Two weeks from today we leave for Vancouver. It is late in the Alaska season, we know that and the weather can be iffy, but this is our sixth Alaska cruise and we have gone early, mid summer and late. We know we actually like the later times, less crowds and more wildlife. Plus it was over 100 degrees here today and we still have really hot weather well into Sept so cool and wet sounds pretty good.
We will spend twelve days camping and working our way to Vancouver. The plan is to visit several National Parks, the Oregon coast and the Columbia River Gorge along the way. Then we will have four days to explore the Vancouver area before the Sojourn sails from Canada Place on September 21 at 5PM.
After twelve wonderful days on the beautiful ship we will head to Penticton, British Columbia for a couple of days and pick up our fresh supply of Tiger Blue! Then depending on the weather, the plan is to drive the TransCanada Highway 1 through Banff on to the Great Lakes. From there we will drop down through the US heartland to home. If the weather is good this will probably be another 14 days of camping.
I have my menus made, some main dishes fixed and frozen and the grocery list done, just need to get the food and load it. We will pack a bag for each of us for the ship and store it in the trailer storage area. Our camping clothes stay in the trailer so that is taken care of. These next two weeks will go by fast just doing all the things needed for a trip of six plus weeks.
Stay tuned. As campground and ship internet service allows, we will post our daily periences along with some pictures.
Sojourn's Alaska Route
Tuesday, August 22, 2017
May Final Payment
Final payment is made. Apparently the cruise is not sold out and the price has been reduced. Our agent was able to get us a hefty OBC which is great since to excursions are a bit pricy.
Dick and I have picked out some that appeal to us. We will wait until we board to buy the tours so we can use our OBC and get our new loyalty perk, a discount on tours, that kicks in with this cruise.
On little glitch is Alaska would not let Seabourn use their zodiacs in Alaskan waters at the last minute. Seems some of the Alaska businesses complained. So Seabourn made alternate arrangements for a local catamaran to do the zodiac trips. The zodiac trips in Canadian waters are still a go. Some people were really upset by the change, but we are not. Seems like the best of both worlds with the mix.
I have been working on our driving route, but nothing is settled yet. We have a short cruise on Freedom of the Seas out of our home port planned with a some family members the first week in June. Those plans are on the front burner right now. When we get back, I will make campground and other reservations for our trip.
Dick and I have picked out some that appeal to us. We will wait until we board to buy the tours so we can use our OBC and get our new loyalty perk, a discount on tours, that kicks in with this cruise.
On little glitch is Alaska would not let Seabourn use their zodiacs in Alaskan waters at the last minute. Seems some of the Alaska businesses complained. So Seabourn made alternate arrangements for a local catamaran to do the zodiac trips. The zodiac trips in Canadian waters are still a go. Some people were really upset by the change, but we are not. Seems like the best of both worlds with the mix.
I have been working on our driving route, but nothing is settled yet. We have a short cruise on Freedom of the Seas out of our home port planned with a some family members the first week in June. Those plans are on the front burner right now. When we get back, I will make campground and other reservations for our trip.
March We have a Plan
Thumbing through a Seabourn catalog in early March, I saw that Seabourn is returning to Alaska with the Sojourn this summer. They are bringing the Ventures by Seabourn program to the Sojourn and will be offering hiking, zodiac and kayak excursions in some of the more remote areas.
After sleeping on it for a few days the idea of going back to Alaska, our favorite cruise, sailing on the Sojourn, our favorite ship, and being able to explore some of the remote areas, like Misty Fjord was to good to pass up. A call to our travel agent told us the price was also to good to pass up. So we booked the 12 day cruise round trip Vancouver, September 21 to October 3, 2017.
In Febuaury we had traded our 10 year old 27 foot motor home in for a new 27 foot ultra-lite travel trailer. The motor home had become to uncomfortable for Carolyn to travel long distances in the cab. After some study we found that her Lincoln Navigator, which is extremely comfortable for long driving trips, could pull a small trailer and better yet the new ultra lite models were well below the weight maximums for her SUV.
Well “one thing leads to another”, we had been talking about taking a camping trip back to Penticton, British Columbia, just across the Washington state border, to buy some rounds of Tiger Blue Cheese. We discovered this wonderful blue cheese on our 3 month 2009 RV trip to Alaska (see our 2009 Alaska blog, click on About Me). We bought a wheel and have been nursing it along. It is so good!! We are out of the cheese and the company does not ship....so a RV trip to Canada was in our future.
Well “the future is now”, we need Canadian cheese and we have a around trip cruise out of Vancouver just a few hundred miles down the TransCanada Highway from the cheese maker in Penticton. Perfect, we will just take the travel trailer and camp to Vancouver, park the trailer for the 12 days then drive to get some cheese and finally head home by way of the Great Lakes.
OK, we have a plan! Now all we have to do is get the new trailer set up for camping, learn how to park it, back up with it, and plan a route for what will probably be about a six plus week trip.
After sleeping on it for a few days the idea of going back to Alaska, our favorite cruise, sailing on the Sojourn, our favorite ship, and being able to explore some of the remote areas, like Misty Fjord was to good to pass up. A call to our travel agent told us the price was also to good to pass up. So we booked the 12 day cruise round trip Vancouver, September 21 to October 3, 2017.
In Febuaury we had traded our 10 year old 27 foot motor home in for a new 27 foot ultra-lite travel trailer. The motor home had become to uncomfortable for Carolyn to travel long distances in the cab. After some study we found that her Lincoln Navigator, which is extremely comfortable for long driving trips, could pull a small trailer and better yet the new ultra lite models were well below the weight maximums for her SUV.
Well “one thing leads to another”, we had been talking about taking a camping trip back to Penticton, British Columbia, just across the Washington state border, to buy some rounds of Tiger Blue Cheese. We discovered this wonderful blue cheese on our 3 month 2009 RV trip to Alaska (see our 2009 Alaska blog, click on About Me). We bought a wheel and have been nursing it along. It is so good!! We are out of the cheese and the company does not ship....so a RV trip to Canada was in our future.
Well “the future is now”, we need Canadian cheese and we have a around trip cruise out of Vancouver just a few hundred miles down the TransCanada Highway from the cheese maker in Penticton. Perfect, we will just take the travel trailer and camp to Vancouver, park the trailer for the 12 days then drive to get some cheese and finally head home by way of the Great Lakes.
OK, we have a plan! Now all we have to do is get the new trailer set up for camping, learn how to park it, back up with it, and plan a route for what will probably be about a six plus week trip.
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