Watertripping

Like most visitors to Alaska, we had planned from the start to make our return trip wildly different from our original journey. It's a long drive, and we didn't want to redo any of our adventures, no matter how awesome some of them might have been. Other than a brief stint in the Yukon, we drove different roads in Alaska home, and once we got to B.C., we turned west toward the ocean and made for a road of a different kind: water.

Since the beginning, there's only been one date set in stone on our entire itinerary: on July 12th, at the crack of dawn, we had to be in Prince Rupert, B.C. to board our ferry south. We camped outside of town, and set Sophia's alarm for 4:30 AM. It might have been the most painful wake-up call of the trip. However, once we arrived at the ferry dock, it proved worth it. While we were hardly the first car there, the ticket taker in the booth directed us to the #1 spot (probably because even at 5 o'clock in the morning we all look adorable). We boarded the ferry right on schedule, and I left Isabelle and Sophia sleeping in the car to wander updeck. This was the biggest boat I've ever been on--it had at least 8 stories, some with cars, some with restaurants, some with private cabins. It was no cruise ship, but after a ferry experience limited mostly to the Burlington-Essex ferry on Lake Champlain, I was more than satisfied. I chose a seat next to a window, ate a granola bar, and continued reading my book while I waited for the others to join me. And waited. And waited.

A couple of hours passed, and eventually they found me. They had slept on the car deck until someone watching a security camera had spotted them and tapped on the window of the car. Apparently this is not allowed. The security guard shooed them upstairs, where they came holding pillows and blankets. I was happy to see them, but then they promptly settled down and slept for several more hours, while I wandered the multiple decks and watched the coast go by. The ferry we were on took us down the Inside Passage, along the coast of British Columbia. Like Alaska, British Columbia has a rugged coast lined with islands, so we were never really at open sea--we were surrounded by land and it mostly resembled a river. The weather was beautiful (as usual) and we even got to see several whales over the course of the journey.

Eventually the girls woke up (close to noon) and joined me. The entire trip was around 16 hours, but we passed the time by watching on-deck movies, making delicious sandwiches, and just sitting by the water in the sun. Not a bad way to travel.