Photosets located here...

http://www.flickr.com/photos/31922387@N00/sets/
All the photos from Canada and Alaska mentioned in the blog are located at http://www.flickr.com/photos/31922387@N00/sets/ - not in order, though. Just click on this link (in righthand column) if you don't want to be bored with reading the blog...

Seattle - Time to Leave the Ship - May 7

May 6, a day at sea, really didn't happen. Barb got sick and quarantined to the cabin. Don't ask...but she was much better after meds and a good night's sleep. The REALLY good thing that happened was we got escorted off the ship FIRST at about 7:30 a.m. in Seattle. Then, instead of a tour bus with 60 other people to the airport, we got a complimentary taxi ride. No rush, no waiting, no hassle. (That's not our ship in the photo...I'm good, but I still haven't learned how to levitate.

Except for Barb getting sick, it was a pretty good 2 weeks. One thing I have not mentioned is the number of oriental tourists we encountered. Thousands of them, and most of them RUDE. In Banff it was mostly Koreans. They would jump off the tour busses and begin snapping pictures of anything in sight. They would push their way past us, walk directly into us, never even attempted to step out of the way.

On the ship it was mostly Chinese and a few Japanese. Same story. No curtesy, no effort to share the walkway, just RUDE. What was really interesting was how nobody spoke English...until they needed something. I became completely disorientaled on this trip.

We're home now and I hope you've enjoyed the photos. Until next time...adios and adieu.  

Ketchikan, Alaska - May 5, 2005

On May 5 we awakened to a less than glorious sunrise and, shortly thereafter, pulled into Ketchikan, Alaska (Tlingit for "Sure..., your money's good here"). No, really, google it. Considering this is the 2^nd wettest city in the United States, the weather was wonderful. Partly cloudy, cool, and perfect for a self-guided tour of the town.

We had hoped to see some of the American Eagle population, but only saw one as it soared near the waterfront. Bad luck, but still, it's pretty cool to see an eagle circling overhead.

Totem poles are everywhere. It appears to be a minor industry in the town, I am just not sure who they sell them to. They do have a "Totem Museum" that boasts the largest collection of ancient totems in the world. Don't expect much, though. The paint and most of the detail is long gone. The curator, however, give very lively and detailed descriptions of the symbols. Almost worth the admission price.

The colorful old houses on Creek Street include Dolly's Whore House (sorry, the working girls are long gone, so, if you want to get screwed you'll have to visit one of the many jewelry shops downtown). Dolly's is the lime green house with a red awning in one of the photos.

Just down the street from Dolly's, Barb pretended to wrestle a bear.

I guess, basically, Ketchikan is just a place, ideally located for the tour ships to bring tourists. I have a feeling that there is a lot to do if you have a day or three. Fishing, hiking, exploring all take more than an eight hour layover.

Oh, Ketchikan was the first time we had a change to get a good look at the Diamond Princess, so I took too many pictures of it. Basically, it a big boat, a really big boat.

Check out the photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/31922387@N00/sets/316866/

 

We're home. It's late Saturday night, so no photos will be posted, today. Too tired from travel to "blog" much, tonight, so check again later for picts from Katchikan and on board the ship. Thanks to all who have written. This has been fun. 

Fun with fruit

As the sun rose, this morning, we found ourselves within the Seymor Narrows. The sunrise was pretty, but not spectacular. It’s been a quiet and pleasant day at sea. Barb decided to take a ship’s tour, and watch a demonstration of fruit and vegetable carving (hence the photos of humiliated fruits and vegetables). We later joined forces for a trivia contest, and finished a dismal “middle of the pack.”

Tonight (May 4) we get to play “dress up” for the “formal” evening of events. Barb is WAY more excited about this than me, but I figure if I play along, the cruise will continue to be enjoyable. If not…well, I don’t want to think about it. Photos of the dressed up (not tux dressed up, so don’t get too excited) Johnsons will appear later…maybe.

The sunrise, ship, and “Fun with Fruit” photos can be found at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/31922387@N00/12393664/
 

Away we goooooo!

