Sunset in Alaska
From a sunrise in Vancouver to a sunset while sailing the Alaskan shoreline.
Yeah, I know I’ve used this picture in the past, but it’s one of my favorites.
Life
DCL Tip: Disney Crazy Shirts
Of course while on a Disney Cruise Line tour, you expect to see Disney garbed passengers. After a short while, you see the same shirts and designs again and again and again. How do you show off your Disney fandom but also be just a little bit different? Wear Disney themed shirts from Crazy Shirts.
The shirts themselves are high quality as all Crazy Shirts are, but the designs are more distinctive than stuff you see everywhere else. I rocked my Perry shirts, both in black and white during the cruise and people noticed. I had one crew member ask about the shirt and tell me about her (platonic) platypus love. Okay then.
But really, seeing the artistic Disney designs by Crazy Shirts is refreshing and breaks the monotony you’ll see on the ship.
Sunrise in Vancouver
Due to time differences, jet lag, and plain old excitment, I was up early on the first day in Vancouver, Canada. I set up my iPhone with iMotion HD and left it to record a Canadian sunrise. Here’s the time lapse result in 6 seconds.
Oh, and as a tip, try to plug your iPhone in. This periodic recording absolutely drained my fully charged battery.
DCL Tip: Don’t Eat the Food in Front
This tip probably applies beyond the Disney Cruise Lines, but it’s worth saying. When eating in a buffet setup like at the Beach Blanket Buffet onboard the Disney Wonder, don’t take or eat the food that’s on the front edge of the serving trays.
I personally witnessed one too many kids poking, prodding, taking, and putting back food that’s in front. Yes, that food frontline could be abused (though of no fault to the cruise line), so grab the food in back. And parents, please remind your kids that if you touch it, you take it (and don’t put it back). In this case, I think wasting food is a better alternative than the potential spread of germs on ship.
Now, if you happen to be dining at Palo where no kids are allowed, then you don’t have to worry as much. But I did see a diner drop a dessert on the ground and wondered what she’d do with it. Luckily I already had my desserts. 😉
A 50-Degree Swing in Weather
That’s what you get when you leave balmy Hawaii and its typical 80-degree weather. From warm and muggy, we went to the scorching, dry heat of the Armpit of Cali. At least 100 degrees every day with a high of 106 on our arrival. Then a short international flight to the north by way of Vancouver, Canada. 61 degrees at the YVR airport felt so refreshing. The locals were wearing shorts.
Our first port on the Disney Wonder was classic Skagway, Alaska. Population of 800 with temperatures in the 50’s on a sunny day. Is this hot or cold coffee kind of weather? I went with a hot Americano.
Our second port was the landlocked Juneau. Even in the proximity of a frozen glacier, we experienced our warmest Alaskan temperature of 61 degrees.
Our last stop was at the rainiest city in America, Ketchikan. Amazingly, 57 degrees, and no rain while we were there. There was some drizzling but no umbrella needed. From 55 to 106 degrees, yeah, that’s a 51-degree swing, and it’s tough to pack for both hot and cold climates.
Crazy Shirts Big Surf
New on the wall at Crazy Shirts is their Big Surf design. A white shirt with vibrant colors is eye-catching. Add in the classic orange and brown hues, and you definitely have a winning shirt!
If you don’t have a Crazy Shirts location near you, you can order online! Just follow this link Big Surf – White Crew Neck T-Shirt.
Coffee While Cruising (Part 2)
The first installment of Coffee While Cruising covered the early FAT leg of my vacation. Like I mentioned before, from FAT we headed to YVR in Vancouver, Canada. Before the trip, I learned of a Starbucks Clover location on Robson Street. Oh, and I managed to get a Groupon for Starbucks Canada. Bonus!
What did I see when entering a Canadian Starbucks? A scene not much different from that in America, but Starbucks CA is promoting their True North Blend. True North is a blonde roast that’s “named by Canadians for Canadians.”
While I’m not sure if True North is merely a Canadian-version of the regular Starbucks blonde roast, I had to pick up a bag just because. I also got a Canadian Starbucks card featuring the iconic maple leaf.
Not a bad introduction to Starbucks Canada, eh?
