Day 20 - Seattle

Woke up around 0730, porridge for breakfast then Song's friend dropped us off in the city because he had to go to work. Song stopped to empty sand from her shoes and got crapped on by a bird. Thought that was worth mentioning. Stopped off for a coffee at the market, then walked to a shopping mall to go to a movie (The Nice Guys). It was half price for the day, and we paid just over $18 AUD for both of us. It was a chilly day, overcast again and about 10c.
We both enjoyed the movie, then walked back to the market for lunch. Song fancied (surprise) seafood so found a place overlooking the water. We shared a plate of crumbed calamari which was nice but a bit pricey at $14 USD (especially since the Aussie dollar dropped again overnight). I also had a beer, a porter.
For main Song had clams and I had fish and chips. Song said her clams were nice and fresh, my fish was nice but not brilliant, but filling. Paid the extortionate bill of around $87 AUD, way too much for what we got but we knew it was a tourist trap. Left the market and there was a Haagen Das person giving away ice cream and I immediately decided to emigrate - anywhere that hands out free chocolate ice cream is somewhere I want to live.
Went to Macys, a department store which was a nice Art Deco building, to buy a gift for Song's friends for putting us up for 3 days. Bought a vase (my idea) and a frying pan (Song's idea).
Got picked up by her friend and went back to the house.
They had 2 live crabs for dinner - to eat, not as guests - but I don't like crab so had salmon instead.
Went to the park with the kids and kicked a ball about, something I hadn't done for 20 years, and after about 10 minutes decided to retire from the ball kicking game because I was out of breath.
Off to Los Angeles tomorrow, just for one night and probably won't have time to do anything before we fly back to Melbourne.

Day 19 - Seattle

Earlyish wake up at 0730, breakfast of pancakes cooked by Song. Weather was overcast and a bit chilly, needed my jacket.
Went out driving, visited Bill Gates' neighbourhood called Medina. I wanted to ask him about my Microsoft surface but we couldn't get to his house.
Drove over the world's longest floating bridge, and up to Kerry Park viewpoint for a view over the city and bay, including the world famous space needle. Song's friends were very proud of the city, pointing out all the merits. I have to say it was nice, and seemed to have everything. When we were in Vancouver Song's friend who lived there suggested we could migrate there, and her Seattle friends suggested we migrate to Seattle. Not going to happen, we still think Melbourne is better.
We went to Chihuly Garden and Glass, an exhibition of glass sculptures by an artist called Chihuly. I was a bit indifferent, until I saw them - absolutely incredible. Do a google search and look at my photos. Huge, room-sized coloured glass pieces put together, one like a garden.
Well worth the visit.
Next door was the space needle, we went into the gift shop but didn't go up, then to a food court. We both had pulled pork rolls topped with honey mustard and bacon, which were very nice but added another couple of thousand calories to my intake.
Back to the car, then drove to Pike Place Market for a browse and bought a coffee from the first ever Starbucks, established in 1971. It was very busy, but the prices were the same as a normal one (not like Niagara Falls).
Carrying on into the market, saw the stall where the stall workers throw and catch the fish. The market was very busy and fun, a great atmosphere and almost more of a tourist destination than a place to buy food, although there was plenty of that going on.
Back home, and on the way I had the horrible realisation that this time next week I'll be back at work. Oh well, all good things come to an end, and I had been away since March 19th.
Back home, dinner cooked by Song.

Day 18 - Vancouver and the drive to Seattle

Woke up at 0830, met Song's friends in the lobby then let them go for yum cha while I went off to wander on my own - I'll be in the car with them speaking mandarin for 3 hours so wanted a bit of peace for a while.
Had a coffee, then went to the shopping mall to sit and use the internet. Australia is well behind with this; in Europe and most of Canada and the US (not the remote places but the cities at least) most cafes and restaurants have free wifi. Every starbucks has it, as well as the shopping malls which also have seats with power points. I don't know why somewhere like Chadstone doesn't have this by now.
Found a burger place called Five Guys which is a chain they also have in the UK but not Australia. I think I've put on weight this trip but can't work out why.
Watched some downloads again, wandered around and just took it easy and relaxed.
Walked around some more, mainly window shopping, it was a bit overcast but not cold, no need for a ($20) jacket.
Met the rest back at the hotel and set off for Seattle but didn't get very far because they wanted to stop for some more Chinese food. I wasn't hungry for a change so let them all eat while I watched.
Stopped off for a coffee then back in the car, I put my Mandarin cancelling earphones on and listened to some music. Just as well, they talked non stop for 3 hours.
We passed through the US border in about a minute, a car full of Chinese people and one English man failing to arouse any suspicion.
After a while we arrived in Seattle, drove past a couple of Microsoft buildings where the lights were going on and off, I think they were rebooting.
Song's friends have just finished renovating their house and insisted we stay instead of getting a hotel. They added a second floor and it was huge and very well done.
Tomorrow it's going to be raining (it rains a lot in Seattle) and we're going to a glass museum, and I want to go to the museum of flight. In case you didn't know, Seattle is home to Boeing, Microsoft and Starbucks.

