On The Road, Kinda

We rode the Alaska Marine Highway coming to Alaska. We figured it would be a lot easier than driving, especially with a newborn and since we wanted to take both vehicles. We traveled up the Inside Passage which is mostly protected from ocean swells. There were 2 open water crossings (the longest was about 2 hours). We got a little sick during those, but mostly it was a fine, easy, fun ride.

Us in front of the boat before boarding the M/V Columbia (Motor Vessel)


Goodbye Washington!!


We spent three nights on the ship. We were lucky enough to get a cabin with 4 berths (bunkbeds) and a sitting room. We picked up a few groceries on the way so we wouldn't have to eat out the entire time.


Not everyone had a cabin. The number of cabins was really limited compared to the number of passengers the ship holds. People camp out on the deck, sleep in the Solarium (a heated area on the top floor that is open in the rear) and also sleep in chairs located in the lounges. Looks kinda cold for camping, don't you think? This is when we were stopped in Ketchikan. "All ashore that are going ashore."



I thought the view from behind was neat. I love the flag and the wake of the boat.


We explored the boat for a while on our first day.


Our first taste of a main mode of travel in Alaska. It was a really neat kind of water airport. The planes were constantly landing and taking off right next to the boat as we travelled in this area.



The view from our window.


The kids enjoying the deck.


There were some beautiful views.


It rained quite a bit and Glade found a big drip from a lifeboat and was really enjoying the water coming down.


Someone was nice enough to take a picture of our family.


Ryan was the usual photographer, but I managed to get a few shots of him.



Kim in the Solarium under the heaters.


The only bad thing that happened is that Glade fell and hit his head in the play area of all places. I was there and calmly walked over to him when I heard him cry. Then I saw that there was blood, a lot of it. I had Liberty in the sling, so I laid him down on the floor and pressed my hand over his forehead, where the blood was coming from. Someone went and got some paper towels and Ryan got back from our cabin after a minute or two so I had some help, fortunately. They even stopped the boat to make sure we didn't need to get off, since we had just left a port about 5 minutes before. The Purser (a liaison with the passengers), a passenger who happened to be a nurse, and Ryan bandaged him up with some butterfly bandages, but now he has a nice scar about an inch long from his hairline straight down. Ryan says it's too bad it isn't lightning shaped so he would be like Harry Potter. Oh well, we're just glad he's okay. You can see his big bandage in this video.


It was a really fun trip and we enjoyed being able to spend so much time together. That was just the beginning of the fun!