Seattle, Washington

Hello from Seattle! It was a cool and cloudy start to the day.

Princess home ports at Pier 91 which requires a taxi to get to the city but were so lucky to have docked at Pier 66, close to the city. 

Like, right there

It was a long day in port so I was able to wait until later in the day to go out.

Hot dog lunch by the pool before heading out

As I sat eating the hot dog in the warm Seattle sun I more closely inspected my front tire. I left home knowing it was bald and I’d be needing to replace it once I returned from this trip. But the rough pavement throughout this month long adventure has been wearing it past the bald stage and into the hang-on-just-a-few-more-days stage.

The oh sh** stage

I still have some required scootering (all around the ship) and more required to get home (San Francisco cruise port, two airports) so I can’t take any chances of it completely going when I’m out and about on the streets of Seattle. I’ve been here dozens of times already (and have written about many of the visits on the blog) so I stayed onboard enjoying the sunshine and an empty ship. 

Ferris wheel, Mariners baseball park, and Mt. Rainer? 
Been there, done that.

Pike Place Market and nearby parks and the waterfront?
Yep, there too. 

Space Needle? Yup, all the way to the top. 

It really was a glorious day to stay on board. I made my way to my pre-dinner drinks, and switched things up this time and went with a mai tai.

I skipped the dining room and went to the buffet. I picked up some pork, garlic rice, and a little ham and cheese pocket kind of thing. It was delicious.

A view like this made it even better.

I had the whole back of the ship to myself.

Tomorrow we’ll be in Vancouver, Canada. See you there!

Astoria, Oregon

Hello from a short visit to Astoria, Oregon. Although our arrival was scheduled at 4:30 AM to accommodate the tides, our view still looked like this until noon.

We should be docked straight ahead.

The ship wide announcement and the letter slipped under the door had the explanation.

As we waited and waited to get ashore the inside spaces got really packed. As would be expected the shore excursions and guest services counters had very long lines. I retreated to Skywalkers but it was pretty full as well.

Still not docked

Looking for fresh air I rolled around outside Deck 7 for a while, but it was just so cold I just couldn’t do it anymore and eventually had to come back to the cabin to get warmed up. 

Cold and windy no matter which direction I looked

Once the ship was docked I waited about an hour for the crowds to die down - and the weather to clear up - and then I went out and about. 

View from the ship

Here are just a few things I saw today…

I also saw someone dumpster diving for food and a used prophylactic on the ground. Definitely no pictures on those.

I went down the Riverwalk path as far as I could until it turned into the section where it shared the trolley tracks. A boardwalk and rail tracks all in one with a scooter? Nah, I’ll pass.

When I got back to the ship there was a (cue the sarcasm) little bitty bit of a backed up line. Thankfully after a while officers came around and started pulling mobility people out to go to a second shorter and less steep gangway.

Yikes

The line originated at the back of the taller red roof building

When I got back on board, I grabbed a quick snack of tortilla chips and salsa and had some of my chocolate covered strawberries before finishing up my movie while showering and dressing for drinks and dinner.

I tried a Baked Alaska martini tonight.

The great day exploring the port area in addition to the new martini and vegetarian samosa canapé must have given me some clarity. For as I was sitting outside freezing while waiting for my 7:00 dinner time (fresh air is always preferable to breathing inside crowd air during my wait) I realized I was doing something I didn’t want to do. Why should I get so cold just so I can go to a meal I really don’t want? I let the dining room know I wouldn’t be coming, and not just tonight but at least the next couple as well.

11th time having these specific choices
on a Princess ship so far this calendar year

Then I went and grabbed a slice of pepperoni and vegetarian pizza and took it back to my cabin. Covered up with a warm blanket and had dinner in. 

And realized it’s time to take back my schedule and not have to work my entire evening around getting dressed for drinks and dinner. 

Up tomorrow, we’ll be in Seattle. See you in the city!