A Summer in Petersburg, Alaska: Packing, Ferry Ride & Alaska!

June 4, 2013

Week 2(ish)!

Tuesday 5/28-

We said our goodbyes to Steve & Monica and had lunch in Port Townsend where there was internet so I could blog. From there we went to Kingston to the Firehouse Movie Theater. A small, locally run, 2 screen theater. As it’s name implies it was the old fire house. We watched the new Star Trek movie. Rob entertained Gage which included leaving in the middle of the movie to get G some popcorn. I got to see the whole movie. Thank you Rob! The movie let out just as the ferry was finished loading so we just caught the ferry back to Edmunds. We ate dinner and found Karl & Melinda’s house. We spent the evening talking with them & spent the night parked in their driveway (Shoreline, Washington).

Wednesday 5/29-

After breakfast and a walk in a nearby park we spent a few more hours talking to Karl before we went to a local hot spot with a park overlooking the ocean where we had lunch and played in the park. We did a little shopping in town and went to Costco to stock up on essentials that are hard to get in Alaska. After that we headed up to Anacortes and spent the night near our storage unit.

Thursday 5/30-

We had a breakfast of yogurt and blueberries with granola then we began the monumental task of moving our entire storage locker into the back of Big O’. We brought several empty duffel bags that we filled with our clothes that had previously been boxed. These we manipulated to fill spaces around our motorcycles and bicycles. We were able to re-pack boxes to hold more things and when we were done we had several extra empty boxes. We were able to pack everything except one cooler into the back. The cooler now lives on the floor behind Gage’s carseat (right in the middle of everything). With no real plan we bypassed the bridge that recently collapsed on I-5 in Mt. Vernon and headed North. We made it to Bellingham quicker than we realized and spent the afternoon on Skype auditioning for a reality TV show that documents famlies moving to Alaksa had dinner at a local Bellingham Brewery. Upon entering the restaurant Rob finds a piece of metal art on the wall, for sale by Grahm Schodda, a local artist. You can view more of his work at www.gschodda.com. Rob likes it so much I ask him if I could buy it for him for his birthday. Although the restaurant is willing to sell it to us right then we speak to Graham and he invites us to his studio after dinner. What a treat for Rob to see Graham’s Studio! It was like a kid at Christmas. After Rob saw everything Graham had to offer, we decided that the piece at the restaurant was in fact the one Rob wanted. We went back to the restaurant with Graham & bought Rob his metal art. We spent that night parken randomly on a side road in Bellingham.

Friday 5/31-

We did laundry & grocery shopping. We topped off Big O’ with Gas and got our boarding pass for the Ferry at exactly 3pm. then we waited in line to board the ferry for 3 hours. Once loaded onto the ferry we were first on the waiting list for a state room. We had our choice so we chose a handicapped suite that happened to be next door to the padded children’s room.

Saturday 6/1-
Our first night took a little getting use to the noises that the ship made. During the night we passed thru open water and I woke up to our very large ship slowly swaying side to side in the swells. We were woken up by the announcement that the car deck will be open for only 15 minutes to allow passengers to feed & walk their pets but also to get things out of their vehicles. (We learned the volume dial for our intercom speaker in our quarters was broken and there was no way to turn down the volume.)

Sunday 6/2-
We awoke at 6:30 to an announcement that we would be arriving in Ketchikan within the half hour. Ketchikan is larger than Wrangell or Petersburg. We stopped there for 2 hours. Passengers were encouraged to get off & patronize the town, but be sure you take your photo ID and your boarding ticket to get back on. After we left the port Gage & I napped. We arrived in Wrangell at 3pm and left again at 4pm. Our next stop was Petersburg at 7pm! I took a lot of photos between Wrangell & Petersburg. Bob Volk (family friend) and Summer Baxter (our landlord) met us at the ferry terminal in Petersburg. Summer was in line to board the ferry that we had just gotten off of but wanted to meet face to face and let us know that her mother, Dorothy, would take us to our rental house and give us keys and a tour. Bob & Anne, his wife, followed us up to Summer's House. After Dorothy's tour, Anne explored with Gage while Rob, Bob and I unpacked Big O' into the house. After the work was done we sat in the living room and caught up with Bob & Anne.

Monday 6/3-
Our first full day in Petersburg. We drove around Petersburg to see what was for sale. We met with the local Real Estate agent, George Doyle, then drove around some more. That night Bob & Anne had us over for dinner...

Tuesday 6/4-
First night of weening Gage. He only woke up once in the night. All things considered he and I both took it quite well and I didn't give in. We spent the morning looking at properties then off to the grocery store to We didn't have internet at the house so we went to the library to get online. Gage didn't like waiting for us so he explored the library and everything else on the second floor of the community building.