Vacation Recap! part III

Onto the last installment of my cruise vacation recap with days 8-11! Let's get to it:

Day 8 - After our day at sea on day 7, we made it to Astroia, Oregon. This was a super cute charming little town with a port that I fell in love with! I also really enjoyed all the crafty little shops they had (and giant Joann's Fabrics!) and their no sales tax! Ahhh! I went on quite the spree buying a few items for my shop/craft booth and really liked all the friendly small town people.

It was, however, a torrential downpour that day so our visit was a wee bit short. Fraser and I spent quite a while catching up on internet in a book store/espresso shop where we devoured some delicious chai lattes for $1.50 each! Ah! Add in the lack of taxes and you've got me sold. I was convinced that if the US had public health care I'd want to move to Oregon. It also really made me want to go to Portland and continue down the coast to see the red wood forests. *Sigh* Next time. I only managed to take one picture while we were there:


Yup - looks like your typical rainy town. The rain picked up quite a bit as we went back to the ship and got completely soaked running back. Luckily my craft supplies and fabrics were double bagged for safety! What fun!

Day 9 - The sun decided to join us again as we landed in Seattle. The ship was right by the Pike Place Market so a quick 10 minute walk and hike up some stairs and we were there:


It was a super neat place to check out and I loved looking at all the artisans and fresh tulips:


Aren't they pretty? We split up from the crew so I could stop by the first sbux and then further into downtown for some bargain shopping. I made my first trip into an Anthropologie (which, was very much, not a bargain store) but also stopped by another Forever 21, H & M, Old Navy, and Lush. I'm not sure why the US stores have way better prices on everything but they certainly do! I picked up a few things to get rid of the rest of my US funds and enjoyed our walk around the downtown area.

We met up with the crew for dinner at The Crab Pot, where you order massive amounts of crab and they plunk it on the table in front of you! It was hilarious! I enjoyed my giant mango cocktail and fish plate while laughing at everyone demolish their piles of food. What a good time! Then back to the boat to figure out how much we spend and prepare for customs!

Day 1o - Finally back in Canada we went to one of my favourite cities (and soon to be home come September) - Victoria! It was really nice to not have to worry about exchange rates and customs anymore and be able to wonder around a city without getting lost. I went to my favourite craft/wool shops with Fraser's mom at the start of our trip and then split up from everyone to do a little solo shopping. Fraser grabbed a book and read while I got to peruse chinatown and the local artisan shops:


I met back up with Fraser for lunch and we checked out a few of my favourite stops together. Fraser also bought me a wonderful (and sort of ridiculous) hat from Roberta's Hat Shop after he fell in love with it when the sales clerk and I were trying hats on. I figured I'd have to take a picture it in front of the Empress and look forward to sporting this at a few weddings this summer:


Okay, so that picture doensn't do the hat (or me) much justice but I assure you it is wonderful. Heather and I have decided to have a high tea party before I move this fall so we can dress up and give me another excuse to wear my hat! What fun!

After a long day we walked back to the boat to spend our last night and say a fond farewell to the Sapphire Princess:


Day 11 - Probably the longest day of the trip, we landed in Vancouver quite early in the morning. We had to be out our rooms by 8, then done with breaky by 9, and shuffled to our assigned meeting places by 10:15. Next we breezed through customs (woo hoo!) and ended in a mass pileup of crowds in Canada Place! Ack! I think it took us until at least 12 to find everyone and get out of the building (not at all as organized and smooth as the rest of the cruise) and finally Fraser and I took a skytrain to pick up the car. Then a few quick stops on 4th and wham! Time to head back home!

Man was that ever a fun vacation! I totally recommend cruises to anyone who dislikes packing and unpacking their suitcase since it gives you a great way to travel and see lots of places fairly quickly. I was pretty drugged up on anti-motion-sickness meds the whole time and never managed to get ill once (go me) but, as you all probably know, I've been suffering quite severely from my vertigo ever since! Eep! It was still well worth the trip! So, what do you think? Anyone else cruise before? Any recommendations for my next vacation?