Day 10
Miles 210
road miles
Travel time
3.5 hours; Kent to Bellingham; Friday of Memorial weekend; traffic on I 5 very
heavy, especially around Seattle and Everett.
Nautical
miles, first day of cruise
Oops, we
just passed into Ak time, we were in error when we cited Pacific Time as last
time zone. We are now four hours earlier
than Ohio.
Awake to
clear skies and 70’s. The hotel was as nice as it appeared; good breakfast; sat
on the patio for a bit, with coffee watching the golfers on the greens. Huge pines and cedars on the greens
Stopped for
coffee and good-by with Al and Betty.
What a great visit! Au Revoir,
until we meet again.
Stopped at
rest stop and took pics of 1000 year old stump of a red cedar. We pass through the Skagit Valley known for
produce. The Cascade mountains ring the
area with snow cover. Every once in a
while, Mt Baker, 10k+, peeks out. It is
one more of the semi dormant volcanoes that march north to south down the west
coast.
Arrive
Bellingham Terminal, 61 degrees, sunny, breezy; it appears they kept the
historic surround but modernized the inside.
We get our tickets, buy at the gift shop and share a fish and chips and
local beer. Bellingham is typical of
port city with houses built on the side of a hill overlooking the water. We park in our lane for boarding the
Columbia, Ak Ferry, we think it is the largest in the fleet. Ak ferry system ships have aged out; between
reno and replacement and lack of staff the runs are limited. There is a cement truck and bulldozer already
parked in the ferry bottom level. We are
considered smaller vehicle and getting off later in the cruise so we are lifted
by car elevator to the higher level for parking. The number of cars, trailers and RVS boarded
is amazing. At the very end they bring
on a Class A bus RV and a 20-foot fifth wheeler pulled by a double cab
truck. As we pull out of the port the
Captain plays north to Alaska and welcomes us aboard.
Our car is
on the same level as our cabin so no stairs for our luggage. We are next to the Pursers office and the
only thing on our floor are cabins and car parking (in its own container
space). The room is small with a bunk
bed, full sink, commode and large shower room, small closet, window, chair and
some storage. Since we really only sleep
and do personal care in the room it’s enough.
Chuck sleeps on top bunk, he says it’s fine and beds are fairly
comfortable. All linens and extras are
included without charge. Travelers with
dogs and cats are allowed to visit their animals every so many hours in the car
parks. We are able to take advantage and go to our car for items we want. There is an announcement that a black cat has
escaped its cage and loose. Owner called
to retrieve the Houdini. We have taken our folding camp chairs, a really good
idea for sitting outside wherever we want.
There are large tent areas and only a few have pitched a tent so
far. And only limit lawn chairs are made
available on the deck we most used. The
upper deck with open heated area is where more tents are pitched and people
take the lounge chairs and sleep on them.
Many people sleep inside on couches and chairs wherever they can find
them. The size of the double room
varies depending on where the cabin is located.
Ours was a smaller one. An crew
member pointed out the cabins to get in the future, they are the best ones.
We weave
among small islands and the water is like glass. Mt Baker 10k+; appears large and clear on the
horizon, showing off its glaciers; surrounded by snowcapped Cascades 8-9k ft.
We see a black shiny ‘thing’ swimming along, maybe a Wright whale? As we move north along the British Columbia
coast the smoke appears and makes everything look smoggy brown in the
distance.
The ferry
has many amenities, laundry, ice machines, water bottle fillers; a snack bar/grille
and a cocktail lounge open restricted hours.
There is a very fancy dining room with a full glass view out the back of
the ferry. For some reason we always
luck out with a best table.
Time for
bed. Our cabin is in a quiet area except
for engine noise and vibration. And if
it gets really windy the ropes outside bang the sides. But we’re tired and the rocking and engine
lull us to sleep.
Time for
sleep. Nighty night.
View from hotel looking at the 9th fairway of River Run Golf Course
