We opted to make today a rest day so we could wash clothes, get groceries, and settle in.

We started by discussing the coffee ☕️ option and found a little coffee house called Aftershock Espresso. It was a 9-minute walk away and had a grocery store nearby, so we put on our Alaska clothes and went out…which lasted about a minute.

It was hot! 🥵 When the sun is out, it was warm enough that we only needed short sleeves. Regardless, we moved on, and I’m glad we did. The coffee shop itself was a tiny freestanding building that displayed a PRIDE flag and had stickers signifying a woman-run business. They had closed the lobby due to COVID but converted the drive-thru to a “drive & walk”-thru and had some outdoor seating available. They also had alternative milk options AND vegan breakfast sandwiches (all stuff I can consume) and very quickly became our Anchorage Coffee Spot. (P.S. if you’re Megan’s Seattle coffee spot—you’ve got competition.)

We enjoyed our breakfast then went to the grocery store for a few items. Back at our Airbnb, there was a paper bag filled with other paper bags, and when we got to checkout we then knew why. Apparently most of Alaska has a plastic bag ban but they readily have paper bags available for $0.10. We didn’t have much so we got everything into the paper bag and headed back.

Since it was a rest day, we had made plans to see a movie. On the way to the theater we had a conversation about yarn (Megan is an artisan knitter) and we actually found a yard store within walking distance of the theater AND had about 45 minutes to kill. So, without further ado, I present the Megan in her natural habitat…

One of the theater options we considered was called Bear Tooth Theaterpub, but our movie wasn’t playing there that day. But a few taxi 🚕 drivers told us to try Moose’s Tooth Pub and Pizzeria. Bonus: it was within walking distance of the theater! Double bonus: they had vegan cheese!!!

Today’s our final day of the cruise, but unlike other cruises, we had to be off by 9:00 AM! 🥱

We did have time for breakfast and then went to our staterooms to wait on our number to be called. Luckily, we were only waiting a few minutes then got called through.

I’ve seen the cruise terminals at Port Canaveral, Tampa, Miami, and Vancouver. All were fairly massive. The Seward cruise terminal was…NOT. It was about half as long as the ship itself and we just walk in, find our luggage, and walk out.

Megan and I stopped to porter our luggage and then met the others’ taxi driver who was taking them to Anchorage. She did offer us the nickel tour of Seward so Megan and I hopped in and rode around to see where we would go today, then got dropped off at our first spot and off they went!

Seward has a population of around 2,800 and mostly relies on summer tourism, so we wanted to spend some time and see a few places here. The first stop of any day is coffee ☕️, and I had pre-selected Mermaid Grotto for our coffee. It has a nice decor, alternative milk options, and a shop out front. We settled in with our coffee and started to get used to steady ground.

Seward also operates a free community shuttle for getting around town, and we left at the perfect time to catch the shuttle! We rode it a few stops and reached the South side of Seward at the Alaska SeaLife Center. We took a self-guided tour through the center and saw many aquatic and avian animals including sea lions 🦭, seals, otters 🦦, fish 🐟, and PUFFINS! I had never seen them before!

Toward the end there was also a demonstration on how trash (especially plastic bags) in the waters can affect the ecosystem, and check again—those aren’t jellyfish, but it’s enough to confuse other sea creatures. We then went to the gift shop and I got a few souvenirs and guess what kind of bag they gave me for my souvenirs??? Actually…none. Most everyone has a backpack (including me) and I was happy they stuck to their beliefs and didn’t provide a bag.

The Iditarod historic trail marker is also in Seward and next to the Sea Life Center, so we went over for a quick picture.

A little ways down is Lowell Creek Waterfall, which made the news when a rockslide washed out the road a few years back. You can see the remains as well. And in case it wasn’t clear…This is not New York.

Around this time we were hunting for snacks/places to eat and stumbled into a restaurant near our next destination that had food and beer, so we checked in. They had empty tables but we later found out those were for a tour group coming in later. We managed to get served before the tour group came in, so it didn’t really impact us and allowed us to get out of the rain.

Since getting to Alaska, we had been trying local Alaskan beers. So when we saw that one of those beers was from Seward Brewing Company, we knew we had our next destination! (Those lunch beers were our warmup.) They also didn’t open until 3, so the late lunch bought us some time. And then beer! 🍻 We sampled a few of the local brews, then headed out to catch our bus.

