The Inside Passage and Ketchikan – Watch Out for Bears

Joshua David explained to us how to behave around bears.

The morning after we left Vancouver aboard Holland America’s ms Zaandam, we began to experience cloudy weather as we headed northward through the Inside Passage. We had a full day of cruising ahead of us, and it was glorious to go out on the balcony of my stateroom and just take it all in. Nothing too exciting about the scenery along the way, but it was just great to be on board and on the way to Ketchikan, Alaska. We had sailed under the Lion’s Gate Bridge at Vancouver the previous afternoon, watching as the Vancouver skyline receded slowly in the distance behind us. The Inside ... [Read More]

Whidbey Island

You can see across the water to Port Townsend from the cliffs above the beach at Fort Casey.

It's rather remarkable that I can visit Whidbey Island (in Puget Sound north of Seattle) and be more excited about the remainder of my trip than the time on Whidbey. That's because an Alaskan cruise is going to follow my time on Whidbey. The Whidbey/Puget Sound area reminds me of New Zealand. It's beautiful, with rugged beaches and islands full of hills, and lush forests of towering firs and cedars. The weather is subject to change without notice, but generally is sunny and pleasant around half the year. The other part of the year? Great if you like rain and gloom. That's probably what keeps the population ... [Read More]

Day 1: Vancouver Northbound, August 2012

  Our little group of three assembled with other intrepid cruise travelers at the Seattle airport to begin our Alaskan cruise odyssey: It would be 10 days up the Inside Passage to Seward (near Anchorage), a road trip to Denali National Park and then a flight via Anchorage back to Seattle. The much-anticipated trip was finally about to begin, albeit in a bus to Vancouver where we would catch up with Holland America’s ms Zandam. My daughter, Piper; her friend, John; and I were off to see the wilderness of Alaska. My previous trip to Alaska was in the early 60s as copilot of my family’s Aero ... [Read More]

Florida to Washington – The Covered Wagons Had It Easy

Here at last, here at last: “Here” is Langley, Whidbey Island, WA, just off the coast of Seattle. I had left Central Florida, thinking only that it would be wonderful to escape the 105-degree heat index and have a relaxing vacation to visit my daughter and go on a cruise to Alaska. I just needed to make it to Seattle in time to catch the last airport shuttle that would catch the car ferry over to Whidbey. Miss that one, and it would mean overnight in Seattle. Still, what could be simpler than that? Well… lots. I left our farm south of Gainesville and arrived at ... [Read More]

A Visit to History

“Ruins of Pompeii.” That was all I needed to see. The list of tours available to Princess Cruises passengers included lots of fascinating destinations, but there was only one that jumped off the page for me. It was June 6, 2010, day five of our Mediterranean cruise odyssey, and I was going to the magical, mystical, legendary Pompeii. No matter that the early summer heat would be stifling. No matter that I wasn’t totally comfortable with my new hip: A visit to Pompeii was something I had dreamed about doing since elementary school. The Pacific Princess arrived in the Bay of Naples and docked at Sorrento, a ... [Read More]

E-solated and abandon-ed in Cinque Terre, Italy

I’m going to do my best to keep this blog from being about our tour guide (bless her heart, she tried), because Cinque Terre deserves better. (Oops, I failed already.) June 9 had a beautiful beginning: It was day two aboard the Pacific Princess on a 12-night swing through the Mediterranean. We had left Rome, jet-lagged but enchanted, the evening before on our way to Portofino and the Italian Riviera. We had high expectations: The whole region is known for its beauty, and we were going to tour Cinque Terre, a UNESCO-protected national park famous for picturesque villages clinging to cliff-sides amid glorious arrays of flowers, ... [Read More]

When in Rome…

Rome: June 6-8, 2010 Ahhh, Rome… what an incredible city. This was the first trip for my husband, Jack, and me, but I think if we were go to a thousand times it would still be as magical. The history, the architecture, the people, the food; it’s something to behold. Because so many people already know so much about Rome, I’m not going to put the usual tourist photos up here; how could I hope to have a shot of the Colosseum that even comes close to the thousands people have already seen? … So, here are some of the not-so-usual sights from our experiences: This hotel came ... [Read More]

Corsica: What a delight!

We arrived in Ajaccio, Corsica, in early morning of June 11 aboard the Pacific Princess on the fourth day of a Mediterranean cruise. I had never been to Corsica before, and am ashamed to admit I hadn’t really known much about it. It turned out to be an absolute delight – in part because of Rolle (“as in Poly” she told us) – a wonderful tour guide. A transplant from Britain who had lived on the island for 40 years, Rolle shared bits about Corsican history, politics, demographics, geography and just plain humor. All told, we found ourselves listening intently to everything she said. (Alas, ... [Read More]