Day 17 - Vancouver

Woke up early, at 0600, for the expedited disembarkation which took 10 minutes compared to the 4 hours it took to get on.
Headed to the hotel via a coffee and connected to the wifi. We'd paid $19 USD on the boat for 30 minutes of slow internet, the coffee shop was super fast and free. I managed to download 4.5 gb in about 20 minutes. Back in civilisation.
Got to the hotel but they didn't have a record of our booking so we had to wait for their reservations department to open. Free wifi again so all good. They found our details and checked in, dropped the bags off and waited for Song's friends to pick us up. Weather was pleasant, about 17c and sunny, I didn't need my $20 jacket today.
Went to Song's friends for lunch (dumplings), they all spoke mandarin so I caught up on some downloaded tv.
Some more of Song's friends arrived from Seattle, then we went for a walk in Stanley Park. What I didn't know is that it was a 10km walk around the park that took hours and by the time we got to the restaurant my feet were sore and I was not happy. Mind you, at one stage we saw our old cruise ship leaving for another journey, so took some photos.
The restaurant was very good (The Teahouse in Stanley Park if you are ever in Vancouver). I ordered some sharing plates - stuffed mushrooms, and salt and pepper squid. For main I had halibut with sauteed vegetables, baby boiled potatoes and capers, with sides of french fries and more vegetables. Song had a salad but she was on a different table so didn't take much notice. I also had a well earned beer, a honey brown lager. I also had dessert, a chocolate thing, in preparation for the hard slog back to the car. A Chinese tradition is that a guest never pays, so Song's friends picked up the cheque, and I said that if they ever come to Melbourne I'll make sure we're out of town.

Feet still sore, I was hoping there was a short cut back to the car. Luckily there was, but unluckily Song's friends got lost in their own city and couldn't find the way back to the car park. Eventually, with the help of Google maps they managed to locate the car. Went to the hotel and collapsed, legs and feet aching.
I'm having a rest tomorrow, we are driving to Seattle with Song's other friends, hopefully they know the way.

Day 16 - at sea

Woke. Breakfast. Walk. Movie. Lunch. Walk. Movie. Walk. Dinner. Walk. Movie. Sleep.

Day 15 - Ketchikan

Woke up around 0800, up to breakfast, fried again. We were back inside the passage so the water was calm, put on my $20 jacket and walked around the deck. Fishing boats were heading out and seaplanes were buzzing around. We were about to dock so watched the ship slowly sidle into the pier.
Went for a walk around the town, supposedly the rainiest (their word) town in SE Alaska but the sun was shining and it was about 16c. Popped into a few shops and found an internet cafe that had unlimited access but blocked torrents so couldn't download anything (I had my phone, could have worked around it with my laptop).
Wandered more, along a place called Creek Street, which was a load of shops and restaurants built on stilts over a creek.
There were excursions available but we didn't fancy it. There was a wildlife tour that saw bears (seen them), eagles (seen them), whales (seen them), seals (seen them) etc, so we didn't bother.
Went back to the boat for lunch, and found the table tennis table free so had a game. With Song being Chinese I expected to get hammered, but it turned out that of the 1.8 billion Chinese, Song is the only one who can't play table tennis. We went back to the town again to post some cards, but the post office was miles away so couldn't do that. I went back to the boat and Song went shopping and bought a fridge magnet. There were 2 other floatels in port so the town was busy.
Had dinner in the dining room. I had tomato soup to start, Song had prosciutto. I had steak for main, Song had salmon. I also had another stout. I had creme brulee, Song had fruit.
Went up to the front of the boat on the top deck where there was an observation lounge and watched the scenery from a comfy chair as we followed another ship out. Small tree covered islands dotted the sea, with snow capped mountains in the distance and green hills either side also covered in pine trees.
Back to the cabin to watch a movie and sleep.
Tomorrow is another all at sea day.

