Welcome back to the tales and photos of my mid summer adventure.
When you tuned in last time I shared my expedition thoughts and photos on my nearly 1900 mile expedition on Amtrak from Portage Wisconsin to Bellingham Washington.
On this episode of jimsgibberish.com I meet up with my older brother and we travel on board the MV Columbia up and back on the Alaska Marine Coast Highway.
The MV Columbia Leaves Bellingham Washington every Friday at 6pm and returns every Friday at 8am a one way journey of 950 miles, 69 hours with stops in Ketchikan, Wrangell, Petersburg, Sitka, Juneau, Haines and Skagway, the stops last in duration from 45 minutes to 3 hours.
We board ship at the Bellingham Cruise Terminal a short 6 block hike from my brothers home.
People gather to send us off and/or enjoy the fish and chips and famous clam chowder on this sunny day.
We enjoy the views of Bellingham
At around 6pm we set sail
The MV Columbia can carry up to 499 passengers and approximately 133 twenty-foot vehicles it has sleeping cabins but also allows you to set up tents in certain areas to sleep in - we chose to bring our 2 man tent and set up camp.
After setting up we break open our food supply and enjoy some cheese and crackers and enjoy an amazing sunset.
Being near the date of the summer solstice we are always in some form of daylight, and we wake in the middle of night to enjoy the moon.
The next morning on a self-guided tour of the MV Columbia I see something shocking
After opening the lid, I am relieved to see that it is filled with 20 life preservers for children not 20 children to be used as life perseveres.
I also find the bar; I check in from time to time but never frequent it for a drink
At our first stop in Ketchikan, we are let off for a quick walk about when I realize I'm being watched
then its back on board to watch life go past
more installments to come :)