Square Dancing RV'rs

Rocky Mountaineer train trip

On Thursday, October 3, 2024, we drove to Vancouver, B.C. We stayed one night in a hotel. This trip was organized by a Washington state square dance caller. It included dancing in Vancouver, the train trip, and 3 nights in a hotel in Banff. Plus, there was dancing in Banff.

The Rocky Mountaineer is a magnificent train trip. Our trip left from Vancouver on Friday, October 4th. We boarded the train about 7:30am. Once underway we were served coffee and a warm croissant. Then, we could choose from 3 breakfast options. Lunch also had 3 options. The drinks trolley went by several times during the day. This included alcoholic drinks, coffee, juices, etc.

We arrived in Kamloops about 6pm. Before deboarding the train, we were given our room keys for the hotel. Once we were bused to the hotel, we could get in our rooms were our luggage awaited us. No check-in required. The luggage is trucked to Kamloops. The next morning, we were bused back to the train and had another wonderful day of sightseeing and food from the train and of course the wonderful meals. Also, during the trip our 3 train hosts told us information and stories about the areas.

We spent 3 nights in Banff and then moved to timeshare in Canmore for 2 nights with fellow square dancers from the Tri-Cities. We rented a car for two days and then drove to Calgary and flew back to Vancouver.

View from the train

Gondola Views

Lake Morraine

Lake Louise

Banff early morning

Alaska cruise with daughter and grandkids

We did a 7-day cruise from Seattle on the Discovery Princess. Hudson (16 yrs old) and Quinlee (11 years old) along with daughter, Michelle, joined us on the cruise. Our stops were Juneau, Skagway, Glacier Bay, Ketchikan, and Victoria.

View after leaving Skagway

Skagway train ride

New Zealand cruise

On January 27, 2024, we boarded the Noordam Holland America ship for a two-week cruise. We cruised with longtime friends, Richard and Sue. Our port stops included:

Tauranga, (Roturua), Napier, Christchurch, Dunedin, Hobart (Tasmania), and Melbourne, Australia

We were supposed to do some scenic cruising of Fiordland National Park, but the weather was so bad we cruised straight to Hobart through some rough seas. Even though it was summer we did have some rainy weather. Fortunately, one of our best weather days was to view Mt. Cook.

An example of Art Deco home in Napier.

We visited the oldest winery in New Zealand - Mission Winery

We toured the Whakarewarewa Living Maori Village in Rotura. And boy did it rain that day. Fortunately, the performance was undercover. Walking around the village was very wet. it was quite interesting how they use the thermal to do their cooking. Almost like having a slow cooker underground.

Lake Tekapu

View of Mt. Cook from Lake Pukaki

Hostel near Lake Tekapo

I loved how the scene was reflected in the glass

Holland America has orange night

Tawny Frogmouth at Bonorong Wildlife Sanctuary

Kangaroos waiting for dinner

Fairy tree at Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne

Hand carved from 1931-1933 in a Gum tree stump.

Fitzroy Gardens, Melbourne

Melbourne had some very interesting buildings.

View of our ship from the Christchurch gondola

Bob and Richard goofing around on bus

Historic town Richmond, Tasmania

Bridge built by convicts

Yarra River cruise in Melbourne

Bob in front of train Dunedin. Still rocking the orange

British Isles Cruise

August 28, 2023, we flew with friends, Paul and Carol Samuels, to London for a two-week cruise on the Viking Mars. We started in Greenwich, London. Other stops were Dover, Dublin, Holyhead, Douglas Isle of Man, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Lerwick (Shetland Islands), and we ended in Bergen, Norway. We had the most perfect weather - only place in rained was Bergen (which is pretty normal).

Liverpool, with the Beatles

Bagpipes in Edinburgh, Scotland

Bob in phone booth in Scotland

Edinburgh Castle.

We visited on the one-year anniversary of Queen Elizabeth's death,

so, lots of pomp and circumstance happening.

Douglas, Isle of Man, castle - a favorite port stop

Dog Cemetary at Edinburgh Castle

Central Library in Liverpool

White Cliffs of Dover

Check out the name of the train station - 58 letters!

Panama Canal Cruise - Dec 28 to January 15

We did an Oceania cruise on Insignia ship through the Panama Canal. Our stops included Grand Cayman, Cartagena, Columbia, El Salvador, Puerto Chiapas, Mexico, Manzanillo, Mexico, Puerta Vallarta, Mexico, Mazatlan, Mexico, Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, and San Diego. We finished in San Francisco.