Alaskan Inside Passage Cruise 2018

We rose for the last morning in Vancouver and, after a cup of room coffee, headed out for a final Granville Island stroll, a cup of good coffee and breakfast.  Then, back to our room to pack and await a taxi to Canada Place cruise terminal.   Do not be fooled by the apparent shortage of luggage for Rod and Glenda.  They also had a 50+ pounder shipped and awaiting them on the ship.   Van sized taxis are not common so we took two of the ubiquitous Prius taxis to the cruise terminal.  The cruise staff took possession of our luggage and we proceeded to check, and process through US immigration and customs.  Canada Place staff were numerous and very courteous helping everyone, in clear contrast to our airport experience on Monday. Once clear of customs we crossed the gangplank onto deck level 6 of our ship and were greeted with a glass of champagne.   The whole process from hotel to ship was well...

Tuesday was our full Vancouver day and we got our moneys worth.  I managed to stay in bed until about 4 am and being a very considerate husband, did my best to stay quiet.  Since Rod and Glenda are not due to arrive until mid afternoon, Nace and I are going to do some cycling and take advantage of Vancouver's extensive seawall pathways.   Quiet time was over at 5 when I succumbed to my coffee jones and fired up the one cup coffee maker in the room.  To be fair, Nace had already started to show some signs of life. We were dressed and set out to take in the early morning sun on the hotel patio with a great view of the harbor.  The weather is warmer than typical for Vancouver, low 80's < 50% humidity, cool coastal breeze-perfect for a couple of SW Floridians escaping the oppressive summer heat.   Time to explore Granville Island and finds some real coffee and breakfast Water Taxi Parking Lot Granville...

Our day began with a 4 am wake up alarm, last minute luggage stuffing, taking Jazzie out for a quick constitutional and cooking up my semi famous breakfast burritos.  Our friend and neighbor Linda was kind enough to volunteer transporting us to the airport at 5 am, allowing ample time to check in and get through security.  We arrived at RSW without delay and just a few minutes after sending Linda on her way realized Nace left her purse in the car. This was a deja vu moment of my first day of married life.   On the morning after our wedding my best man Sam returned to the hotel in Pittsburgh very early to drive us to the airport for the start of our honeymoon in Naples.  I noted my new bride's concern about a missing make up bag, which in my youthful innocense I perceived as no big deal and I said something like "you can buy new makeup in Florida".  Oops, apparently this was not the right thing to suggest and Beezulbub momentarily took ...