Ketchikantastic

 This was the day we would finally arrive in Ketchikan. I was so excited! Anything had to be better than Prince Rupert.

Holding everyone up because we had to wait so long. 

We were among the first to arrive at the ferry station. Recommended to show up by 1030, we were checking in at 1000. And for the next two hours, we basically sat roasting in our car waiting to get loaded into the ferry. One by one we watched cars get loaded in no obvious order (although there actually is a pretty well thought through order to these things). I figured that because we had a small car, we might get loaded first. Finally at the end, two cars remained: them and us. Them got the go-ahead and then us! Turn on the car and…nothing! Crap, we left the key in the ignition for two whole hours and that somehow drained the battery completely. “Nothing to see here folks, we’ll be right there!” I was so embarrassed as a ferry full of people watched, but at the same time didn’t really care.

David is the guy in front, unable to sit and relax. 

Ferry rides; oh how I love ferry rides! I'm being completely serious; Its like a cruise you don’t have to pay for, but you do have to pay, and the food isn’t included. The first ten minutes were wildly entertaining and then I realized “this is going to be a long five hour ride”. Both David and I found ourselves unable to sit still (shocker to no one). We sat near the bow; we sat near the stern; we went upstairs; we went downstairs; we got lunch; we played the piano; we talked to people; we went on this viewing deck and we went on that viewing deck. Inside, outside, inside, outside. We probably saw as much of the ferry as there was to see.

David playing beautiful music for the entertainment of a few. 

Whilst playing the piano, David gathered a small crowd who were very pleased to listen to him play. We sat and talked with a mom and her daughter for a while. Turns out the woman has one sister in Sheridan, one in Fort Collins and one in Alexandria (basically D.C.). That’s completely insane! Anyway, she was just lovely to talk to.

We're here! And its just as colorful as I had imagined!

The weather for the entire five hours was sunny and wonderful. We had clear views all around the ship. Apparently, weather this good is a rare thing for Ketchikan. Bummer, for it sure was pretty. 

We arrived at the dock near 6pm, which was really 5pm as I had not realized there was a time zone beyond Pacific that we had slipped into. How this knowledge passed me by in all my years is beyond me. First order of business was to find our housing. We loved it! It has a nice kitchen, a comfy bed, a guest room, nice relaxing living room,  and everything we needed complete with a deck and grill. Best of all, its within walking distance of downtown and the hospital. Next and final order of business: Dinner. We went to the top rated restaurant according to Trip Advisor and it was worth every delicious penny. 

I'm not usually one to photograph food I'm about to consume, but this was absolutely the best salmon I have had, ever. 

Touristy and fun Creek Street.