Alaska and Canada Trip Review

Our trip ended a week ago and it was a week of being sick and miserable.
I finally feel human again! 
So here is a short recap of what we enjoyed the most from our trip to Canada and Alaska.

Heidi's Favorites

1.  Hubbard Glacier

2.  Banff National Park specifically Peyto Lake

3.  weather . . . it was crazier than Texas and had all 4 seasons in one day!
4.  food . . . we ate a lot!  Shockingly, I gained 0 pounds!

Colin's Favorites

1.  Gold Panning
2.  Eating
3.  Snow

It was a great trip!  We all survived after spending over 375 hours together!

Day 15: Vancouver, Canada

Hello Vancouver!  Our Alaskan Cruise is officially over.  

The end of our trip sure did not end so well.  My mom was just really sick; it seems like early signs of flu so I know she must be miserable.  The silver lining is she got sick after our last stop of the cruise at the end of our trip, but still no fun to miss out on vacation time.   We planned to spend the day in Vancouver but she was so ill she could barely walk.  I quickly booked a hotel for her to rest and relax while we would continue on with our tour.  We did self disembark which was so easy!  In fact we went from the departure lounge, through immigration, in a taxi, and to our hotel in about twenty minutes!  I was in disbelief at how quick the process took.  Thankfully, we managed to get a super early check in at the hotel around 9am.  We got my mom settled and then the three of us headed out for The Granville Island Market Tour.  I have never done a food tour so was looking forward to to trying something new.  We met our tour guide, Michael, and were off on our first food tour.  Our first stop was at Edible Canada Bistro.  It is a farm to table restaurant and just really yummy.  We had fresh hummus with roasted seasonal vegetables paired with a local white wine.  We then got an overview of our tour. 

We continued on to about a dozen other food vendors around the market with samples of course.  Here are some of our favorites . . .

The freshest honey dipped donuts that were melt in your mouth yummy!

Of course local maple syrup too . .

Cherries that were picked yesterday . . . I lost count at how many Colin ate!

Everything we tasted was amazing!  The market was a food lovers paradise but by the end of our tour the market became packed!  The weather was out of world beautiful and so many people out enjoying the sunshine.  Since we took a taxi to Granville Island we decided to take one of the Aquabus Ferry back to the hotel. 

The boats were so cute and quick too!  The best part they only held maybe 8 people so wasn't crowded at all.  We stopped back by the hotel to check on my mom and have a little nap too.  We decided to go have an early dinner before going to the airport.  It was a short walk from the hotel to the Gastown area where we found an outside table at The Flying Pig Gastown.  I had Truffled Jumbo Maccaroni and Beet and Bresaola Salad.  

By this point we were all fooded out and just at that point we were ready to be home!  A quick stop to see the Gastown steam clock . . .

I knew my mom had to be hungry so grabbed her some soup before heading back to the hotel.  We packed up our stuff and it was off to the airport for the red eye flight home to Texas.

Day 14: Inside Passage

It is a sea day and heading back down the Inside Passage.   So another lazy day around the boat.  I woke up and found my parents in the coffee shop so joined them.  My mom and I headed out to listen to a talk from the Future Cruise group about a cruise to a place that has been on my dream list forever, Galapagos Islands.  It was a day of a lot of scenic views from the balcony.

We all met up for lunch.  Sometimes you just eat odd combinations of food because they both sound good but really don’t go together at all . . .  

The rest of my day went something like this . . .

nap

TV

balcony

snack

repeat like it is Groundhog Day!  Again, I made my own snack today . . .

It was the last night of the cruise and we had been looking forward to dinner all week since it was lobster night!

I had 3 lobster tails while Colin had 6!  SIX . . . I told him that was enough because he was going to be sick.  He was not happy with me!  Then there was dessert . . .

I sure am going to miss these views . . . last night on the balcony!

I should have kept count on the number of Amaretto Sours I drank this week . . . well maybe not but we found Igor from Ukraine that made the best one!

