Trip Report: ALASKA. Northbound Hubbard Glacier. Millennium. June 22, 2018.

[kristinp36]

What a detailed report....excited to join your adventure. Sailed Alaska (see report in signature) a few years ago. One of my most memorable cruises.

[tjar13]

Anita,

Tom and Carolynne here from Sydney Australia,

I am planning to do your cruise 21 June 2019

 

We have cruised Millie a few years back Hawaii to Sydney

 

Looking forward to reading your full review and no doubt will ask you a few questions

 

We intend to fly to New York after this cruise

 

This cruise is a part of our visit to Ireland to visit our son and his family ,

Rather than a return trip Sydney to Dublin , I have decided to do around the world flight ,so as to do this cruise then visit New York .

 

cheers for now

[smitty89]

I'm just starting to plan an Alaskan cruise and stumbled onto your review! LOVE IT! I can't wait until you get back to hear how your trip went!

[Anita Latte]

I have a photo I took of DH back in Colorado. He is thigh deep in a crystal clear mountain lake. The mountain and the reflection of the mountain in the water forms the backdrop of the photo…with DH a silhouette in the foreground. He was fly fishing and I took photo after photo trying to capture that moment when the fly line was soaring over head in a picturesque arch before casting onto the lake’s surface.

 

I need to update that photo in Alaska with the even more towering presence of the Alaskan mountains surrounding our chosen fishing spot. I’m going to stand behind DH and capture that moment.

 

WE. ARE. BACK.

 

Spending today in a bit of recovery...because that's a LONG haul from Anchorage to Raleigh, NC!! Especially when you have two layovers in route. (Not to mention the 90+ minute drive home following arrival in RDU...).

 

I have almost 3K photos to process...but rest assured that I am eager and very happy to be documenting our absolutely amazing Alaska adventure!!

 

And just because teasers are SO FUN:

 

 

 

I now have my DH Alaska fishing photo...as well as the DS fishing photo. That's Mendenhall Glacier in the background with DS...btw.

[Anita Latte]

Thanks for your wonderful preplanning report! We are doing the southern cruise (Seward to Vancouver) in 3 weeks so I've been reading closely to see what you're packing. Have a great trip. Can't wait to read your report when you get back.

 

I know you are leaving very soon now...as I am back. Post away any questions...I'll happily answer to the best of my ability. I hope you have a fabulous cruise!

[Anita Latte]

Bon voyage to Anita and family! Have a fantastic trip, can't wait to read all about it.

 

Hi, DisneyMemaw, we hope you'll also post a review of your trip, as we'll be doing a Southern cruise (Seward to Vancouver) in August 2019.

 

Best wishes to all!

 

Welcome! Thanks for reading along...the review of the trip is about to begin!

[Anita Latte]

Great review! Sounds like your well prepared! Just wanted to reassure you that you will have cell coverage along the road and rail systems in Alaska. My husband works for the railroad, they have a contract with AT&T that requires they maintain coverage in those areas.

Have you considered taking pics on your cellphone of the pages you’re planning to bring with? I’m all about having a backup plan, and have found this to be an easy solution that doesn’t take up extra space and weight.

Hope you have a fantastic time, can’t wait to hear all about it!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

AT&T cell coverage was very good in Alaska. It could feel spotty at times...trying to talk to Mom in Juneau was interesting, but I'm not sure how much of that was a result of the coverage versus the ambience noise making talking challenging. My concern was to have paper proof of various things...just to make referencing information easier. What can I say? I'm not young and I happen to like paper...

 

I did find that the paper was largely unnecessary and I could have been just fine without all the print outs that I did.

 

Thanks for reading! The review is about to begin!

[Anita Latte]

Anita!

