We had not booked any excursions at Ketchikan because of our anticipated adventure in
Skagway so we just ended up walking around the town. It was a cold, miserable looking day and later it absolutely poured and we 
got soaked. We were glad to get back on the boat! That evening, at sea again, we ate at “The Bistro” with Bernard & Arline and the food was exquisite, easily worth the additional $15 per head cover charge. After dinner the 4 of us went to the ship’s theater and saw the dancing girls 
put on a show. Following the dancing girls Alison and I went up to the Spinnaker Lounge, this time to watch/participate in a “liar” quiz show put on by the cruise director, the comedian, and a couple of jugglers from the entertainment crew.Saturday 06/28 – Victoria, BC
Finally, we woke up to a blue sky and sunny day! We were at sea
all day on Saturday (having left Ketchikan at 1:30 PM the previous day) and we sailed into Victoria harbor at 6:00 PM where we were met by Mark Ford and his wife Pauline who live in Victoria. Mark and I started at the same school in 
1952 when he was 11 and I was almost 11 (he was a year ahead of me). Alison knew Mark even better than I did as he was in Clive House, where her father was the housemaster. They took us on a drive around Victoria, visiting the viewing points of which there are many. We also went to the village where they live, Oak Bay, and went to one of their local pubs, 
The 
Penny Farthing. We then went to the Empress Hotel, a grand structure built in the colonial style of the early 1900s with ornate ceilings, etc., where we visited the Bombay Room and had a wonderful curry buffet dinner. After a quick dash to the entrance gate of China Town, M&P got us back to the boat before 11.30 PM and we said our farewells and re-boarded the ship. It was a lovely reunion with old friends.
Finally, we woke up to a blue sky and sunny day! We were at sea
all day on Saturday (having left Ketchikan at 1:30 PM the previous day) and we sailed into Victoria harbor at 6:00 PM where we were met by Mark Ford and his wife Pauline who live in Victoria. Mark and I started at the same school in 
1952 when he was 11 and I was almost 11 (he was a year ahead of me). Alison knew Mark even better than I did as he was in Clive House, where her father was the housemaster. They took us on a drive around Victoria, visiting the viewing points of which there are many. We also went to the village where they live, Oak Bay, and went to one of their local pubs, 
The 
Penny Farthing. We then went to the Empress Hotel, a grand structure built in the colonial style of the early 1900s with ornate ceilings, etc., where we visited the Bombay Room and had a wonderful curry buffet dinner. After a quick dash to the entrance gate of China Town, M&P got us back to the boat before 11.30 PM and we said our farewells and re-boarded the ship. It was a lovely reunion with old friends.Sunday 06/29 – Seattle to Washington, DC.
Six of our party of eight were sharing a shuttle to the airport so we all had breakfast together (for the first time!), and made sure we left the ship together so that we would pass through immigration & customs and be together to catch the shuttle. All went according to plan and by 11:00 AM we had our bags checked in and waiting for our 1:40 flight to Philadelphia. At about 1:10 they announced a flight delay due to bad weather in the mid section of the country and we eventually left Seattle an hour late. As we originally had an hour in Philly between arriving and flying on to National Airport, Washington, DC, this did not bode well for us catching our flight. Fortunately, the pilot made up some time, and our flight from Philly to DC was delayed by 20 minutes, so we made our flight and arrived back in Falls Church by taxi around 1:00 AM on Monday. This is not the whole story of what happened between the two flights, but it's too long a story to publish on the web!
Six of our party of eight were sharing a shuttle to the airport so we all had breakfast together (for the first time!), and made sure we left the ship together so that we would pass through immigration & customs and be together to catch the shuttle. All went according to plan and by 11:00 AM we had our bags checked in and waiting for our 1:40 flight to Philadelphia. At about 1:10 they announced a flight delay due to bad weather in the mid section of the country and we eventually left Seattle an hour late. As we originally had an hour in Philly between arriving and flying on to National Airport, Washington, DC, this did not bode well for us catching our flight. Fortunately, the pilot made up some time, and our flight from Philly to DC was delayed by 20 minutes, so we made our flight and arrived back in Falls Church by taxi around 1:00 AM on Monday. This is not the whole story of what happened between the two flights, but it's too long a story to publish on the web!Monday 06/30 – Falls Church
Monday was supposed to be a quiet relaxing day, but due to circumstances, it turned out to be quite hectic. M&D’s sink disposal had stopped working and Bob volunteered to replace it, which meant a trip to Sears. One of the wheels on Alison’s suitcase had been broken and her suitcase needed to be replaced. After numerous phone calls to Philadelphia airport lost & found, the Philadelphia airport TSA and the South Carolina DMV, we also had to go to the Post Office and send forms by express mail to the SC DMV to get Bob’s lost driving license replaced! (See last paragraph for Sunday!). There was also plenty of laundry to get done before our flight to UK on Tuesday. It turned out to be a very busy day. The good news was that Bob finally got the sink waste disposal replaced after another trip to a store to purchase a small tub of plumber’s putty!
Monday was supposed to be a quiet relaxing day, but due to circumstances, it turned out to be quite hectic. M&D’s sink disposal had stopped working and Bob volunteered to replace it, which meant a trip to Sears. One of the wheels on Alison’s suitcase had been broken and her suitcase needed to be replaced. After numerous phone calls to Philadelphia airport lost & found, the Philadelphia airport TSA and the South Carolina DMV, we also had to go to the Post Office and send forms by express mail to the SC DMV to get Bob’s lost driving license replaced! (See last paragraph for Sunday!). There was also plenty of laundry to get done before our flight to UK on Tuesday. It turned out to be a very busy day. The good news was that Bob finally got the sink waste disposal replaced after another trip to a store to purchase a small tub of plumber’s putty!
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