Vancouver, BC

Our Alaska adventure is about our entire family. We are traveling with my sweetheart’s mother, two sisters, brother-in-law and two daughters. We all decided it was time to see the Alyeska , that’s an Aleut word meaning the great land. Alaska is the largest state in the United States and became the 49th state of the U.S. on January 3, 1959. Alaska is the only non-contiguous U.S. state on continental North America; about 500 miles of British Columbia separate Alaska from Washington State. The capital city, Juneau is situated on the mainland of the North American continent, but is not connected by road to the rest of the North American highway system. Of course, Alaska can't be a real state unless it has a state beer and cell service -- it would help if they had some kind of a football team, or some nuclear weapons, but at the very least it needs a beer. Ok, no more Frank Zappa routines.
The Inside Passage is a coastal route for oceangoing vessels along a series of passages between the islands along Pacific coast of Alaska and British Columbia. Our cruise through this passage starts in Vancouver , Canada. Ships using the route can avoid some of the bad weather in the open ocean and may visit some of the many isolated communities along the route. The Inside Passage is heavily traveled by cruise ships, freighters, tugboat and fishing craft.
Before leaving we will spend a few days in Vancouver. Vancouver is a largest city located in Western Canada. It is named for Captain George Vancouver, who explored the area in the 1790s. Vancouver is a coastal city that is always ranked highly in worldwide listing of livable cities. When we arrived in Vancouver it was warm, I must have brought the Texas weather with me, but by the next day it was a little cooler. Sandy had a great time shopping at the Grandville Island Public Market and them we toured Stanley Park in the Afternoon.