Day 14 Seattle

Slept in this morning then had breakfast atop the Seattle Hilton with its beautiful views of the city. Walked up a few blocks to the Columbia Building which is 400 feet taller than the Space Needle. Beautiful views of the entire city and were awed by the view of the majestic Mt. Rainier. Then off to Pikes Public Market, a massive waterfront market with thousands of vendors selling everything imaginable...Fresh fish, flowers, fruits, vegetables, coffee, artwork, foods from all over the world. You could spend hours if not days taking it all in. Caught the monorail to Seattle Center and went up in the Space Needle....this is the 50th anniversary of the Seattle World's Fair. More expansive views of the city and Puget Sound. To cap off this fabulous trip to the Pacific Northwest we met my Washington cousins, Mike & Cheryl Cummins and Mary Jane and Pete Swindley for a casual dinner. What a great family reunion! Off to bed for a good night's sleep because tomorrow is travel day home to the Tarheel State!

Day 13 Seattle

Took the early morning Amtrak train to Seattle arriving just in time for lunch. After that, took the "Show Me Seattle" tour to get the lay of the land. One of the highlights of this tour was a visit to the Hiram M. Crittendon Locks where boats and salmon move between sea level and lake level. Also got to see the houseboat from "Sleepless in Seattle". Dinner at Shuckers in the Fairmont... The most amazing salmon we have ever eaten...Copper River salmon. Our meal included halibut, scallops and Dungeness crab mac & cheese...unbelievable!

Day 12 Vancouver

The Island Princess docked at Canada Place, Vancouver, BC at 7 am. We had a quick and easy disembarkation and arrived at our hotel shortly after. We started our walking tour of this beautifully manicured city in the downtown and walked through the magnificent Stanley Park which has gorgeous shoreline, walking paths, biking paths, and views of the city and harbor. The weather was perfect...clear and sunny. Had lunch at the Tea Room..some had fish and chips, and others had lobster salad. Dinner was on the waterfront, casual, but very good. Turned in early...6:30 am train to Seattle tomorrow.

Day 11 At Sea

A wonderful day of eating and relaxing! The guys indulged in the dessert buffet while the girls visited the Lotus Spa for a scalp an neck massage and a facial. The final night in the dining room was a celebration of Independence Day...lots of red white and blue.

Day 10 Ketchikan

The quaint town of Ketchikan, land of totem poles and the "Salmon Capital of the World". But we had salmon yesterday, so today we went to the George Inlet Lodge and indulged in an all-you-can-eat feast of Dungeness Crab which was out of this world. Our server, Anna gave us a quick tutorial on breaking open the shells to maximize getting all the elegant crabmeat. That was topped off with a cheesecake covered with Alaskan blueberries. We then boarded a DeHavilland Beaver floatplane for a 25 minute flight-seeing tour of the Ketchikan area. Our ship sets sail tonight headed for our final stop in Vancouver, BC. We will have a day at sea tomorrow so we plan to enjoy some of the many things offered here aboard the Island Princess.

Day 9 Juneau

Juneau, the capital of Alaska, no roads in or out, you can only arrive here by boat, plane, or birth canal! Went whale watching today aboard the St. Maria...saw many humpback whales, harbor seals, bald eagles, and stellar sea lions. Grilled silver koho salmon lunch at the beautiful Orca Point Lodge, then off to the magnificent Mendenhall Glacier. Just when you think you have seen the most spectacular sight on earth, you find another equally or more unbelievable.
Gene finally saw his bear...ha ha! Formal dinner night...lobster which was delicious. If you don't see something on the menu that you want, just name it and they will fix it for you. We are getting very spoiled.