And the winner is...the glacier!

Today was our last day before we start visiting ports. Today was also the day we sailed past the Sawyer Glacier. After breakfast at Triton's the boys and I participated in two trivia games. The first was Heroes Quotes Trivia, and the second was Villain’s Quotes Trivia. We were the winning team for the Heroes Quotes thanks to David who knows A LOT about Disney. Joe helped too, and my minimum contribution...the name of the black panther in Jungle Book was Bagheera. Regardless, our team won with the most correct answers and we wore our medals proudly. The host of both trivia games was a funny man from the U.K. named Lewis. We happened to be in a room that had large portholes and whenever someone had a whale sighting, he would stop the game and run over to look out the portholes. Lewis was as excited as everyone else. I got to see the spray from a whale's blowhole and also the back of one for a very brief moment.

After the trivia, the ship began its voyage through the Tracy Arm Fjord toward the Sawyer Glacier. It was slow and steady through a narrow passageway with rock cliffs towering over us. Some of the rock had trees growing, part of the Tongass National Forest. There were white streaks coming down the sides of the rock and on closer look, you realized they were little waterfalls. It was beautiful. At a much larger waterfall, the captain stopped the ship so everyone could enjoy the view. As we drew closer to the glacier, there were little icebergs floating in the water. Sometimes, you could see a baby seal or two on them off in the distance. The ice was mainly white with shades of blue especially closer to the waterline.

David and I spent a half hour at Cogsworth Countdown which was like the game show Minute to Win It. He was on a team while I was the cheering section. He stacked cups and slid on a magic carpet around some cones while holding a ping pong ball on a spoon. Our team was the Belle team and we tied with the Gaston team so we all got Disney fidget spinners as our prize.

We were getting close to the glacier so we went back outside to view the sights. When we reached the glacier, I was mesmerized and just kept trying to find places to stand and look at it. It was so impressive. I even saw a small “calving” where a piece of the glacier falls off into the sea. I kept going to different decks and sides of the ship as we slowly turned around to head back down the fjord.

The live show tonight was a magician, The Chipper Experience. It was a comedy/magic show that was entertaining and funny. The magician even spoke to David during the show, but he didn’t call him up on stage. I think he wanted a married couple.

After the show it was up to Deck 9 for the Freezing the Night Away party and then dinner at the Animator’s Palate again. There are three restaurants that we will rotate through while onboard. The first night was Triton’s which had Little Mermaid decor. Tomorrow we will dine at Tiana’s Place. The last two nights we have been at Animator’s Palate. 

I really like the vibe of this restaurant. It is all black and white with paintbrush pillars, and the chairs have two buttons on the back that look like the buttons on Steamboat Willie’s pants. On the walls, are screens to look like picture frames. Last night, we watched rough sketches of various characters get drawn. Tonight the frames had scenes from Frozen and the menu was Frozen related. In true Disney fashion, no detail is overlooked. I love this!

Tomorrow is our first port, Skagway. We have an early excursion, so it is off to bed in preparation for another fun adventure.

For another perspective, read my son, David's blog at Favorite Son's Spiel. 

The Fourth at Sea

 Happy 4th of July! It seems that every summer I am spending Independence Day traveling. It’s just the way my vacations work out. I am always away from home. This is the first time I have spent the holiday on a ship, though. No fireworks planned. I assumed it was because we were on a ship, but one of the cast members said it was because we were in Alaska. Not sure exactly why, but no fireworks celebration tonight. 

Both Joe and David stayed up late last night exploring the ship and going to different trivia and Karaoke activities. I on the other hand went to bed after struggling to post my blog. When I tried to log into Facebook to post a link, it required two-factor authentication which meant it sent me a text message. The problem is, my phone was not getting text messages. Later today, I received several codes from Facebook when we were in Alaska waters and close enough to a cell tower apparently. But when I came down to my computer the brief connection was gone again.

Breakfast was at Cabanas. It was the largest buffet with the most choices I have ever seen. Any American fare you can imagine was available. In addition, there was breakfast food that is more  typical of both European and Asian cultures. During breakfast the boys and I discussed a few chapters in a book we are reading called Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Failed a Generation. Typically, we discuss it during our Sunday lunches, but the past few Sundays we have been occupied with other things, so we are using the mornings on the ship to discuss a chapter or two.

