TAKING A BOAT to the BOAT . . . LEG 2

ON SEPT 16, DAY 10 OF OUR CRUISE, WE COMPLETED THE ALASKAN LEG OF THE TRIP BACK IN VANCOUVER, CANADA, AND A WHOLE NEW LOAD OF PASSENGERS BOARDED FOR LEG 2 . . .A 7-DAY TRIP FROM VANCOUVER TO LOS ANGELES, INCLUDING STOPS AT NANAIMO & VICTORIA, CANADA, ASTORIA, OREGON, AND SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA.

2010 WINTER OLYMPICS CAULDRON in Canada Place

WE MUST BE STARTING TO RELAX AND ARE EASILY ENTERTAINED. NANCY STARTED TAUNTING A BEE WITH HER TEASPOON OF HONEY. I FOUND IT INTERESTING THAT BEES ACTUALLY "LIKE" HONEY.


NANAIMO,SEPT 17

LOG RAFTS WAITING FOR THE SAW MILL.

OH, NO, NO, THIS IS NOT "OUR" KIND OF SAILING . . . THIS GUY PROBABLY DOESN'T EVEN OWN A PAIR OF SHORTS.

DOWNTOWN NANAIMO WAS DECORATED WITH DOZENS OF THESE LIGHT POLE HANGING FLOWER BASKETS. WHAT'S REALLY COOL IS THAT THEY AREN'T BASKETS AT ALL. WHEN WORLD WAR II ENDED, THE CANADIANS HAD LOTS OF STEEL HELMETS LEFT OVER; INSTEAD OF POUNDING THEM INTO PLOWSHARES, THEY MADE THEM INTO FLOWER BASKETS.

DEPARTING NANAIMO.

VICTORIA, SEPT 18

"coolest taxi ever!"

MEANWHILE, BACK AT THE RANCH, WE EVEN ATTENDED A FRUIT CARVING CLASS

"WASHY, WASHY, HAPPY, HAPPY, SMILEY, SMILEY"

ASTORIA,OREGON, SEPT 19

Finally back in the US, we could hop on the AT&T broadband and use our computer; the ship's wifi was a cost-prohibitive $1 per minute. We used the computer as we proceded down the California coast on our personal broadband only. After the cruise our first bill from AT&T had an extra $126 charge on it for roaming, which they promised not to do before we even departed. We had checked. We expressed our "disgustedness" and they immediately took it off of our bill.

THE COLUMBIA RIVER IS A SERIOUSLY BIG RIVER WITH LOTS OF SHIP TRAFFIC THAT CAN GO CLEAR TO IDAHO.

"COLUMBIA=FLOATING LIGHTHOUSE"

SAN FRANCISCO, SEPT 21

Alcatraz (above)and a dockside model of Alcatraz (below)

WE WERE AMAZINGLY FORTUNATE ENOUGH TO ARRIVE IN SAN FRANCISCO ON WHAT COULD HAVE POSSIBLY BEEN THE FINAL RACE OF THE AMERICA'S CUP, BETWEEN THE USA'S "ORACLE" AND THE KIWIS' "FLY EMIRATES". THE SCORE IN THE BEST-OF-NINE SERIES WAS KIWIS-8 TO USA-2. WE WERE DOCKED ADJACENT TO THE AMERICA CUP VENUE & DOCKS AND WITHIN 200 YARDS OF THE FINISH LINE. WE LITERALLY HAD THE BEST SEATS IN SAN FRANCISCO TO OBSERVE THE RACES. WE VISITED THE VENUE, SAW THE CATS & CREWS UP CLOSE, BOUGHT THE T-SHIRTS AS THEY HEADED OUT INTO THE BAY. UNFORTUNATELY THE WEATHER DIDN'T COOPERATE AND THEY ENDED UP CANCELLING THE RACES FOR THE DAY, BUT WE GOT TO WATCH THEM PRACTICE AND SPAR FOR A COUPLE OF HOURS. IT WAS AWESOME! THESE 72FT CATS ARE NOT BOATS . . . THEY'RE FLYING MACHINES!

THE KIWIS WERE SELLING BEERS FOR $12 EACH AT THE DOCKSIDE VENUE; I'D NEVER HAD A $12 BEER BEFORE . . . UUUHH, I'VE STILL NEVER HAD A $12 BEER.

Leaving San Francisco

LOS ANGELES/SAN PEDRO, SEPT 23

As we left Los Angeles, we could see a forest fire up on the hillside not too far away. This harbor is overwhelmingly huge; the cranes extend for miles; if you combined all of the other harbors that I've ever seen . . .Miami, Ft Lauderdale, Baltimore, Houston, Seattle, Vancouver. . . and put them all together in one spot, they'd barely put a dent in LA harbor. 80% of the shipped goods that arrive on the west coast of the US arrive here.