Vancouver, Seattle, and Home

After an early breakfast on the morning of May 13th (Sunday), we disembarked from the cruise ship in Vancouver and boarded the bus for a tour in Stanley Park before heading to the airport in Seattle for our return flight to Salt Lake City.

Vancouver is a city with a rich and diverse culture, "a mix of Pacific Northwest outdoorsy-ness, First Nations history and art, and Chinese-Canadian and Asian-Canadian heritage."

Situated on a peninsula at the northwestern edge of downtown Vancouver, Stanley Park attracts approximately 8 million visitors each year.  Its 1,000-acre park is recognized as one of the greatest urban parks in the world.

 Vancouver, British Columbia

Here are photos we took during our visit to 
Stanley Park:

Totem Poles 

Located at Brockton Point in Stanley Park.

 

The combination of carved animals, fish, birds, 

and mythological creatures represents "First Nations" clan history.

"First Nations" is the term used for the native peoples of Canada. 

Because many of the original totems were carved as early as the 1880s, 

they have been sent to museums for preservation. 

The totems at Brockton Point today are new ones 

commissioned or loaned to the park between 1986 and 1992.

The several styles of poles represent a cross section 

of British Columbia native groups, 

including the Kwakwaka'wakw, Haida, and Nisga'a.

(Sam and Narene) 

The Totem was the British Columbia Indian's Coat of Arms.

They are unique to the North West Coast of British Columbia 

and Lower Alaska.

Statue of the poet, Robert Burns.

Tall Tree Grove

(Sam)

 

 (Narene and Sam)

* * * * * * * * * * * * 

 From Stanley Park, looking across the river toward the Vancouver skyline.

Crossing the bridge on our way to Seattle.

Our bus driver wanted to make sure we had enough time to get to the airport,

so we did not make any stops in Seattle.

The following two photos were taken from the bus

of snow-covered Mount Rainier in the far distance.

Zooming in for a better view of Mount Rainier.
Mount Rainier is the highest mountain of the Cascade Range
of the Pacific Northwest and the
highest mountain in the state of Washington.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

We boarded our Delta flight out of Seattle for Salt Lake City,

landing about 9:30 p.m.

We enjoy traveling to new places and meeting new people,

but it is always good to be back home.

Cruising to Victoria, May 7 - 11

We were disappointed to not be able to have our tour in Hilo and enjoy the scheduled Volcano National Park tour, but we could not be too sad about that when we thought about those living there losing their homes and suffering the consequences of the volcano erupting and earthquakes taking place.  

It was good the Radiance of the Seas cruise ship was able to revise their schedule and add Victoria in British Columbia to their destination after leaving Hawaii.  We had been to Victoria before when we went with Bill and Karen on an Alaska Cruise, but that visit had been in the fall with the roses in bloom and this time was in the spring when the tulips were blooming.

 The 5-day cruise from Kauai to Victoria, British Columbia

On previous cruises we have taken,

the ship travels to the next destination during the night

and docks the next morning where we disembark to

enjoy activities and have tours on land.

However, this cruise took five days to go between

Hawaii and Victoria, British Columbia.

After the first day or two, 

we were looking forward to our arrival in Victoria.

 

 Our waiter on the ship for our evening dinner meals on the 5th floor.

Each day, we went up to the 11th floor to eat breakfast and lunch

and always used the stairs instead of taking the elevator.

Lots of desserts from which to choose.

The main pool area on Deck 11

also had two whirlpools and a pool bar.

All pools were salt water.

The Solarium pool, which is an "adults only" pool,

had two whirlpools on each side

and a bar and pizzeria in the same area.

 

Bob Arno, a comedy pickpocket entertainer

and a criminologist specializing in global street crime,

provided the entertainment on the ship on May 6.

We enjoyed the entertainment on the other days of our cruise also,

but we were glad when we finally reached

Canada and docked at Victoria.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Welcome to Canada! - May 11

(Narene)

Welcome to Victoria.

After the ship docked, we went on a walking tour of Victoria.

 This is the Capitol Building, which was lighted at night. 

The Empress Hotel is one of the oldest hotels in Victoria.

It is located on Government Street facing the Inner Harbor.

Flowers in front of the Empress Hotel.

Entertainment on the street.

A display inside Out of Ireland store.

A limo in front of the Hudson's Bay store.

 The huge Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC) 

took up the whole block.

 Chinatown entrance

Horse-drawn carriage in Chinatown.

We returned to the ship for the night

and then went on shore the next morning

for a tour in Butchart Gardens. 

 

 A towel animal left by our room steward 

on our bed on the ship.

* * * * * * * * * * * *

Butchart Gardens

May 12th

 We enjoyed our visit to the Butchart Gardens.

(Narene and Sam)

Here are some of the photos we took at Butchart Gardens.

 

After our enjoyable visit in Butchart Gardens,

we returned to the ship for a late lunch

and then left the ship again for a walk to

Fisherman's Wharf.

As we were walking along, a young lady came by
on her bicycle pulling this cart.
We thought it would be fun to catch a ride with her
for the $10.00 she charged.

Our ship on the right, and a larger ship on the left.

We even watched a couple of movies on the ship.

One was about Winston Churchill, "Darkest Hour."

The other one Sam left after ten minutes of watching

"High School Musical 3."

These are some of the entertainment shows we saw on the cruise.

Greg Bonham entertained us with his

singing, trumpet playing, and personality.

Tango Buenos Aires

Another towel animal on our bed.

 

Parade of the waiters at our last evening dinner.

We shared a table for evening meals with these three couples:

Jack and Lynette Young

 

Verl and Donna Chidester

Ben and Gloria Olson

The next morning, the ship had docked at the harbor in Vancouver.

Pictures from Vancouver will be in the next blog entry.