And although we stayed in Vancouver for less than three days, I managed to go back to the Robson location for yet another Clover brew. 🙂
But Starbucks definitely isn’t the only coffee game in town. There are independent cafes and coffee bars on each city block, and I came across many Blenz locations. While hiking back from Stanley Park to the hotel, I had to take a pitstop for an iced mocha. Damn good stuff I must say.
That’s it for Part 2. My Coffee While Cruising series will conclude in Part 3 as I stay caffeinated in Alaska and onboard the Disney wonder.
Finding Croissadas
By now, you’ve surely heard of the craze for cronuts. But being New York based, getting an authentic cronut is simply too hard in the islands. I had a remote chance of sampling Canada’s frissant during vacation but too much to do in too little time. So here in the islands, there were two cronut contenders, the cream-filled croissada from the Pacific Beach Hotel and the suggestively named BUTTerNUT from Regal Bakery.
I planned to make a side trip for some Buttnuts, but lo and behold, a pack of croissadas came my way! No, not those croissadas from Pacific Beach Hotel but instead from the Sunday brunch at the Halekulani. Yes, this posh hotel serves their own version of the croissant-malasada hybrid. And they are tasty, like a malasada on the outside but on the inside, layered and flakey like a croissant. The Halekulani croissadas are tiny sized to complement, not outshine the brunch menu. I’m not sure if these are available at other Halekulani dining locations or at other times, but if you happen to brunch there, you must bite into a croissada for me.
Finding the Fifth King Kamehameha Statue
Did you know there are only four commissioned statues of King Kamehameha? The four are located at:
- Downtown Honolulu, Oahu
- North Kohala, Hawaii’s Big Island
- National Statuary Hall, Washington D.C
- Hilo, Hawaii’s Big Island
So what was this I spied at the Castle junction on the Windward side?!?
Sure looks like a statue of King Kamehameha…
Heh, yes, this non-commissioned replica was erected on Friday, August 2, 2013 for a Hawaii Five-0 filming the following day. I might have seen Scott Caan in front of the statue but couldn’t quite tell (except for that hair). By Saturday afternoon, this fifth statue of King Kamehameha was already gone but an urban legend.
Finding TC’s Chopper
There it was flying overhead, none other than TC’s infamous helicopter from the past hit Hawaiian television series Magnum P.I.
Yes, the distinctively patterned helo, aka “The Chopper” is “back” in Hawaii, doing tours for Paradise Helicopters. As a fitting tribute, this restored helicopter is even signed by Magnum’s Roger E. Mosley (TC) and Larry Manetti (Rick). So while you’re cruising the highways in your red Ferrari, scan the Hawaiian skies for this nostalgic sight, and sing along.
Coffee While Cruising (Part 1)
While going on vacation typically means new experiences, it doesn’t necessarily mean old habits are forgotten, such as getting a healthy intake of coffee.
The only real way to start time off is with good coffee and good kicks. That means a cup of Kati Kati Blend from Starbucks while wearing (gasp!) New Balance MO673.
From HNL to SFO and stuck there for a bit due to continued delays from the Asiana Airlines accident, I partook of a Peet’s Iced Coconut Latte. I didn’t take a pic of this sweet (and airport-overpriced) concoction though. From SFO, we flew to FAT to spend a few days in the scorching heat.
I have my usual coffee sources in Fresno but changed it up just a bit, visiting Barnes and Noble (remember bookstores?) and its cafe.
From FAT, the next vacation leg was to YVR in Vancouver. Did I mention FAT now has two Starbucks locations? There’s the one in the forest check-in area and the newer location is inside of the security gate, making it easier to stay caffeinated while waiting for your flight.
This location still seems new with newbie employees. While the workers were courteous, asking each other to how assemble a sweetened iced coffee was a little disconcerting for me. But if you’re still looking for that limited edition wooden Starbucks cards, I found a cache for you!
Hmmm, I have more coffee pictures from my trip than I originally thought, so I’m gonna break this up into a series of posts. Part 2 will cover coffee in Canada, but here’s a peek of my pictures without all the backstory.
Bus Stop
I’m stopped at an intersection for a red light, so is the Da Bus two lanes over. What’s wrong with this picture?
