BCITRA Travel

Vancouver to San Diego Cruise

Fall 2008

Article by Alan Barnard

(Click on the thumbnails to view a larger image.)

We left Vancouver 13 October aboard the Celebrity cruise ship Mercury in wet and drizzly weather, a group of BCITRA members and spouses numbering ten in all. Our first port of call was Victoria and thankfully the rain had stopped and it was possible to enjoy a pleasant stroll around our provincial capital.

The first night at dinner our party was split and we sat at two different tables with other passengers, but due to the intervention of Ted Scratchley we were all accommodated at the same table from the second evening on and the conversation was lively and interesting allowing us to know each other better.

We went from Victoria to Seattle next and although the day was dull at least it was not raining. On arriving in Seattle all passengers had to leave the ship from about 08:00 until 11:00 while customs officers went through the ship. On returning to the ship every passenger had to go through customs. We had time to tour the Pike Market even though all the stalls were not yet open, and at one fish stall a crowd gathered to watch quite big fresh salmon being thrown from one stall assistant to the other - without a single mishap. The biggest laugh was when one of the assistants threw what appeared to be a sizeable salmon at a lady in the crowd who ducked and tried to get out of the way. She joined in the laughter when it turned out to be a cloth model of a salmon.

Our next port of call was Astoria, Portland, to find free buses lining up to take passengers into town. One of the highlights for me was the visit to the Astoria column high on a hill overlooking the town - which by the way was quite a bit larger than when Chris and I visited many years ago. The column was carved in layers from the bottom up starting in successive layers outlining the story of aboriginals before the white man arrived and ending with the coming of the railway in 1893.

After an interesting day in Astoria we sailed on to San Francisco which was quite misty when we arrived. A number of us went on a coach tour of 'Frisco and cameras were clicking left right and centre as we saw the old part of the city and many of the beautiful newer buildings. The coach then continued on to the fort underneath the south end of the Golden Gate bridge, and after a brief tour of that we continued across the bridge first to Sausalito, an enchanting little town where the sun shone brilliantly and we experienced a rise of about 10°F between there and San Francisco. Quite a few of us lunched on fish and chips in Sausalito before continuing on to the Domaine Carneros winery in Sonoma Valley where we sampled some nice wines, and then on to a second winery at Viansa. The mountains dividing the Sonoma Valley from the Napa Valley provided another camera opportunity in the brilliant sunshine.

We spent two days in San Francisco and of course spent some of the time visiting Fisherman's Wharf that perennial tourist spot. I was absolutely amazed at the number of seals basking on the many floating platforms in the harbour. There were so many that they were piled on top of each other in layers. But the smell ensured that we did not stay too long!

From San Francisco we sailed to Monterey, another beautiful spot that I had never visited before, and one that Chris and I will certainly return to as it is so fresh and clean looking. Again we were impressed by many of the lovely buildings, and interested to see all the different seabirds including many pelicans also enjoying the sunshine.

We then set sail for San Diego where we arrived 22 October, and we packed in preparation for leaving the Mercury on our arrival there. We had a few hours before we caught the plane back to Vancouver, and our hosts Ron and Sharon of Cruises Abroad had arranged a very reasonably priced coach tour of the city where we visited Coronado Island first and then the striking Hotel Del Coronado which is of completely wood construction, before going on to Balboa Park and its very attractive buildings. There are a number of museums all free of charge, but unfortunately time was limited. Finally we visited a Mexican quarter where we had lunch in one of the little cafes there, then on to the airport where we bid goodbye to a very enjoyable tour with good company.

Thanks go to Ted Scratchley for his efforts in arranging this tour.