Alaskan Inner Passage

A bit windy

Today’s plans included some trivia games, a nap for me, and movies. Joe watched The Little Mermaid, and David and I watched Elemental. Later on this week, Indiana Jones will be playing. It’s nice that the new releases are being shown on the ship along with many other Disney favorites. The ship is currently traveling through Alaska’s Inside Passage, so we spent some time outside on deck to see the land on either side. It was very windy, so we didn’t stay too long.

Before dinner, we went to the Golden Mickeys, a live show that celebrates Walt Disney’s legacy to animation. It was very well done with a talented cast. there was animation mixed with live performers singing and dancing on and off stage.

It's almost time for dinner at Animator’s Palate and then I am sure the boys will have other plans afterwards. We’ll see if I am up for them or not.

Setting Sail

This morning we checked out of our Airbnb and headed to Canada Place and the Port of Vancouver. We had tickets to see Flying Over Canada before our check-in time for the cruise.

Flying Over Canada, celebrating its 10 year anniversary, was created by two entrepreneurs who were inspired by Soaring Over California after a visit to Disney’s California Adventure. They actually worked with a Disney Imagineer when creating the attraction which explains why it felt very familiar. There were a few changes to the design of the seats which made it better such as no feet dangling above you and wider seats. We enjoyed spectacular views of Canada, most of which we didn’t know. I did, however, recognize Niagara Falls, Vancouver, and the Northern Lights. When we got off the ride, there was a map showing all of the different sites. 

1. Hudson Bay, Manitoba
2. Twillingate, Newfoundland
3. Iceberg Alley, Coast of Newfoundland
4. Gros Morne National Park, Newfoundland
5. Riviere Rouge, Quebec
6. Toronto, Ontario
7. Niagara Falls, Ontario
8. Muskoka, Ontario
9. Rockyford, Alberta
10. Rocky Mountains, Alberta
11. Mount Louis, Alberta
12. Mount Assiniboine Provincial Park, British Columbia
13. Bella Cool, British Columbia
14. Blue Mountain Winery, British Columbia
15. Lower Mainland, British Columbia
16. Vancouver, British Columbia
17. Tofino, British Columbia
18. Northern Lights, Northern Canada

They were each an impressive site to behold and a great finish to our time in Canada.

It was time to check in to our cruise. So we got our luggage from the car and returned the car to our Turo host. Getting on the cruise was a four-step process. 

1. Check in with your boarding pass and get a security bracelet.
2. Drop off your luggage.
3. Go through Security/Immigration
4. Wait in the Cruise Ship Terminal waiting area until your number is called.

The whole process took about an hour and then we were walking down the gangplank onto the ship. We ate lunch in the Cabana buffet, found our staterooms and explored the ship. There is a lot to see and do! Our staterooms are on Deck 1 and many things are on Decks 4 and 5 as well as 9 and 10. A colleague told me to use the stairs since there is so much eating on board. That’s a lot of climbing. I better have stronger legs by the time we finish!

Dinner was delicious, but late. We are in the second seating at 8:15 which is my bedtime, so it will be a challenge for me not to overeat so close to when I go to sleep.The boys can enjoy the nightlife, but I plan on having some sweet dreams tonight. Tomorrow is a day at sea, so we will continue to explore what the ship has to offer.

Note: Wifi is slow and expensive on this cruise, so my apologies for not having any photos. I’ll add them when I can.

Visiting Victoria

 Today was our last full day in Canada before we board the Disney Wonder for the second half of this vacation and we decided to spend on Vancouver Island.

We were up early and out the door at 6:15ish to catch the 7:00 am ferry to Vancouver Island. We barely made it in time and were put on Standby, but fortunately, there was room and we drove on to the ferry. It was a 90-minute cruise to Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island.

Our first excursion once off the ferry was Butchart Gardens. These lovely gardens were a 20-year project envisioned, designed, and nurtured by Jennie Butchart whose husband started a cement plant on the island. A limestone quarry was her backyard, and when the quarry had been depleted of its limestone, she set out to turn it into a sunken garden. Over the years, she added other gardens including a Japanese garden, an Italian garden, a rose garden, and a Meditteranean garden. The gardens have remained in the family for over 100 years with the younger generations adding their own touches such as a carousel, a children's lawn, concerts, and fireworks.

