Friday was primarily a day at sea, with a brief evening stop in Victoria. During the day Michael and I managed to find a vacant hot tub to hang out in. It was quiet and we talked a lot about how great the trip had been.
There was also an ice sculpture demo happening on deck in the early afternoon. It was quite the display. The carvers created their sculptures in what seemed like minutes. They were certainly quick about it!
It was a fairly laid-back kind of day. Mike and I decided that we were going to get off the ship and see Victoria while we had the chance. We had a quick supper with the family and then headed for the dock where they had shuttle bus service to downtown.
The parliment building was all lit up and amazing! We took photos, and strolled around the grounds. It was really lovely, I’d love to go back there someday.
There was a little street market, with tents full of vendors selling some beautiful things. We also browsed some of the shops along the main road, and Mike picked up a key chain with his last name on it.
We stopped to grab a coffee in this little shop on the corner. We were waiting for our drinks when a good song started playing in the shop, so we slow danced right then and there, and laughed, and generally made a spectacle of ourselves, but the baristas and some of the patrons smiled at us, so I don’t think we were too much of a nuisance. It was a really cute moment.
When we got back to the boat, we grabbed a snack from the buffet and then headed to our room for the evening. The next day was the end of our trip, but we had planned to spend the afternoon seeing Seattle with Mike’s siblings, which we were really looking forward to.
Saturday marked the end of our cruise, which was sad, and I don’t think any of us were looking forward to saying goodbye. There were a lot of hugs before we gathered our things and disembarked. We bid farewell to Nanny and Pa, Granny, and Mike’s parents before the six of us caught a cab to where we were taking an Underground Tour of Seattle.
The tour was awesome! We got to see were Bill Gates lives, and the house where Kurt Cobain was found dead, and the residence of the Starbucks founder (we also saw the first Starbucks ever by the way). Very interesting stuff really.
After the tour, we decided to go to Pike Place Market, which was incredible! We couldn’t believe all of the amazing flowers and produce and gigantic seafood they had. We grabbed lunch at a little cafe there, which was kind of expensive but also delicious.
Once we had walked around the market, we headed towards the monorail, which would take us to the Space Needle! It’s one of those things you do in Seattle I think.
We waited in line at the Space Needle for at least 45 minutes, which was terrible but also pretty funny. When we finally got up there, the view was pretty good. You could even see our cruise ship, and Mount Rainer.
When we had seen all there was to see, we browsed the gift shop for a few minutes and then it was time to go. We all caught a cab back to where the car was parked, said goodbye to Michelle and Ben, and got in the truck for the long trip home.
It was an amazing experience, one of the most incredible I’ve ever had. I hope to go back someday, and I would like to take another cruise again. It’s sad that we might not all be together again for a long time, but I think each of us will look back on the week at sea with fond memories. I know I will.
