Tuesday, June 9, 2009

So how was your cruise?

It went very well. We got to L.A. on Saturday - not much going on in San Pedro and we had a ho-hum meal at George's Café. We boarded the ship Sunday at noon.
Our balcony room was good and we had a room steward who we seldom saw and yet he was capable.
First port was SFO and we were tied up at Pier 95 right downtown and we walked The Embarcadero full length and ate fish and chips at Fisherman's Wharf. It was chilly and we were glad we had jackets with us.

Next night was at sea and we got all spiffed up for the 'formal' dinner. Next port the following day was Victoria in B.C. It was 85F and we were sweltering as we walked downtown to get the bus to Butchardt Gardens. Google it and you'll see it is an old stone quarry transformed into a wonderful garden. It takes an hour and a half to walk it if you don't stop at every flower. We took 2 hours and had an ice cream as dessert.

The next day and port was Seattle and we were met downtown at our pier 65 by Buck and Cathy and Lindsey. They drove us all around the hot spots with great views and we had a fish and chips lunch at one of their haunts. We saw Lindsey's apartment and she has a great view from her patio window. It was 90 degrees and we were all pooped by the time we got to Pike Place Market.

Back on the boat we relaxed and enjoyed two sail/sea days back to L.A.
We just missed the first flight ( we arrived at 0820 - the flight was at 0900 and we needed to be there 45 mins before departure to check our bags) and then we had to standby for 4 more before we made it home to Houston. I got an aisle seat, Bev went on a flight prior to me (last seat) and landed an hour before me. She had the car ready and we sped home for an 8 pm arrival. 12 hours from ship in LAX to home in Houston. Tough but free.

Here are a couple of pictures from Butchardt Gardens.





6 comments:

Unknown said...

Wow those flowers really do look Willy Wonka/Wizard of Oz fantastic other worldly!

Anonymous said...

Fantastic Pictures of Butchart Gardens! You must have been here during our very unusual hot spell.

Friend of Steph's who happens to live in Victoria BC!

get2eric said...

Lucky you living in Victoria. It is a lovely city. We were impressed with the 85F weather in June.

Emily said...

So glad you had a nice time! Great pictures of the Seattle fam and of the flowers. Wow.

Anonymous said...

Ooooh,you know me so well,Eric,(flowerwise) I am going to Google Butchard Gardens and have a good look..sounds a very tiring time you had..I suppose you need another Cruise to get over it ,huh? :)


Norma.

KarenSeattle said...

My friend Rick Muirhead lives in Seattle. I think he's related to your family. His late father was born in Texas, grandson of Robert and Malinda Reed Muirhead. I've been researching his family's genealogy. I think he met some of you long ago, when his ex-Army family lived near Baltimore.