I mentioned that an Alaskan cruise would be nothing without Tessa; it would be nothing still without our CODY too! Her plane did not arrive until early afternoon so Stan, Tessa and I spent the morning exploring Vancouver.

We loved what we saw . . . Vancouver is situated on a wide peninsula giving it water on three sides. It's both hilly and flat and is beautiful. We were lucky. While it rains nearly every day November through March, we enjoyed dry weather. The city and the neighborhoods have a well-heeled appearance . . . we see evidence of both an abundance of old money and vibrant investment in modern growth. We passed through one neighborhood, Shaughnessy Heights, said to have homes worth over $40 million. Another mansion in the Grey Point area recently sold for a record-breaking $63 million. Lord!

Vancouver is regularly named among the top five cities worldwide in terms of quality of life. And when we asked locals about living in Vancouver, they all replied how much they love it with the sea at their feet and the mountains in their eyes. They also have plenty of nearby lakes and streams. For those who love outdoor sports, Vancouver has everything. It's easy to see the strong appeal as an almost perfect place to live. It's not perfect though . . . the weather is cool almost all the time, it's rainy almost all the time and it is super-duper expensive. Still you can be on the ocean in minutes and enjoy a spectacular view of real mountains in all directions! It's a nature-lover's dream.

In the morning we caught the SkyTrain to downtown Vancouver. We first explored Chinatown. Walking through the colorful Chinese gate, we soon realized, quite frankly, Chinatown is not there anymore. While there are a few remaining shops and restaurants, we heard most the Chinese businesses moved to another part of town a few years ago. Then we walked right through the middle of Vancouver's homeless city where we saw characters of every kind - leave it to GG and Grammie to give Tessa a first-hand lesson on human nature, sad, insane and depraved. She said she'd seen it all and more before in San Francisco.

Just two blocks farther was Gastown, a cool, upscale place to see and be seen. Gastown was the first original settlement which eventually grew to become what is now Vancouver. It began with the construction of a tavern by Gassy Jack Deighton. Gassy Jack arrived in 1867. After selling liquor for a while to lumbermen and millworkers in the area from a makeshift store of a board across two stumps, he convinced workers to build a saloon for him to serve them all. The original saloon burned down and rebuilt. After his passing, Gassy Jack was still so revered that a statue was erected in his honor near the site of the first saloon. Nowadays, the big draws in Gastown are great bars, cool restaurants and high-end shopping. Besides the statue of Gassy Jack, another famous attraction in the center of Gastown is the Steam Clock. We stopped for a coffee or ice tea and watched people take photos of themselves near the Gassy Jack statue or the clock. Iced tea for Tessa and me cost us $6.25 a glass; Stan's glass of white wine was only $5. Holy cow!

The Steam Clock is very unique. It's been on the corner in the center of Gastown since 1977. It was built to cover a steam grate, part of Vancouver's distributed steam heating system. Every quarter-hour, the clock blows a cute little tune, "Westminster Quarters", through pipes powered by the steam. It blows a puff of steam on the hour from its top! Before we left home we had heard about the famous and unique clock; we wanted to see it. In our minds we pictured a tower. Nope! It's about the size of an old-time street light, about 8 feet tall. One can easily miss it; the crowds gathered around it, however, clearly point out its whereabouts. It was worth the visit!

About the time we saw the Steam Clock whistle for the hour, we received a message from Cody that she had landed. YAAY! We were excited to see her. We met her at the apartment and then headed back to SkyTrain to immerse ourselves in city center again. Since we'd be in Vancouver only a very short time, we had to make hay in the sunshine.

We walked through Stanley Park through the wooded areas and along the waterfront. This amazing park is gorgeous, simply gorgeous! We took photos, had frozen fruit bars and walked until we all began to get sore feet and blisters. We found our way out of the park and strolled gingerly on to the famous West End part of town for dinner. Folks told us it is the place to dine.

We passed Second Beach and Sunset Beach—Vancouver has 15 miles of beaches. All the way from Stanley Park around the tip of the peninsula to the Burrard Street Bridge, well-kept parks with jogging trails and activity centers provide a barrier between the beach and street-side. The restaurant we finally settled on overlooked the beach/park. On this particularly beautiful Saturday people were out in droves, biking, sunning, jogging, picnicking, playing games with children and each other. Nice life they have here!

Off to start the cruise tomorrow!