I think I have found my long lost twin 😉! I didn’t think other “obsessive” planners existed!! I’ve thouroughly enjoyed reading all of your posts (sneaking them in, bit by bit, while I nurse the baby 😊.) and cant wait to hear about your trip! Two years ago, my hubby and I cruised NCL rt out of Seattle with my parents, brother, and his wife. Best. Trip. Ever!! Though we encountered some “situations” (to save money, we thought we could easily fit 4 in each inside cabin- though not ideal, with NCLs 3rd/4th person sail free promo, it was something hard to pass up- my mom and dad agreed to split up, leaving each couple with a parent on a bunk in the room with them. If that wasnt wacky enough, they are terribly earlier risers and would knock on the dividing wall to signal that they were awake...then the knock on the door from room service with coffee 😂! It something that we all look back and laugh about...and learned from 😜.), it was a truly incredible trip!! We never thought we’d get to go back, but incidentally, we have booked a trip back to Alaska, this time on Solstice in June 2019 💃🏻💃🏻! This time, our own rooms 😉. I’d like to second another person’s response about doing those things you’d want to do if you never make it back...a flight seeing trip over the Juneau Icefield is at the top of our bucket list. I’m trying to think of a plan B if weather makes the flight an impossibility...🤔. Have an AMAZING trip and I look forward to hearing all about your adventures!!

 

I think there is a great number of planners here on the forum! It's why I can so easily waste SO MUCH time here on the boards! LOL. Love stories like your first trip to Alaska...why not? is what I say. Everything has the potential for learning so no time is truly wasted if you take time to evaluate things that have passed. And if your learning experience is with family or friends that might as well be family...then I think that makes for long lasting memories that far outweigh any "ease" that might have been experienced with alternative planning.

 

Flight seeing is amazing. If you have the budget for it...go for it. Especially if you have been to Juneau before? But I would have a back up plan, just in case. Someone had plans canceled at some point along our cruise...I didn't hear the upset but someone in our party did...and it was like the world had ended. And sadly, it seemed to be very unexpected. As in, they didn't know there was a possibility of cancelation. So definitely have a back up plan, but hope for the best. As in all things in life. IMO.

 

Thanks for reading along!

[Anita Latte]

What a detailed report....excited to join your adventure. Sailed Alaska (see report in signature) a few years ago. One of my most memorable cruises.

 

Alaska is definitely a memorable cruise! Hopefully for wonderful reasons! Thank you for reading along!

[Anita Latte]

Anita,

Tom and Carolynne here from Sydney Australia,

I am planning to do your cruise 21 June 2019

 

We have cruised Millie a few years back Hawaii to Sydney

 

Looking forward to reading your full review and no doubt will ask you a few questions

 

We intend to fly to New York after this cruise

 

This cruise is a part of our visit to Ireland to visit our son and his family ,

Rather than a return trip Sydney to Dublin , I have decided to do around the world flight ,so as to do this cruise then visit New York .

 

cheers for now

 

YOU have amazing plans! WOW. I would like to read all about that!

 

My review is on the way! Thank you for reading along!

[Anita Latte]

I'm just starting to plan an Alaskan cruise and stumbled onto your review! LOVE IT! I can't wait until you get back to hear how your trip went!

 

Planning Alaska is a lot of fun! Potentially repeating myself...I would definitely form a thought as to how you want to feel at the end of your Alaska vacation. WHY do you want to go there so bad? At the end, what do you want to have experienced and seen? What is it about Alaska that is making you want to go there in the first place? Be ware of all the things that you will read about. There's so much. It can be difficult to narrow down the options to form your itinerary and feel that you are doing the best trip you can. So find those personal boundaries...that PERSONAL agenda...and let that be your guide.

 

Thank you for reading along!

[JBSteelerfan]

Glad to hear you had a great time. Looking forward to the rest of the story...…...

[waterbug123]

Planning Alaska is a lot of fun! Potentially repeating myself...I would definitely form a thought as to how you want to feel at the end of your Alaska vacation. WHY do you want to go there so bad? At the end, what do you want to have experienced and seen? What is it about Alaska that is making you want to go there in the first place?

 

I think the above is worth repeating, AND it applies to all destinations. All too often I hear people talk about where they want to go and what they want to see there, and think to myself, "Do you really want to see the XYZ or are you just thinking that you do because people say it's what you should do?" Or I'll hear or read someone's review of some famous place and their summary of it is "meh" because in reality, they had no particular interest in whatever it was, only went because it was famous, and ended up spending their whole day or week sweating like crazy, while waiting in long lines to see something they didn't truly care about, other than to mark it off a list of what others said they should see.

