West Coast Cruise (May 14-22)

We took a cruise up the West Coast from San Diego to Vancouver, BC, recently.  And, no, that's not our cruise ship.  We flew to San Diego a day early and spent the afternoon visiting the USS Midway, a decommissioned aircraft carrier docked just down the street from our hotel.

Now, THIS is our cruise ship.  Less history but much more comfort!  It's the Century.  Built in 1995, it's the oldest ship in the Celebrity cruise line.  It was refurbished a few years ago and still looks great.  Its capacity is 1,814 passengers, making it one of the smaller ships in the Celebrity line.

After a very nice day at sea (with better-than-expected weather), we sailed into under the Golden Gate Bridge into San Francisco Monday morning for a two-day stay.  San Francisco is known for its foggy weather, but we had very nice weather that morning (though that would change). 

After disembarking, we took one of those "hop-on/hop off" buses that take you around the city. One of our stops was at the Strybing Arboretum in Golden Gate Park.  Our one-hour walk through the arboretum was very enjoyable.  When our bus ride ended a short time later, the rain had started, and it stayed with us for much of the remainder of our two days in San Francisco.

On the second day, we took a ferry boat over to Alcatraz Island.  Alcatraz closed as a prison in 1963 and is now designated as national landmark and is part of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

Here you can see the three levels of prison cells.

This is a typical prison cell.

Alcatraz was considered a prison for the worst-of-the worst.  And if you were the worst of the worst-of-the-worst, you would likely find yourself in solitary confinement in one of these cells.  Not a place for somone who doesn't like small, dark places.

There were many attempts to escape from Alcatraz.  The most famous occurred on June 11, 1962.  This photo shows one of two cells in which holes were carved to escape.  Those holes led to an unguarded utility corridor.  It is still not known whether the two inmates survived their attempt to reach the mainland.

That night, we left San Francisco and had another very nice day at sea.  This photo is taken above the pool deck at the top of the ship.  The pool didn't get much use on the cruise as the temperature was generally in the 50's.

Our next stop was Astoria, Oregon.  We're told it was a very pleasant stop with great weather.  However, because Steph wasn't feeling very well that day, we spent much of the day in our cabin.

But she was better the next day as we headed toward Naniamo, BC.  That's us with our feet up, enjoying the beautiful scenery. 

Naniamo is a very lovely city of about 80,000 on Vancouver Island.  It's the home of the Naniamo bar, a dessert bar that is native to the area.  Naturally, we had to buy one.  You'd think that if you bought a Naniamo bar in Naniamo, it would be really good.  But it wasn't nearly as good as the ones we used to get at Swilly's in Pullman.

One of the aspects of cruising we enjoy is that you get to meet so many wonderful people.  And so it was with this cruise.  Our dinner companions were two couples who made our cruise even more enjoyable than it would otherwise have been.  Don and Mary from Kaufman, Texas, are standing behind us.  On the left are Jon and Debbi from Boulder, Colorado.

Our last stop on the cruise was Victoria, BC, where we took a bus to The Butchart Gardens.  Click here for additional information about the place.  We'll let the remaining photos speak for themselves.  Be sure to click on the photo on the left to see a larger version.  It's quite spectacular.

Trip to Oahu (March 7-14)

Sometimes, good deals on airfare and a hotel room are too much to resist.  Which is how we ended up in Honolulu for a week in early March. 

This quickly became our photographically-challenged trip.  When we got to the airport, we discovered when had left our camera at home.  So we decided to buy a replacement, which we got at a Walmart about a mile from our hotel.  The camera worked fine and took all the photos you'll see here.  However, we did discover that it has one major flaw -- it doesn't work if you leave the battery in the charger back at the hotel.  Which is what happened on the day of our bus trip around the island...the day that offered the most photo opportunities.

Still, there is much to show.  A highlight of any trip to Honolulu is Pearl Harbor and the Arizona Memorial.  Our only other visit to Honolulu was in the 70's.  We weren't able to go on the Arizona Memorial then, so the closest we got was in a tourist boat that cruised by it.

This time, however, we were able to witness the memorial first-hand.

When you're on the floating memorial, you can see quite a bit of the Arizona below.  Some parts of the ship are above the surface of the water.  This is the base of a gun turret.

Even though it's about 70 years since the attack on Pearl Harbor took place, fuel still leaks from the Arizona.  Each day, about nine quarts of fuel comes to the surface. 

Near the Arizona Memorial is the USS Missouri.  The Missouri was launched on January 29, 1944 and was last used in 1991 during Operation Desert Storm.  This photo was taken from the Arizona Memorial.

The Missouri is probably best known as the location of the Japanese surrender to the Allies at the end of World War II.  This photo shows the location where that ceremony took place.

Another interesting discovery on the Missouri was this dent on the side of the ship.  It's from a Kamikaze attack on April 11, 1945.

We also decided to hike up to the top of Diamond Head.  It wasn't quite as difficult as we had feared, though it definitely gives you a good work-out.  But the view at the top makes it worthwhile.  This photo is an example of "panoramic" shots that our new camera can take.  Click on the photo, and a larger version should open up.  Waikiki is on the left, and the interior of the Diamond Head crater is on the right.

Near the end of our trip, the Honolulu Festival was taking place.  There were several stages set up.  We were at a stage that featured performers from Japan.  This was just a couple of days after the earthquake and tsunami hit their country.

As you may recall, there was some concern in Hawaii about a tsunami.  We were told that it could be as high as 6 feet.  Since were on the 10th floor of our hotel, we were in no immediate danger.  To be on the safe side, we did go to a nearby grocery store and stocked up on some food.  Fortunately, it turned out to be unnecessary.  There was some minor damage in other parts of the islands but not in Waikiki.

