Great Day

Where to begin?
Well I will by saying that we had a great rest last night. The bed was super comfortable. I woke just before seven and decided to get up because I had to work on the blog. The sun was shining and the house was filled with the sounds of birds. A great way to begin the day.

Minutes Later Ken (Ard) appeared. He proceeded to help me get on line and then he perked a wonderful pot of coffee and he baked cinnamon croissants. What an amazing way to start the day. Then Wendy appeared and we had a great visit. They are such wonderful hosts and they make a person feel so at home and so welcomed. Real sweeties!!!

We spent the rest of the morning talking about everything and nothing. We pick up as if we have only been apart for days not years. Their friendship is such a treasure.

We spent sometime on their wonderful deck. They told us that they love to go there to watch the sunset over the ocean. I can only imagine how wonderful that must be.

But all too soon it was time to head for the ship. Even though we were told not to come before 1:30 when we arrived the check in was well under way and hundreds had been there before us. The process went smoothly with no problems. It was slow which was to be expected.

When we arrived at our cabin we were blown away... or at least I was. Spread on the bed were all of there notices. There were certificates acknowledging our achievement of 500 days on a princess ship.

There was a bottle of champagne on ice, there was a plate of chocolate covered strawberries and there was a voucher for a champagne balcony breakfast on a day of our choosing.

There o voucher for dining at the Curtis Stone dining room which was one of the perks for this cruise. And last but not least there was a beautiful flower arrangement from Kim , our TA.

I  was so excited and so pleased.

Soon we had to go to muster . We did not yet have our luggage which was unusual. So we had to go to dinner without having unpacked.

Every time we cruise we ask for a window table for six. We hardly ever get it but tonight we lucked out. We are at a table next to a window and we are seated with 2 other couples. They are both from 

Ohio and not know to each other before. They did not mention any politics and we are hoping that continues. Dinner was amazing as is usual for Princess. We have very good wait staff so it looks very good.

After dinner we can back to our cabin and our luggage had arrived so we were able to unpack.

Because it had been such a busy day we decided to call it a night and crawl under the covers.

There is a slight swell so the sea will rock us to sleep. LOVE IT!!

Flying Day

We did not sleep very well but that is not unusual for us when it is the night before a trip. The heating system was quite noisy so that didn't help. We always worry either consciously or subconsciously that the alarm will not work or the desk will forget to call and we will miss our transport to the airport.
That did not happen and we were downstairs waiting for the shuttle in lots of time.

When we arrived at the airport we were met by a porter who offered to take our bags and to guide us all of the way to our gate. We must have looked confused or like stranded seniors. We took him up on his offer and he escorted us all of the way to our gate. He handled the kiosk with the machines and he signed us in. He also lifted our luggage and got it onto the belts. He did it all. That was one of the best 10 dollars we have ever spent.

The night before we bought sandwiches at Tim's and could not eat them because the soup was so hearty. It was a turkey bacon club that we planned to share. So I asked if they would wral it up and put it into a plastic bag for us. It was still raining quite hard on the return to the Abercorn and I felt the paper bag would not make it. So after we made it through security and they allowed me to keep the sandwich we headed for the nearest Tim Hortons. We ordered coffees and had our sandwich for breakfast. It worked out perfectly.

We did not have to wait very long for our plane. It was a full plane and fortunately we had seats in row 5. That meant we were among the last if not the last to board. BUT we were also early to get off. The sky was cloudy at first but then it cleared and Ken was able to enjoy the mountain and ocean views. I read my book "No Great Mischief" by Alistair MacLeod. I made it to page 95 or so. I can't say that it is an exciting book but I am so impressed with his mastery of the language. At one point I tapped Ken on the shoulder and asked him to read a particular paragraph.

We were about ten minutes late arriving but that was not a problem.

We gathered our luggage and made our way to the waiting taxis. They had Uber and Lift as well. There was no wait for a cab. As soon as we approached a porter came up and loaded our luggage to the cab that was first in line. The sun was shining and the temperature was around 70. A great welcome indeed.

