It's been a couple weeks now since our return from the trip to Alaska. Because of the hectic nature of our last stop and final return we did not get the final chapter of our trip recorded for our readers. Following a day of slowly entering the Tracy Arm Fjord to see the Sawyer Glacier we began our journey to the final destination; Victoria, British Columbia, Canada. The journey was a full night and most of a day getting to Victoria. We arrived as about 5:00 P.M. which left us with little time to see much while there. After disembarking from the ship we caught a charter bus into the heart of town and spend the few hours we had there walking the streets of downtown Victoria. As cities go, Victoria is a beautiful place (what we saw of it) Impressive to me is the fact the it has the old "downtown" look and feel to it. By that I mean you still walk the streets shopping rather than hiding in a mall with a million stores that are the same stores you see in every mall in North America over and over again. Not far from the shopping was the British Columbia Parliament building. Since we were there as dusk melted into night, we watched as the Parliament building became lit up as if Christmas was only a day away. There are times when Christmas type lighting seems to fit throughout the entire year; this is one. The building was spectacular particularly when seen from a distance. As I mentioned, we were only able to stay on shore for a short time and so about as quickly as we arrived, we had to return. From my perspective, one of the highlights of the trip came as we made our journey back to the ship. When we went to catch our bus ride back to the ship, to our chagrin, we found a line of anxious people snaking around the corner from the bus stop waiting for the same ride we hoped to catch. Oh, did I mention, I really hate waiting in lines. Anyway, as we made our way toward the end of the meandering mass of tourists, we noticed a young man riding a bicycle driven rickshaw with seats for four. Since it was only Myrna, Deryl and Jodi in our group, we decided to hire him to return us to the ship. Even though we had already paid for our bus transport, not having to wait in line was well worth the extra few dollars to have a leisurely ride back to the ship and no wait. The ride took about 20 minutes but was extremely pleasant. Our driver took us through some of the residential neighborhoods and past some other interesting sites that we would not have had the opportunity to see if we had bussed it back. He was a one-man history book that was as pleasant as it was engaging. I really enjoyed that little self-made excursion.
Once back on board, we began the preparations for arriving again in Seattle and departing ship. It was kind of disappointing to think that the trip was nearly over and we would have to get back to the real world of work and worry, but all in all we had had a very pleasant trip. Visiting with the family for a week was at times a little strained, but I'd say was at least 90% enjoyable. I do enjoy getting together with our extended family whether on the Jorgensen or Hawkins sides. I am extremely fortunate that we have a family that loves one another (even if we don't always agree with one another) and has no problem spending time together. I consider my life blessed by each and every one of them. I look forward to the next opportunity to spend another quality experience with each and every one of them.
Rather than posting our few pictures of Victoria etc. I decided to post a slide show of the entire cruise to conclude the postings about our trip. Oh, did I mention, Our next trip will be on land rather than sea. :-)
