San Francisco - Alcatraz

Another early start to catch the ferry to Angel Island in San Francisco Bay. This was the first stop on the Alcatraz run. An island once used as a military base and also immigration detention centre much like Ellis Island. Today, it is much used by San Franciscans for day trips and hiking. There were lots of families picknicking and groups of kids there today...possibly school tours. We had an hour tour around the island on a trolley car...very breezy and cold. Had a bite to eat at the cafe there as no food is allowed on Alcatraz and then boarded the ferry for the trip across the water to Alcatraz Island.

The weather today was suitably cold and foggy....made the prison seem very grim. It probably would have been a little different on a lovely sunny day. Hoards of people around...apparently the most popular attraction in San Francisco.

Peter spoke briefly to an ex con who was in the gift shop signing his book...an old man now....said he is now reformed...had done time for bank robbery.

The trip back across the bay was much quicker and we caught the open top bus back to Union Square...walked to our hotel to rest up....pack...get ready for dinner...sleep...come home. Yeah!

San Francisco - exploring photos

San Francisco - exploring

Today we spent the day exploring the city using our five day open top bus tickets...coming in very handy!
First stop, Fisherman's Wharf to see if we could get tickets to Alcatraz....no luck today but we're booked for tomorrow. Wanderered around Fisherman's Wharf and Pier 39 to check out the sea lions that have taken up residence there.
Also had a look at the Musee Mechanique....full of old coin operated slot machines and games....quite interesting.
Did the obligatory scary cable car ride up and down the hills, packed in like sardines....hilarious, I thought our driver looked like Morgan Freeman perhaps moonlighting??...even talked like him...he may have been a little on the short side though.
Again hopped on the bus this arvo for a trip up to Golden Gate park...pretty Victorian wooden houses to see on the way as well as streets we hadn't yet seen..
Two more sleeps....and counting...

Photos of Yosemite

Yosemite

A long day..... we were outside our hotel waiting for our pick up at 7.15. All assembled at the Sheraton and set off at 8am for the long drive to Yosemite. It took almost 5 hours including the 30min stop for refreshments. Quite a scary ride as we got closer to to the park with the steep and winding road...I was sitting on the right side of the bus so got the worst view over the edge.
Once inside the park the views really became spectacular....huge granite rocks and waterfalls everywhere. The only way to describe the beauty of it all is to post lots of photos...judge for yourselves.
We had lunch in the shade and watched the little squirrels scamper around us begging for food. $100 fine if we did so we didn't!
After lunch we took the park open shuttle complete with park ranger for commentary around the park for nearly two hours. We definitely saw more than if we had tried to explore independantly.
On the way out of the park around 5pm we saw another black bear (this time a caramel fudge colour??) no photos but I have 25 witnesses that saw it too!
After the long drive home we arrived back in San Francisco around 9.30pm and headed out for a quick meal and a long sleep.
Oh, on the way to dinner we saw a beggar in a wheelchair and on the way back from dinner, the same man get up and push his wheelchair up the road....see miracles do happen!
A great day but I'm ready for home.

Pictures in San Francisco

Golden gate bridge and view of Alcatraz...oh and me.

San Francisco - day 1-2

Saturday.....Well after a good sleep, shower and a bit of unpacking we hit the streets of San Francisco.
Our hotel is close to Union Square so that's where we headed.....found the open top bus right there so off we went. We've paid for a five day pass which is quite handy as it gives us 5 different routes to play with.
First day we did the downtown loop which took us past Fishermen's Wharf and Pier 39. We didn't get off but just took in the views. Nice to be a bit warmer!
We had dinner in the restaurant attached to the hotel....not impressed with the service or the attitude of the staff so we left a SMALL tip. This tip business is wearing a bit thin!
Anyway, we both slept well, waking up this morning around 9.30am!!
Sunday.... more open top bus...this time over the Golden Gate bridge. We got off near Fishermen's Wharf and had fish and chips for lunch.....horrors!! what possesses them to cook chips with masses of garlic?...ugh!
This evening, we ventured into Chinatown and had the most delicious food and bottle of Californian wine. I loved Chinatown...so much to look at, loads of tacky souvenir shops, much fun!
Tomorrow we are booked to do a 13 hour tour to Yosemite Park....hope we see lots of lovely scenery.

