Deja Vu on a Boat

The  MV Matanuska has been in service since 1963 and is our ride back to the road again.  We are just itching to get there too.   

The ferry life begins to feel like groundhog day. Our new room is bigger but does not have a  window. We have no idea if we are at port, or if it is day or night, rainy or sunny. 

This time we get a private bath!

 We spent a lot of time sitting in the cafeteria reading and waiting on the next meal. I know, exciting right?

Hey look, today's special is FOOD! 

When they dock in a new port you can get off the ferry to walk around while the crew loads and unloads, if time permits.

We stopped at one port in a tiny little fishing village. We went ashore while the ferry reloaded people and goods.  There was one tiny little grocery store where we walked around like we had never seen a grocery store before. "Oh look, they have chips and salsa!"

And we walked around the boat, a lot.

This is where the passengers without staterooms can camp. Most seem to just sleep in a sleeping bag on a lounge chair in the open air.  This is still Alaska and it is still quite cold despite the heat wave. So many nopes.

Helipad and Sundeck 

Alaska is very beautiful and we took the time to enjoy the views before we head into Canada again and say goodbye to the Last Frontier.

Goodbye Alaska. Hello, British Columbia.!

We interrupt our regular scheduled broadcast

We drove down through Washington/Oregon/California, and currently we are in San Francisco.

Have you heard about the fires in the North West?

These are all the wildfires burning through America right now.

More posts later..

Can't breath...

Cough cough.

I touched a glacier.. and now I feel weird.

 

After several days at sea we landed in Juneau Alaska for a day and a half. If you remember from earlier Juneau is the Capital of Alaska, and is only accessible via plane or cruise ship.

Sounds exciting right?

Visits are usually on a bigger plane though.

Well... let me stop you right there. Juneau is a tourist town. When the cruise ship disembarked, the streets were flooded with camera happy fat overweight rude and obnoxious, tourist. 

And there are so many selfie sticks!

In town, there are the same shops over and over advertising cheap furs, jewelry and jerked salmon to anyone that will stop and make eye contact for long enough.

It was interesting enough to visit once.. but there are some better spots in Alaska that I can recommend if you really want to come up here.

$35 per person to ride up to even more tourist traps

Here Carmen is on a remote side street enjoying some piece and quiet..

Not telling..

Oh look, a Bear. He seems friendly.

Noooooooo!

 

There was one very interesting part about Juneau. The Mendenhall Glacier area.

There is a Salmon breeding ground nearby and you can watch the salmon (it was in season for them) spawning right beneath you.

That's kind of gross now that I think about it.

Hey Baby.. What's your sign?

I'm a Pisces too! Let's do it!

But on to the glacier.

Obligatory group photo.

Suddenly... Merica!

Inside the educational visitor center there is a piece of 200 year old glacial ice that you can touch (or even lick if you are so inclined). 

This glacier used to be much larger. There are photos inside showing how much it has receded in the last 25 years.

I humbly challenge anyone who doesn't think that climate change is happening to look into the facts and photos without previous bios or outside influence.. PLEASE do some honest research into how we have affected the earth and what long term issues we are going to have to deal with.

- Alaska is hot.. the hottest that it has EVER been in all of its recorded history.

- There are fires in the Pacific Northwest (where we are now) that should never have happened, these forests should not have dried out as much as they are now.

- Salmon are dying from the water being too hot for them as water temperatures are nearing lethal levels for fish.

Instead of sitting in our Air Conditioned House we are out seeing the world and witnessing first hand how we are devastating our planet.

It kind of depresses us as I know that even if I convince you personally that we are all damaging the Earth, there is very little that you or I can do to change it.

Any suggestions are welcome..  

Don't shoot the messenger.

I'm on a BOAT!

The Alaska Marine Highway, it's like a cruise but different.  As we mentioned, there are many parts of Alaska can only be reached by boat or plane. We decided to spice it up a bit and take the ferry back to Canada as we head south.

Our home for the next several days.

Our first ferry, the MV Kennicott, picked us up in Homer, AK.  We will be on board for 3 nights so we made sure to prep before we left port.

Aww, it's a shiraz.

They have the loading of the ferry down to a science; as there are several port stops before me make it to Juneau for our layover they group everyone to make the stops quick to stay on schedule.  Everything is secured to the 'buttons' and since the boat tends to sway, we have to ensure that the motorcycle will stay upright.

Motorbikes and Model Ts

Grey Wolf all tucked in for the ride.

 In Homer, the dock is above the car deck so we had to take an elevator/turntable down (other stops we were even with the bridge and drove up or straight out.)

Down

and turn.

Our stateroom is small. Carmen can literally touch both walls.

Twin bunk beds that fold up to be our seating area

How ever shall I manage? Bring me my martini and some grapes Garçon.

Goodbye Homer.

Mine

Within just a few short hours we were becoming quite stir crazy. We explored the boat and did a few laps over the next couple of days.

That is Carmen way down at one end of the boat.

We hoped to see a whale but didn't want to sit on the deck for long. It's cold because... you know..  ALASKA.

I dub the 'Pancake Island'.

Watching the loading dock work being finished in Whittier.

We sat on the observation deck and in the cafeteria to break up the monotony and to escape the closet room.

Let me out!

Some of our port stops were either fairly quick or during the middle of the night, however one stop was particularly memorable. While the boat unloaded and reloaded new people/vehicles, we sat on deck and watched schools of salmon swim around the boat as the fisherman in the bay did what they do best. 
Just think, you may be eating one of these delicious fish someday soon.

Goodbye Kennicott and crew!

 Next up, Juneau and beyond.