The bus stop (also doubling as a hotel) was on the North side of Seward…but the town is only 2 miles long so we opted to walk the 17 minutes to our stop. One key difference between Alaska and Florida is the humidity—we didn’t even break a sweat. Once there, we boarded the bus 🚌 and made our way to Anchorage!

On our way, we did get a short glimpse of a moose! One more animal on our “Alaskan Animals” BINGO card.

A few hours later, we got off the bus and took a taxi to our Airbnb, got settled in, and then looked outside. It was almost 10:00 PM, yet this is what we saw…

After a few thrilling days, we decided to “take it easy” today, and rallied behind the idea of snacking our way through Skagway. (Spoiler alert: we did.)

As we disembarked today there was a shuttle that cost $5 round trip to take us to Skagway. We figured many would take the shuttle since it was basically required in Sitka, but you could literally see the shops from the port, so we opted to walk and it only took 8 minutes. I also got a few nature photos on the walk.

We did some shopping for souvenirs then had our first snack. We got some coffee-esque beverages and some Alaskan Fry Bread! The best part is NO DAIRY! It’s literally flour, salt, and water.

We spent some time exploring the shops around Skagway. It’s a nice town, but given the Klondike Gold Rush theme, Skagway almost feels like a Disney theme park area as the buildings were historically-maintained but it felt fake.

As we walked into town this morning, we noticed what looked like a painting on the side of the mountain. We made a joke that it would be good advertising, but couldn’t quite figure it out.

We pulled out the binoculars and tried to make sense of it. The part we could make out was Kirmse’s Curios and what looked like a clock but wasn’t sure. We thought nothing about it until we saw…

Turns out it was a famous store called Kirmse’s Curios that used to sell and repair pocket watches and also expanded to other items. The paint was done a few years after they opened (and before billboards existed!) and it’s stayed there since!

There were two places we really wanted to visit before coming to Skagway. One of those was the Skagway Brewing Company (because 🍺) and now is the time. They had a restaurant upstairs and a pub downstairs—we opted for the pub to get beer and some snacks. We snacked on salmon dip (not me because of dairy) and blackened fries (exactly what it sounds like) and made a hidden dish—scoop the salmon dip onto the blackened fries! I had a flight of beers in order to sample a few different ones, including a spruce-flavored lager that was surprisingly tasty.

The other “must see” destination for us was the Red Onion Saloon which was a famous saloon and brothel during the Klondike Gold Rush, and was the third stop for our snack tour. The dairy-eaters split a deliciously-smelling pizza and I had the main share of a bowl of chili…and some beers! 🍻

After collecting enough souvenirs, snacks, spirits, and steps, we headed back to the ship 🛳 with time to spare so we could all take a little siesta and enjoy the evening.

I did finally explore up to the 12th floor of the ship and found that there was a glass area that overlooked the below decks.

Sitka was a “bucket list” item for me. There’s a few reasons why, but it boils down to watching The Proposal a few years back. Of course, I found out that the Sitka scenes were actually filmed in New England…but still had to explore.

We had a late start getting off the ship, but were surprised when the gangway wasn’t full of people. As we disembarked we saw the Serenade of the Seas (another Radience class) parked next to us, and we walked toward shore…

Well, there is a bus that takes you to Sitka, and it had a 45-minute wait! The two ships together meant the port was twice as busy. Luckily it also meant we had to to explore, and Owen found an absolute treat: Huckleberry licorice! They have officially ruined Twizzlers for me because this was SOOO GOOD!

We boarded the bus to downtown Sitka and we’re discussing what we wanted to do. Cassidy suggested that we should try to see bears 🐻 today, but all the excursions were sold out or couldn’t get us back in time. We tried seeing if we would have another opportunity but things were looking grim.

We had been warned that if we do see a 🐻 on a trail, that we need to make ourselves look “big” and to make noise to drive them off. But if you see baby cubs then you need to disappear because Mama Bear will protect her cubs. And Marie is no different—she saw her “cubs” wouldn’t get to see the bears and swooped into action, calling every taxi 🚕 in Sitka and found one that would take us to the bear rescue AND wait there while we explored before taking us back to downtown. A few minutes later our taxi arrives and we are off to Fortress of the Bear.

