Five days on the ferry. Very peaceful.  We sat or stood watching the sea slide by.  Sometimes it was very narrow about us and above were mountains, some yet with snow.  here and there a glacier.  Humpback whales spouted nearby every day.  Dolphins, the streaky ones that look like miniature killer whales broke the surface too, sometimes following us.  We experienced a sundown, our first in a couple of months.  And, a sunrise.  How pleasant.  The trees grew larger each day.  Waterfalls streamed from vertical walls. 

We conversed with other passengers and the crew sharing many tales of the great state of Alaska.  The ship kept Alaska time even as we left U.S. territorial waters.  We changed our clocks when we reached Washington, except for the i-phone which foiled the last morning’s alarm by changing its time without our instruction.

We made shore stops at Yakutat, a tiny mixed native and fishing community, Juneau where we walked about downtown and purchased a brew, and Ketchikan whose classic Pioneer Cafe provided a fine lunch.  We had packed most of our breakfasts and lunch and took suppers at the ship cafeteria.  The five day voyage provided a fine ending to our Alaska tour.  At 7:00 a.m. AK Time and 8:00 a.m. Pacific Time the Kennicot landed at Bellingham WA.  Laurie and I jumped into the RV and Anne into the Focus.  We found summer warmth and foliage welcoming, but the end of our long Alaska tour bittersweet.  We hooked the car to the rig and drove on to Issiquah near Seattle where we are now.  Today we tour.  Laurie returns home and to work.  We will turn east tomorrow and work our way home across the northern tier of states.  Home is calling.