John and I signed up for a Princess cruise several months ago. This one leaves and arrives back at Vancouver, so we were able to drive up instead of flying, which made it a bit more economical.
It also had the attraction of four and a half sea days, which as you all know, means four and a half KNITTING days. I was very excited to see “Knitters and Natters Get-Together” on the daily program. There are a half dozen or so crafters on board, mostly knitters. We’ve been meeting every sea day morning and having a great time.
Our ports of call so far have been Long Beach, Catalina Island, and Santa Barbara. My favorite has been Santa Barbara. Catalina is lovely, but I’d been there once before so knew what to expect. Santa Barbara is a gorgeous city with miles of beach front. We were lucky enough to have a sunny day yesterday and took a trolley tour of the city.
We land in San Francisco this afternoon, and will be here all day tomorrow as well, then two more of those lovely sea days to get us home again.
I apparently am knitting all blue things. The projects that Sweetpea is helping me with up there are my Hitchhiker, which I may finish one of these years, my new lace shawl, and a pair of socks for John. I finished the first one earlier on the cruise and am well into the second one. I have a spare ball of Opal sock yarn “just in case”, but that’s likely optimistic. I also brought two spindles with me.
Here’s a photo from our day in Santa Barbara.
Old Ben is an even slower knitter than I am. He wasn’t much help.
We’re off to lunch, then an afternoon in port!
*And no, I haven’t done any yarn shopping so far.
While in SF, a nice area to stroll around is the Ferry Building, which is to the left of the cruise ship pier (when your back is to the water). The building itself houses many artisan food and sundry shops, but Tuesday is the Farmer’s Market. It’s fun to wander around and buy and munch while you’re looking at the stalls. Pier 39 is to the right of the cruise ship pier, and being a native, I don’t see the appeal of the souvenir shops, though the higher end restaurants are very nice. If you’re looking for yarn, Imagiknit is the place to go. You can easily Uber there. It’s probably a 20-minute ride. Dress for cool and rain!
Or take the Muni. On second thought dont (so that the yarn purchasing diet stays intact). I can also BART across to that side of the bay with knitting supplies ?
Or coffee! Wish I had more advanced notice!
What a perfect-sounding trip! I’m glad you are enjoying it and making some new knit friends.