Category: TRAVEL (Page 10 of 45)

Another great dinner last night served with premium wines. During the course of the evening we were educated on the constellations by the resident astronomer, entertained by the Viking band, introduced to the ship crew, and plied with alcohol. Today is an hour longer thanks to a time change, putting four hours difference between here and home. However, all my devices now show a different time, so I’m confused – but who cares? There will be one more hour gained when we get to Hawaii, then the dreaded payback on the long flight home. Our ride has gotten a little bumpier in these Pacific waters as we head for tomorrow’s arrival in Ketchikan and the achievement of my 49th of the 50 U.S. states visited. 

It will be good to be back on U.S. soil since I am probably a wanted man in Canada. (See Post #2147). The treadmill was once again my only choice in maintaining The Streak, although it was a little more rocky in these rougher waters. There was far too much wind on the outdoor deck track that will probably only be usable when we’re not moving. The temperature is 53 degrees with a touch of fog and rain. This will probably be the norm during our time in Alaska, using Hawaii to eventually dry out and warm up. I can see the Coastal Mountains in the distance through the clouds. Outside the sliding glass doors it is cool and quite windy. It will not be like yesterday when we lunched outdoors with a whale and swam in the heated pool with blue skies overhead. 

My wife could not get into the yoga class this afternoon, so we’re limited to a wine tasting event, her bridge lesson, afternoon tea, and an astronomy lecture, “Under the Arctic Sky,” in the Explorers’ Dome, with its unique overhead presentation capabilities. We might enjoy another happy hour with the pianist accompanying the artwork of Edvard Munch on the Atrium screen. Dinner is at the Chef’s Table, followed by “Legends Of Guitar – A Tribute to the Greatest Guitarists of All Time” in the Star Theater. I’m skeptical as to how they can do all these legends justice? Regardless, drinks will be served!

Last night’s movie aboard the Viking Orion was appropriately “Call of the Wild” after highlights of the Queen’s funeral. Dinner was at The Restaurant while Manfredi’s is reserved for tonight. We got our first tastes of the Silver Spirits premium wines package in the Explorer’s Lounge as we watched the ship leave the dock from the uppermost level. We’re on our way out of Canada and will be in Alaska in two days.

It was too windy this morning to run on the Promenade Deck, so I had no choice but to use the treadmill. You can barely feel the ship moving now as it makes its way through the narrow Seymour Narrows. A large group of Dolphins performed just outside our outdoor patio deck as we were having breakfast in the room. My wife left to play bridge while I started the laundry. She’ll be back in the room soon so we can go to lunch, but I’m in no hurry as the scenery is magnificent. 

After a few trips to the buffet, we finished folding our clean clothes and went to an astronomy presentation on “The Sky Above Us.” My wife is also interested in the cooking classes and may drag me along. I’m content with just watching the Canadian shoreline pass by – mostly uninhabited by human beings and the home of the wild living in the endless, vast forests along this passageway to the Pacific. Mount Waddington (13,176 feet) is in the distance. I prefer observing nature from a distance in the air conditioned comfort of our stateroom, stepping  outside on our sunny patio on occasion or dining on the aft-deck. 

I had some issues with the internet in the transition from our Sheraton Wall hotel room to the Viking cruise ship Orion, delaying the timing of this post. We were one of the first couples on board after my run this morning discovered the dock location at Canada Place. It’s a beautiful, sunny day to start our adventure to Alaska. We had lunch along with our welcome Champaign and toured the ship that is similar in layout to the boat we took from Venice to Athens last spring. It was then exhausting to unpack our six suitcases and find room for them and their contents in our Deluxe Veranda. Fortunately, the suitcases all fit nicely under the bed and there is plenty of closet and drawer space. Our patio faces to the East so we can enjoy the sail up the Canadian coast. The nicest thing about a cruise is that you don’t have to move hotel rooms or constantly pack and unpack. 

I had a disturbing e-mail from the Canadian government once we went through customs. My mobile phone was not set up for international travel, knowing that we would only be on foreign ground for one day. It was not until we got settled in our hotel room and had access to the internet that the e-mail came through requiring me to take a mandatory Covid test at the airport as part of their random screening of visitors. Why me and why use e-mail to select their victims?

