Northwest Cruise 2023
Our daughter, Mollika, invited us to join her family for a cruise to Northwest and Canada. It was only three days. Of course, we said yes. The only problem there was that Deb had a writer's retreat scheduled for the weekend before the cruise. Luckily, the cruise and the retreat were in the northwest part of Washington State. After the cruise, we would spend seven days at home and then go on a five-day cruise with my son and his family. Again, we wouldn't have time to go back home before a writer's conference that both I and my wife were going to.
It's going to be a busy four weeks.
We drove from our home in Idaho to Rosario Beach where I dropped off Deb for her retreat. The seven-hour trip turned into nine hours by the time we arrived due to some unforeseen stops, but we still made it on time. Actually, we were the first ones there.
I trudged over to the hotel and got all checked in. I then lugged my suitcases to my room. I checked my medication and I didn't have enough of the one so my first stop was a nearby pharmacy to see if they could help.
I then went to my friend Doug's house. I know I should have called in advance but it was a spur-of-the-moment decision so I didn't.
The only problem there was he owns two houses next door to each other. I didn't recognize the cars in the one driveway but I did the other so I called and asked if he had moved next door.
“Nope,” he said. “Come on in.”
The door opened before I got to it and Doug, Nancy, his wife, and I spent the next two hours catching up. I kept apologizing for ruining their evening, but they said they were only watching television anyway.
I drove back to the hotel and settled in for a good night's sleep.
Day 2
My good night's sleep started at 9:30 at night when I couldn't keep my eyes open anymore. I never go to bed that early but all that driving had worn me out. It ended at 3:35 in the morning when the train came by. I don't know how close the train is but the whistle sounded like it came from the lobby.
I tried to get back to sleep but it took an hour and a half to do so. The alarm clock went off an hour later. I'm cursing under my breath at this point at the last person in the room who turned on the alarm and didn't turn it off. I snuggle back down, but then there's another train. Aargh.
I gave up and went down to get some breakfast.
I went up and visited my dad and step mother. They live twenty minutes away. Then I bought some potatoes for Mollika. Ironic, isn't it, that I buy potatoes every time we visit Western Washington and yet on my license plate it says “Famous Potatoes.” Those potatoes grow in the southern part of Idaho and don't seem to make it north at all. I now have a hundred pounds of potatoes in the back of my car. I hope Mollika has room for it in her van.
I fixed my prescription so now I have enough to last me the whole cruise. The pharmacy had to jump through a whole lot of hoops. They called my pharmacy back home, they called the doctor to get him to send another prescription, they had only one box so they gave it to me. It was going to cost me $223, but they were able to get the insurance to make an exception so it only cost $22. I was so grateful.
The highlight of my day was having dinner with the Schwinds, friends of mine from back in the day. I teased their son when I came in the door, “Oh, they feed you, too.”
“I'm the one doing the cooking.”
My tease backfired that fast. I also learned he was a good cook.
Doug showed me how to use some of the tools he has. I own the same ones but haven't played with them yet. We had fun. Then we sat around and talked for the longest time. It was so nice.
Day 3
I'm still in Burlington, WA, and will be picking up Deb from her writer's retreat in the morning. I had a Belgian waffle for breakfast in the hotel lobby. It was so good.
Spent most of the day writing. I know people think that's a punishment, but it's what I do. I went out and grabbed some lunch then drove by my old house. I don't know why. I guess it was because I spent so much money on it over the years. Two roofs were replaced, the siding replaced twice. We had it in real good shape and then we walked away. The hedge completely covers the front of the house now. I asked the neighbor if I could take care of the hedge when I lived there. He said yes, but I didn't really know if he understood me or not because he was Korean. I knew I wouldn't be able to see out the front windows if it wasn't trimmed regularly. That happened.
