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.
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