August 9th

The WEATHER: It’s been in the upper 60’s today. A steady breeze and cloudy but a good day for Alaskan standards.

THE DISTANCE: 15 nautical miles….. But it would have been 359 miles by road! Or $232.32 in gas
Since the ferry price was only $154.00..there was a net savings of $78.00 and a new road to travel and sights to see.

We got started today in the small port village of Haines, where we stayed last night. We hadn’t browsed through the town yet so we did that before having to be at the ferry. Haines doesn’t have a lot to offer in way of shops, entertainment, etc. so it didn’t take us long to get through it all. We were at the dock at 12:45 and knew they wouldn’t start boarding for an hour so I made brunch there…. Eggs, bacon & French toast with birch/maple syrup. Cheryl & Steve we’ll be bringing that down for you to try when we return! When they started to board the ship it went pretty quick. They have that down to a science! Once on board we walked all over the ship to see what it all looked like. It really was like a mini cruise ship! They had an open deck off the back that you could stand on and watch the shoreline roll by or pitch a tent on! We walked through the middle tier which is where all the cabins were located. They reminded me of a very small dorm room. A couple of bunk beds, tiny closet space and a sink. There were public bathrooms and showers and a laundry room. The next tier up had a theatre room with large plush chairs to sit in…. OR… to sleep in! Yes, this is where people sleep if they don’t have cabins, which would have been us. I thought it looked pretty comfy and quiet…. Gary just rolled his eyes. There was also a cafeteria and a formal dining room equipped with white linen tablecloths and a wall of windows overlooking the back of the boat. It was truly a pleasant experience, even though it was only a short 1 hour trip.

Once in Skagway we went immediately to settle into an RV park (we are at Garden City RV Park) and we will begin our investigation of Skagway tomorrow.