CALIFORNIA'S GOLD RUSH CREATED UNEXPECTED MILLIONAIRES ~ Amadeo Giannini was born in San Jose, CA in 1870. His parents had immigrated to California from Italy to look for gold. John Nordstrom left Sweden when he was 16 to look for gold in California too. Neither man found gold, but they did build American business empires. As a boy Giannini would lend money to poor miners and farmers in San Francisco's downtown vegetable market because California banks refused to take a risk on immigrants. Giannini lent them money from the back of his wagon calling it the Bank of Italy. Today we know it as the Bank of America. Nordstrom sold shoes to miners and farmers. By 1904 another European entrepreneur went to Victoria, B.C., named Robert Butchart. He opened a limestone quarry and was the first builder to ever ship cement powder in cloth sacks instead of barrels. When a neighbor asked him to stop blowing up nearby mountains, Butchart's wife Jennie insisted she and Robert create a garden to fill in the blown out holes. Butchart's highly successful Portland Cement Company allowed the couple to take voyages around the world. They brought back gorgeous plants and flowers to flourish in Victoria's climate. The quarry eventually closed, but their Butchart Gardens grew to become a National Historic Site in Canada with more than 100 acres of flowers and plants open for public viewing all year round. On this cruise you can visit the world famous Butchart Gardens in late afternoon and early evening. Just as it's sunny, hot and dry across America in August 'til dusk so will it be warm and dry across Alaska. On this cruise wear casual clothes in layers. Bring only one all-weather jacket. No big coats are needed. Whales and moose will be out. Salmon swim upstream and Husky dogs can take you on sleigh rides. A pre-cruise hotel stay near the Space Needle and Pike Place is offered too. In Ketchikan learn about totem poles. It has the largest collection of totem poles in the world. In fact, Seattle's most famous Totem Pole is its Space Needle. Just as Alaskan families tell their heritage by standing up thick, carved, wooden poles in front of their homes so did Seattle erect its own Space Needle to show off at the 1962 World's Fair. Seattle told the world then it was entering the Space Age. Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, Starbucks, UPS, Expedia and Boeing were all born in Seattle. The U.S. Census Bureau rates Seattle #8 among America's top 10 educated cities. In Skagway take the world famous 3 hour White Pass Train ride to climb Alaska's mountains into Canada. It's the most beautiful train ride in all North America. Juneau is the Capital City of Alaska, which became a State in 1959. Throughout the cruise you can attend morning water exercises held in the ship's heated indoor Solarium pool. Class times do not conflict with shore excursions. In Alaska in August there's plenty of daylight time to take excursions. Book this cruise now knowing you may cancel any time up to St. Patrick's Day, March 17, 2022, to receive a full refund for your $500 stateroom deposit. Don't wait to book. The #1 selling cruise for all cruise lines in America is any cruise going to Alaska.