All the testing sites were at the airport, so it would not have been a problem if I had seen it before we made the long, pricy drive to the hotel by taxi. However, after already paying for the eMed tests and testing negative the day before, I did not understand the need to take another test. They naturally have their own preferred providers, so the other tests don’t apparently matter. I didn’t have a phone connection to call them, and they did not provide an e-mail link, so my responses simply bounced back from these threatening messages of fines if not administered within 24-hours of arrival. I was not about to pay to go back to the airport to get their official test when I was leaving the next morning anyway. I’m sure there’s a warrant for my arrest, or I may never be allowed back in the country. My picture is probably posted on a wanted poster as a Canadian criminal!

It will be difficult to keep up my posts in a timely manner over the next month. We’ll be in Portland, Netarts, Vancouver, or onboard a ship traveling into Alaska then bound for Hawaii. I’ll be eating and drinking my way from port-to-port, far away from neighbors, friends, and the boob tube. We’ll make new acquaintances, take in the scenery, enjoy some live entertainment, hopefully see some whales and experience the Northern Lights. Even Hawaii that I’ve visited many times will seem different when approached from the water.

We start our adventure tomorrow with a day on the plane from Tampa to Portland via Seattle. We’ll arrive late into PDX with some naps to fight the 3-hour time change. We’ll be staying with my wife’s daughter and her husband, with an early morning run followed by a drive to Netarts Bay for the night. It will be time together with two good friends, dating back to high school before I return to Portland for family get-togethers.

It will be impossible to fit in everyone I’d like to see. Saturday is another lunch with friends while my wife tours wine country with her daughter. She has friends and former co-workers to see, as well, before we fly to Vancouver on Monday, once again via Seattle. In the meantime, we have to pass a Covid test, the final obstacle in getting aboard the ship. Oh, the hoops this virus has us jump through.

This past week has been filled with joyous occasions, including my 71st birthday, the engagement of a good friend, a long overdue Santana/EWF concert, and a good report from the eye doctor on my wife’s retina concerns. We also got back to basics today with both “Matinee Monday” and “Meatless Monday.” The peanut butter sandwiches for lunch and cheese pizza for dinner were great, but the movie called “The Invitation” turned out to be a bad vampire flick. I might end the day with some more mulch stealing.

My wife has a neighborhood girls get together tomorrow, while the Borrego Boyz are getting back together for a “Leadership Luncheon” next week now that there’s a break in summer travel. I, of course, will not be available for next month’s meeting because we’ll be in Alaska/Hawaii. Nonetheless, familiarity has returned to our lives here in our resort community called Islandwalk. My son, grandson, and I went to Buffalo Wild Wings yesterday afternoon after getting back from Tampa for the annual NFL Fantasy Draft, and the grand daughters will join us for dinner at the house tomorrow night. Togetherness with family, friends, and travel have always been our primary goal in life. 

Finance discussions are on hold because of all the travel expenses we’re shelling out for the cruise and Kauai. It’s what we thought would be the final hurrah for our retirement funds with the exception of Egypt/London next year. However, when Viking was forced to cancel two legs of our Alaska excursion (Russia and then Japan), they offered a major bonus to prevent us from cancelling. It’s an opportunity for another future ocean cruise and we’re looking at Spain to Africa to South America in 2024. After that, we’ll probably have to focus on Marriott Vacation Resorts to satisfy our travel bugs as retirement savings quickly disappear. 

It all makes me think that we probably should have waited a few more years to retire, but I’m not sure I would give up what we’ve experienced these past six years. At the age of 71, my energy levels are falling as fast as my retirement funds and by seventy-five I think I’ll be ready to stick close to home. I’ll have seen all fifty states by then and covered at least Five of the Seven Continents. Australia was cancelled due to Covid and neither of us have a desire to see Antarctica. Under the circumstances, I’d be happy with Five!

Somewhere in the very back of my mind is a movie and a song “North to Alaska” by Johnny Horton, written in 1960. I was only 9-years old and his voice was very distinctive so it must have made an impression. He also did “Sink the Bismarck” another memorable ballad of my childhood. Horton actually died in an automobile accident in November of 1960 shortly after the song was released, according to my Wikipedia source. The movie starred John Wayne and Fabian. 

