Before we finally sign off we wanted to share some of the observations and blessings we have experienced (they are random thoughts not necessarily in any sort of order):
Observations -
John doesn't know when to stop taking pictures :P approximately 35,000.
People are friendly anywhere you go if you are friendly too.
Prices were comparable to our prices - until you add on the tax (which they don't include in their advertised prices) and the tips (generally 15% is acceptable).
Service was great (perhaps if we tipped at home service might be better but I don't want to have to tip either). There was probably only once or twice that the waitress wasn't exuding friendliness and keenness to serve. Typical response on us saying 'thank you' was "You're more than/very welcome".
People were always keen to hear where you were from when they realised you weren't from where they were.
Lot's of people have Australia on their list of places they want to go to.
Don't try and order Lemon, Lime & Bitters - no one knows what that is at bars/restaurants and it was easier to order a diet pepsi or coke.
Canada & Alaska are very dog-friendly - much more so than we are. they have lots of dog walking areas, there are lots of places that have posts where you can collect 'doggy-doo' bags. When you are hiking with your dog, you can leave a 'used' bag by the trail to pick up on the way back - some people will even take for you! Dogs are more welcome at some cafes and lots of hotels have pet-friendly rooms.
No matter where people lived, how remote and harsh, how cold and difficult, they loved the life they chose and wanted you to understand that and were passionate about sharing that with us on our journey (of course there were people we didn't meet that wouldn't have felt that way).
A couple of things you may not want to know about but we will share anyway.......The toilets are interesting. Some fill up nearly to the rim with water (the first time we used it we thought we must have blocked the toilet) and when you 'go' it sits there so you see 'everything' - too much information I know and that's how we felt. Then when you flush it takes all the water away and then refills almost to the top again. In the majority of cases this seemed almost violent as it created a whirlpool and sucked all away in a clock-wise direction. There weren't ladies saniitary bins like we know them. No plastic bins that get taken away. They had little metal containers on the walls in the toilet which inside had a paper bag of sorts - glad I don't have to get that paper bag out and dispose of it.
The water was softer - John noticed this more than I did - he has such delicate skin hee hee.
Houses - like here it depends on where you choose to live how much it will cost you. West Vancouver (also known as the North Shore) was where the millionaires live and Vancouver is quite dear but there are outskirting suburbs that are cheaper, similar to Sydney.
Lots of houses were made out of wood as due to earthquake possibility or permafrost in some areas it has more give than bricks, especially in Alaska.
You need to go into areas away from the tourist sections to see more realistically how people live otherwise all you would see would be the gift shops - towns that had cruise ships come in along the Inside Passage had heaps of jewellery stores lining the main streets.
Even if you are on a tour there may be other places to go or see that aren't included and you need to do your own investigating to find these places e.g. Korschels Wildlife Center or you may miss out on some of the best experiences.
Weather may not be what you expect - Alaska was not the traditional cold, snowy place we thought it might be - it was so warm people had to go out and buy t-shirts as they didn't have enough summer gear.
They only have a few roads with roundabouts and not many people know how to use them! You can turn right on red lights as long as it is safe to do so.
They have three-ways (a T-junction) and four-ways. These are sign-posted and if you come up to one you have to let whoever was there before you go first and it then goes in order of who gets there so the person who gets there after you has to let you go first. It seemed to work very well but I wouldn't trust Sydney drivers as I'm not sure they would be patient enough to follow the rules.
Most traffic lights would be flashing green if there was no traffic in the cross street - I thought there was something wrong with the lights when we first arrived. Once there was traffic in the cross street it would go solid green and you would know it was going to go red soon. The pedestrian crossings generally had the walk sign up to walk and then put up a hand and counted down to stop walking. There were quite a few crossings that although they had lights you didn't need to push a button to cross as they were just on a set timer. Unfortunately this also meant they would change regularly and didn't seem to be in sync.
Daylight hours: Vancouver at parallel 49 - when we arrived 13 July the sun was setting about 9:30pm and getting dark about 10pm. Being so light late at night was different. In Australia Sydney parallel ~34 in February the sun sets ~8pm.
