Day 4, 6/24/2002 Sunrise 5:09am - Sunset 9:29pm (this gets interesting in a few days!)
Settin' Sail
This morning we bid adieu to our genial hostess and drove (once more through the armpit) to Bremerton to catch the ferry to Seattle. Exiting the Rich Passage and entering Puget Sound we caught our first glimpse of the Seattle skyline, dwarfed by Mt. Rainer but increasingly attractive as we grew nearer. After one last look behind at the Olympic mountains, we drove back to Sea/Tac to await the Princess bus to Vancouver and our cruise ship. As would be the case with all our transportation for the next 11 days the bus ride to Vancouver was narrated by a knowledgeable driver. We had to show Passports and make Customs declarations at the crossing into Canada. The Canadian officials were very friendly, they even gave us each a little Canadian flag pin. Soon we were in Vancouver and subject to big city traffic but we got to the pier and eventually on to our ship.
Our cabin (they call it a stateroom) was small but it would soon become home. While unpacking and settling in we found ourselves in motion, I applied my Scopolamine patch and hoped for the best. We arrived at our first night's 'traditional, fixed seating dinner' a bit late and met our dinner partners. A family of four from Florida (late of NY) I think the Dad's name was Eric, one kid was Kyle, The Mom was Lisa.* Truck driving team from Ill. & Ky. Donna Douglass, actually Donna and Doug. Jackie and 'Aunt' Mary, Lutherans from Oregon. We didn't spend many evenings with this dinner option. As we ate (I mean dinned) the ship slipped behind Bowen Island and out into the Strait of Georgia. Through the night we steamed (well, actually diesel-electriced) north past the Seymore Narrows and into Johnstone Strait but at the time I hadn't a clue where we were. All I new was this was 'the inside passage'.
* If any of our fellow passengers happen to see this and want to 'fill me in', I'd appreciate it!
Created on ... July 9, 2002