HOW is it that you can take the exact same route on the exact same Ferry service, and on the northerly passage internet turns up conveniently every evening just long enough to post your blog, but on the southerly passage, bupkiss? Regardless, we arrived back in the lower 48 at 8:00 a.m. Pacific Daylight Time today (21 JULY). We saw whales along the way, a spectacular sunset or two, an outstanding moonrise, and enjoyed the amenities of an ADA stateroom as the waters of the Inside Passage slid calmly beneath our vessel -- well mostly it was smooth although the passage across Queen Charlotte Sound was a bit rough and Paul required a lie down, but not for long!
On our second day out of Juneau, we had a 4-hour stop in Ketchikan and took advantage of the time to let Paul take in the Alaskan Lumberjack show. We made it back to the boat in good time and continued non-stop to Bellingham.
Paul was amazed by the skills shown by the lumberjacks
Don't know if they've ever actually cut down a tree, but these guys have skills!
We pointed our noses south and found our way to U.S. 101 on first the Washington, then the Oregon coast. Although we'd cruised the Inside Passage all the way to Juneau and back, Paul had still not had a good look at the wide Pacific until we crossed the Columbia River and drove the edge of the coastal range. A-M-A-Z-I-N-G.
Spectacular views of the Oregon Coast
We drank in the coast for hours without a thought for our accommodation for the night, then came the bad news -- evidently EVERY SINGLE ROOM in the western half of Oregon is booked for the month! We started calling ahead for anything south of Tillamook (yeah, the cheese producing place) and came up blank all the way to Coos Bay. 😩😩
As we wended our way through the picturesque seaside towns of the Oregon coast, we kept our eyes peeled and after several near misses, we pulled into a likely looking accommodation called Wayside Lodge showing a bright beacon -- okay, it was a green "Vacancy" sign, but you get the drift. Believe it or not, the proprietor told, us they'd had a cancellation 10 minutes previously and had lit the sign only moments before we turned in the driveway! And that, ladies and gentlemen, is how we came to be tucked into a cozy seaside cottage, with the Pacific Ocean ACTUALLY at our back door!
We arrived just in time for Sunset and Paul's first encounter with the Pacific
Paul wanted to be sure everyone knew he'd been here!
The lighted cottage is ours, the view is from that back deck!
We're grateful for random cancellations and expect to be rested and ready to continue our trek south in the morning(ish), when, we've been assured, we'll see 25 miles of the most spectacular coastline anywhere on Earth.
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