Blessings:
To be able to have the means of being able to get to Canada and that all the arrangements to do so worked out.
Being able to see Andrew & Lindsay and the privilege and joy of being able to be part of their wedding and reception and share in this very important and wonderful event in their lives and ours.
That we were able to spend time with the Raffa Family getting to know them all better, David and Louise sharing stories of Lindsay growing up and Rachel and Carmen as Lindsay's little sisters and their experiences too.
Being able to meet some of the extended family as well prior to the wedding. The boys having dinner together and the girls going for a manicure & pedicure together before their dinner.
The beautiful location at Rockwater Secret Cove Resort where the wedding was held.
The absolutely fantastic weather that we experienced for the wedding and reception and for all the sightseeing in Vancouver. This then extended into our trip where constantly people were commenting on how fortunate we were with the weather we had and how it wasn't normally like that.
At the resort it was peaceful and lovely and the accommodation great.
The time before the wedding where the 'girls' were all getting ready together. No hairdressers or make-up artists - just mum, mum-in-law, sisters and bride all making sure we were all happy with how we looked, helping each other with hair and make-up and rocking along with the music playing.
The intimacy of the wedding and hearing Andrew's voice crack with emotions as he said his vows and joining Lindsay as she got the giggles. The guitarist quietly playing in the background and continuing to play as we had photos taken amongst much laughter.
It was a beautiful wedding ceremony and we feel blessed to have been there for it.
The reception too was set in the Raffa's beautiful garden and Andrew & Lindsay did an amazing job of organising everything with the tables set up beautifully, the lights, plenty of wonderful food, the photo booth which was a hoot and a good way of helping everyone to mix (if you could work out who they were behind the disguises). Even down to the 'favours' that people took home - Andrew & Lindsay made their own hot sauce and bottled it with their own specially designed label.
We all managed to get through our speeches and everything went smoothly - truly a wonderful night that was enjoyed by all.
All the things we got to see and do in Vancouver - the people on the trip we joined only got to see Vancouver city, Stanley Park and lunch at Whistler so nowhere near what we got to see and experience - thanks Andrew & Lindsay for all the driving around and for letting us use Lindsay's car too.
Having our bed & breakfast accommodation with Brenda & Mick just across the road was so convenient and they looked after us so well. We just had to walk out the door and we were there with Andrew & Lindsay without any extra hassle.
Our Trip - what a blessing to see these beautiful countries of Canada and Alaska.
The stunning scenery was breathtaking at times and the changes that we were able to experience within a day were amazing - from snow-capped mountains to barren lands. Waterfalls to glaciers. A large portion of what we saw from the distance was land that has been untouched by humans and it was awesome.
All the travelling that we did and yet we were kept safe throughout and there were no major issues.
Our health - apart from John' sinusitis in the first couple of days, we all were healthy and so was everyone else on the trip so we were able to enjoy every minute no matter how tired we got at times.
The opportunity to go to places lots of other people have never seen or don't get to experience on some other tours. Where's Wrangell? A place we were staying 4 nights - more than anywhere else - the town didn't look like much but was the place where we got to go out from and see all the bears, the beautiful glaciers and icebergs - a special part of the journey. Then Haines too where we went to the Kroschel Wildlife Center where we were able to see all the animals we wouldn't have been able to see up close anywhere else.
The people on the trip with us who helped make the journey enjoyable, for all the chats we had, the meals we shared, experiences we had together. For your concern about Steven as he was so much younger than us all and helping him feel comfortable and enjoy the trip as much as us.
Us - Having the opportunity and special blessing of being able to spend time with our family during major events in their lives. To be able to attend and take part in the wedding of Andrew & Lindsay and sharing lots of time with them before and after. To see them in love and planning their lives together for the future. To be able to travel with Steven and spend quality time with him - watching him interact with the other people on tour who were much older than him, with the people who served us in different ways and with other family he had just met. To watch him grow in confidence and ability and the many laughs we had (at our last breakfast we were all in fits of laughter, almost unable to breath, and Brenda came in to check up on us - we said we were all going 'mad' from spending too much time together).
