And We're Off Again! Vancouver and Cruising in Alaska

Yesterday morning we flew from Houston to Vancouver (a four-hour, 20-minute flight), where we will spend a few days before boarding Serenade of the Seas on Sunday.  The flight was smooth and uneventful, thank goodness.  We had the first row of first class, so plenty of legroom.  Our pre-ordered cheese plates were excellent!  

The pilot told us that smoke from the Canadian forest fires would prevent us from seeing much, but as we approached Vancouver, I was able to take a couple of photos of the Cascades and Mount Adams.

Mount Adams

The Cascade Mountains

Once we landed, we had a long walk to Passport Control, which was very efficient, thanks to dozens of kiosks. At baggage claim, though, we waited for over 45 minutes for our bags.  After those finally arrived, we exited to find our driver waiting for us. It was a 40-minute drive to the Pan-Pacific Hotel. Since we'd been to Vancouver last fall (before the transpacific cruise), things looked familiar as we drove past.  It was about 2:00 p.m. (5:00, Texas Time), but fortunately our suite was ready. We have a separate bedroom, lots of closet space, and a nice living area with three chairs and a couch. The bathroom is large by hotel standards, though it has the dreaded rainshower head (obviously designed by a man).  

Our suite is on the club floor, allowing us access to a lounge with a lovely view of the harbor. It was Tea Time when we arrived, so we had some cheese and crackers, followed by a scone with some champagne. Two ships were in port, Disney's Magic and Silver Seas' Silver Whisper, and it was interesting to see those up close.  Then we walked toward the Gaslamp District in search of provisions, which we found at stores we remembered.  

Dinner was at Riley's, a restaurant we enjoyed twice last fall.  The weather is amazing, so we were able to sit outside (unheard of in Houston in August) for dinner.  Here was my view:

We had to try their garlic and gruyere brioche, which turned out to be HUGE! We brought at least half of it back to the hotel.  SO GOOD.  It was served with whipped, salted butter and lobster oil.

Charlie took a photo of the entree part of the menu for Eleanor, as he thought she would love all the seafood and vegetarian options.  After we shared a Caesar salad, I ordered the short rib pappardelle, which was divine!  Charlie opted for two appetizers for his main course, the crab cake and the fried oysters. We couldn't manage dessert, alas.

By the time we returned from dinner, it was almost 11:00 in Texas, so we didn't last much longer.  This morning we were awake shortly after 5:00. Mercifully, our suite has a coffeemaker, as the lounge doesn't open until 7:00.  We headed out to see the newly-docked ships (and enjoy 60-degree weather) about 6:30. The ships today are the Seabourn Encore and Ovation of the Seas, which is the one we enjoyed on our 2019 Alaskan cruise.  It is much larger than Serenade of the Seas.

After our walk, we enjoyed breakfast in the club lounge.  This morning we plan to do a little shopping for items we failed to pack (e.g., Charlie's socks. . . .), and this afternoon we have a four-hour foodie walking tour. Today's high temperature is supposed to be 76, which is lower than Houston's early-morning lows for the past two months.  Bliss!