Fortress of the Bear is a bear rescue in Sitka where they repurposed an abandoned water treatment facility (concrete tanks make good bear encampments) to rescue orphaned bears, nurse them to health, and give them a humane and easy-going life. They do not receive government funding and are a donation-based non-profit, so they also use the natural location to provide viewing areas for tourists and charge a nominal fee (which is a more than fair price for admission). They are also accepting donations (hint hint) where you can also buy the bears fruit, freeze pops, tires, etc.

On our taxi 🚕 ride back into Sitka, I kept seeing these lovely pink flowers which we (err, Megan) identified as Fireweed. It grows sporadically and we’re seen it around Alaska this far but it was a little tough to get pictures in the moving car.

We had a little time left in Sitka and we wanted to eat at another local restaurant. Ur taxi driver Mary recommended Bayview Restaurant because it had good food, good beer, and (shockingly 😱) a view of the bay. It was another restaurant with an interior hallway to other shops—which we figured is more for the wintertime.

Our group split off after our meal—Megan and I stayed to finish our beer while the others checked out the historic Bishop’s House. We all then boarded shuttles back to port, picked up more Huckleberry licorice (because why not!) and boarded the ship. 🛳

Unfortunately, I’m still on Tallahassee time, so I slept in until 6:30 AM PDT. We ventured to the lobby for breakfast then started making preparations to get on the ship.

While we tried using rideshare, there weren’t any drivers available. The family next to us had pre-scheduled/reserved a ride but none of the drivers were taking the fare. Instead, we went old school and called a taxi 🚕 company to send a van, which showed up within minutes and we were on our way…

Today is also Canada Day 🇨🇦, and as we passed through downtown Vancouver we could see all the decorations and celebrations as we arrived to the port, and got our first glimpse of the ship!

Before getting to the ship, we had used the app to check in (as much as we could)—and one of the lingering items was our COVID test results! We got tested two days ago, but we haven’t received our results. Low and behold, they started rolling in one-by-one and fortunately, all of us tested NEGATIVE!

Boarding the ship was different than other times for two main reasons: COVID and cruising internationally. Canada, BC, and Vancouver do not require masks but we did have to 😷 wear a mask for the whole time in the terminal (not an issue—there’s a ton of people there and I’d rather not get sick before the cruise starts!). Once we got in, we waited in line to get our luggage tags (we couldn’t print them ahead of time for some reason) then moved to the next line to finish check-in. We had to show the normal passport and documents, but also had to show our proof of negative test—so it took a little longer.

Next up was customs. Since the ship departs from Canada 🇨🇦 and arrives in U.S.A. 🇺🇸, we had to pass through customs to reenter the United States (while still technically on Canadian soil 😀). We waited in another line and as we got to the front we saw the self-service kiosks—at which point someone made the joke about “make the American people use the self-checkout register”! 😂 Of course, after using the self-checkout one in our party had to go wait through the “actually talk to a customs agent” line (our 4th line at this point!). Fortunately, it didn’t take long and it was a simple check. Onward to the ship!

We traverse the gangway and stop for the safety demonstration, then finally walk inside under a 🎈 balloon arch and WE’VE ARRIVED!!! 🛳

The one thing we didn’t do in the terminal is get our room keys. Those are waiting for us at the room—so we venture off to see our room. Now—since it’s Megan’s birthday—I had ordered the birthday decorations with a chocolate cake 🎂 and chocolate covered strawberries 🍓 but THEY WERE OUT OF THE DECORATIONS 😭. I was hoping to surprise Megan but nothing was there except a letter stating that there’s a supply shortage but the cake & strawberries will show up later. (SPOILER ALERT—it did)

Next up was to meet the time-honored Salvo family tradition of…taking a selfie with the drink. It used to have to have a drink umbrella but those are hard to find on the ship nowadays.

Next up was a meal since it was around 1:30 PM PDT. To get there, we took the elevators WHICH HAVE THE DAY PLATES! We’ve seen this before on longer cruises so you have a way of knowing what day it is, and since we know our cruise is Friday to Friday we can get a sense for how far along on the cruise we are.

For the rest of the day, we explored the ship, had some drinks, played some trivia, and met for dinner. The food is just as good as I remember, and the staff are very diligent about my food allergies and making appropriate swaps.