We are so proud of both our sons and our new daughter-in-law and love them all dearly.
Finally, we feel blessed and fortunate to have been able to have made this trip and thank God for watching over the whole experience and us all during it. He truly has made a wonderful, beautiful world that we should all savour and enjoy and be grateful for.
Thank you for sharing this journey with us - whoever you are - hope you enjoyed hearing and seeing all about it and got just a taste of how wonderful it was.
Monday 2 September 2013
01-09-2013 Sunday - Sydney
Most of the trip to Sydney, nothing could be seen until the sun was rising.
The Sydney Harbour bridge on the way in.
A bit more of the harbour.
Dawn's brother Gary & sister-in-law Kylie picked us up from the airport - a bit of a surprise.
Kylie said she had organised a bus shuttle service to pick us up - lovely they were so keen to see us and it was lovely to see them too.
Father's Day today and the weather is beautiful so did some washing and popped in to see Dawn's mum and dad briefly. Stayed up as long as we could and Dawn & John finally gave in around 7.30pm and Steven around 9.30pm.
31-08-2013 Saturday - Incheon to Sydney
Flying over South Korea, there were glimpses of landscape through the cloud...
We arrived at Incheon, Seoul, Korea at ~5:50pm, through customs & waited for the flight out at ~7:10pm.
The plane we were flying in to Sydney (smaller than the first leg).
It was dark by the time we left & John was able to get a few shots of lights in the landscape, these soon faded away as we left civilisation behind.
Tall bodies with shorter back chairs don't quite go. People in front who decide to have their chair reclined back the whole trip (except for meals and take-off & landing when they are told to put it up) make for cramped existence.
Our plan to not sit together worked well on both these trips - on each trip John & Dawn had no one between them and Steven was on the aisle with no one next to him :)
30-08-2013 Friday - Farewells, Vancouver to Incheon
Today, is the last day in Vancouver - we fly to Incheon airport in Seoul, South Korea. Left at ~2:35pm a cloudy rainy day.
We said goodbye to Mick & Brenda, our B & B hosts for 16 days - much appreciated.
We said goodbye to Jake. He knew something was happening.
The Raffa's House, were we had the reception & quite a few family meals.
Andrew had to change the tyre on his car as it was completely flat - we were going to the airport in Lindsay's car but she needed his car to go on to the University of BC after breakfast.
We went to breakfast with Lindsay & Andrew, a sad farewell to Lindsay who was collecting a reference letter from her professor.
An aquarium at the airport.
The plane we are flying out on.
There was very little of Vancouver to see as the cloud soon covered everything.
The cloud was sparse at time - mainly only able to see ocean now.
Or it was just total cloud cover.
John & Steven started their movie marathons but Dawn had dosed herself up on tablets so did a bit of dozing to start with.
29-08-2013 Thursday - Stanley Park & Fly Over Vancouver
It was our last breakfast supplied by Brenda & Mick today (note this was one of our earlier pictures - we were inside today). The lovely yoghurts, fresh fruit, choice of cereals to satisfy the boys and yummy scones today along with juice and coffee. Thanks for treating us along the way with a range of different fruits - always fresh and tasty - and special treats of croissants, bagels, different flavoured scones and muffins. They made us feel very spoilt. We often enjoyed an afternoon drink (Lemon, Lime & Bitters - John introduced them and they love it) and a good chat on the back deck . A lovely experience staying with Brenda & Mick - THANK YOU!!!
Today we went with Andrew into Stanley Park - we had a lot of trouble trying to find this sculpture as the Aquarium was doing a lot of renovation & had moved the sculpture to behind the fence that can be seen behind it here. In front and now being seen was a 'rubbish' sculpture - it was rubbish!
Lindsay had to spend the day putting together applications for universities as she has now finished her pre-course exams and was very happy with the results which have given her the score she needs to get into Occupational Therapy. Some of these applications have to be in by certain dates and she won't hear until later in the year where she gets in.
We went on the miniature train in Stanley park to hear about...
The Spirit Bear story.
