Three days on a ferry...threeeeeee daaaaaays

Tuesday – Ferry Day 1

We got up at 3 am, got dressed, and loaded the last bit of stuff in the truck, then headed to the ferry terminal. It was cold and not yet light out, so Steve froze outside as we wait for the ferry to arrive and loading to begin. But, it wasn't raining! 

Then, we waited, and waited, and waited. 

Above: the Kennicott ferry waiting for the Columbia to depart. 

It took a reaaaaaally long time for the ferry to unload – it was coming from Haines and Skagway and had several cargo containers down in the car deck that were unloaded one at a time. We were almost an hour late in departing. We checked into our room – an inside room that actually has a window looking over a back deck, a shower and toilet, and a bunk bed. It’s actually pretty nice – nicer than the room on the Tustumena. 

Above: One of the Sitka harbors.

By happy accident, our friend Maggie was headed to Sitka, the first ferry stop, on the boat with us. She was headed there for field work and had her car, so when we got to Sitka, we hopped in with her and she drove us downtown. Steve hadn’t been to Sitka, so the three of us walked around and explore the shops, the harbor, and got ice cream. It was an absolutely gorgeous, sunny day. Then she drove us back to the ferry, we said our (final) goodbyes and the ferry departed again. 

Above: the upper forward lounge on the Columbia.

The boat is pretty empty. I’d bet there’s only ~35-45 passengers on board, and this is one of the largest boats in the fleet (250 feet long?). It feels empty. Sometimes we’re in a lounge and are the only people there. I guess it’s a bit early for summer tourists, and since we’re headed south there’s even fewer tourists. When we took the ferry north we met some great people that we’re still in touch with, this time, not so much.

Wednesday – At 3:15 am we arrived in Petersburg. I woke up about the time we were departing (~4:15 am) and went on deck to see what I could of the area. It was just getting light out, and I shapped a few pictures. Beautiful area.

The passage between Petersburg and Wrangell (the next ferry stop in a couple of hours) is narrow and winding. The ferry, and apparently sometimes even cruise ships, creep along, keeping to the channel. If you look closely at the picture below, you can see the red channel marker on the left and the green one on the right, and the boat is going to slip between them.

Still Wednesday...

At 1 pm we docked in Ketchikan. We got off in Ketchikan and walked about a mile to the downtown area, where we grabbed a late lunch. It was a nice change from boat food. There were a bunch of ferries in dry dock in Ketchikan; the Malaspina and the Chenega (getting a new engine I think?), and then the Tustumena and Matanuska were there also.

Today I saw a single, small whale breach 8 times in a row. Didn’t get a single picture though.

Before bed we watched “Blast from the Past” on my computer in the lower forward lounge.

Thursday – Ok, ready to be off the boat now. We get in tomorrow ~7 am. I’ve been working on school stuff throughout the trip, so not seeing as much scenery or taking as many pictures as past trips. There are 4 power outlets on the boat that are at or near tables or seats. Four. That’s a bit outdated, I think. 

So far I have seen a sea lion, some porpoise, a couple of whales, and lots of birds. Every day has been sunny and calm. Wow.

Friday:

We're off the boat. Once we unloaded the vehicles, we stopped quick to re-strap the kayaks, which we'd moved forward so they fit within our 19-ft vehicle length limit. Then we grabbed breakfast in Bellingham before heading towards Olympia. We wanted to give some time from any lingering rush hour traffic to dissipate.

The hotel is adequate. We're going to start looking for a place to live today.

First impressions of WA and life in the L48 again...

    - Ack, traffic. I was strangely nervous driving in that much traffic. But as I write this one week later, I'm over it all ready.

    - Prices are so cheap! Restaurants are so much less expensive down here.

    - It's warm! I'm having temperature control issues.