Roadtrip to Alaska: Day 16 - Day 19

Day 16 (1/7): Vancouver, BC --> Bellingham, WA

No rain was in the forecast, so I took a long walk to Queen Elizabeth Park. It was chilly, but the air was so crisp! QE Park was one of my most vivid memories from my last visit to Vancouver 16 years ago...it offered a great view of the city.

I don't think I'd ever seen black squirrels...until now... On my way back, a couple of workers were putting up Olympic signs...
Can't wait!

Before heading back to the U.S., I thought I'd get my last bubble tea in probably a long long while!

Time to say goodbye to Vancouver!

Day 17 (1/8): Bellingham, WA... and Aboard the Ferry

It was Emily Edgren's birthday, and it was raining in Bellingham! But, rainy days make some of the coolest clouds sometimes...like today!

While waiting for the ferry, I stopped by Colophon's Cafe (recommended by Mandie) and had their signature peanut soup! It was yummy, even for someone who doesn't really like peanuts...haha!

Time to load my vehicle!

Waiting in lane 9...behind my new friend Suzanne - who beat me with her Florida license plate! :-)

After a few hours, we finally got to "load" our vehicles

I guess they had some major mechanical repair work to do, since we ended up having a 6 hr delay...glad they fixed the problems, though. It was a cold, quiet night at the harbor.

Day 18 (1/9): Aboard Malaspina

After a night of toss and turning, I woke up at sea the next morning. It was still raining, but I needed some fresh air...

Car Deck - we were only allowed on the car deck during open car deck call, which was usually twice a day...

Recliner Lounge - the sleeping area of my choice

(sorry Ash B, if you were expecting a lounge of Lazy Boys...haha) :-)

Some brave souls slept out in the Solarium... (not me! ha!)

It was raining the whole time...and the clouds in the mountains were breathtaking.

Day 19 (1/10): Ketchikan, Alaska

After being at sea for 2 days, I arrived at my new temporary home...greeted by lots and lots of rain!!!! Surprise!!! :-)

And my journey concludes here... for now!

Roadtrip to Alaska: Day 14 & Day 15

Day 14 (1/5): Seattle, WA --> Vancouver, BC

I dropped my mom off at the airport this morning, so I'm officially flying solo from now on!! I was very excited that I got to see Deadra before I left Seattle, on her birthday. She came to meet me for breakfast from Bainbridge Island! Thanks Deadra!!

Since Vancouver was not that far away from Seattle, I decided to take a detour to explore some islands in northern WA, and I'm glad I did! I think my middle name should be "Detour"! :-)

Deception Pass

Useless Bay - nothing extremely special about here, I just liked the name...
I'm a fan of reflection

Day 15 (1/6): Vancouver, BC

I got to see Cindy's family in Vancouver for the first time since elementary school! One of the biggest blessings of this trip was reconnecting with many people that I hadn't seen in a long time, and I loved it!!

The beach on UBC campus
View of downtown Vancouver from the beach

At first, I had no idea what I was paying for gas. Plus, I had to mentally convert to the metric system that I haven't used since I was a child. It was very difficult!

I love the Olympics! So I was really looking forward to seeing all the Olympic preparations in the city! BC Place - where the opening and closing ceremonies will take place

View of downtown from North Vancouver

Canadian pride, eh? :-)

I was getting excited about the Olympics just walking around...

The official clock counting down to the Olympics...

I love Vancouver!! :-)

Roadtrip to Alaska: Day 13

Day 13 (1/4): Portland, OR --> Olympia, WA --> Seattle

A rainy day in Portland is a sad day! I was hoping to be able to get out and walk around one of my favorite cities, but alas, I had to resort to driving. My poor GPS lady was so confused with all the one-way streets...it was actually quite hilarious!

View of downtown from our hotel room

The Mariott we stayed at back in the Tulane days when we came to Portland for a b-ball tournament. Brought back some memories - let's just say that it involved "stealing" of room service of some sort...and that's all I will say. Long story. ;-)

More of downtown Portland that I could only admire from the inside of my car...
On to Washington State - the Capitol in Olympia

Most of the drive in WA looked something like this...

And what am I doing taking pictures and not holding on to the wheel...?? ...yeah, yeah!

Qwest Field - home of the Seahawks...and Seattle, hidden in the rain clouds!

Fortunately, the rain stopped for a good while in the evening, so we were able to walk around...it was quite pleasant!

I had been to Seattle years ago but didn't remember much. After this visit, though, Seattle is now on my list of favorite U.S. cities as well!!

Chinatown...had to check it out!!

We found this bakery/cafe - how can one resist?!?

...especially since they had bubble tea!!!!

And of course, the Space Needle!!

That night, we stayed with John and Britt, old friends from Tulane. It had been years since I last saw them! Real quick about Britt: she was quite the sharp-shooter from downtown at Tulane - I believe she still holds the highest 3-point % today!! She was also one of the main charaters in the Portland room service theft that was mentioned previously - although she

continues to plead to the 5th... :-) Now they're both Dr. G's! Look at them...if I had psychiatric issues, I would go straight to them without reservation! ;-)