We we arrived at Ken and Wendy's she was waiting for us and she made us feel so welcomed. She has become almost a sister. She made us a very nice lunch and then we took a nap. Both of us were tired beyond reason and just had to lay down. I slept for about an hour and Ken slept about an hour and a half.

By then Ken Ard was home from work and the serious visiting began. Two of the grand children were visiting and we thoroughly enjoyed our visit with them. The kids are so very nice. Before long it was time to head out for dinner. We were going to a very nice Italian restaurant . I had what was supposed to be a half beet salad. It was delicious, and if that was a half salad I would love to see what a full salad looked like. The same was true of the linguine with Scallops. Ken had to finish mine.

Then we went to Trader Joe's and shopped for wine and some snacks. I did not buy any flowers because I am pretty sure Princess will be giving us flowers for our special celebration.

Then it was back here to visit and before long we were headed for bed. It had been a long exhausting day.
Tomorrow we sail!! 

In Vancouver.

We got all packed and were ready when Marg and Dave arrived.



It was a cool day but not raining. The luggage was loaded and away we went.
The traffic was light and before we knew it we were in the city.

Because it was lunch time and because we could not check in yet we all decided to have lunch at the near by Denny's.
They were busy, the place was COOL, service was SLOW but the food was good and we had a great visit.


Next we headed to the Abercorn and within a half hour our room was ready.
Our plane leaves at 8:30 so we have arranged a shuttle pick up for 6:00 and a wake up call for 5:30.
It will be a short night.

Dave and Marg. left and we enjoyed the warm room. We were both chilled after spending time in that cool eatery. I brought disinfecting wipes with me and I did an extra clean of anything we might touch. Stay well will be the mantra of this cruise.

After about 40 minutes of confusion I was able to get on line.
I was able to get checked in with West Jet. I may have messed up because I paid for luggage and it is supposed to be first bag is free. Perhaps the policy has changed or perhaps we will have lots of paperwork to do to get a refund.

I went to the front desk and got a list of near by places to eat. We are not really hungry but I know I can't go without food until tomorrow morning. My blood sugar would not be good with a fast that long.
I guess we will be enjoying soup and a roll at Tim's.

We got ready and set out. Of course it was not raining when we made our decision but it was when we left the hotel. Fortunately it was only a couple of blocks.

We are now back in our cozy room and it will not be long before we crawl under the covers..5:30 comes early. We always get a hotel with free breakfast but we are never in the hotel when breakfast 
is being served. The same will be true tomorrow.

On The Sea Again!!

It is hard to believe that the months have passed and it is almost time to set sail again.
This is the longest we have gone between voyages since we began cruising in 2009.

This is not our usual trip because it is mainly sea days. The cruise is 28 days long and there are only 8 ports. We stay in port overnight twice which is new for us. Our destination is the Islands of the South Pacific. Lots of sun and sand and relaxation.
Here is the itinerary:

Hawaii, Tahiti & Samoa

Sat, 02/01/20	Los Angeles, California Ship @ Port Of San Pedro	– 4:00pm
Sun, 02/02/20	At Sea
Mon, 02/03/20	At Sea
Tue, 02/04/20	At Sea
Wed, 02/05/20	At Sea
Thu, 02/06/20	Honolulu, Hawaii	7:00am – 11:00pm
Fri, 02/07/20	Maui (lahaina), Hawaii Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	7:00am – 6:00pm
Sat, 02/08/20	Kauai (nawiliwili), Hawaii	8:00am – 5:00pm
Sun, 02/09/20	At Sea
Mon, 02/10/20	At Sea
Tue, 02/11/20	At Sea
Wed, 02/12/20	At Sea
Thu, 02/13/20	Pago Pago, American Samoa	10:00am – 6:00pm
Thu, 02/13/20	Cross International Date Line Cross Int'L Dateline
Sat, 02/15/20	Apia, Western Samoa	7:00am – 5:00pm
Sat, 02/15/20	Cross International Date Line Cross Int'L Dateline
Sat, 02/15/20	At Sea
Sun, 02/16/20	At Sea
Mon, 02/17/20	Bora Bora, French Polynesia Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited overnight	8:00am
Tue, 02/18/20	Bora Bora, French Polynesia Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	– 8:00pm
Wed, 02/19/20	Tahiti (papeete), French Polynesia Overnight	8:00am
Thu, 02/20/20	Tahiti (papeete), French Polynesia	– 4:00am
Thu, 02/20/20	Moorea, French Polynesia Water Shuttle Required wheelchair Access Limited	7:00am – 6:00pm
Fri, 02/21/20	At Sea
Sat, 02/22/20	At Sea
Sun, 02/23/20	At Sea
Mon, 02/24/20	At Sea
Tue, 02/25/20	At Sea
Wed, 02/26/20	At Sea
Thu, 02/27/20	At Sea
Fri, 02/28/20	At Sea
Sat, 02/29/20	Los Angeles, California Ship @ Port Of San Pedro	6:15am

This is an ideal cruise if you like sea days which we do. But it would be a nightmare for those who don't like free unscheduled time.
As you will see Princess has lots of special events planned so no one needs to get bored.
The only thing that would make it perfect is being able to take my paints with me and to paint the beautiful scenes. Now I have to just take photos and try to do the paintings when we return home.


Come along with us as we go!!

Home

The trip home was uneventful. But our engineer made up for lost time and more.
Instead of being an hour and a half late we were a half lour early.

The day was sunny and we had lots of beautiful scenery to view.

+

Yesterday we were at the very front but because there was so much activity at the front we decided to occupy the vacant seat at the very back. Jade called it our honey moon suite.

We picked up our car at Kerri's. The trip home was good because we had light traffic.

Our next planned adventure is not until February 1st of 2020. We will be sailing the South Pacific with Princess.

But with us you never know.

Thanks for following along.

Early Morning

We had to get up at 5:15 because our luggage would be picked up at 5:45.
Our bus was a little late and the train was a little late so in all we were one and a half  late leaving Kamloops.

We were in car number 4 and seat #71 and 72.

This was a dreary rainy day all day.
There was very little to see with all of the low hanging clouds.

As usual the service was amazing and the day just sped by.

Tonight we are ay the Sandman Signature right on the park.
They told us this would be modest accommodation but I think it is better than what we had at the Fairmont Lake Louise.
What do you think??

Tomorrow we head home.
We have a wake up call for 6:45 and our bus will take us to the train at 7:20.

Arrival in Vancouver is expected between 6 and 9 tomorrow evening.
Kerri will pick up up and take us to our car.

Last Day coming up.

Banff Sightseeing

Brewster Transportation and Tour are the people in charge of our adventure today.
We are to meet our bus at 8:05 so we got up and seven and then went down to Stock and bought breakfast sandwiches. Then we went out to wait for our bus. It was a bit late but when it arrived we were first on so we got front row seats.
The tour began by us picking up more passengers and then going to the Gondola. We have been here before which was a good thing. There was very low cloud and you could not see the mountains. I felt sorry for the people who had come half way across the planet to see this view and only saw fog and clouds.

We also saw the Bow Falls, Surprise corner and the Hoodoos. While we were viewing the HooDoos a set of 5 elk were seen fording the Bow river. At first it looked as if the calves were in trouble but they made it to the shore successfully.

At the end of the morning we were again given a treat of hot beverages and sweets.

We left the bus downtown. WE roamed a little and then went to Tim Hortons for lunch.

Then we took a city bus back to the hotel.
We rested and then went to see the rep from the Rocky Mountaineer. We got our luggage tags and boarding passes.

Our suitcases at to be ready for pick up at 5:45, and we are to be ready to board transport to the train by 6:45.

Tonight we will relax in our beautiful room for this evening. We look forward to the train travel for the next 2 days. Kamloops tomorrow night.