I kept leaving the room when I saw room service out and about and would come back an hour later only to find the room undone. I needed a nap at that point so I put out the Do Not Disturb sign. I figured I missed my window of opportunity. I went to dinner at 6:30. When I came back it was made up. I hope I didn't keep them over. I stayed in a lot of hotels and they never have room service work that late.
Speaking of dinner. I went to eat at my favorite Mexican restaurant. It's a pain to drive around this hotel because one of the entrances is blocked and the other one is one way only going the wrong direction. As I finally got turned around I drove by and found out it was now a different restaurant. I vaguely remember it changing hands, but not until I drove by. I had eaten at that one, and didn't like it, so I kept driving. My second favorite restaurant was now named something else and there were no cars there at six thirty at night, so I kept driving. I knew that had another location in Burlington so I drove there. It was also named something else, but I gave up on eating the familiar and went in. It was now late and I didn't want to drive around anymore.
They didn't have what I normally order and what I did order wasn't as good as the restaurants I used to go to. The waiter took my order and then came back fifteen minutes later. “There was a glitch in our computer system and your order was lost.”
Somehow I didn't believe him. He forgot to put my order in, so I had to reorder. Then I ran out of water but he never came back to check on me. When I finished up, he was a no-show for another fifteen minutes. Someone else came up to ask if I was done.
“Is he new?” I asked.
“Yes.”
I told her all the problems and said, “He ain't getting a tip.”
“I totally agree,” she replied.
If he isn't concerned about my time, I'm not concerned about his tip.
Day 4
It's 6:04 am and dogs are barking in the hallway. I'm rethinking staying at pet-friendly hotels. Actually, I didn't know this was one of them until this moment. The dog’s owner doesn't seem concerned about it as it isn't stopping. I have half a mind to call the front desk, but I don't know what they could do about it either.
Deb texted me and said the eclipse was happening so I grabbed my special glasses and went to the window on the second floor. There was a cloud and a tree in the way, but I kinda saw it. After that, I headed down to the lobby where breakfast was being served. I saw the eclipse out the front door. As I looked around the lobby there were a lot of people talking not even realizing what was happening. So, being me, I talked to one table at a time and loaned them my glasses. The two most common responses were before looking, “I heard something about that,” and after looking, “Oh, wow.”
One girl was on her honeymoon. There were about nine people at her table. They took turns looking out at the eclipse. She came back and said, “You made my day.”
Another woman was sitting by herself and I know she could hear what was going on and I thought she would ask, but she didn't. I figured she wasn't interested, but since I had asked everyone else in the room, I asked her. Before I finished asking the question she said, “Yes,” and took the glasses.
By this time, I had talked to everyone in the room so I gave the last table the glasses and the lady took them upstairs, I'm assuming to show other people.
Deb said to head out at 10:15 to come and pick her up. I expected her to call when I got close. I had nothing else to do so I played tourist. I went up to Cap Sante Point and then drove over the Deception Pass bridge. I tried calling her a couple of times, but the writer's retreat is in a dead area. I gave up and drove into the compound and texted her. “I'm here.”
She came out a few minutes later. That didn't work either. She spotted me in the parking lot finally.
It's fun seeing her so excited. The whole drive from the beach to the hotel she told me about what she learned and how much fun she had had interacting with the other women.
We arrived back at the hotel in time for Deb to repack her stuff and then drove over to meet our granddaughter for lunch. She's in college and told us all about her classes and plans. It was nice to see that she's headed in the right direction.
Deb told me to get a hold of Miranda and arrange dinner. So, I called and set it all up, so I thought. I thought she said she would text us when they left Bellevue. She thought I said we would come over at 6:30. I called her at 6:30 to see what was going on. They were sitting at home waiting for us to come over and we were sitting in the hotel room waiting for them to text. We decided that we would meet at the Dragon Inn restaurant. We stood by the door waiting for them to arrive when they texted us that they were getting a table so we headed in, only they weren't there. I call again. “We are at the Dragon Inn by the bowling alley.”
