British Columbia & Alaska 2019
06:30 - 09:19 Flight from Los Angeles LAX to Vancouver YVR by AC577
10:30 - 12:30 Breakfast at Kirin
Address: 7900 Westminster Hwy, Richmond, BC V6X 1A5, Canada
The first thing that my parents and I do after learning Vancouver is heading to this Cantonese restaurant. We have been to many good dim sum restaurants in Los Angeles but this one in Vancouver is beyond outstanding. Price is decent and our waiter Max is informative. Highly recommend the fresh geoduck congee and the steamed roll with fish. The restaurant is spacious and the atmosphere is nice.
13:15 - 14:50
We took the Spirit of Vancouver Island from Tsawwassen in Vancouver to the Swartz Bay in Victoria. The ferry could fit in 2100 passengers & crew and 358 cars. It is equipped with restaurants for buffet, cafe, gift shop, and work stations with network connection on it. We parked our car in the car deck and enjoyed the sunbath in the upper passenger deck. The scenery was spectacular.
16:00 Check-in the Victorian style Abagail’s Hotel.
Upon arrival, the staff was very helpful. They minimised the time and effort in checking-in. The whole process was smoothly. They explained things clearly.
A free buffet-style afternoon tea was offered to the residents. Food included cappuccino, espresso, Earl grey, green tea, lemonade, chocolate cakes, different types of cheese including Brie with crackers, foie gras, shrimp cocktail, olive and grapes. We dined at the nice and cozy library which has a lot of books, movies and board games. It was decorated by a fireplace and Tiffany lamps. We can even have our breakfast there!!
We stayed in the room 1C. The room is of Victorian style. The shower and the bed are perfect.
17:30 Dinner at the Veranda
The Veranda at the Fairmont Empress overlooks Victoria's sparkling Inner Harbour as well as the British Columbia Parliament Buildings. Now open for the summer season, it is the best spot in Victoria for a cocktail and delectable bites.
We had a walk to the Fisherman's Wharf after dinner. It was a nice place with a lot of stalls selling seafood and icecream.
08:30 After the breakfast with poached eggs & salmon in Abigail's, we drove to the Hatley Castle.
11:30 Lunch at The Dining Room in Butchart Gardens
14:00 Drove to Swartz Bay for the ferry
18:30 Dinner at Ho Yuen Kee 何源記
Address: Fraser St, Vancouver, BC V5W 3A1, Canada
The restaurant is very busy. We made a reservation as well as ordered winter melon soup before getting there. The lobster rice is very special and tasty. It was mixed with corn and crab roe. This is a must go Cantonese restaurant.
21:00 Stay at Riverfront
Address: 1327 Riverside Drive, North Vancouver.
08:00 After breakfast at the homestay, we headed to the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park. It took roughly two hours to go through all the major points including the 1300-year old Grandma Capilano tree, the owl Lucy, the suspension bridge, the treetop adventure and the cliff walk in the park.
11:30 lunch at The Cliff house restaurant.
This restaurant situated at the end of the cliff walk or very close to the gift shop. Interior decoration is beautiful. Food is also nice.
13:00 We headed to the Grouse Mountain after lunch by Skyride. The skyride was quick and was packed with people. Restaurants and shops can be found on the top of the Mountain. We could overlook Vancouver on the highest point of the Mountain. The view is beautiful. We can see Lion Gate Bridge, downtown, etc. Lumberjack show is fun! Shows in the morning, 2pm and 4:30pm.
17:30 Dinner at Sun Sui Wah 新瑞華
Address: 3888 Main St, Vancouver, BC
This restaurant was founded in Hong Kong and then has a branch set up by the second generation of the family in Vancouver. Food is okay. For sure there are better and cheaper Cantonese restaurant in Vancouver. Food portion is huge. If you order a desert, it’s expected to be shared by six people.
Anyways, this is not the key point. It was the NBA Final so we spent the whole night watching the game with Canadians. Toronto Raptors won the game so it was very exciting to watch the show in BC.
We stayed in an apartment facing the False Creek and the Science World. The view was spectacular!
09:30 Breakfast at Incognito Coffee. It's a cafe next in the concert hall. Coffee is nice. Service is good as well.
12:00 Lunch at The Vancouver Fish Company. It was located next to the river so the view was wonderful. Food is nice too.
15:00 We visited Vancouver Aquarium which is inside the Stanley Park. It has a variety of aquatic creatures. Learned something about aquatic lives in the aquarium such as otters put stones in their pouches for opening clams or shells. A good varieties of jellyfish in the tanks. Quite some beautiful but poisonous frogs from Amazon.
17:30 Dinner at Top of Vancouver Revolving Restaurant
We went to the pier and followed the procedures aboard. There are three cruises departing from Vancouver so quite some people in the immigration. Only 930 passengers for the Viking cruise so the check－in procedure was smooth and efficient.
Usually a photo booth was set up when we are aboard. Luckily Viking isn't one of them. Our champagne and orange juice were waiting for us at the entrance. We headed directly to the World Cafe for lunch, dining with the beautiful scenery of Vancouver port.
At the reception of the gym located at Deck 1, there's a machine which test our face's condition. It took about 15 minutes to know more about our skin.
Some seats were allocated for playing games at Deck 2.
13:15 - 16:45
landed Alaska's "first city" Ketchikan
13:15 - 16:45 Bering Sea Crab Fishermen's Tour
Delve into the lives of Alaskan fishermen as we sailed on board a genuine crab-fishing vessel.
Very excited to be aboard on the star of the Discover Channel's popular "Deadliest Catch", which is now redesigned to accommodate guests who want to discover more about the lives of Alaskan fishermen.
Met men who brave the ocean daily and heard their tales of survival at sea and the lively camaraderie that developed amoug the crew.
Learned about the fishing gear they used as they search for creatures that lurk within the ocean's depths; octopus, prawn, halibut and crab frequently appear in their hauls.
Witness soaring eagles as they dived for their prey within yards of the vessel.
It was a rainy day so it’s quite cold on the boat. Jackets were provided to keep us warm. The tour is informative. We stoped at some points for taking pictures of Eagles, crabs and octopus!
06:00 Breakfast on the cruise
Transfer from Seward to Anchorage airport (2 hours 24 minutes)
11:00 Rent a car
http://www.alaska.org/transportation/car-rental recommends Thrifty.
12:30 Lunch: Seven Glaciers Restaurant
14:00 Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center
http://www.alaska.org/detail/alaska-wildlife-conservation-center
$15 entrance fee per person.
$100 guided tour per person.
Dinner at Yamaya Seafood Restaurant
Opens from 17:00 - 21:30
Address: 825 W 6th Ave, Anchorage, AK 99501
Stay at Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge (2 hours from dinner)
Tree house: https://www.nelsontreehouse.com/blog/2017/9/22/alaskan-mountain-treehouse-llk44
Rate: 4 adults per room ($229/night)
see a little moose drink a little smotch like a little bull