My two favorite gardens were the Sunken Garden and the Japanese Garden. The Sunken garden was gorgeous bursting with color from the many flower varieties alongside ferns and other assorted plants. I kept thinking, I would love a miniature version of this in my backyard. The view from the top looked like a beautiful quilt of color and as you walked down the stairs into the garden, you entered a magical world that transported you to another place.

After the Sunken Garden, we took a ride on the carousel which had really interesting animals to ride. I rode the giraffe, David rode an ostrich, and Joe rode a bunny. The creatures were painted with a whimsical flair and the ride was a lot of fun. Then it was a quick stroll through the fragrant Rose Garden.

The next stop was the Japanese Garden which was planted along the coastline right next to the Butchart's private dock. The Japanese Gardens were tranquil and beautiful. Although there were no flowers (traditional Japanese gardens don't normally have them), the foliage, trees, and babbling brook with little bridges were lovely. I could have sat on a bench all day and enjoyed the peaceful space.

We had an afternoon tea at the impressive Butchart residence. We sat in the breakfast room overlooking the Italian Garden. The tea had a nice assortment of savory and sweet items. We told the waitress that we were not fish eaters so she didn't bring us the albacore tuna or salmon sandwiches. But sadly, David still didn't like any of the other savory items which included quiche, sausage roll, cucumber sandwich, chicken salad sandwich, and egg salad. He commented that he wished there had been a peanut butter and jelly or cheese sandwich. Ironically, when we were finishing up, we heard the waitress tell a parent that there was a child's menu that included peanut butter and jelly! David did enjoy the Wildberry Trifle, cranberry scone, and the many little sweet desserts. My tea, called Teaberry Blend was yummy. Joe had Bachelor Button and David had the 100th Anniversary tea. This was not something either would have chosen, but I loved having afternoon tea with my sons in such a lovely place and I was stuffed when we left.

We finished up at Butchart Gardens and drove into Victoria to see Craigdarroch Castle. It isn't really a castle, but it is definitely much bigger than it looks from the outside. Four floors with an amazing history the "castle" was built as a home for Robert Dunsmuir a coal baron. Sadly, he died before it was completed in 1890, but his widow Joan Dunsmuir moved in with three of her ten children and some grandchildren. She only enjoyed the home for 18 years before she also died. Her family could not afford to keep the home, so it was auctioned off and was used as a military hospital, a college, school board offices, and a music conservatory. It fell into disrepair and was eventually deemed a National Historic Site and placed under the care of a non-profit to renovate and repair. There were 30 different areas/rooms to look at. Some had been restored to their original condition while others have been left to tell the other chapters in its history. I was so engrossed in this museum, that I lost track of time. As a result, we weren't able to see the Inner Harbor but instead raced back to the terminal to catch our 5:00 pm ferry for the ride back to Vancouver.

Tonight David and I are doing laundry and then it's off to bed. We board the ship at 12:00 pm, but we still have at least one thing to do before then, Fly Over Canada!

I keep forgetting to mention that my son, David has a blog and you can read it at Favorite Son's Spiel

Happy Canada Day!

 July 1st is Canada Day, the day that Canada celebrates joining three separate colonies into one dominion under the British North America Act of 1887. Canada was still part of the British Empire, but it had new self-governing power. Canada actually didn't become its own country until 1982. Canada Day is celebrated much like we celebrate July 4th with barbeques, picnics, parades, and fireworks.

We decided to celebrate Canada Day by going to Burnaby Village Museum. Burnaby Village was built to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the formation of the Confederation of Canada. It is designed to be a village from the 1920s. Many of the buildings were built during that time and later moved to this location. For my San Diego friends, think of it like Old Town, or for those on the east coast, it is similar to Williamsburg. There were volunteers in the various buildings to tell you more about the history and day to day living of those who lived in Burnaby. There was a McKay Barbershop and a McKay branch of the Royal Bank of Canada. Apparently, there was a street named McKay where these buildings were situated. Not sure how the street got its name. I couldn't find an answer, but perhaps someone with better research skills knows.

