Sitka

First things first....this is what it looks like to leave Juneau at 3 AM to check into a ferry that is supposed to be leaving at 5 AM. 

And it's a good thing we left so early because when we got to the ferry terminal, our ferry had been replaced with a different ferry and it was leaving in 20 minutes.  So we hustled onto the ferry, got our cabin and proceeded to go back to sleep for 4 hours. 

This ferry, the Matanuska, was fairly nice and we cruised along making stops at Sitka, Petersburg, Wrangell and Ketchikan.  We did make an unscheduled stop in Kake, to let a gentleman off who needed some medical assistance, as they think he was having a heart attack.

While we stopped in Sitka, we were able to get off the ferry and sightsee...for exactly 1 hour and 15 minutes.  So we payed $10 each for a 7 minute "hell on wheels" ride into town.  It was quite the ride and our driver did remind us that he would leave at the appointed time to go back to the ferry, with or without us...and we knew he meant it.  We did return to the ferry with many empty seats on the bus.

The one thing we got to see in Sitka was a Totem Pole National Park .  It was really nice to be in such lush greenery and warm temperatures.  We enjoyed the walking too.  They have lots of totems on display, including a walking path through the woods with many totems along the way.  It was a nice change from the ferry.

Our last stop on this ferry was in Ketchikan.  I don't really have words for Ketchikan.  It was a bit disappointing, sorry Elise, although I think you said something to the same effect when we talked about Ketchikan before.  I also may have a twisted view of this place as we had to spend many hours waiting to change ferries.  It was supposed to be a 45 minute delay which turned into many hours.  

The good news is that the newer ferry, the Columbia, was much nicer and a bit more enjoyable than the other ferries we had been on. So much happened on that leg of the ferry trip that it deserves it's own post.  

One final comment on the Matanuska trip.  While going through the food line, a State Trooper started chatting with me and asking where we were going.  As we spoke I realized the young lady behind him was looking intently at me. A few minutes later she approached me and we chatted and it turns out she was moving from Kodiak and she will be working with Charlie at his new unit in Texas.  See what I mean....it is a very small world!  

Ok I feel like I'm finally catching up here so I'm going to keep plugging away.