Dos Harbores

TOP: Radiance of the Seas dockside

2nd: Dumb and Dumber after their 2 mile run to make the ship

BOTTOM: Ok, so maybe am SUV would have been a good idea.

x

Big day today; we board the ship and set sail for Alaska..YEAH!!!!!!!!!

x

We started the day with a quick bfast, and then figured we'd get in about a half day of touristing before heading out. We drove around Vancouver proper for a while, through Stanley Park, the eclectic villages, and such, and bid to say goodbye. It's been a very nice trip, and I will undoubtably go back to vancouver again for something...likely a kayak or bike trip.

x

We loaded up the car to head to the harbor, and realized just how much LUGGAGE laraine brought. Fortunately, she folds up small in the back seat, as evidenced above. The hotel people were in tears watching us load everything up into the compact car.

x

Now the real story begins....we drove down to the harbor, and dropped the girls and all the luggage off at the dock, adjacent to the ship. Then, tom and I drove over to the car rental return, dropped the car, and started our mile or so trek back to the harbor. When we got there, the ship was not boarding yet, so we just hung out. At one point, I noticed that it was a holland ship, and I asked kathy "hey, I thought you said we were on royal carribbean". Wow boy, that set a bunch of things in motion....we were at THE WRONG DOCK!!!! Seems that although this was the main cruise ship terminal, our ship was too big to fit there, so they docked it at the freight terminal miles away. Holy Harborfreight Batman!!! We commandered the only cab nearby, stuffed the girls and the luggage into it, and sent them on their way, while Tom and I started the "arthritic old men" jog to the terminal. Since the cabbie told us it was not even a mile, we figured we'd make it with plenty of time to spare...that is until we finally got there an hour later, drenched and tired, as the harboer was over 3 MILES AWAY.

x

We got on the ship, tracked down the kozlowski's and the heidick's, and immediately headed towards the bar. We order up a round of drinks, bring them back to the table, where koz asks "which one is the blue hawaian?"....an interesting question, given that there was 4 beers, 2 scotch, 3 wines, and one cocktail...which was, surprisingly enough, blue.

x

But hey, we're on the ship, we have booze, and we're off to Alaska!

x

"Bon Voyage" Lumpy out

Richmond, China

TOP: Laraine in high-speed pose

2nd: A beginner skater. Luckily for him, Laraine was able to get out there and correct his form before the Olympic Trials began

BOTTOM: Laraine and Kathy relaxing after a hard day on the ice.

x

We returned from Whistler last night, got a good night's sleep, and went for a long walkabout in Richmond today, a suburb of Vancouver. Richmond is famous for its ChinaTown, and they didn't underestimate it. Very densely packed, there were a ton of shops. One of our favorites only had dress for a size 0 AND UNDER!!! Of course, Tom was the only one that fit into those, wimpy little person that he is.

x

We went over to the Olympic Oval, where speed skating will be contested in January, and it was a very cool place. Literally. They had a bunch of Olympic contenders training there, and it was incredible to see just how fast they were able to go...I'd estimate at least 30-40mph. The building had been designed to become a community resource after the games, with babysitting services, weight rooms, etc. Very, very nicely done.

x

We tooled around the area for most of the day, went down to one of the little seaport villages for dinner, and called it a night. Tomorrow, we set sail (well, motor anyways) for Alaska!

x

"General Tsang" Lumpy out