Day 14 - at sea and Glacier Bay

Woke up around 0800, went to get breakfast in the formal dining room but there was a big queue so went to the buffet. Today was all at sea, visiting Glacier Bay, so called because it was a bay with glaciers. The tv had a gps app that showed where the ship was and we were heading further north.
We sailed past snow covered mountains, close to the shore and soon came to the bay. The main glacier, Marjorie Glacier was at the end. We sailed through turquoise waters with lumps of ice all around, the sky was grey with a light rain but it wasn't windy or too cold. As we got closer we realised that it was huge - taller than the ship. The captain got pretty close and parked for about an hour. We stood outside (I was wearing my $20 jacket) and were close to where the front of the glacier met the sea, the front was sheer, rugged and there were vertical cracks all along it. It was bluey white with some dark lines where it had ground down the rock. There were occasional sounds like gunshots where the ice was cracking, and a couple of times splashes where bits broke off and fell into the sea. It stopped raining and the sun came out for a while.
We went back to our room and were able to see the entire front of the glacier from our room, an incredible sight. We stood on the balcony for a while then sat in the warm. Truly amazing.
Watched a movie, constantly looking outside at the views, then went for lunch in the dining room. I had chicken to start, Song had a vegetarian thingy, and for main I had Asian style burger, Song had sole. I had a butterscotch sundae for dessert, Song had cheesecake. We certainly weren't going to lose any weight. We then went for a couple of laps around the deck, I wore my $20 jacket. There were a lot more people on the deck because the sun came out again and the views were yet again stunning. We sailed past mountain ranges on either side. We thought it would be a boring day just being at sea, but we were blown away by the views again.
By now we'd explored most of the ship - the casino and all the restaurants, it was huge. There was a spa with a hydropool and sauna, 2 swimming pools (one indoor and one outdoor), each with hot tubs attached. 2 table tennis tables, a basketball court, 3 or 4 bars, a cafe, a library and several conference rooms.
We sat in the lido again and had a coffee, and I saw another whale.
Song went back to the room, I sat on the deck with a beer (Alaskan ale stout) looking at the mountains, bathed in sunlight, floating by.
Went back to the room, watched tv, and the ship picked up speed. We were heading out into the open sea to go back, and the sea started to get a bit of a swell, about 3 metres, and the boat was moving up and down a fair bit. Later on it got even worse and Song didn't feel too well so skipped dinner. It takes more than some waves to come between me and food, I had roast lamb followed by ice cream.
Went back to the room, watched another movie as the boat bobbed up and down as well as rolling a bit.
Song wasn't well.

Day 13 - Skagway

Woke up at 0700, the boat had already docked in Skagway.
Went back to the formal dining room for breakfast, I had eggs benedict, Song had a parfait and porridge. Popped down to the excursions desk and booked a scenic train ride to White Pass summit, even though the weather wasn't great - cloudy and raining - but we had to do something because we were there all day and it was a small town.
We walked into town, had a wander up and down the streets, mostly jewellery shops and souvenir places. These towns survive on tourism, and are only open 4 or 5 months a year.
Song went into a jewellery shop for about 30 minutes and bought some gold nuggets, haggling with the guy. At one stage he took off his shirt and handed it over, and brought out his first born son to offer - never haggle with a Chinese woman.
We walked a bit more, found a coffee place but it didn't have wifi, the guy said internet was very expensive and no where had free wifi in town.
It was still early, so we had another whiz around the town, past the jewellery shop Song bought her stuff from where the guy was still crying. Went into a clothes shop where I bought a fleece lined waterproof jacket for $20 USD - we'd seen them on the boat for $60 and I thought they were a bargain then, but this was ridiculous. We then went back to the boat to have lunch -  we both had salads then I had roast pork but skipped dessert. Song had sushi. We then went down to wait for the train which left from just next to the dock, I was wearing my new $20 jacket.
The trip was 3.5 hours and wound it's way by the side of the town and up the mountain, following the river and through the forest.
The train climbed over 3000 feet, high above the river, a mountain on the opposite side of the valley with several thin waterfalls. There was also a road on the Mount opposite, and the guide said it took 30 years to build.
The train was slow, but had a mountain to climb. We could see the train track high above us on the other side of the mountain, and a couple of bridges.
We climbed into the clouds, and the views were incredible. The mountain had lots of small waterfalls, there was snow dotted around and it was still raining and cold, probably around 3c. Did I mention the views? The train track was cut into the side of the mountain with a steep, long drop into the gorge. After a while I stopped taking photos to enjoy the view.
We also passed into Canada, but couldn't get off, stopped and then headed back down the mountain to the boat. We passed through cloud so couldn't see much on the way back, but I did take some photos when it did clear. Song saw another bear but I missed it.
Back to the boat, dinner and sleep.

