June 19, Journey Home in Still Listening to Spirit

Dang if we almost missed the Ferry departure! I was unaware or I might have been freaking out. Hub could see the clock on the van's dashboard (so could I had I looked) and spent the trip out to the terminal watching the minutes tick by way too fast.

The van driver drove us right up to where we could unload bags to the baggage cart. As I tried to exit the van, he asked 'Do you have your tickets." My answer was "Yes" and then "No!" I had a confirmation, not tickets.

So the van driver drove us to the terminal. I rushed into the empty terminal and up to the ticket window waving my confirmation in the air and shouting my last name. The ticket agent was quick, witty, and I was back out the door in a flash. Back into the van. Van driver drove us back to the baggage people.

I had forgotten that in Juneau they make you pass through a little building and put baggage tags on your bags. We are not so formal in Skagway. I hurried, then got Bill in the wheelchair pushed toward the ferry.

No help, I had to do it all myself. Fortunately the tide was right so that it wasn't much of an incline. Got him on the elevator, and up to the deck where the forward lounge is located. The ferry was already moving before we got settled. I ws surprised but Bill said "You got the tickets and we got back to board at 3 minutes until 8am." Crap, we almost missed it! How did that happen? Doesn't matter, we were on our way.

We left the dock and headed out. There is a wee bit of threading through a couple of islands and some marked hazards, some curving round and this and that before we get in the main channel of the Lynn Canal. Bill said to me "We are going to speed up when we get through this right?" Because we were going very slow.

Nope, the Malaspina has a top speed of 18 knots, I think knots is 1.5 mph, so if that is the case, that would be about 27 mph. I told Bill this is it for speed. He argued until I explained that the Fairweather's (fast ferry we rode down on) top speed, which we traveled because the water was almost waveless, is 32 to 36 knots. Double any other ferry's speed--thus the name 'Fast Ferry".

Heavy sigh from both of us. We knew it ws going to be a long trip. 7.5 hours, but really, at times I felt like I could swim faster.....

We rode in the forward lounge, Bill staying in place in a seat, while I went to find the cafeteria, bar, vending machines, etc. How fortunate that they were all on the same deck, no more elevators unless we wanted to go somewhere else.

Around 10:30a we went to the cafeteria for breakfast. I parked Bill near the exit to the cafeteria line and got his order from him. They would stop serving breakfast at 11am and I knew they would be serving larger portions, more sausage and bacon as well because they dont' like throwing away food.

Score, 2 extra sausages for Bill--mighty tasty sausages I might add, seasoned spicy and perfect--a huge pile of wonderful hash browns and freshly scrambled eggs. Coffee was awful Bill said. I got apple juice and one pancake. I helped Bill finish off one last sausage and some taters. He isn't eating big but he is eating. Cost? Half as much as the same breakfast in Our Town.

We went back to the lounge. I alternated between sitting by Bill and spending time on deck. It was overcast when we left but not too cold. I met and talked to a very nice woman, Tara, who lived in Skagway, moved to Juneau to get on with the ferry, both out smoking on the smoking side of the ship.

We had 2 long and grand conversations, like-minded women, I love that about the ferry, striking up conversations and such.

Bill and I both decided about 3 hours into the sail we would go down to the aft lounge where there are airplane like reclining seats to see if we could lean back and nap. Can you say RUDE PEOPLE? Now, I don't mind if you want to sleep across 3 seats, you could be really tired and not be able to afford a cabin. But really, the 3 seats next to the windows? Really? Yep, and I mean every set of 3 seats next to the windows on both sides of the lounge.

I asked Bill if he wanted to sit inside, but he preferred to go back up to the forward lounge where we could sit by a window and see out front as well. So back we went. I was standing at the top of the ramp which goes down to the lobby there. Across the lobby is the staircases most use to navigate decks.

I thought and told Bill aloud "You know, I could give this wheelchair a push and a little right English and I'll bet you would fly down this ramp, across the lobby and right down the first set of stairs." Can you tell I was still getting intermittent abuse? For once, Bill said nothing.

The sun came out shortly before we reached Haines where we would tie up for an hour and a half to load and unload vehicles and people. I spent all that time out on deck basking in the sunshine and remembering how beautiful it isi here after so many days of rain and clouds.

Docking in Skagway went well, we were at low tide and I had a huge angle to go up the ramp and no help beyond Laura helping me get bill and wheelchair over the bumps and lumps of the ferry ramp to the dock.

Laura suggested I wait for the DOT van aboard--a handicapped van--to take us up to the parking lot. I saw no choice, so we waited another 10 or 15 minutes for the van to get out of the car deck. There was some radio traffic he answered, but I didn't pay much attention.

He drove us over to Carol's SUV which was waiting for us--I spotted it nearest the baggage trolley. As we were getting Bill into the SUV, Andrew came hurrying up with our bags--ah, we had them labeled, and likely they were the last ones on the cart as well. Thanks Drew, thanks everyone.

Carol told me that she had arranged with the ferry terminal crew that when they spotted us on the floating dock, they would stop traffic off the boat so she could drive down and get us. Somehow no one saw us. The radio traffic was someone inquiring if anyone had seen us yet only to find we were already on the handicapped van. Wow, it was wonderful to be home.

I was counting blessings as I write this final entry of the journey itself. People at the hospital who reversed their courses to walk us to the door of whatever place we were asking directions for. The kindness of the hotel staff and the cheerfulness and help from the van drivers. A new friend made on the ferry.

The most amazing of all though, was when I got a message from my friend Tammie in Ketchikan with whom I used to work at Skag Air. I AM going to ferry to see her this winter, I swear. Her son got a job with the ferry. I wrote her back to ask which one, and it was the Malaspina. She didn't say what he did, only that he was hired at age 19 as a steward--it could have been him, the nice young man in the cafeteria who showed me where the catsup, then the syrup, then the water, was. Right in front of me but I couldn't see.

So, we got home and I unpacked everything, started a load of wash. We struggled upstairs to collapse into our chairs with a big "WHEW"!

Blessed be! Home...