Alaska Marine Highway was quite a trip. Thanks Dave P for the heads up on this one. We boarded the ferry at about 10 pm on the 19 and set our tent up on the back deck of the ship. The tent damn near blew off the deck that night and we all moved our mattresses out under the heated solarium where we slept warm and fine. The next day we followed the example of other tenters and duct taped out tent corners to the deck. Worked like a charm and we slept like babies for the following three nights.
The inside passage from Haines to Washington state is quite something. The ferry navigates a winding path through pristine and narrow passages where there barely seems room enough to squeeze the boat through. The mountains on each side are a wonder to behold. We saw whales, seals, dolphins, otters and lots of other sea life. After two weeks of driving the kids were in heaven on the ship. They made some new friends and seemed to know everyone on the boat by the time we were done. They even made friends with the first mate who invited us up to the bridge to steer the ship. We had to drag the girls away so the officers and crew could get back to work.
We went ashore only once in Ketchikan where it poured rain. We walked down to the cruise boat terminal where four massive cruise ships were tied up. It was tourist hell but the kids enjoyed stopping into fun shops along the way. We were soaked by the time we caught the local bus back to our modest ferry but all agreed that our type of travel was more interesting than the mass transit style on board the big ships.
Vancouver Island is massive. We approached it at midday of our last day and spent all evening and night steaming down its eastern coast. I am reading a history of James Cook's voyages into then Pacific (this might be a good time to confess that I stole this boon from your library Dave P!). It was cool to imagine Cook, Vancouver and Drake coming through these exact passages hundreds of years ago. It's a part of Canada we always wanted to see. Definitely worth the trip and a good way to chillax after long days of driving. We managed to get a little bit of road schooling in on the ferry but are starting to realign our expectations in terms of how much of that we will actually get done! Whatever.
After celebrating my Dad's 70th birthday at my brothers place in Seattle (great barbecue of Dad and Dave's massive ground meat collection) I woke up early and drive back to Bellingham to compete my bare boat certification at the San Juan Sailing School. This course certifies me to charter a sailboat to 60 feet anywhere in the world. Great course in amazing waters. We camped out overnight in our 47 foot Jenneau which was a pleasure to sail. It even had bow thrusters! Can't wait to get to Greece to get the helm again. Puget Sound and the Juan de Fuca Islands are amazing sailing grounds - almost as good as the East Arm of GSL but not quite!
Deb and the girls and their cousins, Aunt and Uncle spent a great day cruising down town Seattle. They visited Pike Place market and were treated to a world class breakfast by Uncle Dave and Aunt Anne. Will probably head to the Space Needle tomorrow as well as the Science Museum.
Really enjoying our brief stay in Washington State. I like the vibe of this place. Kinda Canadian only with Fred Myers and neighbours who are packing. Speaking of which, Dave Dad and I are heading to the range on Tuesday to fire the next door neighbours AK 47 and various handguns. Yeeeeeee hawwwww.
All is well and we will write again before heading east across the US up to Alberta to visit the Hansens and catch our train. Still hasn't kicked in that we are not just on vacation but in a semi permenant nomadic state. Any day now I'm sure!
Sleepy in Seattle

PS Dave and I took Dad to the Metropolitan Grill in Seattle for his birthday. Lives up to its billing as one of the best steak houses in America. Great City but the traffic and commute time takes some getting used to for this small town lad.