Wildlife Today:  a lot Dall’s porpoise which sort of look like small orcas 

Have you ever wondered what happens if you get sick on a cruise?  Well, we now know first hand.  My mom left dinner last night not feeling well and woke up feeling even worse.  She decided to visit the Medical Office which had very limited hours.  She arrived a few minutes before it opened and there was a two hour wait to see the doctor.  She asked the nurse for some over the counter medicine and was on her way.  They do not take any insurance and bill your onboard account.  I think it cost her around $20 for some cough syrup and pills.  I wonder what it would cost to actually see the doctor?  So she basically stayed in bed the entire day . . . and to make matters even worse the air conditioner in their cabin went out twice!  It was like a sauna in their room which doesn’t help if you are already sick.

Day 13: Ketchikan, Alaska

Today is our final port of call with a few hours in Ketchikan, Alaska

We arrived early afternoon so decided to have an early lunch together as we entered into Ketchikan.  Apparently our boat arrived early so we had to sit and wait for one of the other three ships to leave before our boat could park.  The weather is just amazing! 

We finally were able to get off the boat to join our excursion for a hike in Tongass National Forest.  The forest is over 17 million acres!  I had read that it rains almost daily in Ketchikan so the blue skies and sunshine were unexpected but very welcoming! 

A sign that a bear has been here since there is bear scat on the trail!

The white things are called bear bread . . . yes, the bears eat it!

Our hike was over, and we were dropped off back in town.  It was a really fast excursion and one we could have so done on our own so I was a bit disappointed.  You can’t come to Alaska without having some crab legs!  We made the short walk to The Dirty Dungee . . .

It was back on board for our afternoon snack . . .

. . . we stopped by the bar for a drink, and I am starting to see a pattern with the snacks. 

It was another amazing view from the balcony before calling it a day . . .

Day 12: Juneau, Alaska

A new day and a new stop . . . Juneau, Alaska!

We are in port for about twelve hours so I decided to rent a car and be our own tour guide!  It was about a mile walk to the rental car place which is farther than I expected.  As we were walking up to the rental place, I made a comment about this super tiny baby blue car . . . well . . .

It was ours!  I laughed!  I have never seen a car so small.  We only needed it for a few hours so I booked the cheapest car possible but never expected it to be so small.  We managed to all fit and were off.  We had a real map too but somehow ended up on the wrong street.  We got back on track and arrived at our first stop, Mendenhall Glacier.  We did a quick stop at the Visitor Center with a viewing of the movie.  I always like to view the movie before exploring a new area.  The weather was okay with it looking as if the bottom could fall out with a lot of rain at any moment.  We headed out on Nugget Falls Trail.  The waterfall is beautiful . . .

 . . . and look left and see Mendenhall Glacier!

 

It was an easy walk, and we were front and center of the Falls and Glacier! 

Nugget Falls seemed so big up close compared to Mendenhall Glacier but when went on the Photo Point Trail you step back and the glacier is way bigger . . . look at the tiny waterfall!

I am certain he was up to no good!

Loved the random chunks of ice . . . 

We headed back to the car to figure out our next stop.  Food!  Since we are sort of off the beaten path, we decided to grab lunch.  The rental car lady suggested this local dive joint called Sandbar & Grill which had some really, really good Halibut Fish and Chips!

I had never had halibut and it was really good!  Juneau is another town that is limited in the road system so we decided to just drive to the end of the road.  We made a stop at Eagle Beach State Recreation Area . . .

The wildflowers are starting to bloom and so pretty!

No eagles and the rain really started to pour so we headed back to the car.  We made a stop at Shrine of St Therese . . .

Macaulay Salmon Hatchery . . . 

. . . we were too early in the season and the salmon had not started spawning yet.  They did have thousands maybe millions of tiny salmon in tanks inside that will be released in the future.  The weather was not so great so we topped the car off with gas and headed back downtown.  I dropped my parents off  near the ship while Colin and I returned the rental car.  Before we got back on board the ship we stopped for a snack at Peterson’s Pretzels . . .

. . . it was the best jalapeno pretzel!  We headed to our cabin to change into some dry clothes.  The snack today was okay; 3 of the 4 were good but the 4th had been sitting so was afraid to give it a try as it looked to have raw fish. 

We linked up with my parents and had yet another afternoon drink . . . I have had way too many this trip but why not?