MattyB & JennyB go to Alaska

[MattyB]

Jen and I just got back from a 10 day trip where we flew to Vancouver, BC Canada, stayed for a couple of days in the city and then hopped on a cruise ship to sail the inside passage to Alaska! We had a blast and while SoCal was burning up in the heat, we were chillin' out in the higher latitides. Here's some pics to share:

San Diego International Airport (Lindberg Field), waiting to get on our plane.

Over Seattle, WA, this is Mt. Rainer or Mt. St. Helens, not sure which.

Downtown Vancouver, BC Canada from the air.

This is a good illustration of where the fresh water from the rivers floats on top and meets the salt water of the ocean.

[MattyB]

Hmmmmmmm, getting Canadian money. It's so easy to spend because it dosen't feel real.

Whatup Hommies?

We stayed 2 days in Vancouver to see the city.

Interesting building in Gastown.

[MattyB]

Observation tower.

North Vancouver from across the inlet

Gassy Jack with his barrel of wiskey. Gastown was named after him.

West Vancouver view from Lions Gate Bridge.

[MattyB]

We did a bus tour one day and the tour guide said that Vancouver is the secont most densly populated city area after Manhattan NYC. All the highrises here are apartments where people live.

Canada Geese eh?

Checked out Granville Island.

Bums must be bitten.

[epicure3]

Being Canadian, I am embarrassed that I have never been to Vancouver. I have heard it is a gorgeous city. Picks look awesome.

[paulgila]

where are the whales? what about michael j.fox or bill shatner? did u see them? did they play alot of Rush? do people really say "eh" alot?

[sur4z]

That's it??? Where are the cruise pics???

[paulgila]

how about "canadian" bacon? is it really better than our USA "freedom" pork?

[epicure3]

Yea....where are the rest of the photos?

[Walter John]

Alaska ? That would be great to see.

[MattyB]

Ok ok ok. Hold yer horses (and your manly ratpackers ). I've been busy. Here's a few more. And yes Paul, they do say "Eh?" a lot.

More from Granville Island.

Open air market was fun.

The berries were delicious and grew wild in the forest.

[MattyB]

Totem pole carving shop.

One of the several cruise ship teminals in Vancouver.

The clock was run by steam over in gastown.

[MattyB]

This is the balcony from our hotel room in the West End of Downtown Vancouver. Check out that threshhold! That's not wheelchair accessible.

Trachycarpus fortunei thriving at the beach front park along English Bay.

These are twice as fat as they grow in San Diego. The weather here is wet, and often cool but never gets too cold due to the coastal influence.

[MattyB]

The beach at English Bay.

Huge tree. You can see Jennifer by the trunk.

I farted and split this tree into 7 different stems.

[MattyB]

One day we rented some bikes and biked around Stanley Park. Stanley Park is huge and includes a large forest.

In the forest.

[MattyB]

A view towards Lions Gate Bridge.

And I thought I had rocky soil.

We saw Digitalis growing wild in Vancouver and in parts of Alaska too.

[MattyB]

Along one of the interior trails of Stanley Park.

I wonder why they call this Beaver Lake. Something to do with Paul's mom I think.

And I thought rabbits were bad!!!!!!

Blue Heron.

[MattyB]

They used Gunnera in the parks as an impressive specimine planting.

This clump was 8 feet tall.

[MattyB]

I smell an avatar coming on......

[MattyB]

I think this is Catalpa bignonoides. A large leaf tropical tree that grows in temperate areas. Los Angeles has some neighborhoods with these planted around too. I think Paul saw some of these in North Dakota too.

When you get fish and chips at Mr. Pickwicks you have to say it in a high pitched snooty British accent.

Thought of you Gileno when I saw this rooftop tree.

[MattyB]

OK, we're finally on the ship ready to go "North To Alaska...."

We had to leave the dogs with my parents. Molly, the Irish Setter who we call Mol Mol, was getting very sick from cancer. When we saw this we knew it was God tellin us that He was taking Molly. We miss you Molly. She died that day unbeknown to us.

