We began the day with an hour delay in Winnipeg due to the intense lightning storm that blew through the city at 5 am this morning. Our flight was smooth once we did get off the ground and the amazingly friendly and very witty flight crew on board Westjet 307 made our two and a half hour flight a pleasant one. We arrived in Vancouver, retrieved our luggage and had enough time to grab a quick Bacon'n'egger and Decaf Caramel Machiato before boarding the Quick Shuttle headed for Seattle Washington. I was unsure whether this was the best way to get here but the motorcoach was very comfortable and not having to fight the holiday traffic in the Seattle area was a blessing. We also breezed through customs in about half the time it would have taken had we driven ourselves.
The Marriott Waterfront is a lovely hotel, directly across from Pier 66 (Royal Caribbean, Celebrity and Norwegian all cruise from here) and about one block from the famous Pikes Place Market. We spent a couple of hours wandering through this open air market taking in all the wondeful handmade artifacts being sold here. The fresh cut flowers were amazing and so inexpensive. We stopped in at Kells Irish Pub for a delicious meal, traditional shepherds pie and a freshly baked apple tart, made with Washington Apples, and fresh whipped cream. I was able to work off this big meal walking up and down some of the steepest hills I've come across.
We are looking forward to an early start in the morning and hope to get another good walk in (to Starbucks!) before we head to Pier 91 (Holland America and Princess use this one) to board our ship, HAL's Rotterdam, for our 7 day Alaskan Cruise.
Stay tuned for more on my journey to Alaska.