“We are at the one by Dairy Queen,” Miranda responds. Somehow Brad and Miranda thought Fortune was Dragon Inn. We got it all straightened out and had an enjoyable meal and Deb got her Chinese Food that she'd been craving.
Day 5 Marysville
It was a bad, rotten, and not very good day. I have a urinary tract infection so I was up every five minutes all night long. So we visited a walk-in clinic in the morning. They ran all sorts of tests. I don't have Covid, so that was good. My urine sample, however, was all sorts of interesting. I'm so woozy by this point that I can't even walk straight, Which Deb keeps pointing out, but I'm in denial. When we get to Safeway so she can fill my prescription, she tells me to wait in the car, but that ain't happening because I'm still going to the bathroom every fifteen minutes. I try to walk as straight as I can knowing I would fail a sobriety check. It's a good thing Deb is driving.
I get the sweats on the way the Marysville and saturate my clothes, but am feeling a lot better. Except for the frequent urination, I'm good. Gradually the gaps of having to go are longer and longer and I'm able to finally get some sleep, which is what the majority of my Sunday consisted of.
Mollika and her family arrive at the hotel. Mollika ducks her head in and says hi. I now know my symptoms were from a raging bladder infection, but she still thinks I may have the plague so she keeps her distance.
Day 6 Getting on ship
I'm feeling a lot better. Instead of getting up every fifteen minutes to go to the bathroom, I'm getting two hours of sleep at a time. We all have breakfast together. I finally get to hug the kids. Breakfast is good, but the one at the other hotel in Burlington was a lot better. It's a good thing we're only staying here the one night.
It's raining by the time we get to the Everett train station. The bathrooms are being remodeled and the port-a-potties are locked. I complain to the security guard and he says that the people are on the way to service them. They didn't make it. Luckily I was able to hold until we were on the train.
I'm sitting next my grandson and he has his face glued to the window. The conductor says there might be some harbor seals floating on the logs. He comes by to tell my grandson that the birds scared them off. Still, it's great views as the train follows the waterfront.
We get a glimpse of the cruise ship as we pass by. The kids are debating whether it's larger or smaller than they imagined.
We go through a train yard and then hit the station. Luckily we have our suitcases with us and don't have to wait at baggage claim. There is a long line for taxis and Ubers. A guy came up with a clipboard offering us a ride to the cruise port in a van for only fifteen per person. We pass.
Then a van pulls up and will only take a minimum of five people. We say we have seven.
“I can make that work.” He starts loading the bags in the back. It has a jump seat that actually goes over the suitcases on a rail. The only problem is there are not enough seat belts.
“We can make this work,” Deb says and we're off. It wasn't a big problem because, in Seattle traffic, he can rarely get over twenty miles an hour anyway.
We get to the port and drop off our bags. There's this big huge long line, but if you filled out your information on the app and had your medallions, the thing that opens the door to your stateroom, sent to you, you can get in the other line, which isn't a line. So, we walk right onto the ship. I guess those other people didn't get the memo.
We get our luggage and drop off our things at the stateroom after lunch and spend the rest of the day walking back and forth. I'm trying to find the kid section which is in the back of the ship, but Mollika manages to convince me the back of the ship is the front of the ship. There is a nightclub at the back of the ship that looks like the bridge on the front of the ship. We are all suffering from a lack of sleep today. We go to the front and realize we have to go back.
Quinn leaves with one of the kids to go the bathroom so I take another kid to go look for him. I get lost in a maze of stairways and end up walking four decks down and not finding Quinn. When I arrived back he was already there. I would have saved a lot of walking just staying put.
Dinner was good. The kids were mostly well-behaved. The youngest spilled her water and then spilled Deb's water. Luckily, no one was drenched, but it came closer and closer to getting Mollika each time. I was worn out and wanted to call it a day but they managed to talk me into going to the comedian. He was funny but inappropriate for the kids so we walked out.
