Ferry from Bellingham to Juneau

Friday was a rainy day in Bellingham and the ferry left a little late.  It took much longer to load than I expected.  There were several of the huge RV's, some construction equipment, and vehicles of every size and description as well as lots of walk on passengers and a few bicyclists.  Not having a cabin was not a problem at all.  There were several areas where you could spread out your sleeping bag and also lockers to store your things.  My nice air mattress was envied by a few:)  The ferry had a cafeteria, movie theater, computer room (no internet connection), several seating areas,  a bar,  a naturalist that gave a few presentations, and lots of deck space to walk around on so there was no time to be bored.

The weather on Saturday was grey and rainy off and on but Sunday the sun came out and it was a gorgeous day.  The scenery was spectacular and we saw a pod of harbour seals early Saturday morning.  Later in the day we saw many bald eagles.  There was only one sighting of a hump back whale but it was pretty far away so we didn't get a good view.   We saw mountains, trees, waterfalls, lighthouses, etc all along the inside passage.  When we went through the Wrangell Narrows it was spectacular -this channel is too narrow for the cruise ships to go through.  We were in it as the sun set and it was amazing.

Before I arrived in Juneau there were three other stops - Ketchikan, Wrangell, and Petersburg- but the only one where we had time to get off and explore was in Ketchikan.  This is the same town I got stuck in when I came to see Sarah in January. Actually, I stopped in all of these towns plus a few more on my flight to Alaska in January.  Looked a lot different this time!  We had three hours so I had plenty of time to walk into town and look around.  I even got something for the next blog giveawy.

There were people on the ferry from all over the states and several other countries.  The first couple I met were from Tasmania!!!  We were waiting in the ferry line wondering why they were loading everyone but us.  The ferry is loaded according to where you are getting off so they can offload quickly at the different stops.  The most unique ladies I met were sisters that had driven to Bellingham from Michigan - they are 82 and 80 years young!!!!  They had also driven the Al-Can Highway before Alaska was a state.  Quite fun to talk to about their experiences.  (Sissies, take note!!) They are staying in the same town as me so maybe I'll run into them again.

                                              Sunset at Wrangell Narrows

Monday morning about 4:30 a.m. we arrived in Juneau!!  I am still amazed I am here:)

Lots more pictures on Flickr - Ferry Trip from Bellingham to Juneau, AK