BC FERRY TRIP

"Time and tide wait for no man."  Geoffrey Chaucer

Carole driving the car into the belly of the whale!

The 15 hour ferry experience was a study in contrasts.  We boarded feeling euphoric about the beautiful ship, the gracious staff and the stunning views.  Our neighbors, in nearby seats in the lounge were interesting and entertained us with tales of their previous Alaska travels.  He was a photographer and showed us photos he’d taken and souvenirs they had bought.  Maybe the expensive meals and barely tolerable food started the slide into disenchantment.  Possibly, the sisters who monopolized conversations with THEIR stories grew tiresome.  The handsome lounge chair was actually a foot too short and ones feet hung off. Even Carole’s feet and she is short. Why were the overhead lights in every other seating area on but ours?  We couldn’t read without lighting!  The snacks that were put out for us became repetitive.  Almonds and stale cookies again?  And why didn’t someone remove those used coffee mugs that had been there for hours?  One of us grew increasingly grouchy.  Breathing re-circulated air for hours may have that effect.  The last straw, at 11:00 PM, tired and cranky, was not being able to disembark because the exit ramp for vehicles and people got stuck and wouldn’t lower all the way.  What an interesting sociological study.

Only 12 RV's in line.  We are the biggest.

Linda driving camper onto the ferry.

Linda, the inveterate marine biologist dragged Carole out to the deck to see the starfish, sea cucumbers and sea anemones before we set sail.

Carole, who can’t swim and is afraid of water, couldn’t have cared less about the sea life and of course wanted to check out the life boats.

She felt better when she saw the Canadian Coast Guard off the left side (Linda told her that that is the port side, and to remember it just count the letters in the word (left has four letters and so does port).

Carole must not be alone in experiencing seasickness.  Isn’t this the most gracious arrangement – barf bags and hand sanitizer?

Our $46.45 buffet breakfast of rubber eggs for two on the ship.  We didn’t even consider dinner!

They call these Dairy Creamer and Dairy Milker here in Canada.  So which one do you put in your coffee?

The view out our window was great.  Linda purchased reserved lounge seats, so for the whole trip we could look out the front windows in comfort. 

We saw many lighthouses.

We delight, sometimes, in the way that things are phased here.

Every three hours everyone was allowed to go down to their car or RV for just 15 minutes. This dog was able to get a little exercise since the car deck was not full.  Lucie Blue, we miss you.

 Enjoying the view with our photographer friend and his wife.

Small town still in existence.

It was sad to see some of these once thriving  towns just disintegrating.

 

Another lighthouse. Suspect it won't be our last.