We went to the show, which was great. They really did a good job, and then we went up to the buffet to get some more dessert. We paid for the food; might as well eat as much as possible. The kids aren't loving the dessert on the ship, turns out.
Day 7 Sea Day
Mollika and family had only had four single beds in their room but we have an extra pull-down bed in ours. So, we get the oldest grandchild to sleep with us. There's a ladder up to the bunk, but I can't get to the bathroom if the ladder is up because it blocks the aisle. Deb puts it loosely against the bunk so we can pass by. The problem began when the oldest kicked it every time he rolled over, and he rolled over a lot. It would clank back down against the bed. Finally, he kicks it so hard it's now leaning against the far wall. Then I see something sticking out from under the bar of his bed. As I focus on it, the toes move. It's his foot. He then rolls over so the foot is facing the other way. He wiggles his toes again. The third time he rolls over he pulls the foot back in.
We ate breakfast in the dining room, which was nice. It's hard for the waiter to take the order with so many kids and they change their minds in the middle.
The kids went up to the kid's club and enjoyed it so much that they asked to go back. Mollika and Quinn went to a dance class. We went to dinner and then to a show. Princes has this app where you can find people in your party and it tells you where to go to find them. Only it's not in real-time. We had wandered around the ship and then went to the theater. Quinn checked his app and it said we were in the art gallery so he went there. Mollika pulls up her apps. “Good, he's only a minute away.”
Then he went to the Piazza following our trail. Finally, after we sat in one place for long enough, he was able to find us. Poor guy.
The singer was amazing. We really enjoyed him. Had a nice shower today. The knobs aren't like any other shower knobs I have ever used. One controls velocity and the other controls the heat. The problem was figuring out which one does what before you freeze or fry. As for the size, well, it's super small. I dropped my washcloth and it looked like wall-to-wall carpeting. The good part is you can brush your teeth in the sink and still be in the shower, so that's the one advantage.
Day 8 Victoria
I woke up and went out on the balcony. I saw a beautiful sunrise and a rainbow later on. Deb doesn't like aft-facing balconies because you have to walk so far to get anywhere. This one isn't so bad though as it has three sets of elevators and not two like on the normal ships. We had breakfast in the dining room again. It was good. After the sixteen-day cruise, I could no longer find a breakfast I liked. I'm not going to get to that point on this cruise.
We headed out into Vancouver. We didn't want to do the shuttle buses but walked to Fisherman's Wharf, instead, it's less than a mile walk, then took a water taxi to the dock in front of the Empress Hotel. We walked up the street and found Roger's Chocolate. I also bought ketchup-flavored potato chips to see if they like them. It was a no. I didn't either so I couldn't blame them. Then we walked to Beacon Park. I was already walked out so I decided I would sit at the park entrance and wait for them. Deb sat next to me and was also going to wait which made me feel guilty so we caught up with them. I found another park bench near a pond with ducks and geese in it so I walked ahead to sit there instead.
Mollika wanted to head to the other side of the park, but then decided if we were going to get to the British Columbia Museum we would have to get back sooner. I'm sore at this point so every time the something interesting to look at I look over their shoulder and then go find a bench to sit on. My back and legs are burning having already walked further that day than I had in the last two months. I need to get into shape. And worse than that, the walking is dropping my blood sugar to new and dangerous levels. It's like my body is adjusting to the new reality, but not well. After the museum, we are on a quest to find Kindereggs. I hate quests because they always involve lots of walking. Luckily, we find them. The kids are happy because the chocolate eggs have toys in the middle of them.
They are banned in the United States because they present a choking hazard. I guess Canadian kids are smarter than United States kids because they know not to choke on toys.
We used all of our time up, so we had to hurry to get back on the ship and to the dining room to make our 5:00 reservations. As we're rushing, my grandson has to stop because of a side cramp. Quinn is hurting so much he can hardly walk, and did I mention I was walked out? For the rest of the day, every time I stand up, I have to wait for the blood to flow back into my legs so I can walk. And it's a painful process. Quinn taps out and stays in the cabin as the rest of us go to the show. The kids loved it. Then Mollika took them up to the kids’ program and the three of us went to a game show called Liar's Club. A lot of it was just okay, but by the end, Deb and Mollika were laughing so loud that I had to join them.