There was a working indoor carousel built in 1912. The line was too long so we didn't ride it, but Joe saw
some Canadian Mounties all dressed in uniform riding it. He spoke to their commanding officer about it and it sounds like this may be a tradition for the new guys. Makes sense. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police have their initiation by mounting a horse on a carousel.

Aside from visiting the various buildings and homes in Burnaby Village, we enjoyed some performances from a local native tribe, some Chinese drumming, and a very interesting art installation called The Wall Reconciliation Project. It was a wall made of ice bricks. It measured 2 meters high and 10 meters long. It was created to mark the 100-year anniversary of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1923 acknowledging past discrimination toward Chinese Canadians. According to the artists, as the ice slowly melted, it represents“hope for a brighter future and the dismantling of these discriminatory barriers,” It was really cool. No pun intended.

It was a bit crowded with many people wearing red and carrying little Canadian flags. There were different vendors along the paths selling their wares and a food truck that sold Macaroni and Cheese, David was sure to try it out. Near the end of our visit, they were handing out little mini red velvet cupcakes with vanilla frosting. I think this is a common practice to eat red velvet cupcakes on Canada Day.

After Burnaby Village, we stopped at La Belle Patate for some poutine for dinner. This was Joe's request while in Canada. Poutine is basically french fries covered with gravy and cheese curds. You can add additional toppings. I had chunks of chicken on mine. David had BBQ chicken. Joe had beef and smoked meat. (similar to pastrami). David was not impressed. I thought it was okay, but to be fair, you really have to like gravy to appreciate this dish.

On a completely different note, it is crazy what a small world it is. A teacher, Jasmine Feser, who I once worked with is in Vancouver with her family. Jasmine is the one who told me about the Museum of Clean in Pocatello, Idaho so many years ago. Also, my boss, Jennifer Cauzza, the Executive Director of JCS, will be traveling through Vancouver tomorrow. This is a popular city!

Almost time for bed. It's an early morning to catch the ferry to Victoria. As I finished up this post, David played "Oh, Canada" to send me off to sweet dreams.

O Canada! 

Our home and native land! 

True patriot love in all thy sons command. 

With glowing hearts we see thee rise, 

The True North strong and free! 

From far and wide, O Canada, 

We stand on guard for thee. 

God keep our land glorious and free! 

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee, 

O Canada, we stand on guard for thee. 

Oot and Aboot

 When it comes to my vacations and road trips, I'm a planner. I like to have an itinerary and know what we will be doing each day. But sometimes plans change and when that happens, we usually end up with something even better.

A famous and very popular suspension bridge in Vancouver crosses the Capilano River. We had originally planned to skip this attraction and go to the Lynn Canyon suspension bridge instead. Lynn Canyon is not as well known and the entrance cost is more affordable. But the website recommended that if you were going by car, to arrive early to get a parking spot. Our plans changed when we did not get up early enough to ensure that we'd find a parking space.

Capilano Suspension Bridge Park has a free shuttle from Canada Place, and we could purchase our tickets for a specific time, so we forked over the big bucks and made a new plan for the day which included going to Capilano later in the day when the crowds are typically not as bad. That left us a bit of the morning and mid-day to do something else.

Joe commented that he was surprised there was no museum in our plans. My son knows me so well! So we decided on the Maritime Museum and that was our first stop of the day. The museum is situated on one of the many points along the various waterways in the city. The view from the front of the museum is gorgeous with the city skyline off to the right, mountains and trees straight ahead and the ocean to your left. With a grassy park in front, there were people sitting and just enjoying the view.

The Maritime Museum is very proud to have the St. Roch which is the first ship to sail the Northwest Passage from west to east as well as the first ship to circumnavigate North America. We were able to climb aboard the schooner and explore the tight quarters and sections of the ship as well as read about the voyages it took through the Arctic to get to the other side of the continent. During the first voyage, the ship took two years to make it across because it was trapped in ice through two winters. The crew was dependent on the Inuit guides to help them not only navigate the passage but also survive the cold and hunger. Other interesting exhibits included the history of rum running during prohibition in both Canada and the U.S. Even the washroom (aka restroom) had placards with quotes and info about toilet use on board the ship. Only the captain had an actual toilet. The rest of the crew relieved themselves over the side. Okay, let's move along.