The ride takes you around Klahowya Village The story was played over the speakers on the train and was an interesting story but the displays were sort of just 'put together' - the fact that it was raining probably didn't help but it was a bit 'drab'. There were also other stands where there would be artisans selling goods and different displays at different times.
We were discussing with Lindsay later how amazing it was that in a major sightseeing venue they had this very amateur looking put together display.
I read some other comments and most were about the other things you could have seen such as weaving demonstrations etc that we didn't get to see. It is apparently a seasonal thing where they have Easter, Halloween and Bright Lights exhibitions so the whole exhibition changes. The next ones starts soon and it is about horror movie characters etc.
The Totems at Stanley Park - another gift shop here for Dawn to look through.
The weather was cloudy with rain/drizzle.
View of the rain covered Vancouver skyline. Apparently this is what it is like normally - we were so fortunate to have the great weather we had earlier in the trip but it was also good to 'experience' what they normally have too.
We went for lunch to The Tea House, as you can see from the photo (not one of John's) it is at the edge of Stanley Park. This was a Mother's Day present from Andrew & Lindsay.
We then went into Canada Place, Dawn wandered around the shops again.... (and had to find a bank as well)
While Andrew, Steven & John went and saw 'Fly Over Canada', a Father's Day present for John.
Dawn felt it would be best not to see this (for head/health reasons) as it is a suspended seating ride over/in front of a large Imax screen, with water misting & odours thrown in where you have the experience of flying through Canada and seeing different scenery and close to the action of hockey games, cowboys etc - very spectacular.
It was back to Andrew & Lindsay's place for a lasagne dinner (yummy - thanks Louise), by the time we were back Lindsay was at work. We were able to say a quick goodbye to David (from a distance as he was not well) & Rachel (before she went out), Louise was in Boston & Carmen was in Holland.
We also got to say goodbye to Cheeko (the Raffa dog) who was down visiting (there is an adjoining door at the bottom of the internal stairs down to their flat from the Raffa house) but we sent him upstairs when it was time to eat as he liked the look and smell of the lasagne too.
Early to bed tonight as we know we won't get much sleep on the plane.
Sunday 1 September 2013
28-08-2013 Wednesday - Victoria to Vancouver
Today we were no longer with the group and making our own way back to Vancouver. The group wouldn't arrive in Vancouver (at the airport) until 5pm and so we made our own arrangements to catch a coach across on the ferry and then into downtown Vancouver. This was a much better option as Andrew was able to pick us up at 11.30am downtown.
Some last minute photos of Victoria, (capital of British Columbia - also known as BC) there is a lack of people & traffic at 7:45am.
The ferry leaves Vancouver Island.
As you can see, it is a bit foggy, we are finally getting to experience the normal Vancouver weather.
Heading into Tsawwassen.
Andrew picked us up and it was a bit drizzly. We went back to the house and said a quick hello to Mick & Brenda and dropped off our bags.
We then had lunch with Lindsay & Andrew at Honey's in Deep Cove.
The views at Deep Cove, with the normal 'Rain'couver weather - raining today.
Brenda was amused that John was taking pictures of squirrels. With all the wildlife we had seen we still got excited watching it run across the back deck and up into the trees.
After spending a bit of time with Andrew & Lindsay they both had to go off to work at 3pm. The company Andrew is working for is working at a college fixing up lights so the work needs to be done after hours. Lindsay was working with Melissa, one of her special clients whom she helps. We were not able to catch up with the Raffas as Carmen is now in Holland on an exchange year student program, David was unwell and Louise (after spending time with Carmen in Iceland was in Boston and won't arrive home until Friday night after we have left) and Rachel was out. 
So we went took the opportunity of taking Mick & Brenda (our bed and breakfast hosts) to Marina Side Grill at Lynwood Marina.The view from the Marina Side Grill with Second Narrowest Bridge (also known as Ironworkers Bridge) in the background. Lovely food and company.
This is the gps track for our trip - most of this is the same for the tour - except for the Kamloops, Banff & Calgary section. Some of the tour group did the Wiseman trip, above the Arctic Circle.
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