DAY 28 (5/31): On our way to the Alaskan Ferry!

June 04, 2024

DAY 28 (5/31): On our way to the Alaskan Ferry!

This morning we said good-bye to Luke. He will spend 39 glorious days in Seattle with Jacob & Dia. He will be glad to be rid of van life, and happy to relax with them - they are nappers, and so is he!

They were nice enough to bring us yummy breakfast sandwiches and pastry from Ben's Bread before we took off.

Barry's old friend from his Hughes days (we're talking the 90's), Frances Vandal, has retired with her partner on Whidbey Island. She took the ferry over and met us for coffee at Narrative Coffee in Everett. What a cute spot, and so nice to catch up and learn about their journey to the PNW. They live on 10 acres with 2 dogs, 3 cats, a parakeet & canary! Too bad we did not have time to visit their home, but we will be back!

Frances' father was a mechanic who worked on WW2 Bombers, and also did the paintings you see on the side of those planes. He suffered from Alzheimer's as well, so we did our selfie together with "our dads".

Everett is a great little town that we never thought to drive through. We did not know that FUNKO's HQ is located here. They are the company that creates POP Figures (I am being reminded that they are NOT DOLLS!!!!). Their HQ is so fun, and they have a retail store on the bottom level that is crazy amazing!

When Barry & I were camping in Joshua Tree last November we met Mike, from Washington. He and his wife started a farm (Snowgoose Produce) in the Skagit Valley. They recently "retired", and handed over the reigns to their son & daughter-in-law, who now run the biz. It is on the way to Bellingham, so we decided to stop by.

On to the ferry terminal in Bellingham!

We arrived at 3pm for a 6pm departure, and most vehicles/passengers were already checked in. They start loading at 3pm, but they do it by destination, and since we are mid-to-last (Haines), we still needed to wait a bit, so we hunkered down with leftover bao.

Here is the terminal and our home for the next 3+ days.

It is interesting to watch how they load the ship. Loading by destination organizes the vehicles so that (hopefully) no one has to move to let others out. The guys inside the car deck figure out which vehicle length they need, and call it out to the folks on shore, who then choose a vehicle at that length and with the correct destination (we all have our destination city taped to our windshields). I spoke at length to the woman who was "choosing cars" to send in. She told me the longest vehicle on our voyage was 50+ feet! I asked her about some of the more interesting things she has seen get on board: The Carnival (think rides all folded up), The Rodeo (think livestock)...it is the "Alaskan Marine Highway" after all!

When it was our turn, they wanted Barry to back all the way into the center lane of the loading area! They were very patient with us and guided us the entire way in, but discovered we were not going to fit! So, back out we went. After they loaded up that center lane, they had us turn around again and head in straight.