[Anita Latte]

Eve sleep.

 

The hoped for…longed for…greatly desired good night’s rest during the night before a significant event that rarely…if ever…happens. At least for me.

 

Like Christmas Day.

Or the first day of school.

Or the first day of vacation!

 

Too much excitement!

Too much mental check listing!

 

I find it so difficult to turn off my brain…

 

With our early morning flight out of RDU…a 90+ minute drive from home…we opted to stay at an airport hotel for travel day eve. Marriott’s Fairfield Inn.

 

I had a dream…a dream that we would leave at the end of DH’s work day…3:00 PM or so. We would beat the rush hour traffic and arrive for a leisurely dinner in Raleigh. A bit of chillax-ing with cable while winding down. Early lights out. Wake well rested.

 

Just after noon, I envisioned that we would hit up our local sushi happy hour before hitting the road. All the last minutes checked off…the car packed. Leave the kitchen clean and eat dinner out and hit the road…

 

DH cautioned me to stop stressing about this day. We didn’t have a schedule to keep. It would all be OKAY.

 

We did break for that sushi happy hour…

 

DS does LOVE him some sushi…

 

We like the happy in happy hour…(not too happy though!)

 

We hit the road around 8 pm.

 

Could be worse.

 

Second dinner was at a Cook Out close to our hotel destination. Surprisingly busy just before 10 pm. If you haven’t eaten here…it’s kind of a Carolina thing. Decent fast food at a fair price. Really good milk shakes.

 

The Fairfield room had a fridge. A microwave. And sadly, FULL-sized beds. Ah well. We did wind down with some stupid cable television…some novel that we don’t have at home…ROKU and Netflix!

 

Lights out well before midnight could still be a record for travel eve…

 

4:30 AM alarm for a 7:08 AM flight.

 

Ugh. NOT FUN.

 

10 minute drive to the airport.

 

DH dropped DS and I off at the curb with all our luggage.

 

 

We were checking the 3 duffles. DS saw that the heaviest one was 38.8 pounds and the lightest just over 30 pounds.

 

DH had the red rolling bag carryon and a slim backpack personal item. I had the brown eBags Motherlode backpack carryon, my Baggalini crossbody bag personal item, and the pink reuseable shopping bag full of food. DS had the small blue soft sided overnighter shoulder bag and a Timbuk2 messenger bag personal item.

 

Time was ticking into the future and DH still hadn’t returned from the economy lot. I was getting nervy. I needed him present to check all 3 bags…but the curb check line was looking manageable.

 

Still.

 

I watched as a large suitcase was hefted onto the scale. 80 pounds! I heard, “That’ll be $200.”

 

OMG.

 

I watched as a group of Asian travelers shuffled at least one dozen purple plastic storage tubs with lids secured by zip ties every 2-3 inches around the lid’s perimeter…thinking to myself…did they DRILL the holes for the ties? What if TSA wants to look inside those tubs? How does that work?

 

Meanwhile…I decided $5 for a luggage cart was ridiculous…but in light of the overall cost of our vacation…kind of nit picking on expenses. I should make life easier for myself on vacation. Swipe that credit card.

 

DS and I were loading up the cart and headed to the back of the curb check line.

 

Are you flying international?

 

Excuse me?

 

OMG…I guess Vancouver IS an international flight.

 

No curb check for you.

 

You must go join the 100+ people long baggage drop line inside the terminal.

 

Can you say STRESS?

 

I wish I had known beforehand.

 

TAKE NOTE: Delta will not let you curb check luggage for an international flight. Also note, 45 minutes prior to your schedule departure time is the cut off for checking luggage. At RDU anyway.

 

I think our timing would have been fine, if only DS and I had gotten into line right when DH dropped us off.

 

We needed and received a bit of divine intervention to make the luggage drop off happen. Phew.