“Way up North (North to Alaska)
Way up North (North to Alaska)
North to Alaska, we go North, the rush is on
North to Alaska, we go North, the rush is on”

“Big Sam left Seattle in the year of ’92
With George Pratt, his partner, and brother Billy too
They crossed the Yukon River and found the Bonanza gold
Below that old white mountain, just a little South-East of Nome
Sam crossed the Majestic mountains to the valleys far below
He talked to his team of Huskies as he mushed on through the snow
With the Northern lights a-runnin’ wild in the Land of the Midnight Sun
Yes, Sam McCord was a mighty man in the year of ’91”

“Where the river is windin’, big nuggets they’re findin’
North to Alaska, go North, the rush is on”

“Way up North (North to Alaska)
Way up North (North to Alaska)
North to Alaska, we go North, the rush is on
North to Alaska, we go North, the rush is on”

“George turned to Sam with his gold in his hand
Said, “Sam, you’re lookin’ at a lonely, lonely man
I’d trade all the gold that’s buried in this land
For one small band of gold to place on sweet little Jenny’s hand
‘Cause a man needs a woman to love him all the time
Remember, Sam, a true love is so hard to find
I’d build for my Jenny, a honeymoon home
Below that old white mountain, just a little South-East of Nome”

“Where the river is windin’, big nuggets they’re findin’
North to Alaska, go north, the rush is on
North to Alaska, go north, the rush is on”

“Way up North (North to Alaska)
Way up North (North to Alaska)
Way up North (North to Alaska)
Way up North (North to Alaska)”

Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Russell Faith / Peter De Angelis / Robert P. Marcucci
North to Alaska lyrics © Mca Music Publishing, A.d.o. Universal S, Tcf Music Publishing Inc

As I was thinking about our upcoming trip to Alaska, this song came to mind – probably one of the first tributes to the 49th state that became part of the Union in 1959 along with Hawaii.  Other musical salutes included “Road to Alaska” by the Bee Gees, “Alaska and Me” by John Denver, and “Home to Alaska” by Lee Greenwood, along with movies like “Into the Wild,” “Mystery, Alaska,” “The Edge,” and “Balto.” Yes, we’re soon headed “North to Alaska.”

I am feeling really puny this morning with congestion and probably a fever. I barely made it out the door to get in a mile after coughing so much last night, thinking that maybe it was starting to break up. It’s another beautiful day here at Hilton Head, so my plan is to simply stay away from others but get some sunshine. If it’s not Covid, it’s certainly a bad cold that no one deserves to have. Breathing is difficult and my head aches. I can’t remember the last sick day that kept me home. It’s now approaching six years since I retired and nearly fourteen years of running every day, so I’ve been fortunate to stay healthy. 

It does not seem right to be feeling poorly when lounging on the beach, and I’m trying hard to not feel sorry for myself. We have no plans today in winding down this extensive road trip and will be home in a few days. We’ve been on the go for 20 some days now and it’s obviously taken a lot out of me. My computer is also acting as sluggishly as I am, as it too has a stubborn virus. It had been working fine here in Hilton Head after road woes of its own. Earlier in the trip, my work was not being saved properly, so I had to constantly restart and rewrite to share my thoughts. 

We had dinner last night at Nectar because we couldn’t find Holy Tequila. They are both part of an extensive restaurant group on the island called SERG. All of them are included in our resort credit, so it’s a difficult choice where to go each night. Two of them we ate at seven years ago. All Yall’s Bar and Grill is our only nearby lunch spot, unless you want to feast on Dippin’ Dots or Haagen Dazs – I Wouldn’t Mind!

A few days ago I thought our Alaska cruise was a  bust. We were not about to spend the big bucks for a three-week adventure that no longer included Russia or Japan as originally advertised. Russia has been off the table for several months now because of the obvious war situation, but it was only recently announced that Japan was no longer accepting cruise ships. The trip was actually a compromise to allow me to fulfill my 50-state bucket list and my wife to go to Japan. Instead, we were paying to go directly from Alaska to the Hawaiian Islands, a destination we’ve been to many times and already scheduled for December. We were prepared to cancel but they ended up giving us a deal that was too good to refuse.

As compensation, we’ll be getting a 50% credit voucher plus an on-board credit and some money back. It also shortens the trip by a few days and reduces the cost of the return flight, originally from Tokyo. We’ll have the opportunity to go on another major trip with Viking once we get back from Egypt next year. We thought that Alaska might be our last ocean cruise, but this breathes new life into our future travel plans. We won’t get to new destinations beyond Alaska on this adventure, but we will get a new perspective on Hawaii by coming in via boat rather than plane. Besides, who could possibly complain about being to Hawaii to many times?

Not having to personally make a bunch of changes on this cruise makes me happy, however I’m sure our travel agent isn’t thrilled. I guess it’s better than a  full cancellation and she’ll be able to assist us on the bonus trips that we’ll take. War, fires, Covid, weather, and other travel restrictions have been a nightmare for the industry these past few years. I’m also happy that my computer has been cooperating on these last few posts, so I haven’t been hassled with this problem the last few days either. Life is Good – Alaska or Bust!