Last day in Alaska :(

This morning we were up early to finish packing...we'd already put out the two big suitcases the night before for the crew to sort and store. An early breakfast (sighted a whale from the dining room window) and last minute instructions from Kate regarding disembarkation and we watched on deck as we sailed into Whittier.
The crew lined up to wish us farewell and we were loaded back onto the coach for the ride back to Anchorage.
As our flight was scheduled for 12.05am we had the rest of the day to look around Anchorage...a trip to the museum and dinner at the Sheraton before a taxi to the airport....tired!
I didn't sleep on the four hour flight and when we landed in San Francisco around 5.30am we just grabbed a taxi to take us to our hotel.
Miraculously, we were allowed to check in and have our room so we just fell into bed for about 6 hours sleep.....
Next post....San Franciso
PS have paid a deposit on our next Cruise West adventure!

Photos day 4

Alaska - day 4 - SW Sound...cruising

The usual day of cruising through lots of magic scenery...spending most of our time on deck gazing outwards for whales etc....we spotted the family of Orcas again and a humpback whale or two. A black bear was spotted on the shore and several of us were able to see him with the aid of binoculars but aiming the camera at such a small subject was useless...so no proof!
A bunch of harbor seals were to be seen and then we came across the fishing boats that had left Cordova the night before and we were treated to a demonstration of seine fishing (Captain ably steering our boat so as not to hinder the fishing) Won't bore anyone with the sequence of photos I took during the involved fishing technique but it sure looked like hard work.
During the afternoon we passed a colony of Steller sea lions perched on rocks and later on we reached Chenega Glacier.
Our Captain let our ship hover there for several hours as the ice gathered around us. After dinner we spent most of our time on deck, photographing and filming the glacier calve. So exciting. We didn't want to leave but alas, at midnight we started to make our way slowly out of the ice and icebergs.....so slowly, we were still taking photos of the glacier at 1.30 am...in really good light. Another magic day.

Alaska - Day 3 - Cordova

After our somewhat rough night, we arrived in the fishing village of Cordova. After breakfast some locals from the Cultural Centre came aboard to give us a presentation showing native costume and dance. The costumes were simply beautiful. We were told we could purchase items from the centre during our day there.

Rainy day unfortunately but we bravely rugged up and carrying a Cruise West umbrella we ventured up the very steep ramp at the end of the jetty to explore.

The lovely native costume pieces were priced well out of our reach. Just as well as Blair would not have been impressed if I came home with an otter skin hat. (They were so soft) I did buy a little angel dressed in native gear for my Christmas tree. $25...bargain.

A shop in the town had some beautiful clothing trimmed in braid designed by a local artist....I bought a hat...red to match my coat...so I can wear that in rainy weather when we walk girls!

We went back to the boat for bbq lunch...the salmon was delish.

Then a little more walking around town trying to dodge the heavier rain.

We sailed off again around 6pm for more exciting scenery.

Now what did we spot?

Oh yes, a family of 5 Orcas (includng baby) humpback whales, harbor porpoise, and lots of sea otters. And for bird lovers, we spotted several bald eagles.

We were warned we might be in for another rough night as we had to cross Prince William Sound again but it was smooth sailing and we slept very well.

Photos day 2

This setting out of photos is really bugging me, sorry if they are all over the place! Anyway....photos should show....cute sea otters floating on their backs..... Kate talking to us on deck.....humpback whales....Peter in front of glacier.....
Harcvard Glacier (the one I missed calving) and ice from the glacier around us.