 

Fortunately, the traffic jam at security was eased along as TSA extended the pre-check courtesies to all. No one needed to remove 311 bags, electronics, or food. Everyone kept their shoes on.

 

We had just enough time to hit the bathrooms and fill our Nalgene bottles on the way to the gate.

 

Our zone was called momentarily and we boarded the plane.

 

Wait. I have too many bags. Check one or consolidate.

 

The pink bag is just full of food.

 

Oh. Carry on then.

 

If you aren’t aware. Food is not included in your carryon allowance. So long as the food is in a bag of its own.

 

Handy.

 

Carryons successfully stowed overhead.

 

Time to finally eat.

 

For this 5-hour, early morning flight, Delta did offer a choice of 3 different complementary breakfasts. I was surprised. A turkey sandwich? A fruit and cheese plate? They were continental in size. I was still happy to have taken the time to plan a travel friendly breakfast.

 

I had made us breakfast burritos. I found XL tortillas…like 18” across. Scrambled eggs. Crumbled sausage. Roasted potato cubes. Grated cheese. Taco sauce packets in 311 bag. We heated the burritos up in the hotel room microwave.

 

The tortilla did end up with some soggy spots. Bound to happen when you have to rewrap a heated burrito. Fully edible though.

 

We had plenty of time to eat while we waited for those stuck in the security traffic to board the plane.

 

It still blows my mind that, in just a few hours really, I will travel 2346 miles.

 

 

Seattle layover. Here we come.

[Anita Latte]

We skipped the morning showers.

 

We planned to make full use of the facilities of the Delta Sky Lounge in Seattle.

 

Here is an excellent review:

 

https://thepointsguy.com/2016/10/new-delta-sky-club-seattle/

 

I’ve never visited an airport lounge before. I seriously debated the cost…$29 per person.

 

Let me tell you. WELL WORTH the cost of admission. I would CHOOSE to fly through Seattle so that I could visit this lounge in the future.

 

We had just over 3 hours in layover.

 

We hurried to the lounge to maximize our time there. Simple check in.

 

Mom had forewarned me about a possible wait list for the showers…so we headed there first thing. Check in at the spa desk. Fortunately, showers were immediately available.

 

Our party of 3 was given the use of two shower rooms. I don’t know if the room for two could have asked for an extension for the allocated 15 minutes…I could see the line forming behind us as three suited men entered the spa area behind us. There are only 6 shower rooms. I decided to be happy with my 15 minutes. Even if I had to share them with DH.

 

Complementary towels and wash cloths in hand…DH and I took one room. DS the other.

 

WOW. Rainfall shower head faucets are NICE.

 

Peppermint shampoo. Cilantro conditioner. Sage body wash. All supplied in convenient, wall mounted dispensers.

 

The smell and the ambience was spa like.

 

We emerged refreshed.

 

Note: toiletries were an issue. DS went into his shower room without any as I had been in charge of all the 311 bags. This created a bit of a dilemma as we tried unsuccessfully to get DS to hear us through the heavy shower room door. We just wanted to give him his deodorant! He started worrying that the spa people were banging on his door for him to hurry up…and so the shower experience was a bit more stressful than refreshing for DS. We realized that we should have just CALLED him on his cell phone…but DH and I are old enough that such a form of communication is NOT our first thought.

 

Live and learn.

 

DS emerged a bit frazzled. But quickly recovered.

 

He helped himself to his third breakfast of the morning…as he had opted to select a complementary snack on the plane in addition to his burrito…it’s vacation, he says. CRUISE vacation. Eating is a major part of cruise vacations. The lounge was still serving breakfast in the 10 o’clock hour.

 

The self-service latte machine was put through its paces. I happily saw Caramel, Vanilla, and Hazelnut syrups available. I do prefer coffee FLAVORED drinks to coffee…

 

Transition breakfast buffet to lunch. Lunch service beginning at 11 AM.

 

The clam chowder lived up to the hype. I had not remembered that potato chips were made in house. Thick and not so crispy as to wreck the roof of your mouth…this potato chip lover highly recommends these chips!

 

A local craft beer was included in the complementary beverage offerings. A tasty IPA.