Day 12 at sea and Juneau

Woke up at 0700 which was really 0800 because the clocks went back again. Song mentioned we're half way through the trip now, but it seems like ages ago that we were in Montreal, Kingston and Toronto. Getting ready, I looked out of the window and saw a whale - it was quite far away and small, but I saw the fin, water spout and tail. We're booked into a whale watching tour today, so hopefully we'll get closer.
The weather was very overcast, we were now off the coast of Alaska and the clouds covered the hills, very grey.
Went to breakfast, it was packed again, I had the fried one today as well as a pastry.  It's hard to resist when it's all laid out and paid for.
Went for a walk around the deck again and up and down the stairs. Our room was still being tidied so we went back upstairs and sat in the lido area looking at the views, still 3 hours until we docked. According to the weather channel it was raining but the top temperature was supposed to be 24c.
We passed along the coast, scenery very similar to Canada, hills and mountains covered in trees and some snow, and some small waterfalls.
As we approached Juneau (which is the state capital of Alaska, and not Anchorage which a lot of ignorant people think, us included) there were already 3 other cruise ships in port, so I thought the town was going to be busy.
Got off the boat into the rain, and could either walk 1.6 km into the town or pay $3 USD each to get the bus. Since we're not doing much exercise decided to walk, and it was fine.
Got into the town which was a reasonable size, and almost every shop in the main street was a jewellers. There were the inevitable souvenir shops as well. We went into a cafe mainly to use the internet and it was really stingy - a one time code that lasted for 15 minutes. I let Song use it, and we decided to get another drink later so I could use it as well. It felt like we were back in the 1990s when internet and sms messages were charged for. I had hoped to download Game of Thrones but that wasn't going to happen. I resigned myself to being without the net for the next week. At least the coffee was nice.
We sat for a while, the sun came out and it warmed up enough for us to take our jackets off, but I didn't think it would get to 24c.
Walked to the tour pick up spot, and headed off for whale watching and a glacier walk.
The glacier walk was a bit of a misnomer - we got dropped off at a bus stop and walked for 20 minutes to a beach where we could see the glacier where it met the lake and a waterfall right next to the beach. The glacier was much more impressive than the one we saw in Canada (Athabasca), we could see the blue ice, and the glacier climbed the mountain into the clouds. The waterfall fell directly onto the lake next to the beach, and a few brave people walked right up to it to take photos. We spent a few minutes there taking in the view and photos, then hiked back to the bus and onto the whale watching tour.
The weather was still cloudy, with the occasional burst of rain. The scenery from the boat was good - lots of small islands and the snow covered mountains, plus we could see the top of the glacier we visited earlier. We headed out along the coast and saw several bald eagles, and soon came across 2 hump back whales feeding next to the shore. We could see the fins, and when they blew water, but they were submerged for the most part. I asked where the harpoon was, I fancied a go, but this boat didn't have one. We carried on and found another, and this one was a bit more active and could see more of it.
Pushed on a bit further to where a couple of other boats were and saw 4 killer whales swimming along, going under water and then popping up. It was difficult to take photos because we didn't know where or when they would appear. After taking several, put the camera down and just watched them for a while. The guide said they only see the killer whales every few weeks, so we were lucky. Magnificent. There was one that was larger than the others, so I called him the Prince of Whales. Boom tish. We also saw a seal that popped up just next to the boat.
We then turned around and headed back, and I think the captain must have thought he'd left the gas on, because we were rocketing over the waves, bouncing up and down.
It was now 1900 and the cruise ship was leaving at 2130 so hopefully we'd be on board when it left. We were both excited to be going back to the boat - getting back to our room, into the warm, having dinner - it just felt really comfortable. It's like a floating hotel, or to use a word I just invented, a floatel. I think we're becoming fans of the cruise. Yes, it's full of old people, and it's not exactly cheap, but I think it's actually good value.
Got back ok and went straight to dinner. We'd previously had dinner in the Lido, which was a buffet, this time we went to the dining room which was a proper restaurant with a nice menu and waiters - don't know why we didn't go before, it was much better and included in the package (ie free). However, booze was extra but despite this I decided to have a beer,  an Alaskan Imperial red ale, brewed in the place where we were docked, and very nice it was too.
I had French onion soup to start, Song had a seafood platter. I had duck breast for main and Song had another starter, crab.
I had an Alaskan fudge sundae for dessert, Song had a passion fruit cheesecake. Phew.
Stuffed both from the food and the activity, went back to the room.
Tomorrow is a place called Skagway, where we hope to book a train trip if there are still places.

