Vancouver, Canada

September 6th – Saturday - 2008:

Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada: As our final destination in our Alaska Southbound Cruise, I found Vancouver to be just as foreign as if I was in Europe somewhere. The ambiance and athmosphere definitely has a strong European influence, Half of the natives spoke French and half in English which was a relief for any American Traveler/Marveler.

September wind in Vancouver is on the chilly side, just as Alaska is ending their fall season, Vancouver just started theirs when we arrived in the Port of Vancouver.

As we disembarked from Princess Cruises, we were greeted by a myriad of tour vendors right on the port, we searched for what I thought was the most prominent in their advertising and was able to book a city tour in a private Van tour.

We were greeted by a young gentleman named Gary, who surprisingly was originally from Downey, California and has since moved to Vancouver to join his family there. He spoke with a slight Canadian American Accent and were delighted to have him as our tour guide.

The tour package consisted of historical City sights, Gas Lamp District, Stanley Park and Granville Market and a drop off to our hotel on the southwest end of the city.

We first started the tour by going to the downtown district of Vancouver, skyscrapers, Starbucks, MacDonald’s, the usual franchises, then we were given a tour of Vancouver’s China Town, consisted of 4 square block on the north end of the city, most of the shops were closed and on to the Zen Garden.

The historical Gas Lamp District was the most exciting part of the tour, we actually got to walk the streets where the gold miners once trekked on their way to the Yukon, the main building where the miners slept and lodged as well as the Gas Clock, one of the only 2 that exist in our modern day.

Followed be a tour of their famous Stanley Park, where the 100+ North American Indian Tribes are represented by their tribal Totem Poles and City Gates displayed prominently throughout the park as well as American Indian Dancer performing his bag pipe.

The tour ended in the Granville Market, used to be their manufacturing of cannery row, building exteriors were kept intact and the inside were renovated into shops and bazaars, not surprising to find that their market produce looked exactly the same as we have in California, but the ambiance due to the French Canadian speaking locals were enticing and exciting to a first time visitor.

As we finished the tour, we were dropped off right in front of our Hotel, the Fairmont Waterfront Hotel where we stayed for the evening. That evening we asked the concierge to the nearest Chinese Restaurant that offered their best.

September 7th – Sunday – 2008:

We had the entire morning to take a cab back to explore more of the residential parts of Vancouver and spent more time at the Granville Market, where we had lunch and shopped for about 4 hours. We took a cab to the airport for our 6PM departure.

We arrived in Los Angeles Airport approximately 8 PM, called the parking lot shuttle to pick us up at the center aisle of the airport and picked up our car. The trip home from the airport was very short and free from traffic since we came back on a Sunday evening.

WildLife Reserve Park

August 30th – Saturday - 2008:

Scenic Wilderness Tour - Wildlife Reserve Park:

The Girdwood Shuttle came on time, the driver helped me load all the suitcases, (just a note: don’t forget to tip $1/bag to the driver is customary). We decided to take advantage of the land tour as well as paying less for it, the driver gave us a bus tour of downtown Anchorage, pointed out the landmark buildings, we went to pick up more passengers, a total of four hotels then we were on our way southbound to Whittier. Our first stop was the Beluga Whale Point. This is where the natives used to spot the Beluga whales on their mating season and they hunt them down for food, now there are only a few hundred left.

This scenic route took approximately 1 ½ hour, passing through the coast, our guide pointed out that even though the beaches looked beautiful and tranquil, he said that several tourist who brave swimming in these beaches got drowned getting stuck in the mud brought down by the defrosting snow into the bay. As I watched the coast, it became very evident that the black sands really were thick soot of mud. We made a stop for 20 minutes at the Point before proceeding tour next stop; the Alaska Wild Life Reserve Park.

As we left Beluga Whale Point, we got to talking to our driver, Dennis. We found out he was originally from Whittier, California. He moved to Anchorage to work for the oil company, instead got a job in tours and loved it ever since. The trip to our next stop, the Wildlife Reserve Park, took about 30 minutes.

As we entered the reserve, the driver stopped by the entrance gate to pay for an entrance fee of $15. This entrance to the park was included in our fare. We toured the park for about 1 hour, we interacted with the wild animals but from a distance and with great caution. These animals were rescued in the wild and are cared for by the park rangers to take them back to their natural habitat. We got to see Bison, Buffalo’s, Muscox, Black Bears, Red Foxes, Wolves, Brown Bears, an Eagle, Deer’s, Moose’s, Elks & Alaskan porcupine.

The deer and the moose were very calm and allowed us to pet them at close range. There was a main visitor building where you can buy snacks and park souvenirs such as native jewelry and crafts. The building had an eating area where you can rest and relax to enjoy a picnic lunch. As we continued our tour in the park, we noticed that there were several shacks (about 4 collapsed buildings) on the compound that once were homes of those who perished in the Tsunami of Chugach National Park in 1964. The dead trees around the park were caused Tsunami, the salt water the waves carried into the valley, saturated the ground with salt water and killed most of the plant life in the National Park, also killing 19 residents of this pristine landscape.

Meals are not included in this tour, so it was good that we had our lunch before departing. Just a suggestion, pack a snack bag to munch on while on this trip. This is a four hour tour and WildLife Reserve was our only stop for a bathroom break.