 

Electronics fully charged. Ourselves as well. It was the best airport layover ever!

 

The previous flight seemed to fade into a previous day. The showers. The caffeine. The food. It was like the day was just getting started.

 

We had a short 25-minutes in the air to hop up to Vancouver.

 

Easy navigation to customs. A water wall feature. A literal creek-like water feature under the escalators. WHERE is the bathroom?

 

It’s there. At the base of the escalators before you hit the kiosks for immigration.

 

No line at immigration. In a matter of minutes we were in Canada.

 

The luggage carts are FREE!

YAY!! The duffles arrived! Unharmed!

Nearly everyone I saw used a cart. It absolutely streamlined the flow of people. Everyone's luggage was in front...no one was dragging a tripping hazard behind them.

 

As I had read in a previous trip report…follow the signs to Ground Transportation. Exit the airport and directly across from the exit is the taxi stand.

 

Wheel that luggage cart all the way through the taxi line...a complete misnomer, as there was no line shortly before 3:00 PM on this Wednesday afternoon. MANY Toyota Prius taxis waiting.

 

Note: Nearly EVERY taxi I saw was a PRIUS. Our duffle bags did fit in one layer across the base of the trunk. The brown backpack on top on one side. The red roller on the other. View out the back through the middle. DH sat in front with his personal item. DS and I sat in the back with DS’ small carryon and our personal items. Some travelers may find these taxis challenging luggage-wise. Beware.

 

Our taxi driver preferred fresh air. Windows down a bit. The weather was a sunshiny 70-ish. Beyond heavenly after all the stale air of travel and the pushing 100-degree heat index weather of late at home.

 

He also said that there aren’t really highways in Vancouver. He worked those surface streets. Darting in and out lanes. Turning suddenly to cut through a residential street. Soaking in the sites of a new to me city, it seemed that suddenly, we arrived at the Delta Suites Hotel in downtown Vancouver.

 

$35 fare. As expected.

American credit card, no problem. No PIN needed. Chip and signature accepted.

 

Let the vacation truly begin!

[bunnyette]

Lol, yes Canada is international! Glad you had an uneventful flight.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Anita Latte]

Lol, yes Canada is international! Glad you had an uneventful flight.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

 

Isn't that ridiculous? I was just so focused on the fact that we were flying to Seattle first...I wasn't cluing in on the fact that my entire itinerary qualified our "flight" as international! LOL!

 

Uneventful is delightful when it coming to flying...

[Anita Latte]

Using points for our Marriott reservation…I debated between the Pinnacle and the Delta hotels downtown. I ultimately chose the Delta hotel simply because it had larger rooms. I preferred the suite set up for our family of 3.

 

It did mean that DS was relegated to sleeping on a pull-out sofa bed. BUT with a separate living area, there would be a door giving him, and us, some much appreciated privacy.

 

Having a living area was also a bonus as we do enjoy sitting in real seats and not always lounging on the beds while in our hotel room.

 

Neither of my current cameras has a fill flash so these photos are less than awesome…but they show the features of the room well enough.

 

The suite opens to a foyer area. You can see the “landing table” but not the handy wall hooks or the complementary umbrella.

 

An excellent staging area for our duffle bags.

 

 

The full bathroom was off the foyer…not off the bathroom. This let the bathroom feel more like common space. It felt less intrusive for DH and I to go through the living room to the bathroom rather than DS entering into the private bedroom space to access a bathroom.

 

Thumbs up on the walk-in shower.

 

 

The living space included a sofa, a deck area with desk chair, and a small fridge. DS was happy to see the Netflix app on the television. We also enjoyed catching up on the FIFA World Cup action.

 

 

Upon check in, we discovered that we had been upgraded to a corner room with a partial water view. DH’s loyalty status is such that if an upgrade is available, he is entitled to one. We were on the top floor…the 23rdIIRC!

 

The bedroom had the corner view.

 

 

 

When we checked in…service brought a luggage cart to the taxi and helped us unload our luggage. DH and DS were both wearing concert tees which usually starts fun conversations with others that are enthused by such things. We had a great conversation with this hotel employee about the Foo Fighters. He also shared about various band performances in town, but unfortunately most were only weekend venues/events…and not opportunities for our current visit.