Alaska - day 2 - College Fjord

We awoke early to lots of ice. After breakfast we ventured striaght out of deck dressed like onions.....lots of layers.
I must say that even at this early stage it was becoming obvious which passengers were there for the scenery and the experience and which ones for the food. It was not exactly pleasant on deck....raining at times and more than a bit chilly but so hard to go below. Harvard Galcier was mesmerising. It seemed that we could not take our eyes of it for a minute as we were afraid of missing any major calving.......I did!!!
I had taken so many photos, I raced to the cabin to download onto the computer to free up camera disk space when I heard them all screaming along the deck. Peter saw the major calving but missed filming it....I felt the ship move with the force of the waves the ice caused. Dammit!
Kate, our expedition leader said it was a big one! yeah yeah
Anyway, later in the morning we did spot bald eagles, harbor seals, a humpback whale, loads of the cutest sea otters and Dall's Porpoises.
In the afternoon, we had a visitor....Oyster Dave. A man who has been living mostly alone in the area farming oysters. He arrived on his dinghy to give us a talk. A hard way to make a living but he loves to live in the area.
Most of the day as per usual we spent alternating between out on deck...in the freezing cold and back to the cabin to hang up coats to dry while having a cocoa and then getting out on deck again.
Had another nice dinner.....just finished a nice steak when the boat started rocking about a bit. A lot of people had exited the dining room during dinner....the rest of us gathered in the lounge for Kate's evening lecture...this time on the Exxon Valdez disaster. Waves were by this time crashing over the bow and it started to get very hot in the lounge. I just made it back to the cabin before being seasick for the very first time in my life. Dammit!
The Captain continued at full speed for a couple more hours and then slowed for those well enough to view some Steller's sea lions on a rock.....by this time Peter had obtained some Dramamine for me and I felt a lot better.
He came to bed around 11pm and when I looked out of our window ( because we seemed to be going extremely slowly) found we were surrounded by lots of ice and fairly large icebergs from the Columbia Glacier.....magic! I slept well....no further nausea or upchucking.
End of day 2

Photos day 1

Photos of lake Spenard, Peter at breakfast with birthday card, view of Whittier and Peter on board Spirit of Columbia..

Alaska - day 1

We flew in to Anchorage and settled into our hotel, Millenium Alaskan hotel on the shores of Lake Spenard near the airport. Quaint! A multitude of animal heads and complete bodies scattered throughout the hotel including bears, moose etc. It was weird to take a walk along the lakeside at around 10.30pm after dinner in complete daylight. Peter was quite taken with all the float planes parked around the lake (the highest incidence of float planes in North America apparently) and the continual takeoffs and landings.The first flight out in the morning took off at 4am!
We slept well, reorganised the suitcases so we had mostly winter gear available in one and set off next morning for the city of Anchorage.
We had the morning to explore before we assembled in the lobby of the Sheraton with other passengers and were picked up by Cruise West coaches for the journey to Whittier and the Spirit of Columbia.
Majestic Alaskan scenery along the way, a two mile tunnel into Whittier and we arrived into the strangest little town. Overcast and raining, apparently usual weather there, we had a brief coach ride with the local head teacher of the school as our guide. Whittier was once a military base chosen during WW2 because of it's isolation (via the one way tunnel) and continual overcast weather making it difficult for the enemy (Japan) to find the fuel stores etc. The miltary side of things are now abandoned leaving some unsightly ruins and a not very attractive town.
In the meantime, our cases were spirited into our cabins by the multi tasking crew.
We boarded around 5pm and were led to our cabins to briefly unpack into the tiny space and then assembled in the dining room for the mandatory safety talk.
Dinner was most interesting! The dining room was a little small for the 75 passengers and a bit noisy but we got used to that soon enough.
Peter was surprised by the crew bringing out a birthday cake at dessert time and the whole assembly sang him Happy Birthday.
After dinner we had the opportunity to venture out on deck....suitably attired to view the passing scenery. Magnificent!
We hit the sack around midnight....still daylight.
I'll close Day 1 here and post photos separately as I keep stuffing up the positioning of them!

Seattle - in transit!

Sitting in yet another airport lounge waiting for a flight. Bored, but we have free wifi.
A three hour flight ahead and then we'll be in Alaska.
Loved Vancouver, by far the cleanest city we've ever seen. People friendly, even the taxi driver shook our hands this morning. The lovely concierge at the hotel sent us up a tray of chockies last night and her best wishes for a safe flight...how nice is that?!
Will try and blog before the cruise which starts tomorrow but if not...more in about a week.
Happy 60th birthday to Peter for tomorrow.xxx

Well a fantastic last day in Vancouver. Tour started with a quick visit to a Salmon hatchery in Capilano. We then headed off to the Capilano Supension Bridge.....scary stuff. Once across the bridge I was faced with the prospect of a return crossing. If I had to do it on my own I think I could have coped a lot better....it was all the other people making the bridge sway that was the problem.

After that it was straight on to Grouse Mountain....up to nearly the top via Gondola and then the rest of the way in a chair lift....if this doesn't cure my fear of heights, nothing will.

The views were spectacular.

I did pass on the zip line thrill and the helicopter ride though.

