shuttle ride to get the car. Mustang shwing signs of age 37000 MILES on the clock. Don’t know what the fuss is they are just a convertable Falcon!
Long queue to check in. Loby like Pitt Street with Japaneese families. Went to a bar and left after 15 minutes without service!
Next day went next door to Royal Hawaiian which is much nicer and reminds me of Raffles. Nice breakfast of tomato and sausage casserole topped with poached eggs! (wouln’t want that every morning)
Off to the Ala Moana shopping centre in the afternoon ten a top seafood dinner at the Royal Hawaiian.
Up early today and drove to the north shore. Shrimp Vans were fantastic. Home via Pearl Harbour.
Last day tomorrow probably more shopping.
Fifth Post
Very long day after docking at Seward at about 7am. We were the first group off the ship then on to the train to Anchorage. Arrived at the airport 4 1/2 hours later after a fsirly seen trip. Arrived in plenty of time for the flight to San Fancisco via Seattle arriving there at 11pm. After a 30 minute taxi ride to the hotel we crashed till about 10 am the next day.
San Francisco is a nice place - compact with defined neighbourhoods. Our hotel was in Union Square which is the shopping area with all the big brands and the second biggest Macys store. The hop on hop off busses were right out the front and provided a good way to see the city including a ride across the Golden Gate bridge. Also had a ride on one of the cable cars after queuing for nearly an hour! (The next day the queue was even longer).
Dinner in Chinatown the first night at a restaurant where Obama got some takeaway in 2012. Very similar to the Australian interpretetion of Chineese food. We then headed to a bar for a couple of drinks before walking back to the hotel.
Yestrday we did the final bust circuit through the Haight-Ashbury region which was where the hippies congregated in the 60’s. Later we strolled through the stores and later took a cab to “Little Italy” for dinner and then found an Itialian coffee bar with a 135 year history who served great espresso and fantastic canoli.
Early start to the airport to catch the flight to Honolulu (writing this on the plane)
Fourth Post
Screwed once again by the weather! No helicopters flying out of Juneau today. Took an alternative land based tour to a “Summer Dog Camp” which was OK in a sense that we were supporting some teams of mushers but being pulled along a trail in a 4 wheeled cart was not quite the same as being in a sled in the ice.
Had lunch in the Red Dog Saloon - chowder and crab cakes then later in the afternoon had sone king crab legs at anouther restaurant.
Slap up dinner in Le Champagne restaurant on the ship with a nice bottle of French Chardonnay which was decanted for us.
Next day in Skagway we went on the White Pass Railway which was very scenic but packed. Gave one an insight into the hardships people endured in the rush for gold in the Klondike.
Wheather cleared yesterday in Sitka with a spot of sunshine. Went on a boat to look at wildlife. Got close to otters, whales and bald eagles. After that we went to a place where they rescue orphaned bears. Seems the locals approach to bears in town is to shhot them and their cubs. So these guys are caring for them in quite a good environment but unfortunately Alaskan law prohibits returning them to the wild. There is hope that this will change. Finally we went to a rescue centre for injured raptors and got very close to a bald eagle. Once again a great example of people doing good things for the wildlife.
Today the ship cruised into Glacier Bay to the foot of the Hubbard Glacier. Bitter cold and raining. The water was full of blocks of ice from the glacier. Spending the rest of the day relaxing and packing ready to get off the boat early in the morning to get a train to Anchorage and fly to San Francisco.
Third Post
Boarded the ship without any problem - it appears easier then flying!
Nice room with en-suite and balcony. Wouldn’t want it to be any bigger. We had some cocktails then decided to eat at the Italian restaurant which was top class. Sailing to date has been smooth without a hint of sea sickness.
Last night dined in the main restaurant for “lobster night”. Very nice grilled lobsert tail washed down with a nice French white.
This morning docked at Ketchikan in drizzling rain. The Bear Adventure was cancelled due to the weather (can’t have the bears getting wet!) so took an alternate float plane flight to Misty Fijords - very scenic and was able to land near a waterfall and get out onto the floats to take pictures before returning.
Ship sailed at 1.30pm heading for Juneau. We are expecting some rough seas with 4m swells tonight so may be breaking out the Stemetil! Hope the conditions are good enough for the helicopter trip up the Mendenhall Glacier for the dog sleds.
Second Post
Now in Vancouver and sailing to Alaska tomorrow.
Lake Louise was spectacular but it was a long weekend so every c**t in Canada was there with us! Attempted to leave the hotel for an afternoon drive only to be told by a guy entering the carpark that there was a 4 mile traffic jam - so we did a quick U -turn!
Got up before dawn to photograph the lake (Ken would be impressed!) then drove to Morraine Lake and the Gondola. From the top of the Gondola we could see all the way back to Lake Louise and on the way down saw a grizzly below us. On the way to Moraine Lake we saw another bear by the roadside (see the GoPro video which is the first thumbnail of the gallery).
The Icefields Parkway was sceenic but a little dissapointing as the 30 deg heat had removed all ithe ice!
Long but uneventful drive to Jasper where we stayed in holiday camp style bungalows. Had a nice steak for dinner with a good BC Pinot.
Very long drive to Kamloops although it could have been longer. Ran into a long queue od stationary traffic so decided to go back to the previous town for a snack. The locals told us of a gravel road back way which we took and we could see the queue on the main road down in the valley stretching out for miles and not moving!
Found a fantastic pizza bar in Kamloops - kind of Subway meets pizza bar. The pizza was made to your specification and put in the wood fire ad handed to you. Took about 3 minutes to cook.
Yesterday was a shocker. Took Peter Dall’s advice to go to Vancouver via Whistler - big mistake. Very winding (although scenic) road stuck behind ignorant c**ts in RV’s the size of tourist busses who refused to pull over and let the queue pass. Also nearly got T-Boned turning infront of a car when doing a LH turn. Missed him by a paint thickness!! Bugger this driving on the wrong side!!
Got ito Vancouver at peak hour and spent an hour at least getting over the Lions’s Gate Bridge!!
Better day today. Good coffee for breakfast (look for the La Marzocca) - lunch at “Meat and Bread” - hot porchetta roll then fish & chips washed down with a nice IPA for dinner. Nightcap of Guinness and a 25yo single malt at an Irish pub.
Get on the cruise ship in the morning. The guys at the hotel handle all the baggage so it will be in our stateroom when we board.
First Post
Well finaly have a spare moment to write a few words.
The flight to LA was superb. Virgin Business Class was fantastic with superb food, wine and service - not to mention the lay flat seats! So after a few drinks, a superb meal and a Stillnox it was off to sleep and wake up an hour from landing fro breakfast.
Our driver met us as promised and took us to the hotel. He then returned and took us for a whirlwind tour of LA. We managed to see everything we wanted and after dropping us off outside the Chineese Theatre he returned to pick us up with a hamburger to share!
We were worn out when we got back to the hotel but after a snooze we set off on foot to Venice Beach for dinner.
Next day we flew to Calgary and picke up the car and drove to Banff. Yesterday we drove arround the main sites like Lake Minniewanka (Minni Wanker in Australian). Saw some Rocky Mountain Sheep but no bears as yet
Pancakes bacon and maple syrup for breakfast this morning (had to leave the fruit, potatoes and berry compote - no wonder they have a weight problem over here!)
A few more sights to see before driving to Lake Louise tomorrow,