 

I thought that he would continue to help with the luggage cart…but as soon as the check in counter was available…we were left alone to actually check in and then deal with our luggage. The music conversation was just a great time passer and we were actually pleased to save our tip money by helping ourselves.

 

We settled a bit in the room.

Stretched out.

 

Removed our heavy and would have been space consuming hiking boots for more comfortable warm weather shoes…and thought to ourselves…where and what should we eat?

 

Amazingly enough.

[TeaBag]

So sorry this is all for now. I am enjoying this so much.

 

 

I'm glad you found our airport easy to navigate and sorry that the water features created a little problem for you!:) Love your sense of humor.

 

 

 

Yes, I agree one of the wonderful welcomes Vancouver provides is the free luggage carts.

[waterbug123]

Wait. I have too many bags. Check one or consolidate.

 

The pink bag is just full of food.

 

Oh. Carry on then.

 

If you aren’t aware. Food is not included in your carryon allowance. So long as the food is in a bag of its own.

 

 

Just a note for others reading: The official Delta policy is that food purchased after clearing security is exempted from carry on limits, so technically an exception was made to allow the OP to board with this 3rd item/bag of food brought from home. I only say this because Delta is notorious for being inconsistent, so someone else could easily be told "no, you have to consolidate your 3 bags into 2," and that would actually be the correct policy. ;)

 

 

 

We planned to make full use of the facilities of the Delta Sky Lounge in Seattle.

 

I’ve never visited an airport lounge before. I seriously debated the cost…$29 per person.

 

 

Again, just a note of clarification for others reading- the $29pp is a discounted rate offered to guests of club members. The standard rate, if I recall correctly, is $49 or $59pp. Also, most clubs do not have showers. That feature is restricted to a handful of lounges in airports with a lot of international flight arrivals. ;)

 

note: I promise I am not trying to pick apart Anita's posts. I'm really enjoying them! Just offering full clarification for others reading so they don't misunderstand something that might impact their future travel. I'm a Delta frequent flyer, so these things jump out at me, LOL.

[Anita Latte]

Just a note for others reading: The official Delta policy is that food purchased after clearing security is exempted from carry on limits, so technically an exception was made to allow the OP to board with this 3rd item/bag of food brought from home. I only say this because Delta is notorious for being inconsistent, so someone else could easily be told "no, you have to consolidate your 3 bags into 2," and that would actually be the correct policy. ;)

 

Again, just a note of clarification for others reading- the $29pp is a discounted rate offered to guests of club members. The standard rate, if I recall correctly, is $49 or $59pp. Also, most clubs do not have showers. That feature is restricted to a handful of lounges in airports with a lot of international flight arrivals. ;)

 

note: I promise I am not trying to pick apart Anita's posts. I'm really enjoying them! Just offering full clarification for others reading so they don't misunderstand something that might impact their future travel. I'm a Delta frequent flyer, so these things jump out at me, LOL.

 

Clarification is wonderful. I have no issue at all with the spirit in which you are adding information to this thread!

 

The $29 lounge rate is a discounted rate, which we were eligible for through the Delta Gold AMEX card, which we acquired a few months ago in preparation for this trip.

[Anita Latte]

So sorry this is all for now. I am enjoying this so much.

 

I'm glad you found our airport easy to navigate and sorry that the water features created a little problem for you!:) Love your sense of humor.

 

Yes, I agree one of the wonderful welcomes Vancouver provides is the free luggage carts.

 

I'm so glad you are enjoying this! Thank you!

[Anita Latte]

DS has a thing for sushi.

 

I recently learned that the best sushi DS ever ate was in LA.

 

DS was playing lead guitar for a friend who had recently graduated high school and was pursuing her singer songwriting career. She had been chosen to play in a young artist showcase event in LA…so we had a fun extended weekend trip out to Southern Cal in October 2016.

 

Now DS has an association of excellent sushi with the west coast.

