Still recovering

A weekend after a big trip is not enough since I’m back to work tomorrow.

This trip has been the most relaxing trip I’ve taken in a long time. With the exception of waking up at 5 a.m. to catch the early flight to Seattle, I got to sleep in the rest of the trip and have naps every day. How did I do it? I took a cruise.

The cruise definitely spoiled me. Every night the sheets would be magically turned down and with a piece of chocolate on my pillow. How I will ever manage to adjust to normal life, I will never know…

My first inclination when someone mentions a cruise is a boat full of blue-haired folk playing shuffleboard. This cruise had that slice of society but it was much more diverse. In addition when people make comments about the food, it’s true. There was plenty of it all the time and endless.

The cruise started in Seattle, stopped in Astoria, Oregon, there was one full day at sea, the days that followed were in Nanaimo and Victoria both in British Columbia.

View of the cruise ship from the Space Needle.

I arrived on the cruise ship late. The first sign was that everyone had a life jacket on and was in the middle of the required lifeboat drill. On the positive side, I had a chance to enjoy the view of Seattle from my room. I had to take a remedial life boat drill the next morning after breakfast but it was only 10 minutes as opposed to the 45 minutes the other people had to endure the day before.

The seals in Astoria, Oregon were by far the most interesting thing in this small town aside from the house that was used in Goonies. I’m told Kindergarden Cop and Short Circuit were also filmed here.

Despite the plentiful food, my favorite meal was tea time. It was from 4-5 p.m. every day. My waistline is thankful that I never attended the midnight snacks.

Getting to Nanaimo, British Columbia was interesting. The ship was too big to dock at the harbor so life boats were used to usher the passengers to and from the ship.

I will always remember Nanaimo for their deep fried Oreos at Pirate Chips.

Every night with the exception of the first, I ate at the Manhattan Restaurant onboard. There was a choice to eat at the more casual buffets located throughout the ship but the Manhattan had a five course meal. These were the eating utensils I had to face every night.

I almost got sick one day when the whole day was spent in the open ocean. The waters were rough off the coast of Vancouver Island. The calmest part of the ship was in the middle on on the deck.

Victoria was littered with totem poles. It was exactly how it was described in the brochures: an English town in Canada.

One of the nights featured Le Grand Buffet, a chance for the chefs to show off their artistic skills such as this dragon carved out of potatoes.

My favorite dessert during the entire cruise were the petit fours. I like tiny food.

Almost two days after the cruise were spent back in Seattle. I wandered the streets a lot and found the first Starbucks near Pike.

Also in Pike’s Marketplace was this bakery that sold plate sized pasteries like this Texas fritter.

Hours before I left for San Diego were spent in the downtown Seattle library. It opened up last year but the most impressive is their collection of graphic novels you can check out.