We went up to Alaska to attend the World Beard & Moustache Championships 2009, which were held in Anchorage. To make our way up we decided to join some of the contestants on a 7 day cruise up the inside passage. We spent a week in Anchorage, attending a number of events around the WBMC main event, which was on Saturday. On Tuesday we took the Alaska Railroad up to Fairbanks, where we spent a day before flying home.

The cruise sailed out of the Canada Place cruise ship dock in Vancouver. We flew in the day before and spent the night in a quaint little B&B called The Nelson House. Our suite was "The Cabin", and fitted out to look like a backwoods cabin with a Mountie theme.

It was cool and rainy as we sailed out of Vancouver. I'm afraid that a ship sailing these days isn't anything like in the old movies, with crowds of well wishers cheering from the dock as the happy passengers throw streamers and confetti down on them. The security is just as tight as at airports, so nobody is allowed on the dock; and we slipped out without any fuss or fanfare at all.

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