Our remaining day in Vancouver was a day of discovery. It was raining, and forecast to keep raining, so rather than go further afield we decided to walk into the city centre. On the way we stopped in at a pizza cafe called 911 Pizza for breakfast - not pizza, but in fact eggs, bacon, sausage, baked beans, tomato and toast, all for $9.11 including the best coffee we'd had in days.
On to the centre we walked and discovered an enormous, beautiful old building which houses the Hudson Bay department store. Tragically, this store and 78 like it have gone bankrupt and are closing in June, after 144 years in operation. In fact, the Hudson Bay Company is the oldest corporation in North America, beginning in 1670. That's the bad (and sad) news.
The good news is that what's left inside the store is reduced by 60-80 per cent and consequently Penny bought two lovely tops and a pair of Ralph Lauren shoes, for a total of A$85. Bargain. Had we been staying another day she would no doubt have returned to the store... Interestingly, as we walked through, we saw boxes of toys and other goods branded with ANKO, our own famous K-Mart brand!
Drug stores are synonymous with North America, so we weren't surprised to come across the Canadian-owned London Drugs store. In addition to pharmaceuticals and cosmetics it sells jewellery, food, socks, electrical goods, kitchenware, stationery, toys, computers, etc. and has its own photo lab and post office. That night we ate dinner downstairs in the hotel at Original Joe's, a diner-style restaurant with amazing food and the next day we boarded the Celebrity Solstice, bound for Alaska.
In the famous Gastown area of Vancouver the Steam Clock, which was installed in 1977, runs on steam from underground steam pipes, one of only a few in the world.
Departing Vancouver, bound for Alaska
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Our first port of call was Icy Strait Point on the island of Chichagof, home to the small village of Hoonah, a Tlingit community. Everything here is owned and operated by local people for the enjoyment of cruise ship passengers.
We walked from the ship to the village through picturesque forest and enjoyed a late lunch of local fish and chips at The Cookhouse Restaurant. There are several large gift and souvenir shops as well as a salmon museum, so we spent a while browsing and arrived back at the ship having walked a total of 6kms!
Pulling in to Icy Strait Point
The Celebrity Summit was also docked
Some brave tourists taking a 10 second dip at the beach
Picturesque Hoonah
Inside the salmon museum
The Cookhouse Restaurant
One of the reasons we took this cruise was to see, again, the magnificent
Hubbard Glacier. We were not disappointed. This time there was a lot more 'calving' of the ice which is a real spectacle with its accompanying loud 'thunder'. Worldwide, most glaciers are thinning and retreating, however the Hubbard has been thickening and advancing towards the Gulf of Alaska since 1895.
If this movement continues, it will close the seaward entrance of Russell Fjord and create the largest glacier-dammed lake on the North American continent. The current length of the Hubbard Glacier is 9.6kms and its height is 91 metres, which is equivalent to a 21 storey building.
Jim on our cabin balcony with Hubbard Glacier in the background
Some of the ice floes and passing the ship. They are considered to be icebergs if they are larger than 5 metres long - we did see a few of those!
Penny with our two mascots for this trip, Rachel the racoon and Weneke the wombat.
Our second port of call was Alaska's capital, Juneau. Juneau has a population of about 32,000 and has a very interesting historic centre. Originally a gold-mining town, its industries now are tourism, timber, gold, silver, lead and zinc mining, and commercial fishing. And the most unusual aspect of this capital city is that it is only accessible by plane or ship - there are no roads leading in or out of Juneau!
Approaching Juneau
The floatplane terminal
We spent a few hours wandering through the town which is packed full of gift and jewellery stores, native American wares and the odd pub, like the famous Red Dog Saloon which is just like saloons from the old westerns.
Penny with a real bear
One of many totem poles along the cruise ship dock
Our final port was Ketchikan, which in Tlingit Indian means 'Thundering Wings of an Eagle'. It is the salmon capital of the world and has the world's largest collection of standing totem poles. Unfortunately, it is also the rain capital of Alaska... Fortunately, we had visited Ketchikan some seven years ago, when we walked for kilometres in and around the town, so this time we decided to stay on board and just enjoy the views.
The view from breakfast at the stern of the ship... it got a little bumpy.
Then it was back to Vancouver and the end of our Alaska cruise. We spent the day on a bus tour around the city and drove through Stanley Park, 400 hectares of rainforest, scenic trails and cultural and historical landmarks before heading to Granville Island, a dining, entertainment and shopping precinct which has wonderful fresh food markets.
Cruising down the Inside Passage on the way back to Vancouver
Back in Waikiki and back in shorts and t-shirts for our full day tour of the island of Oahu. Our guide and driver, a born and bred Hawaiian, knew the roads and the best places to visit. Our day included visits to Kualoa's Mac Nut Farm and the famous Dole Pineapple Plantation as we worked our way up the spectacular east coast and across the north.
The Kalona Blowhole just wouldn't play ball... except when we walked away, of course.
The Kualoa Ranch and valley where, amongst other movies, Jurassic Park was filmed.
At the Kualoa Mac Farm
They're everywhere!
Turtles at Turtle Bay
Dole Pineapple Plantation
Tomorrow morning we depart beautiful Hawaii, bound for Auckland and finally home. It has been another wonderful holiday, and we leave you with one very important piece of information gleaned from our ship's naturalist.
The Caribou is also known as the Reindeer, and each December the males lose their antlers and don't grow new ones until January. So... it goes without saying that all of Santa's reindeer must have been females!
Here are some final random photos for your enjoyment!
No more struggling with shopping trolleys in supermarkets - this set of escalators has dedicated shopping trolley lanes that allow you to reach the top or bottom at the same time as your trolley.
Jim's next vehicle?
The view from our 20th floor unit balcony in Waikiki
The International Marketplace was once a wonderful market full of quirky craft and souvenir stalls but was redeveloped 10 years ago into designer shops and restaurants. But it does have a Target store!
Drinks at our favourite bar, the Beach Bar at the Moana Surfrider Hotel, the oldest hotel in Waikiki and still looking amazing
Breakfast at the Monkey Pod, named after a native tree
Outdoor areas of the Royal Hawaiian Village
One section of the interior of the Royal Hawaiian Village
The Cheesecake Factory has wonderful food for breakfast, lunch, dinner and anything in between. Oh, and they also serve cheesecake...
Nighttime on Kalakaua Avenue in Waikiki
And sunset on Waikiki Beach
