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| With Mickey and Minnie |
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| Multnomah Falls, Oregon |
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| Nicaragua |
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| Nicaragua |
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| Panama Canal |
We have arrived back home after 47 days away. So it's washing, ironing, sleeping and diet on the agenda now. Had a great time when we were away. Spent a week in Florida where we caught up with Megan, Paul, Sherri and Anthony. We did all the Disney Parks and Universal. There were so many people around as it was Easter and Spring break time
Caught the cruise ship Amsterdam, the flag ship of the Holland America Line from Fort Lauderdale to Vancouver via the Panama Canal. First stop was Cartegena, Columbia, not what I had expected to see multi story buildings. We did a tour through the old town which was very good. Then we sailed through the Panama Canal which took all day. Panama City looked amazing Multi-story buildings as far as you could see. Next stop was Costa Rica where we took a train ride through the countryside and past the melon fields. Nicaragua was the next destination, we drove past steaming volcano's and visited the bubbling mud pools. It is a very poor country just coming out of internal conflict, but very beautiful. Next destination is Mexico where we visited Puerto Vallarta, a very lovely city. It was where the Night of the Iguana was filmed we walked along the esplanade which has beautiful statues along the walk. Then our favourite place in Mexico Cabo San Lucas was next. Haven't changed our minds it is still a great place to visit. Second last port of call was San Diego which we did enjoy, we went to the Hotel where Edward and Wallis Simpson met. Beautiful beaches in this area. The temperature of the water changed dramatically from 30 degrees off Cabo San Lucas to 13 degrees off San Diego so here comes the jumpers out of the cases. It was freezing sailing into Vancouver and raining, but seeing Megan and Sherriden waving from the dock made up for the weather.
We spent a day in Vancouver at Sherriden and Anthony's before catching the Train to Seattle. From there we picked up a hire car and drove to Eugene Oregon where we stayed with Marcia and Gouly, Wendy met Marcia at the Sydney Olympics in 2000 and it was great to catch up with her again and meet her family. They drove us to Crater Lake, it was rain and snow along the way and snowing when we arrived with very low cloud, so low we couldn't see the lake. There were 12 ft snow drifts in the car parks. We had a look at the Lodge up there, which was not due to reopen after the winter season until the next week. On the way back to the car decided to have one last look to see if we could see the lake and yes the clouds had lifted and Wizard Island was in view. It was beautiful. Had a lovely picnic lunch on the way back at Eagle Rock. We headed to the coast the next morning after saying our farewells to Marcia and Gouly. Had breaks along the way at Sea Lion Caves, the Lighthouse at Heceta Head and Lincoln City before arriving at McMinnville where we had gone to see the Spruce Goose, Howard Hughes aircraft which is in the Evergreen Museum there. We spent the night at Lake Oswego. Next morning we took the Mt Hood scenic route once again we had rain and snow along the way. we stopped for a look around Timberline Lodge. Lots of skiers and snowboarders around and snowing of course. We drove along the banks of the Columbia River and then took the Oregon Historic Route past Bridal Veil Falls and had lunch at Multnomah Falls on our way into Portland where we spent the night. Next morning we went to the rose gardens, but we were a bit early as no blooms were out yet. We went to the Mt St Helen's visitor centre and enjoyed the displays of the mountains eruptions 31 years ago to the day. We arrived in Seattle, returned the hire car and booked into our accommodation. We walked to the Pier area and had a fantastic dinner at the Crab Pot. Next morning we headed to the Boeing Factory and throughly enjoyed the tour. The hangar was so big that the 777's looked like toys in it. We got dropped off at the mono rail and went and had a look at Seattle from the Space Needle. Went for a walk in the Pioneer Square and did the Underground Tour that night, it was very interesting the history of old Seattle. Next morning we did a walking tour of Pike Place Markets and then had to grab our bags and stored them at the train station as we were heading back to Vancouver that afternoon. Caught the 99 bus around the waterfront area and then looked around Pioneer Square before heading back to get the bags and head back to Vancouver.
Megan met us, Sheriden and Anthony were in Montreal with Anthony's work, and we spent the next 7 days in Coquitlam with her and Paul at their home. We had a great view over the valley as they are way up high on the mountainside. We caught up on the washing and rest while we were there. Went to the cinema one day and caught the bus down to the Mall when Megan and Paul were both working. Played a round of golf. Megan caddied for us, went to Fort Langley, where Vancouver was first settled. Helped Megan to choose and plant flowers and vege's in the garden. We went back to Sheri and Anthony's on the Friday and stayed with them until we flew out on Wednesday night. We did lots of walking with them, went to the Sun Yut Sen Gardens and Van Duesen Gardens one day. Had a picnic at Vanier Park, went to the Museum of Vancouver another day and caught the water taxi around False Creek to Granville island and the World of Science, went for a walk through Lighthouse Park over in North Vancouver. Met Megan and Paul and had a farewell dinner at the Tea House in Stanley Park.
Last day in Vancouver, Megan came over about 10am, got the bags packed and ready to go and then walked down to meet Sherriden who worked until 11.30. Wandered around the city and had a look at the Olympic Caldron. The Canucks (the local ice hockey team) are playing tonight in the first grand final match so have decided to catch the train the the airport as there was so much traffic around. Arrived and got through security easily and got upgraded to Premium economy class so should be a great trip home. Had a great flight, got lots of sleep.
We had a great trip saw some awesome sights and met some great people. Thanks to everyone we caught up with and thank you for making our memories of our trip very special to us.
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| It's a bit cold here in Vancouver |
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| Cabo San Lucas |
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| Cartegena, Colombia |
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| Costa Rica |
Michael and Wendy