 

He was on a sushi mission in Vancouver. He had high hopes of best sushi ever repeat.

 

Using the hotel WiFi, I set him to finding where we should eat lunch while I photographed our room’s view.

 

The living room received the benefit of the partial water view. Looking straight out the window:

 

 

Take a gander to the right of the building for the full view:

 

 

Similar story from the bedroom window on the same side of the building. Out the other window, you can just see the snow capped mountains over the building tops:

 

 

Meanwhile…DS was distracted by poke bowls on his sushi quest.

 

I recently discovered poke bowls in my efforts to satisfy DS’ taste for sushi at home.

 

Sushi expenses can really add up. We started making sushi at home. It’s NOT easy.

 

Or rather, I should say that sushi making is labor intensive. Much effort for what feels like little return. When I think about eating raw seafood…I think to myself that it should be a quick fix…it’s a no cook meal! But sushi is a PITA no cook meal…

 

And yet, since we had been making the effort, I had sushi quality ahi blocks in my freezer. What to do with them?

 

Enter poke bowls.

 

This is the inspiration post:

http://www.athoughtforfood.net/blog/ahi-tuna-poke-bowl

 

This has become our go to homemade meal that helps stave off the sushi cravings. DH isn’t as enthused for sushi, but he really enjoys the poke bowls…so poke carries good vibes in our household.

 

And apparently, there is a contingent of poke restaurants all around our hotel.

 

We were in a bit of a food dead zone time wise though.

 

Living in a downtown setting, we are very familiar with the concept that downtown restaurants often CLOSE between lunch and dinner hours. Usually 2 PM to 5 PM is the dead zone.

 

And we were smack in the middle of it…

 

Pokerrito was open! Decent enough reviews.

 

http://www.pokerrito.ca

 

Located only 0.2 miles away…a 6 minute walk…according to Maps…we ventured into the streets of Vancouver for our first outing.

[Anita Latte]

Without dwelling on this…

 

I do feel obligated to mention…

 

As is the case in most urban areas…

 

There is a homeless population in Vancouver.

 

In this area of town, there isn’t a large grouping that I encountered…and we did encounter what I could describe as a homeless camp in Vancouver later in the evening…but the greatest impact in the area around our hotel was the often encountered smell of urine.

 

That said…

 

The sun was shining.

 

There was just a bit of a breeze.

 

The temperature was perfectly temperate…not too hot. Not too cool.

 

We were all wearing short sleeves. DH wore shorts, as is typical. DS wore fashion joggers, as is typical. I wore my performance wear capris, also typical. I could have worn sandals, but we were all wearing walking shoes.

 

Pokerrito is fun to say.

 

The build your own poke bowl was fun to orchestrate.

 

I would liken Pokerrito to Moe’s Southwest Grill.

 

Welcome to Moe’s!

 

Or Subway, I suppose. You guide the person behind the counter to create your perfect bowl. Pay immediately. All orders are prepared in plastic, covered bowls. Take out seemed to be the norm.

 

The Dunsmuir Pokerrito location had very little seating. So we opted to return to our lovely hotel living room, sprawl a bit, and watch some World Cup with our poke bowls.

 

Our room doesn’t have a dining table…but the desk sufficed for one…and there was one of those C-shaped sofa tables with legs that slide under the sofa to form a very shareable tv tray.

 

The Poke was tasty. We were all very good chefs that day creating exactly what we felt like eating.

 

The only downfall to this food plan was that it put us back into our hotel room. I had scoped out a variety of things that could pass the time until our 7:00 PM meeting time for our City Tour…but the comfort of the hotel room trumped walking around prior to our walking tour.

 

It was a good thing we had a solid date for the evening or we might have just gone to sleep. Not a horrible thing…just not helpful for getting adjusted to the 4-hour time difference.

[sykimball1498]

Loving your review! Yes, the 4 hour time difference is a killer. On our Alaskan cruise, I was up every morning by 6am and I am normally a late sleeper. The sun was up before me most days. It is nice to wake up, have mimosas on the balcony and look at the glaciers at 6am. It felt like noon...lol.