Ferry Time! - Friday, Saturday and Sunday (8/6-8/9)

The M/V Columbia

I'm getting on a ferry today! That information is both really scary and really exciting at the same time. The ferry leaves Bellingham at 6pm and I'm supposed to be there by 3pm for check-in. I had to leave my cute little cabin at the KOA by 12pm so I was kind of at a loss with what to do with myself for 3 hours. I went to a rest area and went through my car and organized my stuff for the ferry.

My car and I being raised onto the second
level car deck.  whoa!

I also obsessed quite a bit. I called mom to talk to her and I told her about obsessing. She was pretty much like your fine. Rub some dirt on it was the message I took away from that pep talk. Lol, that was just what I needed to hear! After checking in I sat in my car for an hour and a half waiting in line. That was boring. But by 4:45, my car and I were in the ferry, I had a locker with my crap in it and I was sitting in the observation lounge.

Uh oh

I was extremely concerned that I was going to be seasick, and I was armed with Dramamine for just such an event, however, it proved to be unnecessary though.

The ferry ride was so freaking cool. I sat outside on the deck until I was too cold and had to come in. We passed island after island, all covered with pine trees and increasingly rarely a house dotted among the trees. The island look to be pure rock, but still tree sprouted from all available surfaces looking like a lush green carpet. Everything has a certain savage beauty and elegance to it.

The crazy people

When I booked passage, I didn't get a cabin because it was ridiculously expensive on top of an already ridiculously expensive trip. The website said that most people without cabins slept in the solarium in sleeping bags. That was my intention. However, when I went in search of the solarium I discovered that it was outside with a teeny overhang. Some people were duct taping tents to the boat and others where rolling out sleeping bags and settling in. I took one look and was like hell no.

The recliner lounge

That night, I slept on the floor in the recliner lounge with the other sane people.

Trash?  I guess its go to go
somewhere

On Saturday, I saw whales!!! It was spectacular. There were 4 or 5 of them and I could see their dorsal fins and backs coming out of the water and then spraying water into the air. How can anything living be so big? I wondered that in Washington about the trees, but this was a whole new level. Most of the rest of the time I read of watched a movie that was playing. I saw Iron Man II. Not good. Avatar = Awesomeness. How to Train Your Dragon - I saw that in theaters with my pookas Delaney and Emmett. They showed others, but those were the only ones I watched during the trip. It rained on Saturday night, so I stayed in and went to sleep. Trust me when I say that sleeping on the floor of a boat is not conducive to a good nights sleep.

Docking at Petersburg.  Those are the columns.  I think they
look flimsy in the photo, and they did from far away too.
However, when you get close to the columns they look big

Sunday night I wore my winter coat like a jacket on deck and watched as we docked in Petersburg. I was cool to be out on deck and night. Cool both figuratively and literally in this case. I fear I am unprepared for the weather. It was really interesting to watch us dock at these harbors. There were these strange columns that came out of the water that were made out of wood and then the ferry would throw out ropes and the men on the columns would catch them and try the boat up. I’m sure it is really far more complicated than that, but that was my impression.

Monday morning at 6am I get off in Juneau to wait for my ferry to Sitka on Tuesday at 4:45am. Ick. So, I'll be spending the day in Juneau.