Our Panama Canal Adventure

We just returned this past Saturday from a 13-day cruise from Miami to Los Angeles through the Panama Canal.  Needless to say, we had a great time.

We sailed on the Norwegian Star, operated by the Norwegian Cruise Line (NCL).  This photo of our ship was taken during our stop in Acapulco.  We thought NCL provided a very good cruise experience, especially since it is one of the least expensive cruise lines.  The food and service were both good, and we had excellent entertainment every evening.  Our cabin was smaller than what you'll find on many ships (142 sq. ft.), but it was sufficient for our needs.

We left from Miami on Sunday, December 5.  For much of the first full day at sea, we sailed past the coast of Cuba.  I didn't realize Cuba had so many mountains. 

Our first stop was in Cartagena, Columbia, the first time we've been in South America.  Cartagena was founded by Spain in 1533.  The older part of the city is inside a stone wall built for defensive purposes and that took many decades to complete.  The buildings above are in that part of the city.  Note the ever-present members of the military/police.

Towering over the city is the fortress of San Felipe, which was completed in 1686.  It helped to successfully defend the city against a British attack in 1741.  The fort was later destroyed by the French in 1697 and rebuilt between 1762 and 1769.

When you visit Cartagena, you are met with a swarm of aggressive street vendors selling everything from hats to t-shirts to jewelry.  In this photo alone, you can spot five or six vendors.  There was one guy who would let you take a picture of him and his sloth for $2.  In retrospect, I wish I would have done it!

From Columbia, it was on to the Panama Canal.  We got up early that morning only to learn the the canal was closed!  For the first time ever, the canal was closed due to weather (heavy rains).  But we were only delayed a couple of hours.

The journey through the canal is a fascinating experience.  This was a cloudy and somewhat rainy day, but that really didn't detract from the experience.  This photo was taken shortly before we entered the first lock.  In front of us is a Holland America passenger ship.

The Star is at the maximum size for going through the canal.  I believe there was about two feet of clearance on each side of the ship.  You can see in his photo just how close we were to land.

These are the locomotives that guide the ship through the canal.  Because of the size of the Star, it took eight locomotives, four on each side.

There are two lanes in the canal, though only one was being used when we went through.  This photo gives you a good view of the other lane.  And if you look closely on the right side, you might see someone you recognize.

And hopefully you recognize both of these folks.  I believe we were in the last of the three locks when this was taken.  It was just starting to rain quite hard, so we had to hurry to get the picture taken so we could run for cover.

With the canal behind us, we were back on the Pacific Ocean side of the Americas and heading to our next destination -- Costa Rica.

Our stop was in Puntarenas, though we didn't see much of the city.  Instead, we took an excursion to see the rain forest.  Ironically, it was a bright and sunny day. This photo was taken near the beginning of our walk through the forest.  As you can see, Costa Rica is a very beautiful country.

From there, we ventured into the rain forest.  Part of the walk was over suspension bridges like this one.  You have to understand that neither of us is comfortable with heights, so it was just a bit scary to be about 75 feet up in the air and on this bridge that didn't want to keep still.  We managed to make it over the first two bridges.  When we got to the third, our guide told us to just go across the bridge, turn around, come back and head off in the opposite direction.  But we had a better idea -- watch the others cross bridge and wait for them to return.

We didn't see much in the way of wildlife during our hike.  We were hoping for a monkey or a sloth, but that was not to be.  On the way back, we stopped at place where macaws are often sited.  Sure enough, there were several in the trees.  It's off in the distance, so it's a little hard to see.  But it's right in the middle of the photo.

Our next stop that day was on a bridge that spanned one of Costa Rica's rivers.  We were told that crocodiles would likely be present.  Were they ever!

After Costa Rica, we made the first of three stops in Mexico.  First up was Huatulco.  Because we hadn't seen enough crocodiles, we scheduled a trip to a crocodile preserve.  Unfortunately, it was a 90-minute drive in both directions over hilly, winding and often bumpy roads.  Steph is susceptible to motion sickness.  Even though she was wearing one of those anti-motion sickness patches behind her ear, that was not enough for this trip. 

We were on a small boat that took us through a lagoon.  We actually saw only a few crocodiles, including the one in this photo. 

From there, we went on to Acapulco.  Of course, the biggest attraction there are the cliff divers.  The idea of diving off that cliff is pretty scary.  But actually, I think the climb up would be even worse.  There were about ten divers in all, but the final dive was the highest.  Click here for a somewhat grainy video of that dive.

Almost as memorable is the traffic in Acapulco.  Most of the intersections are uncontrolled -- no traffic lights, no stop signs, no yield signs.  Drivers would just have to force their way through.  And old VW bugs are everywhere.  Like these two, most of them are taxis.

Lastly from Acapulco, here's a photo of us taken up on the side of a hill overlooking the city.  It's a beautiful area but a little too hectic for our tastes.

Our last stop was in Cabo San Lucas.  There weren't any excursions that appealed to us, so we just walked around the downtown area for about 90 minutes and then went back to the ship.  This photo is of the downtown harbor area.

We reached Los Angeles last Saturday morning.  During the 13-day cruise, we met a lot of very nice people from various parts of the country and from several other countries, as well.  That's one of the things we enjoy about cruises.  But we were also very happy to get home.  We decided that nine or ten days is about the right length for a cruise for us.

We don't have any more cruises scheduled, though we're sure we'll take some more.  Our next trip will be to Hawaii in March.  It wasn't something we were planning, but some really good airfares became available, so we figured, why not?