Day 6 and 7 End of the Voyage

On day 6 we traveled to Prince Rupert, Canada. It was really a nice little seaside port. We did not get there until 4pm and were leaving port at 10pm so Dorothy and I decided to just stay at the town, no excursion, but that does not mean we did not enjoy ourselves. We did a quick walking tour of the port area (well you know me it was really a two hour walk for several miles). We traveled through the housing area and a really wonderful community garden. There is a really fabulous park right at the port that Gavin would have enjoyed for hours, and the few for the parents is beautiful. We also passed through a little farmers market with local artists displaying there crafts.

Back at the port we decided to enjoy a nice dinner on the port so that we could easily walk back to the boat (regardless of how many margaritas should be consumed between 7pm and 10pm. We picked a bar/restaurant called Breakers with a nice deck out the back so we could sit and watch the fisherman bring in their catch. While sitting there we enjoyed 2-3 Eagles who stopped for some of the fish being cleaned on the dock. It turns out in Canada Eagles are the seagulls (scavengers) in the area. They sure are a lot more impressive then our seagulls. We even got very excited watching a sea otter running around on the dock, which a local gave us a bad time about until I explained to him that sea otters are no big deal to us but ours don't get out of the water. We had a wonderful meal and I think I may have made it through everything they had one tap. Not sure that I remember all the details but desert was the biggest piece of chocolate cake I have ever seen and I have seen a lot of chocolate cakes. Around 9:30 we stumbled back to the boat for departure.

The next day we sailed all day past Vancouver Island and Victoria on our way back to Seattle. Knowing that you are at sea all day and that you have seen every inch of the ship over the previous 7 days leaves you no choice but to spend the day doing nothing (what ever your nothing should include). For Dorothy and I it meant sleeping in late (8am was late when you get the sun coming up at 4am), going up top climbing into a lounge chair and reading a book for about 4-6 hours. I finished the book Mom sent me off with "The Last Lecture" it was very enjoyable and raised a lot of good questions, the author and I share similar life philosophies so it was a good read. I was also able to tune in the Giants game conveniently being played at 10am on the portable XM radio that I brought.

The following day we, took our time getting off the boat which docked in Seattle at 7am. Our flight home did not leave until 2pm, and the ride to the airport is just 30 minutes. We would have liked to walk around the city for a while but we had already booked and paid for the bus to the airport so around 10-11am we left for the airport. The flight home was an uneventful two hour trip. Teddy was waiting for us in San Jose, so nice to have a driving son, who can be helpful from time to time. We both missed the boys, Gavin and Revel a great deal on the trip but had a really wonderful, relaxing time for our 30th anniversary.

I highly recommend this trip, it can be as challenging or relaxing as you want to make it depending on what you do in port. For a group of people with varied abilities or interests this can be a great way to spend time together on the boat and do the excursions that match the individuals while in port. Its a great way for an extended family to travel together.