Steps to Anywhere – A Travel Journal
“Travel is fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.” – Mark Twain
This is the transition point so to make photos a little more accessible. Hopefully this note will reduce confusion at the risk of creating it instead.
Photos from the road trip west may be found under the Photo Gallery menu West Coast Road Trip 2022 item.
The sidebar will start collecting photos from the Rocky Mountaineer. These are also available in the Photo Gallery menu Rocky Mountaineer 2022 item.
Our hosts for our stay in Victoria were Brian, my cousin, and his wife Elaine. They shuttled us around the Victoria area from their home which is actually in North Saanich. As it turned out Brian’s brother Dave, obviously another cousin and his son Connor, my second cousin, spent time with us. The second part of our Vancouver Island visit was in Port Alberni and hosted by Maxine and Bud whom we first met in 1966 when Gail and I moved to Seattle as newlyweds. We have visited with each other two or three times over the subsequent 56 years but it felt like we had never been apart. After eight days, 5,000 km, motels and fast food, our hosts made it feel like we were home again and we have been able to recharge for the Rocky Mountaineer adventure and the return road trip.
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This wrap-up post is much later than I had planned it to be. During our trip north up the coast the application I use to minimize use of shipboard internet time became unusable for some reason and I simply postponed composing. Since returning I simply haven’t completed the task, but finally, here it is.
The trip back from San Francisco to Vancouver was two days of smooth sailing. We managed to dance our way back to the music of the Sun Shine Duo whom we got to know a little and learned they will be entertaining us again in December on our Christmas Hawaii cruise. We knew we were home as we passed under the Lions Gate bridge before dawn.
Our approach to finding a musical group on board is to determine which group plays music best for us to dance. The second criteria is the size and nature of the dance floor. A third criteria is how crowded the floor becomes.
On this ship there are four entertainment venues where dancing is possible. The Wheelhouse bar has a small floor typically with solo or duo entertainers. The Explorers lounge has a larger floor where they frequently locate a “party band” of four or five musicians. Club Fusion has the largest dance floor which is only rarely used for dancing, sometimes with a live band and occasionally with a DJ. These three venues have wood floors. More recently dancing has been encouraged in the ship’s Atrium often referred to as the Piazza which has a ceramic floor that is harder on the feet. On this cruise the Sun Shine Duo began performing in the Piazza and later in the Wheelhouse.
The party band and one duo played a variety of music but mostly rock and roll. We are versatile enough to dance to their music but the dance floors became overcrowded and while we enjoy dancing we do not enjoy overcrowded floors or being stepped on. The Sun Shine Duo played electronic violins, and when in the piazza tended to play more of a chamber music style. However, before dinner one evening, while entertaining in the piazza, they played a tango which Gail and I couldn’t resist. After talking with the ladies to thank them for the tango I told them that should they play “Lady in Red” we might be persuaded to dance a bolero. Later in the evening while we were listening to their music they did just that. From that time onward whenever they saw us in their audience they would play tangos or boleros for us. Fortunately for us we were almost the only couple who danced to their music whether in the Piazza or the Wheelhouse.
Toward the end of the cruise as we were sitting in the Wheelhouse enjoying the music and dancing with the Sun Shine Duo there was a gentleman with his four year old daughter. The little girl was literally fixated on the two violinists. Occasionally, she would attempt to get her father to take her onto the dance floor but her efforts ended mostly in excited bouncing around. She also found our dancing of interest and she approached us. When I asked her name she replied: “Charmaine, with a C,” and she formed a “C” with her fingers. I offered to hold her hands and let her dance but she refused until the next evening when she was able to get approval from her Mom, after that she was good to go and here is a video clip to prove it.
The return flight from Kelowna to Hamilton was relatively easy. I had my first flight on a Bombardier Q400. A smaller airplane than the 737 with two seats either side of the isle and I got to sit beside one of the turboprop engines hanging below the high wing. The Rockies were clearly visible and snow covered as we approached Calgary. As we began the second segment of the return there appeared to be a brown haze over the prairie. Otherwise, the flight was uneventful until we approached Hamilton airport and found it shrouded in fog. The pilot tried from the east and had to go around. The second try was from the west with the same result. We then took a leisurely circuit and made a third attempt, this time successful, from the west. Luggage was quickly off the plane but on the drive home I took a route to avoid most of the fog so arrival time at home was about 2 AM. Unfortunately, body was still on Pacific time. Next trip December.
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Our Monday boarding of the Emerald Princess involved more “hurry up and wait” than expected. Perhaps that’s because we followed the cruise line instructions to arrive at 12:30 for boarding. We usually arrive about 11:00 which often puts us near the front of the line. We were able to drop our luggage at the entrance to the terminal where the checked bags disappeared with a porter almost instantly. Gail and Jeff (Jennifer) sat with the carry-ons and waited for Dave and I to park his van. We made it to the parking garage easily but how to take advantage of prepaid parking remained a mystery. Dave was finally able to find an attendant and the riddle was solved. The next mystery was how to get back to where we had left Gail & Jeff. We guessed the wrong floor when we found an elevator. Asking for directions (sorry guys, I admit it) helped a little. Once reunited the four of us continued with the boarding process. The lines of passengers progressed slowly but continuously through the terminal, each stage bringing us closer to the ship.
It was a pleasant day, a little cool but bright. After finding our staterooms it was time to find something to eat. Easily done on a cruiseship. The remainder of the afternoon was consumed exploring the ship and, after luggage was delivered, unpacking.
We met Ivan, our first waiter, at dinner and he got us laughing immediately. When Gail ordered a caesar salad his questions was “would you like dead fish,” referring to the anchovies used atop a traditional version of the salad. Gail is not a “dead fish” person but Dave is. That was on Monday. Today, Wednesday, we encountered Ivan as our breakfast waiter and he was equally entertaining.
Our second dinner on the first formal evening was a visit to the Crown Grill steak house. The cover charge was a gift from our CAA travel consultant Laurie. We all enjoyed it and ate more than we should have. Gail and I were able to resist dessert, Jeff & Dave succumbed. We may find ourselves here again.
The first morning on board was beautiful. It was so sunny and warm that, after doing several laps around the deck, Gail and I spent much of the morning relaxing on the lounge chairs on the balcony. It was sun tan weather off the coast of Washington state. Our second morning was much different. We are off the California coast approaching San Francisco and the ship’s fog horn has been sounding since very early this morning. It is definitely not sun tan weather today.
And now for some pictures. Vancouver is one of the more picturesque cruise ship ports.
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