AK P26

JOURNAL #22

3—7 AUGUST 2007 THE FERRY TO BELLINGHAM

We were blessed with calm seas as we cruised across the Gulf of Alaska on the Kennecott. Much of the time we were out of sight of land either because of distance or reduced visibility. Land was off the port side now and then. There was no dining room on our new boat, just a café and bar. I missed the dining room and its service. All Food was served cafeteria style and by the time we picked up our meals and checked out at the cashier and we got to our table, the food was cold. In addition, Dennis likes a glass of wine with his meals. This required that we eat in the bar where the tables were only adequate for four ordering drinks, but not four full dinners. Our only stop before Juneau was Yakatat on the Alaska coast the afternoon of our second day out. We docked at Juneau on the third day at 2:30 PM.

Our transfer from the Kennecott to the Malaspina was not as smooth as we had hoped for. We off loaded our cars then drove to the terminal where we checked in and were assigned a line to wait for the Malaspina. We expected it to arrive and to load in a matter of a couple of hours. However, the ship was late and we didn’t get on board for about four hours by the time it was off loaded and we were securely aboard. Some of our group had decided to drive to the Mendenhall Glacier, which was a good decision, as it turned out.

The weather continued to be typical of that which we experienced on our way up — overcast, drizzle and fog, but the islands dotting the inland passage were generally in view. We awoke to find that we were hovering off shore near Wrangell waiting for the dock to be vacated by a cruise ship. On the 5th, we were treated to perfect weather as we cruised down the Inland passage. The sun was warm, the skies were almost clear—just a few clouds gracing the mountains and giving a bright accent to the scene. We spent considerable time in port at Ketchikan and some of the group took this opportunity to do some last minute shopping. Jo and I spent the time reading and napping.

We haven’t figured out what we will do to kill time in Seattle. We dock in Bellingham at 8:00 AM on the 7th and have about a 2 + hour-drive to Auburn where we turn our cars in for truck shipment home. Our plane doesn’t depart SEA for BUR until 7:00 PM. We have already seen the very well done Museum of Flight on Boeing Field. Possibly we will find the AAA office and get a Tour Book for Washington State and look up some other points of interest. We must turn our cars in no later than 3:00 PM and that is also the last bus to the airport. (Lee has hired a bus to make shuttle runs to the airport from 1-3 o’clock.)