We flew from Toronto to Vancouver, stayed in Vancouver for 3 days and then flew to Anchorage Alaska. We rented an R.V. and drove around Alaska (mostly the Kenai Peninsula) for 1 week before embarking on the Statendam for a scenic cruise back to Vancouver.
Vancouver
We started our vacation in Vancouver. As with our last visit to that city, the weather was wonderful - warm and sunny. But unlike last time, when we stayed in yuppie KitsiIano, we were in a little hotel downtown. That revealed to us a different side of Vancouver - poor and seedy.
Nevertheless, we enjoyed our visit. We saw the steam-powered clock count off the hour in historic Gastown; drooled over the produce and other fab food at the Granville Island market; and admired the fashions on Robson St. We also had an incredibly fresh sushi dinner.
We spent some time visiting Chinatown. The highlight was a visit to the garden of Dr. Sun Yat-Sen, a garden in the classical Chinese style.
Then a flight to Alaska!
Anchorage
Anchorage is the biggest city in Alaska, containing two-fifths of the state's population - 260,000 people. Our flight to Anchorage was on a (rare) clear and sunny day, so we got good views of mounts Logan and Denali, not to mention all the other mountains along the way. You could also see good mountain views right from Anchorage itself.
Our activities in Anchorage included a visit to the rather good Alaska Museum of History and Art. We also enjoyed walking around downtown - I hadn't expected the profusion of annual flowers everywhere. (Flowers do very well because of the long hours of sunlight - about 6:00 AM to 10 PM when we 're there.)
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Happy to report that the one on the left never made contact with the one on the right. |  |
This is where we pick-up our motorhome. We spent 1 week driving around the Kenai peninsula before getting on the Cruise Ship back to Vancouver.
Kenai Peninsula
Homer
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The town of Homer is best known for "The Spit." Previously the location of tall spruce, cow pastures, and an entire town, The Spit was devastated by the 1964 earthquake, and now only a sliver of gravel remains. This "sliver" contains a road bounded on both sides by innumerable fishing charters, restaurants, and tourist shops. Watching the fishers bring in their catch is somethingthose are some big halibut The rest of the town has moved inland, and seems to be an odd mix of bohemian artists (Jewel's family lives here) and fisherfolk. |
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Homer also features an excellent museum, particularly its award-winning Exxon Valdez exhibit. Weirdly, that disaster occurred on Good Friday, 1989, exactly 25 years after the massive Good Friday earthquake of 1964, also centered very close to Valdez. I'd stay away from Alaska on Good Friday, 2014. Click on Photo (left) for more info on the Exxon Valdez oil Spill |
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The Bear Story
I took this picture.. hence the shaking!! |
After leaving Homer, Alaska, we decided to drive to Kenai,
because we'd heard that it was a good place to watch for beluga whales.
We parked at the Kenai beach, supposedly a good viewing site. We packed up some lunch — trail mix, smoked salmon, apples — and walked down the beach. We decided to set up on a big log. While watching the water, we took out our food and started to eat. But we didn't see too much of interest, and at one point Jean looked down and saw really big paw prints. “Is that from a dog or a bear?” The claw marks made us suspicious, but we finally decided that, on a public beach like this, it must have been a big dog. (It should be noted here that this was a gray, windy day, so we were the only people on the beach.) Then Jean got up to stretch, and doing so, looked at what was behind the log. Fish heads. Large, salmon fish heads. Plus more large paw prints. “Umm, I don't think dogs do that, right?” So we picked up all of our food and ran back to the RV. The end. |
Seward, Alaska
This is our first of 2 visits to Seward. Seward is known for its deep water harbor and longer navigable season, which made it first choice the the Alaska Pipeline Terminal and as you will see later Cruise Ship terminal.
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Then a quick trip back to Anchorage.. so that the cruise line can bilk us for a trip to the awaiting ship in Seward. The train was nice.
Click on the 'Dam' (that's Statendam) ship to go to the Cruise Photos
| Go to page 2 of the Alaska Trip (Cruise Photos) |
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and Catherine McNair
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