Day 11 - at sea off British Columbia

Woke up around 0800, headed off to the breakfast and it was packed. Eventually found a table and I had eggs benedict, coffee and a yogurt. Song had congee, and a fried breakfast. Not too healthy really. We went for a lap around the deck, along with a few other people, and decided to use the stairs instead of the lifts from now on otherwise we wouldn't get any exercise at all. Found the shops and the cinema, showroom and other stuff then went back to the room to relax and watch a movie.
The sea is calm, but the boat moves a fair bit - I imagined it would be quite bad in heavy seas. Our cruise is of the inside passage, it doesn't go out on the open ocean so hopefully won't experience bad weather.
Looking around, there are a lot of old people on board which we expected, but also a mix of ages.
The boat is at sea for a day and a half, getting to a place called Juneau the following day at 1300. We'd booked an excursion to go whale watching and a glacier walk.
Skipped lunch, watched movies again and went for a walk around the boat - 2 laps this time before dinner. I had a ceasar salad again, then chicken with mash potatoes and broccoli, then a fruit salad and ice cream. There's not a lot to do at sea except watch movies and eat. Tonight was one of the gala nights where one of the restaurants served a 5 course meal. The catch was that it was formal wear, and I didn't pack my tuxedo. Actually it was just jacket and tie, but I didn't pack those either.
Went back to the room, watched a movie then sleep.
Tomorrow we arrive in Alaska and I'll hopefully find an internet place.

Day 10 - Vancouver and the boat

The hotel was a bit average - clean and reasonably sized but the coffee machine didn't work (a Nespresso, it came out cold), the floor was creaky and noisy, the curtain let light in and it was on the main road so there was lots of traffic noise. Luckily we were only there for 1 night.
Woke up around 0700, packed up and went for breakfast. The weather was fabulous, sunny and about 21C, we walked for about 10 minutes and found a creperie. I had a banana and strawberry one, Song had a strawberry cheesecake one.
Song's friend picked her up, I'd decided to go off on my own because they speak mandarin and I don't, so I thought I'd explore Vancouver and meet up at the boat in the afternoon. I wandered around for a bit, Vancouver had a nice vibe, nice streets and shops, very pleasant.
Met Song at the boat check in more by accident than design, then sat in a huge hall filled with mostly old people waiting to board. We reckon the boat holds about 2000, and it takes a while to get everyone on. The boarding process was a bit of a farce. We checked in were given a coloured card with a number on, and had to wait for an hour and a half to be called. Then we had to queue up for a security check for about another hour. Then they pulled out non US and Canada passport holders and we had to wait in another line. While they whizzed past us. We finally got moving only to stand in another queue, this one for US border and customs because we were leaving Canada and entering America. We spent about 4 hours waiting or queuing, because it was the US system where they fingerprint every finger and take a photo. Considering cruise ships leave Vancouver all the time, you'd think they could organise it better. There were 3 huge ships leaving, but no prioritisation, and they were all leaving at about the same time. It was a free for all. A really bloody crap system, I don't know why they couldn't stagger the departure times.
The ship is called the Nieuw Amsterdam, and you can track it live on several web sites - www.cruisin.me, www.myshiptracking.com etc,  do a google for live ship tracking and enter the name of the boat. The shipping line is Holland America.
So, we eventually got on the boat and into our state room (every room is called a state room to make it sound special). It was basically a decent hotel room with everything you'd expect - a tv, wardrobes, 2 seater couch, small table, King size bed, bathroom etc. We also had a balcony (most of the rooms did).
After the mandatory life boat and safety briefing we went for dinner. Because the tickets cost a fair bit there are 2 restaurants on board which serve meals that are included - there were also a few that you had to pay for. We went for the buffet which was pretty good - not exactly gourmet but decent enough. It wasn't too busy and we managed to nab a window seat and both had a salad, main and dessert.
We went up on deck and had a walk, the Canadian coast passing by, snow topped mountains off the port side (that's a sea going term).
We went back to the cabin and there was a knock on the door and Bill and Ben (not their real names) were standing there telling us they were our stewards and would be looking after us and if we needed anything to let them know and it was nice to meet us and they hope we have a pleasant cruise. Which is the long way of saying "don't forget to tip us."
The ship had 11 stories, a couple of swimming pools, a showroom, several restaurants and God knows what else, but we would find out. There were also free movies on the TV and a cinema.
It also has the internet, but is $269 for the cruise, and so decided to just use free wifi in cafes when we go ashore.