[Jeff in St Pete]

I got goose bumps after seeing that last photo and reading the description.

Sorry for your loss.

[paulgila]

great,family pet passes away.how can i make snarky comments after that?

[MattyB]

Our police escort out of the harbor.

We started checking out the ship and spotted these Adonidias in the indoor pool room. It was always warm in here like a greenhouse. Jen said she liked the petioles and attempted to grow one out of her neck apparently.

Great! Why couldn't I get this ship on the Mexico cruise! Sadly there were no topless sunbathers on the Alaska cruise.

Me in our stateroom. We had a balcony and were super stoked about that.

[MattyB]

She gets that crazy look in her eye when she orders room service.

Our stateroom attendants, Juan and guy on the left. He called me sir. You should take a lesson Paul.

[MattyB]

We had a race with this ship.

Reflection shot.

For dinner we were assigned seating with this couple, the Chadahs from Nairobi Kenya! They own several textiles factories in Nairobi. Jinder Chadah had beautiful silk scarves she wore every night. They showed us a trick where they put the scarf through my ring it was so soft. Jennifer charmed them like she does, and now we have a place to stay in Africa! Boooyeah! They ordered special Indian food that wasn't on the menu and shared it with us every night. Yes, your poo can be curry I learned.

[MattyB]

Both Canada and USA have pilots who navigate the ship through the narrow passages in the inland passage. Here's one pilot being picked up.

[Dave-Vero]

For what it's worth, the huge volcano is Rainier, as in the yellow-and-red cherries that seem incredibly cheap this summer ($2/lb here this week).

I once got to spend a glorious summer week at the University of British Columbia campus. The campus itself isn't as awesome as UW in Seattle, but much better location. Neat gardens.

Matty, you badly need a skinny necktie to look fashionable, maybe with an antique tie clip (they seem to have returned). You gotta make 'em think you're in the movies!

[BS Man about Palms]

Matty and Jen, sad to hear about Molly.

I'm glad you didn't have a dog named "Gap Gap".....

[Tassie_Troy1971]

great pictorial account of your Holiday , beautiful pictures of B C scenery . Sorry to hear about poor Mol Mol !

[MattyB]

Very funny Bill!

More pics to come but I'm too busy to post now. Stay tuned for The Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, and Ketchikan.

[paulgila]

more bodily function references!

[8er-moni]

WOW - great pictures of a great journey :blink: Thankyou for taking us with you, Matthy!

[MattyB]

Continuing on......

The first port was supposed to be Sitka, AK, but there was a medical emergency on board and the ship had to double back for 6 hours in order to meet a MedEvac helicopter. This put us so far behind schedule that we had to completely skip the port of Sitka. The wildlife in Sitka was supposed to be amazing and Jennifer, along with the entire ship, was bummed. One more day at see until our new first stop: The Hubbard Glacier.

As we entered Yakutat bay the water was full of icebergs and was noticeably more colorful blue/grey. We learned later that this is from the fine silt from the glacier runoff.

The Hubbard Glacier! NOT!!!!!!

Now we get our first glimpse at the Hubbard Glacier! This thing is 6 miles across at the face and stands 300 feet tall where it meets the water.

[MattyB]

All different sorts of icebergs were in the water. Some blue, some dirty, some crackly like rice crispys.

[MattyB]

Harbor seal resting on a sheet of ice.

[MattyB]

Had to do the mandatory underwear dance. Ask Paul, he knows it well.

[MattyB]

This is the right side of the glacier where the opening of Russel Fjord is. The glacier is the only glacier in North America that is actually advancing as opposed to receeding, threatening to close off Russle Fjord.

[MattyB]

Our cruise ship would only go up the side of the face 1/3 of the way.

We got within a 1/4 mile. The closest approach of any ship this season they said. They must have been trying to make up for Sitka.

[MattyB]

We were lucky that the glacier was extremely active and large chunks were falling off into the sea, making thunderous cracking sounds across the valley.

Here's some low quality video. If you want high quality, go see it yourself in Alaska.