We did see bears....grizzlies, raised on the mountain after being orphaned and a couple of white wolves sleeping under the path of the gondola. Amazing!

Dinner out after the tour was Italian....very nice, including the Tiramisu.

Tomorrow we head off again, this time to Alaska. Out of contact for several days so an update will follow when we hit San Francisco in about a week....on the downhill run from here.

I have completely given up trying to get these photos to sit properly...too much of a challenge anyway after half a bottle of wine.

Sorry if you have to scroll too much. :)

Vancouver - day 2 - Whistler

A long day but very enjoyable. Bob, our bus driver took us up to Whistler on his new coach via the Sea to Sky highway. Not a lot of views early due to Vancouver weather starting out overcast but it cleared on the way and Whistler was fine.

I thought I saw a bear through the trees and thought I maybe was hallucinating just before we were told to keep an eye out for them....so perhaps I did.

Whistler was lovely, so clean and neat except for the hordes of young maniacs on mountain bikes. They aren't allowed to ride through the main street so push their bikes around. Up the mountain in their own dedicated bike lift to a drop off point where they madly descend over jumps and twists and turns until they may attempt a suicidal jump at the bottom. Then they start again. No idea how many times they can fit in the run in a day but they were certainly having fun and entertaining the crowd at the bottom.

We oldies made a more gentle ascent and descent of Whistler Mountain with a side trip at the top via gondola across and back to Blackcomb peak.

It was great to walk in the snow again....holding on tightly to Peter!!

Peter had to visit the Golf shop in Whistler to buy himself a top and hat (or was that me buying him a birthday present?)

The trip back to Vancouver at 4.30 ish started well on time and then 30 mins down the road, Bob had to return to Whistler to pick up 3 more passengers who had booked the return trip. So we've been to Whistler twice!

On the way back, the views were stunning, almost as good as Switzerland :) Lots of snow capped mountains and a stop off to view Shannon Falls.

We arrived back in Vancouver around 8.30 and had a quick dinner in the hotel before a good night's sleep.

Today.... The Capilano Suspension Bridge...not sure about this one, and Grouse Mountain.

One more day and then off to Anchorage tomorrow.

Vancouver...day 1

Photos, the view from hotel room, Vancouver from the bus and the Olympic Torch in the rain!

Well after a very easy 9 hour flight in daylight we arrived in Vancouver yesterday afternoon around 2.30pm. Weather overcast but fairly warm. Had a very chatty taxi driver from the airport who was a great ambassador for his city and gave us a great rundown of what to see and where to go. (he got a good tip!)

Hotel....well have I done good? Oh yeah!

Hyatt Regency.....V Posh. Even though I got a really good deal on Priceline $387.00 US for 4 nights we weren't treated any differently.The room is lovely, two double beds and a really nice bathroom. Concierge is great and has booked all our trips.
Today we did the obligatory hop on hop off bus tour....in the rain. (those coats came in handy)
Had lunch in Stanley Park served by a Kiwi who was surprised I picked her accent (said everyone thinks she is Australian). Peter now having his afternoon siesta while we wait for the rain to ease and then we hope to try for Granville Island.

Tomorrow we head off to Whistler and Saturday a trip to Capilano Suspension Bridge and Grouse Mountain.

More to follow....

Kent - last day in UK....Hever Castle

Today, Shannon made Mike sit at the computer and plan where we were to go. Rainy and miserable first thing, we jointly decided on Hever Castle as we could do inside stuff.

Programmed into the GPS (just in case) we arrived mid morning to explore. By this time the rain had stopped and although a bit wet underfoot at first, the day became quite sunny and warm.

The lady at the entrance kiosk had no sense of humour and did not agree that three almost seniors with a smallish child did not qualify for family admission.

Anyway, we happily paid up and set off first for Shannon to skip around the play area for a while and then we spent at least an hour inside the Castle. It was surprisingly interesting, even for Shannon I think. I did find the life sized models of Henry VIII and his six wives a little freaky looking though.

Shannon and Mike tried the water maze....while Peter and I looked on and laughed. Then Mike, Shannon and I passed successfully through the hedge maze while Peter waited outside...just in case!!

All good fun.

Tonight we are catching up with John Ashlea and the girls for a farewell drink and then a final Thai dinner out with Mike, Debs and Shannon.

Tomorrow morning...off to Heathrow yet again for the next stage in our adventure....Vancouver....more from there.

TTFN