Day 9
Vancouver
I always hate it when a cruise ends and this one did. We woke up early and finished packing. Then we headed down to the main dining room to have breakfast luggage in hand. They had us put our baggage by a wall in the dining room because it wouldn't fit around the table. Mollika doesn't like the buffet as much. The kids were still sleepy as the waiter had a hard time getting them to order. We finally did and enjoyed a good breakfast. We then headed off the ship and into Vancouver. No one wanted a passport. No one wanted a customs form. No one even gave us a second glance. I thought I was on the southern border of the US for a minute there. The first thing we do is walk too much. I try to go down to the Skytrain. My blood sugar is tanking so I know I'm not making much sense. I point down, but Deb wants to go a block and a half in the rain instead. I try to explain that they are all connected under there. I guess I didn't make much sense. Mollika is trying to get to the Millennium Line as it is the one that goes through Burnaby. I looked at the map before we came and I pointed out Metrotown as the station we needed to go to. Finally, I was coherent enough to say to Deb, “We're going to the wrong place.”
As we discuss it a man comes up and tells us we need to go to Metrotown. So, we do and the hotel is across the street. It's raining hard by this point and as we stand outside we find the front door locked. There was no back door. The front desk lady slowly walks towards the door but then stops to talk to a gentleman in the lobby. Did I mention it was raining? She finally comes to the door and lets us in. I think locking your customers out is a bad business model. We stored our luggage and headed back to town.
We rode the Skytrain and then the Seabus to Lonsdale Quay. We did some shopping and walked around the shops. The rain was coming down pretty well by this point so we waited it out. When it stopped, we made a dash for the Seabus station. We explored around Canada Place and ate lunch across the street from there. After lunch, we took taxis out to Grandville Island. It’s a lot like Lonsdale Quay but a lot bigger. Mollika found a pottery place and was in heaven. I found time to sit down as my legs were screaming at this point. We explored the market and found some Nanaimo bars for the kids to try. They like them. That’s too bad because you can’t get them in the States. I found some butter tarts, but the kids didn’t like those. They had currants in them. The ones on the east coast of Canada are better.
We went to a kid's shop. It even had a kid’s entrance. No adults are allowed through that door. I couldn’t have fit through it anyway so I wasn’t bothered.
Mollika kept looking around and finally asked, “I’ve been here before, haven’t I?”
“Yes, when you were a kid.”
It was nice it was still there. Now her kids will make memories. As we were leaving, Mollika noticed through a window that they were blowing glass in this one shop. We watched for a while. One of the kids said, “She’s making a heart.”
The lady glass-blower nodded and smiled. We all went into the shop where they were having a sale on items that weren’t perfect. Deb likes the imperfect stuff anyway, Mollika does too, so we had more to pack. Luckily, we aren’t taking a plane home.
We then checked into the hotel. They had given Mollika a key so we could get past the front door without begging, pleading, and waiting for someone to let us in.
The kids wanted to go swimming but first, we went to this huge mall and did a lot more walking to get the oldest some new shoes. His shoes had gotten wet, rotted, and were in a plastic bag in the trash because they were stinking up the room.
It was an outdoor pool on the third floor of the hotel with all the skyscrapers around us when we went out to swim. It’s the weirdest laid-out hotel I’ve ever seen. We swam around for about an hour. Not surprisingly there was no one else out there. The water was heated, but as soon as you stuck your head out, it was cold. Needless to say, I swam underwater a lot. We made a run for our rooms to dry off and take showers, then Mollika and Deb brought up some food to our room and we all ate on the beds and the floors. They went back to their room to sleep afterward.
