Going to Vancouver/Alaska :D

[superwahz]

Wooo, have fun!! My mom was stationed in Alaska when she enlisted in the military...has spent the last 30 years trying to get back there she loved it so much!

I vote that you skip the dash to Victoria. We visited Seattle last year and were tempted to do a run up to Vancouver and Victoria for a day or two. But in the end stayed in the city, rented a car, and took a drive through Tacoma and such. I have a really hard time with relaxing on vacation. I tend to try to cram pack everything in and then fail to enjoy the moment because I'm so tense with trying to stay on schedule. I can totally sympathize with Karen!! So now, DH constantly reminds me on trips to stay in the moment and let things be what they are...and in the end I think I enjoy myself more.

Could you wait til you're in Vancouver and then decide if you want to go to Victoria? Since you're traveling solo you have the freedom to spontaneously decide what to do! You might wake up that morning and decide you want to catch the ferry and go see Victoria, or Vancouver may be so fascinating you can't bear to take time away from it!

[egerandi]

Yeah, that's what I'm thinking about too, just wait until I'm there and see if I have time or see if it's not constantly raining, hehe.
I made comparisons on taking an organized tour or finding my own way there, and the latter beat out the former, so I can always just take that
trip if I'm bored or something (I don't see that happening though, heh).

Thanks everybody for the input!

[Colleen]

That sounds like so much fun. I have always wanted to go to Alaska.

[randonneur]

I've never been to Alaska but most of my life has been divided between Victoria and Vancouver so I can probably answer any questions about them.

Victoria is a great city but it's logistically inconvenient from Vancouver because the ferry terminals are pretty far from each of the cities' centres. Would you be booking it through the cruise company to take care of all the transfers? You definitely don't want to go for the architecture (Vancouver doesn't have much to offer in this respect either) but it is a lovely place if you're interested in gardens. Butchart Gardens is every bit as nice as it is reputed to be and people just generally take good care of their gardens. We haven't had a drop of rain since July 1 though so we're under watering restrictions and things aren't as lush as usual.

My top picks for things to see and do would depend on where your from and what you're interested in. I think it also depends on the weather so you might want to make lists of wet weather and dry weather activities. Feel free to message me since I only check the forum when I'm putting together an order.

[missyjean]

Wooo, have fun!! My mom was stationed in Alaska when she enlisted in the military...has spent the last 30 years trying to get back there she loved it so much!

I vote that you skip the dash to Victoria. We visited Seattle last year and were tempted to do a run up to Vancouver and Victoria for a day or two. But in the end stayed in the city, rented a car, and took a drive through Tacoma and such. I have a really hard time with relaxing on vacation. I tend to try to cram pack everything in and then fail to enjoy the moment because I'm so tense with trying to stay on schedule. I can totally sympathize with Karen!! So now, DH constantly reminds me on trips to stay in the moment and let things be what they are...and in the end I think I enjoy myself more.

Could you wait til you're in Vancouver and then decide if you want to go to Victoria? Since you're traveling solo you have the freedom to spontaneously decide what to do! You might wake up that morning and decide you want to catch the ferry and go see Victoria, or Vancouver may be so fascinating you can't bear to take time away from it!

You decided to just take a drive through Tacoma? Aw,did you happen to at least see Redmond or Kirkland? Those are my favorites cities here besides good ol' Seattle!I'm lucky to live in Washington

I've always wanted to go to Alaska. It looks so awesome on the television...I want to pet a moose!

As for Canada,I think I could just spend tons of time shopping there in Vancouver.I'd much rather pick up some cute clothes than see a garden,but I already live in the Evergreen state.I can visit gardens whenever I please.You really end up taking nature for granted when you're surrounded by it =(

[egerandi]

As for Canada,I think I could just spend tons of time shopping there in Vancouver.I'd much rather pick up some cute clothes than see a garden,but I already live in the Evergreen state.I can visit gardens whenever I please.You really end up taking nature for granted when you're surrounded by it =(

Hahaha, don't tempt me! I'm trying to fit in one large duffel, making it a very low-key trip as far as clothing. I'm only taking some pretty stuff (or I could just shop for them... hmmm... oh, see what you did? ) for the formal dining nights on the ship.

One more month!

[egerandi]

I've never been to Alaska but most of my life has been divided between Victoria and Vancouver so I can probably answer any questions about them.

Victoria is a great city but it's logistically inconvenient from Vancouver because the ferry terminals are pretty far from each of the cities' centres. Would you be booking it through the cruise company to take care of all the transfers? You definitely don't want to go for the architecture (Vancouver doesn't have much to offer in this respect either) but it is a lovely place if you're interested in gardens. Butchart Gardens is every bit as nice as it is reputed to be and people just generally take good care of their gardens. We haven't had a drop of rain since July 1 though so we're under watering restrictions and things aren't as lush as usual.

My top picks for things to see and do would depend on where your from and what you're interested in. I think it also depends on the weather so you might want to make lists of wet weather and dry weather activities. Feel free to message me since I only check the forum when I'm putting together an order.

Thank you, I'll hit you up with a list