aussielozzie18

We are supposed to have big cats in the Blue Mountains…not sure if there is any truth to it though.

Packing for Alaska for a late April/May cruise - it didn’t even occur to me to pack swimmers 😳 but our first sea day, it was so warm, the family members who did made full use of the outdoor pools - both the one of the top deck and the outdoor one at the rear. The inside pool didn’t open until a couple days into the cruise. Not sure why. Instead I went to the Naturalist introduction talk which was interesting. And also went to the cheesy introduction to cruisers session but unfortunately I didn’t win any of the good prizes they gave out which I would have liked to win. No need to sit up close to the stage and put your hand up to participate these days - they just pick you randomly from your medallion profile Our cruise director (with mic) & Stanley the Bear.

I never got up for sunrise, so this would have been a sunset photo from our balcony Beautiful calm seas

As soon as bookings opened up online prior to the cruise, I booked our dinner reservations. Spread our bookings across two different MDR dining venues. Food & service was superb. My daughter liked the wild salmon sockeye so much, she chose it 5 nights out of seven…

We had a beautiful day for our sailaway out of Vancouver. I went to the sail away party on the pool deck to dance the Macarena and YMCA etc, much to the embarrassment of my family. I should know better but I almost fell over at the price of DH’s favourite chocolate biscuits on board in the onboard shop that I regularly pay $2.50 aud per box on sale at Coles- this was the price in on board 9.50 usd 😳

Beautiful sunny day in Sydney. Lunch at Jonahs, Whale Beach.

@Ozark_Kid Gorgeous garden & gorgeous grandkids ❤️. Hope you find a way to get to your cruise.

Adorable ❤️

I only like sweltering if there is a cold drink in my hand and a body of water nearby, preferably both tropical 🏝️ 🍹

Kindness of strangers. The couple behind us in the long queue that had stagnated were carrying 2 24 packs of coke cans in the crook of their arms. About an hour into waiting - 2 hessian type carry bags were passed along the lines from fellow passengers, so this couple could put their cans in a carry bag. It was much appreciated.

Our next holiday will be a land vacation. We have booked a lodge for 5 nights within a National Park in Victoria and during our stay we will hike 20km each way to the Lighthouse where will stay at the lodge for one night. We have been planning this trip since January and after much booking anxiety this week… booking the very limited accommodation was almost like securing TS tickets (there were 1000 ahead of me in the virtual queue on the first day of bookings when bookings opened at 10am for the summer period) We couldn’t get the original dates we wanted so had to push back our plans by 2 weeks. Bookings for the second lodge accommodation opened two days later and we learnt to get in the pre-release online queue earlier this time around and thankfully we managed to secure the lodge on the date we wanted. Phew! After road tripping down for our week in the NP, we will spend the weekend in Melbourne which I am also looking forward to.

I know a lot of you are sweltering right now but this is our “breaking news” Otherwise known as winter 🙄 (talk about overly dramatic headlines)

@Coralc so sorry you had a fall and small fracture . Hope you get a solution to the pain asap.

I think they need more staff and a better way of organising the queues. It was adhoc and there was confusion. They need signs rather than just one lady down a long crowded hallway yelling “if you are cruising with HAL come this way” etc

I have never read anything online about cougars either. I was surprised to see the signs warning of (sea) wolves whilst we were in the Tofino area. Knew about the risk of bears but not wolves.

@Lorey2007 Hi. Welcome to Dani’s group & I hope your creek doesn’t rise too high & your home stays dry.

Next morning, two of us headed to the the cruise port via Uber. Our Uber was a Tesla and because I hadn’t been in one before I couldn’t work out how to open the passenger door 🤦‍♀️ My son drove to the airport where he had booked his car in long term parking whilst we were on the cruise. The initial process was pretty straightforward of dropping off our luggage and then heading inside but then we hit the queues…..there were queues and people everywhere. Unbeknownst to us, there were 3 cruise ships boarding… 2 1/2hrs later we were finally on board the Grand Princess. Phew!

I think the feeling is mutual, the way she is looking at you ❤️ She is adorable

Having spent up on our Vancouver Island accommodation, I went budget for our night before the cruise accommodation in Vancouver. I booked a basement apartment in the suburbs. A family lived above in the main house. They were real estate agents so the 2 bedroom basement space was modern, spotlessly clean and had everything we needed including welcome snacks. The next day, I visited Queen Elizabeth Gardens. It was out of season so not much flowering but it was nice to wander the site in the sunshine and take in the city views. Also paid to have a look in the small conservatory.

Next we decided to drive up to Whistler Resort as family wanted to wander the shops. It was FREEZING and wet. Lots of shops. I ended up in a coffee shop with a large hot chocolate to try and defrost 🥶

Next stop was the Sea to Sky Gondola. We had the gondola to ourselves and the views were stunning despite the overcast weather. It was freezing when we exited the gondola at the summit. There were snowflakes falling but the views from the viewing point were worth it. We then did one of trails and got even more beautiful views and I saw my first chipmunk and a bald eagle soaring over the tree tops. We would have liked to have done another hike but it just wasn’t the weather for it. Would love to go back on a sunny day and make a day of it.

Next morning, it was sadly time to leave Vancouver Island. We drove to Nanaimo to catch the B.C. ferry to Horseshoe Bay. We decided to book an early ferry to give us time to do some more sightseeing before driving back to Vancouver Our first stop after exiting the ferry was Shannon Falls. It was more impressive in person than my photos show.

Then we visited the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre. A sanctuary for injured wildlife to recuperate in a nice quiet natural setting. My family were reluctant to go here as they thought it would be boring but afterwards they thanked me and said it was very interesting and they were glad they went. Raptors, Owls, Bear, and others. Each enclosure had a sign advising why they were there and if they were to be released back into the wild. Staff were friendly and informative.

From Parksville, we visited Englishman Falls. We did the loop walk. My photos don’t do it justice but we really enjoyed our walk here.

Excellent. No, unfortunately we didn’t see Hawaii Mars on Sproat Lake but I’m sure after her public farewell events, she will be a popular aircraft to see at her new home in the museum. Have seen the helicopters fly over our home carrying water for bushfires in the past but the Hawaii Mars obviously had a much greater capacity.