Wednesday was our last full day in Hood River, as we had decided to make the drive home on Thursday. We wanted to get one more road ride in, and decided on our other usual route, the "Fruit Loop" We followed up our ride with some great food and relaxing in a few of the breweries down near the water in Hood River.
Read MoreHiking the Cooper Spur Trail
On Tuesday we took a short break from road riding and decided to do a hike instead. We picked the Cooper Spur trail up Mount Hood, as the smoke from all the forest fires started to roll in. It ended up being the last view of any mountain that we had this trip.
Read MoreRoad Riding the Historic Highway
Our first day camping was focused on road riding and a dip in the Columbia River, before checking out some breweries and relaxing at the camp site.
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Off to Hood River
Sunday morning we had to pick up and head out of Portland. Our plan was to head to Hood River and spend the remaining few days of our vacation camping in the heat.
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Portland - Markets and the Whitecaps Game
The main reason we had come to Portland (besides the fact that we really like it there) was to attend the Whitecaps game against the Portland Timbers. This will have been 3 out of 4 years for me (we missed last year), and it’s always a good time. The game was a later start (8:00), so we had the whole day to explore. It ended up being a markets day, which was a lot of fun.
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On to Portland
Friday we made the short drive from McMinnville to Portland (about an hour normally), with a couple of stops along the way at the Evergreen Air and Space Museum to see the Spruce Goose, and at our favourite Willamette Valley winery, Brooks.
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Northwest Trek Nature Park and McMinnville OR
Our second day took us from near the Seattle airport to McMinnville Oregon, where we were staying at the McMenamins Hotel Oregon. Along the way, we stoppped for a few hours at the Northwest Trek Nature Park, to check out the wildlife and take some pictures.
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Our Annual Washington/Oregon Road Trip - Pearl Jam
Pretty much every year since we’ve been together, Justine and I have done a road trip down to Washington State and Oregon. This year was no different, except that we managed to arrange the trip around a couple of major events - Pearl Jam playing a live show at home at Safeco Field, and the Whitecaps playing their annual away game in Portland. So we decided to take those two events and add a stop in Hood River for a few days of camping and road riding.
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The Last Day of the Cruise
This post is long overdue and wraps up our 7-day Alaskan cruise. Our last day was spent going through the inside passage between Vancouver Island and the mainland. The weather wasn't great, but we spent most of our waking hours on our balcony, watching the scenery flow by and watching for wildlife.
Read MoreKetchikan, Alaska
Today was our last port day, as we were headed down to Ketchikan for our last stop before heading back to Vancouver. We didn’t have any formal shore excursions planned, but instead decided to wander and see what we found. En route, we had a chance to see a fair bit of wildlife, and we were “chosen” to be part of a tour of the bridge of the ship. Once in Ketchikan, we did the walking tour and saw lots of very cool totem poles, as well as explored Creek Street and some of the historic areas of the town.
Read MoreJuneau Alaska - Whale Watching and Hiking
Our second port stop was in the capital city of Alaska, Juneau! We ended up really liking Juneau. We had a full day to explore, from first thing in the morning to a n evening departure, and we made the most of our time. We explored the town for a bit; booked a whale watching trip that fully lived up to expectations; explored some more; took the gondola to the top of the local mountain and did some hiking, and even managed to relax and have a beer on a patio. It was a full, fun day!
Read MoreThe Hubbard Glacier
Today was the highlight of the cruise - an up close look at the Hubbard Glacier! It was the furthest point north that we were going, and the captain and pilot did an amazing job of getting us within a mile of the glacier. It was an incredible sight.
Read MoreHubbard Glacier - "Iceberg Collection"
This short, image-filled post is a collection of all the cool chucks of floating ice we saw as we got close to the Hubbard Glacier. They are not technically icebergs - not big enough - but still the variations in shape, size and colour were quite fascinating.
Read MoreAlaska Cruise - Days 2 and 3 - Icy Strait Point Bear Watching
Day 2 was spent completely at sea, as we headed north past Haida Gwaii and up towards Alaskan waters. It was a good day for us to explore the ship, as we were a long way from land most of the time. We did have some nice mountain views from time-to-time, but generally, it was a relaxing time. Day 3 brought us to our first port of call at Icy Strait Point, where we had booked a shore excursion to go looking for Alaskan Brown bears (grizzlies). As you can see, we had success…
Read MoreAlaskan Cruise - Departure on Canada Day!
Justine and I were on vacation last week - a real vacation where we were able to disconnect and relax. We were booked on the Celebrity Infinity for a week’s cruise up to Alaska. We had four stops - Icy Strait Point, the Hubbard Glacier, Juneau and Ketchikan. It’s going to take me a while to get through the photos and posts, so you’ll have to bear (literally on one day) with me. This first one is going to cover my thoughts on the cruise in general, a bit of an over view of the ship, and some photos from the departure from Vancouver.
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