We took the Amtrak from Seattle to Vancouver to meet up with the ship that was to whisk us off to Alaska.  I would highly recommend taking the Amtrak Cascades if you ever get the chance.  This turned out to be one of the best decisions we made, as the train takes you on a relaxing ride along the Pacific Coast.

Vancouver turned out to be one of my favorite cities to visit on this trip.  I can’t wait for us to have the opportunity to go back someday.  We spent one night in Vancouver before getting on our ship, with a plan to spend a few nights in the city on the back-end of our Alaskan adventure.  We stayed at the Westin Bayshore, which is right on the water.  With your stay, you get free bikes, which Paul and I took advantage of, even though we did get into a little trouble in Stanley Park.  Some heavy duty bikers who were clearly prepping for the Tour de France, yelled at us for going the wrong way on the trail.  I almost yelled back, “Hey, we only have these rentals for a half hour!” but I contained myself.

Here are a few photos from our first day and morning in Vancouver…

House boat, anyone?

Not sure who these two are, but they looked so content…

Our ship pulling in to pick us up…