Fire and Ice : A photo travelogue from Alaska thru the canal to the Caribbean and beyond

[scubacruiserx2]

8 hours ago, CruisingGrandmaW said:

Hello @scubacruiserx2

I just came across your many Cruise Reviews - my favorite your SA & Antartica back in 2018/2019.

I've not seen any mention of you ever taking a cruise to the French Polynesian Islands.

With your love of water & scuba diving I highly recommend you do that.

While HAL offers cruises to this area it; they normally are NOT during the best season to go.

Best time for French Polynesia is in July/August.

Also Bora Bora is limiting the size of ships now that can visit this Port.

While we love going there on the WindStar line - you may prefer a little larger ship such as the Paul Gauguin.  I believe the "Paul" still sails year round in the French Polynesia.

I would recommend trying to piggyback a stay with their annual Heiva Dance Contest on island of Tahiti - it should not be missed...which I believe takes place in July.

We would often combine our Tahiti cruise with a land stay for a couple of weeks. 

Normally breaking up the weeks by staying in Moorea, then flight out to Bora Bora, followed by Rangirora for 3 nights.  Last night was on island of Tahiti to catch a flight back to San Diego. 

 

There is nothing like the waters & Marine life of the French Polynesian islands.

Please put this on your bucket list if you've not been.

Be sure to do it while you're young enough!!!

 

Hello CruisingGrandmaW,

Thank you for your kind words.

Thank you for the insight on diving in Polynesia. We have not been there. It is something we have  read about and look at the great videos and photos of another world that seemed so far away. The World is getting smaller these days.  Now on the  "bucket list".

[scubacruiserx2]

The day before San Francisco we went up top for the view and lunch at the Retreat .

 

 

While at the Retreat we sighted a pod of White Sided Dolphin

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We were up early in San Francisco and watched the lighthouse on Alcatraz sailing in

 

 

 

We met our guide Eric early who reminds me of my nephew also named Eric and headed up to an overlook of the Nieuw Statendam at Coit Tower

 

 

 

 

We then went for the ride winding down Lombard Street and I would encourage you dear reader to use the CC feature on the video

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Lombard Street

 

 

Coit Tower

 

 

At the Pier

 

 

 

Edited December 4, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[oakridger]

I've driven down Lombard Street many times when I was tour guide to my out-of-town visitors.  Even more exciting to me was driving UP Lombard Street on the approach to the crest of the hill that starts the DOWN crooked portion that everyone sees.  I had a stick shift car when I lived in the city and when going up Lombard all you could see out of the windshield was sky!! Kind of scary and better than a roller coaster!  I always felt very accomplished while showing off my clutch and braking technique there!!

😁

Edited December 4, 2022 by oakridger

[scubacruiserx2]

13 hours ago, oakridger said:

I've driven down Lombard Street many times when I was tour guide to my out-of-town visitors.  Even more exciting to me was driving UP Lombard Street on the approach to the crest of the hill that starts the DOWN crooked portion that everyone sees.  I had a stick shift car when I lived in the city and when going up Lombard all you could see out of the windshield was sky!! Kind of scary and better than a roller coaster!  I always felt very accomplished while showing off my clutch and braking technique there!!

😁

 

Yowee , that must feel like going up in the California Space Shuttle !  🚀

[scubacruiserx2]

We embarked on a whirlwind tour and I can't remember all of the names of where we stopped so maybe Nancy or someone else can help us out . We think that we drove thru Chinatown next .

 

 

And pulled up next to a cable car

 

 

We don't know the name of this one but we heard that it was a common area for smash and grab .

 

 

When we stopped by this area there was a fire truck there and a police officer said that they we shooting a film or video near there .

 

 

Driving over the Golden Gate Bridge toward the Muir Woods

 

 

 

 

Edited December 5, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

Muir Woods

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Muir_Woods_National_Monument

 

A few of our favorite photos

 

 

 

We took about an hours walk here

 

 

 

 

Birds of a feather grow together

 

Edited December 5, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

 

Using Dendrochronology this tree was dated to 909 AD and the tree fell in 1930 - over 1000 years old

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We have lived on a couple of acres with lots of woods so thick that you couldn't see the house from the road for more than 25 years . The trees gave us fresh air , shade , privacy and act as a wind break for hurricanes . Some of our pine trees are more than 100' tall . We had several new neighbors move in who almost totally clear cut their ( and some of our ) trees . How we miss the trees and the peace and quite !

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Being the good cruisers that we are we were ready to eat . Eric suggested a couple of places so we went to the Joinery in Sausalito .

 

https://www.joineryca.com/

 

 

 

 

 

It was a great choice and our Magical History Tour continued just a couple of miles away where Otis Redding wrote  ( Sittin on ) The Dock on the Bay . I was a Senior in High School when it came out .