After dinner, some of the shops had opened so we went exploring. I found a cigar and started thinking about the booze selection. I also need to find a cruise ship model for the collection (pic to follow once I get it)—but that’ll be another day because it’s already late…at least on the East coast. Plus, there’s a time change tomorrow! 99% of Alaska is in the same time zone which is 4 hours behind Eastern, so tomorrow we have to adjust (again).

Still getting adjusted to “West Coast time”—I was up at 6:30 AM PDT/9:30 AM EDT which would be sleeping in except I didn’t go to sleep until 1:00 AM PDT/4:00 AM EDT!!! 🥱 Thank you jet lag!

Despite the apparent lack of sleep, we got a decent start to our day. We decided to venture out via car 🚗 to Fremont for some Dough Joy Donuts. This was my sophomore trip to this donut shop after the stellar experience last time. I have a dairy allergy which prevents me from eating most normal donuts, but their entire donut offering is 100% DAIRY FREE (vegan, but that includes dairy free)! The best part: you ABSOLUTELY CANNOT TELL that they are vegan. If you come to Seattle, then you can compare these donuts with regular donuts and see which would win in a contest!

Since we were in Fremont, we decided to park and check out the town a little. We got another round of drinks (non-alcoholic since it was only 10:30 AM) and went to find “the Troll”.

Not an actual troll (like the kind typically found on the internet), but a giant troll with an affinity for beetles from Volkswagon. This troll lives under a bridge where he’s able to rest and feed on unsuspecting cars that drive by! He looks grumpy, but only because he had a booger stuck—I was nice enough to help him out!

We also managed to stumble into a PCC for some Vegan Peanut Butter Cookies and to a “vintage mall”. I wasn’t really sure what to expect as we went down the stairs. I had it in my head that it was just an old underground mall with a bunch of shops, but it was closer to a antique store but filled with 80’s and 90’s stuff. Which, sadly for my age, it probably antique at this point.

We then headed to the Museum of Pop Culture (a/k/a MoPOP). This was my third time at MoPOP this year, but even then I was noticing differences between the visits—and it was fun to see the rest of our group experience it for the first time.

Some of the exhibits include a Fantasy/Medieval exhibit, Horror Movies, space-themed, Indie Video Games, Hip Hop culture, and the new Ruth E. Carter exhibit. Ruth has done costume design for some of the biggest movies, including Selma, Malcolm X, Roots, Coming 2 America, and Black Panther! The details in those costumes was amazing and it was easily the highlight of the museum.

My second favorite exhibit wasn’t an exhibit at all, but a mockup of the building itself. I randomly found it tucked away on a floor (in plain view but off the path). It shows how the building was visualized before being built, and I found this architecture breathtaking given that there are no right angles!

Afterwards, we stopped for lunch at the Armory (food court near MoPOP and the Space Needle) and headed back to the apartment to pack up and leave! But before we got there…

Mount Rainier was out today! Pictures don’t do it justice, but it’s worth seeing in person—even from afar. Because of Seattle’s cloudy ☁️ nature, you can’t be guaranteed to see Mount Rainier. But of course, being a pretty sizable tech hub (two major cloud providers as headquartered in NW Washington)—someone built a Twitter account to tell us Is The Mountain Out?

Tweets by MtRainierWatch

We made it back to the apartment and finished our pre-trip preparations before catching an Uber 🚕 to the Bus Station. Because of traffic and our relaxed schedule, we actually only made it with about 10 minutes to spare! But on the bus we went to Canada!

We were late getting into Vancouver (but we made the bus 🚌 so it didn’t matter). We pulled in around 9:45 PM PDT and took a taxi 🚕 to the hotel.

While onboard the bus we were discussing dinner plans. Marie was meeting us in Vancouver coming in via airplane ✈️ and so once she landed her and the bus riders started working on a dinner plan. Since most of us are still on “East coast time” we opted to have sushi 🍱 meet us at the hotel while we took a taxi 🚕. For some reason, Uber/Lyft kept diverting the drivers away from the station, just as an actual taxi pulled up—so that was our option and eventually led to everyone arriving at 10:40 PM.

Since Megan’s birthday 🎂 is tomorrow—and the liquor store closes in 20 minutes—we ran across the street for celebration libations. Then the food arrived, and we sat in the room eating sushi and drinking whiskey!