What can I say… 30th wedding anniversary, Vancouver, Cruise to Alaska…whoa! Feels pretty incredible. This morning we decided to visit Queen Elizabeth Park and have a walk around its garden. As with nearly every other garden we’ve visited, this one was incredible. As we walked about and took pictures, I kept thinking to myself, “I can’t believe this is a CITY park. I hope you enjoy the photos.

After we left QE Park, we drove to the University of British Columbia to have a brief visit at the gardens, there. We were quite rushed as the hour was getting late, and we needed to head to the cruise port, so we couldn’t really appreciate all it had to offer. It is not a dramatic, colorful garden, rather a garden of unusual and exotic species of plants from all over the world.

Finally, we returned the rental car (yeah…no more driving) and headed to the cruise port. Man! What a mess. We arrived at about 2:30 p.m. and finally got through the security check point at about 3:30 only to be confronted with the same long wait as we went through US immigration. Bottom line, we finally boarded the ship at about 4:30.

The suite (yes…SUITE) is incredible!! Large, roomy, and a full size (about 8 ft. x 12 ft.) balcony directly in the center of the rear of the ship. When the ship got underway, it afforded a great view of the exit from Vancouver, plus (and this is big), no wind. We broke open the wine, toasted 30 years together, and sailed off into the sunset.

Go to http://www.flickr.com/photos/31922387@N00/sets/301183/ for the photos. More later…
 

From the Diamond Princess

Hi,gang. Still trying to get graphic access, will attempt an "at sea" post, later today. It's a beautiful morning somewhere in the Inward Passage.

One final note before getting on the ship to Alaska....according to the cruiseline, Internet access will cost $10.50/half hour. This means that this may be my last note until we get home on Saturday night (don't count on a Blog on Saturday). If we get any "can't wait to share" images, I will get online and make a post from the ship. Soooo, I hope I have not bored anyone too much with all the picts. Please let me know what you think. Until next time... 

All the grey and dismal photos from today's jaunt can be found here: http://flickr.com/photos/31922387@N00/sets/295093/  

We awoke to a rainy but mild day (about 70 degrees) and drove about 75 miles North to Whistler. Rai...precipitation and road construction really slowed us down, but we eventually got there. Stayed just long enough for some local scenic info and a cup of coffee and were off and running to the water fall you see in this photo (Nairn Falls Provencial Park). 

One more before bedtime. We had a major marathon in Vancouver, this morning. I went downstairs at about 7:30 and throngs of runners were passing in front of the hotel (yep, that's the hotel reflected in the building across the street). About 2 hours later, they were still at it. Huge event. I should complain that I couldn't make it across the street when the runners were trying for 26 miles (about 42 kilometers, I think). Sheesh, gasoline is 1.05/liter, distance is measured in kilometers, temperature is in Celsius, I'm actually beginning to think in metric. I digress, you can view some of the pictures here: http://flickr.com/photos/31922387@N00/sets/291580/ ...Most of the buildings here are glass and steel, a very few are remnants from the concrete, brick and mortar era. We found one of them. After dinner, we looked up at a building on the way back to the hotel and saw...gargoyles (sorry 'bout the spelling). Will try to get photos, tomorrow. 

Here's the 2nd set from Butchart Gardens. Go to: http://www.flickr.com/photos/31922387@N00/sets/291468/ ...not sure if I will have Internet access again. If not, see you next week. If access is really available on the ship, move Blog will be forthcoming. 

Go here: http://flickr.com/photos/31922387@N00/sets/290662/ and select "View as slideshow" for the first part of the Butchart Gardens extravaganza. 

Booooo to the Marriot in Vancouver. They are asking $15.00/day for high speed internet (Victoria Marriott was free). So I'm way, way behind in the blogs, because I'm using dial-up (how Neanderthal). Anyway, I'm trying to get some photos downloaded. Stay tuned. 

Forgot to mention, the Tulips are in full bloom! 

Oh, man, what a day. Went to Butchart Gardens and just could not believe how beautiful the place is. It's been a pretty tiring day (we took well over 150 photos) so I'll hold off on publishing the slideshow until Saturday or Sunday. This photo is a shot of the "Sunken Garden."