Day 10
We had an early, hotel-provided breakfast. They had a pancake-making machine which the kids really enjoyed. You just press a button and a few minutes later, you get some small pancakes back. Deb, Mollika, and the kids went to the dollar store to go shopping. They said most items were over a dollar but that makes sense their dollar being worth seventy-two cents of our money.
By the time they arrived back, there were two maid carts in the hallway, one in front of each room. We had three minutes to spare when we checked out.
We arrived at Science World and had to wait in a long line even though we had prepaid tickets. The kids loved it as there were a multitude of things to do and see. I got the idea to start at the top and work our way down to try and avoid the crowds, but the place was mobbed on all levels so it didn’t work.
After exploring for hours, we went back down. The train station was just a block away and we had dropped off our bags there earlier. There is an A&W there and so I ordered for everyone. I kept questioning the guy taking my order, asking if he was sure he had everything right. He assured me he did, but he messed up on several fronts. We ended up getting an extra hamburger and drink but one less order of fries. Sigh. We went to eat a leisurely lunch before being on the train in half an hour.
First, the guy said we needed to check our bags and make sure they weren’t overweight. I knew they all were. We ended up having an extra bag and Quinn and Mollika had an extra box. After weighing to make sure we had taken enough stuff out of it, I asked if it was time to line up.
The guy replied, “Boy, I would.” I told Deb to come over and there was a mad rush to line up for the train, but since I was already there, it worked out great for us.
Deb’s suitcase broke so she couldn’t use the one wheel. It was getting to be a problem. But we managed. They started boarding about two minutes after we got into line so we were the second ones on. We found some great seats, facing forward this time, and sat down.
There wasn’t much of a view from the windows because we went through the industrial section of Vancouver and then night fell. We tried to keep the kids quiet until these two college girls came on the train and were so loud they drowned out all the other passengers in the car. The café car was one car up from where we were and a group of them were pretty plastered by the time we arrived in Everett. I would have complained, but they helped us get our suitcases off the train, so I was grateful.
We drove to the hotel in Smokey Point and settled in for the night as it was very late by that point.
Day 11
The kids went swimming this morning but didn’t stay long as the indoor pool was full of the smell of chlorine. Breakfast again had a pancake machine. We made use of it. We checked out an hour and a half early this time. We drove separately towards Leavenworth but stopped in Skykomish. Deb saw a free train ride sign.
My friend, Kevin, had begged me to come for the train ride for at least fifteen years, maybe twenty. It was just too far, even though I wanted to do it. We pulled up and to my delight, he was sitting there. We caught up on old times as we waited for the grandkids to get there. When they arrived, we all sat down on the small train. Deb and I picked the last car on the train to be on. We were halfway around the track but hadn’t gotten through the tunnel yet when it derailed. The train operator didn’t hear it apparently and kept going to we hit a switch and the car fell over on Deb and me. I was on top of my knee which was at a bad angle and Deb was on top of me. Not completely on top of me as she also hit a rock.
“That’s never happened before,” the guys that ran the train said. I was able to walk off my sore knee, but Deb’s bruise lasted a lot longer.
I jumped back on. I wasn’t going to but I wanted to go through the tunnel. Silly me. This time we managed to stay on, but I picked out a car a lot farther up on the train and not the last one in line. All went well and I was able to go through the tunnel this time around.
We found a waterfall next to the road a little while later and then we headed from there to Leavenworth. We wanted to go to the cookie shop on the main street but Oktoberfest was going on and there was no parking anywhere so we found a bakery on the edge of town but we wish we hadn’t. The cookies were terrible. We went from there to the Applet and Cotlet factory. Man, have their prices gone down. We bought a bunch.
We decided to take Highway 20 home but then decided to go down to the freeway because there weren’t any cars on 20 at all. I worry about breaking down.
We met the kids one more time right before Spokane as we got off on the same exit to use the restroom. Boy were they surprised to see us.
It was a great trip all in all except for getting sick.
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Deb's Cruise Books
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