David is a fan of many shows that are filmed in Vancouver. So our next stop was one of those locations. Vancouver City Hall is the Central City Police Station in The Flash. It has a big statue outside the building of George Vancouver, a British explorer of the area.

It was just about time to catch the shuttle to Capilano, so we drove over to Canada Place. Canada Place is on the waterfront and includes the cruise terminal, a convention center, Fly Over Canada, a hotel, and more. We hopped on the shuttle and took the 20 minute trip into the mountains to Capilano. The main feature is the suspension bridge that spans 450 feet across the canyon where the Capilano river

is 230 feet below. After walking across the swinging bridge, my legs were wobbly and weak. On the other side of the bridge are other trails and activities like the Treetops Adventure where we climbed up a bunch stairs to the top of towering trees and then walked on much smaller suspension bridges from tree to tree. David commented it was like Disney's Redwood Creek Challenge Trail for adults. The Nature's Edge trail took us down into the canyon and the Cliffwalk was just what it sounds like. Needless to say, there were lots of stairs, but the views were beautiful.

I was exhausted when we returned to our Airbnb around 8:00 pm. I started this post but postponed finishing it until the morning. Today is Burnaby Village and celebrating Canada Day.

My son, David also writes a blog if you are interested in another perspective. You can read it at Favorite's Son Spiel

Hello Canada, hey?

Today was the first day of our Canadian/Alaskan adventure. Joe, David, and I boarded our Air Canada flight yesterday at 5:45 pm and after a three-hour flight, we were visiting our northern neighbors in Vancouver, British Columbia. But wait! I've jumped ahead a bit. 

Let's back up to October 2022 during my 60th birthday. When I was 40, I had a big birthday bash. When I turned 50, I celebrated at Disneyland with my family. So when I turned 60, a friend asked what was I planning for this big year which started me thinking about it. After some contemplation and discussion with others, I decided on a Disney Alaskan cruise. I've always wanted to go on a Disney cruise with my sons and I've also wanted to go on an Alaskan cruise so no time like the present to combine the two dreams. Disney's Alaskan cruise sets sail from Vancouver. Well, that got me thinking even more! I have never been to Canada except for the accidental trip across the border documented in a previous blog post (but we aren't going to dredge those memories up right now). So in honor of living 60 years, it seemed appropriate to extend the trip and spend some time visiting Vancouver. So here we are spending 5 days in Vancouver before we board the Disney Wonder for a week of sailing fun. It's two vacations in one!

Okay, now back to today. We are spending our time in Vancouver at an Airbnb located near downtown. Aside from the hard mattresses and the very small sofa sleeper, it's a nice little basement apartment of a very lovely Victorian home on a tree-lined street. Our host left us some snacks. One was a bag of chips. At first, I thought they were barbecue flavored, but nope, they are Ketchup flavored Lays. Haven't tried them out yet, but I saw another brand with the same flavor in the grocery store, so when in Canada, we'll do as the Canadians do.

Today's excursion was to Stanley Park. Stanley Park is a gigantic park with much to explore and do, but we spent about 90 minutes walking on the famous Seawall that circles the island. We didn't make it all the way around the 10 km loop, so we didn't see all of the sites, but we did see Siwash Rock, Prospect Point, the beaches, Lions Gate Bridge, and assorted restaurants and points of interest. Siwash Rock is a tall rock stack with a native legend about selflessness and rewards as well as a more recent memorial to a young man who dived off the rock during low tide and died. Lions Gate Bridge looks a lot like the Golden Gate Bridge except it's green. Both are suspension bridges and both bridge the entrance into a harbor. At some point, we hiked into the interior of the park to find Beaver Lake. All we found was a marsh. We were getting tired and needed to find a restroom, so we didn't pursue Beaver Lake any further. I read that sometimes people can actually see beavers, but the only interesting wildlife we saw today was plenty of Canadian geese in and out of the water.

After Stanley Park, we drove over to the False Creek area and rode the Aquabus Ferries to different points of interest on either side of the inlet. There are eight stops, but we spent time at three of them Hornby Street (where we parked), Granville Island which has a huge public market, and David Lam Park. It was fun riding the water taxis and it was a nice end to our first day of exploring Vancouver.