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/(Sittin'_On)_The_Dock_of_the_Bay

 

Edited December 5, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

Jimi Hendrix house

 

Haight 

 

 

Painted Ladies

 

 

Unknown

 

 

 

 

A Love In

 

 

Back on the ship . The bird and Alcatraz

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

A couple more unknown shots

 

 

 

 

The San Francisco - Oakland Bay Bridge

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

We wanted to have dinner at Pier 39 so we were off

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Garlic Dungeness Crab

 

 

[oakridger]

Your picture of the Palace of Fine Arts is the beautiful area with a pond and columned building.  Yes, it's so awful how much smash and grab crime goes on.  The city is attempting to stop it but everyone needs to be very careful everywhere.....so sad it's gotten this way, not just here but all over in cities in the world.  😪

 

The "Unknown" picture of a park in the foreground and city in the background is Dolores Park in the Mission District.  A very popular spot on nice days.  The Mission District has a warmer microclimate than out by the Presidio or Golden Gate Bridge.  It can be nice and sunny there and foggy and chilly just a couple miles away.  

 

I love Dungeness Crab!!  The season for California has been pushed back again to start December 16th hopefully.  It is supposed to start in November usually.  

Edited December 6, 2022 by oakridger

[scubacruiserx2]

Thanks Nancy for supplying the icing on the cake so to speak . 😎

[scubacruiserx2]

Eating on the day at sea to Catalina Island proved to be a carb loading experience 

 

 

Sandwiched between breakfast and lunch was a movie about Surfing .

 

 

 

I grew up surfing for many years beginning in High School and was hoping for a history of that Era ( The Endless Summer ) and the fun and freedom that I remember from then . Unfortunately there was a lot pagan religious viewpoints and some propaganda that was unrelated to the main subject - so we left early . We did have a nice lunch at the Retreat .

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Dinner was at the Tamarind

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Most of what we knew about Santa Catalina came from the 1966 Doris Day movie The Glass Bottom Boat .

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Glass_Bottom_Boat

 

 

 

We decided to book a guide to drive our golf cart around the the island and he said to meet at 10:45 so we had plenty of time for breakfast .

 

 

Since it was a tender port we got a nice view as they lowered the boats .

 

 

 

We noticed for the first time that they were now cutting the meat in half on the eggs Benedict and began giving less sauce

 

 

And even though we went later they still packed us in pretty full 

 

 

 

 

 

We noticed some restrooms on the pier and made the stop before setting out

 

 

 

We had heard that this was the breakfast hot spot

 

 

But this one looked more inviting

 

 

 

Edited December 6, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

We forgot to mention how much we enjoyed our guide Eric in San Francisco . We hope to be using him again in the early part of next year .

[scubacruiserx2]

We were early so we crossed the street for some shade at the Bison Expedition and a hand washing break

 

 

 

This is where we met Aaron and had lunch later

 

 

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

As soon as Aaron showed up we were off in a clockwise circle the island tour

 

 

 

 

Aaron tried to stay ahead of the busses but sometimes they passed us

 

 

 

 

I expected to see some babes in Orange bathing suits jogging in slow motion but this was as close as we got

 

 

Our ride at the overlook

 

 

 

Edited December 7, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Catalina_Island_(California)

 

More island photos

 

 

 

 

Divers down

 

 

Butterfly on a Bougainvillea

 

 

In light of this excerpt form above concerning water on island this photo concerned us . Aaron told us that all of the homes use salt water to flush their toilets .

 

 

Utilities[edit]

For decades the water was supplied primarily by a reservoir.^[86] Forty percent of drinking water on the island is provided by a desalination plant that opened in Avalon in 2016.^[87]

Avalon's sewer system was identified by researchers as the cause of ocean pollution in 2011. Many of the city's century-old clay and metal pipes had deteriorated to the point where they had vanished, allowing human sewage to enter the into the bay.^[88] From 2000 to 2013, 11 out of 13 annual reports released by the Natural Resources Defense Council listed Avalon as one of the 10 most chronically polluted beaches in the nation for failing state health tests as much as 73% of the time.^[89] In February 2012, a cease and desist order was issued against the City for illegally discharging polluted water into the bay. The city invested $5.7 million on sewer main improvements and inspection and tracking systems. The 2014 report showed that water quality had improved, and Avalon Beach was removed from the list of the most polluted beaches.^[90][91]

 

 

[scubacruiserx2]

Aaron showing us wild pepper

 

 

 

The Pet Cemetery

 

 

I requested a pit stop and we went to the golf course . The Chicago Wrigley people own most of the island including the golf course and the men's room was the Cub's Spring locker room until 1951 so I felt right at home having played sports most of my life . The views from near the Mansion .

 

 

 

The Casino was closed and he said that we could walk back later but we were interested in lunch .This was the oldest ( or one of the oldest ) Hotels on the island .

 

 

We remember this fountain from the movie

 

 

 

Edited December 7, 2022 by scubacruiserx2

[scubacruiserx2]

Aaron was great and dropped us back at the Lobster Trap for lunch

 

 

Mermaids and Mermen ( But not Ethel )

 

 

 

The creamiest and best clam chowder that we have ever had

 

 

Macadamia nut breaded Mahi Mahi

 

 

Sea Bass tacos

 

 

Edited December 7, 2022 by scubacruiserx2