My last week in the continental United States was chock-full of adventures and excitement. Not only did I hike through the deep surrounding temperate rainforests of Arlington, Washington, enjoy a nice row boat ride on Twin Lakes, and pick wild thimbleberries (yum!), but I also got to meet my favorite author, Trudi Trueit!

In case you haven’t read my blog post about my favorite author, Trudi Trueit is an astounding children’s author whose stories are loved by many worldwide. In fact, she’s the author of my favorite series of books, Explorer Academy!

Well, my adventures (and awesome summer break) didn’t end there. The next thing I knew, I was boarding a large ferry for a voyage to… wait for it… Alaska!

Let me slow down the pace a bit so that I can give you the whole story.

Day 1

It was an unusually warm day in the North Pacific, one in which my sisters and I had to take breaks sitting in the shade and sipping cold water in between playing – or trying to play – frisbee. Meanwhile, my parents finished off getting our camper ready for our four-day trip aboard the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry, Columbia. A few days earlier, my dad had dropped off our car at a port in Seattle for shipping via barge, so that was already taken care of. Between playing frisbee, dealing with a sibling who insisted on having popcorn at that very moment, and trying to gently (and in a friendly way) shoo away a curious squirrel who was all too interested on placing its paws on our biggest and bounciest ball, time went by quite quickly. Before I knew it, we were on our way to the Bellingham Cruise Terminal.

Once we arrived at Bellingham Cruise Terminal, we quickly headed inside to grab our boarding passes and take a few pictures with the MV Columbia. As we later found out, there was no need to rush since our boarding time was delayed by several hours due to a problem with the ferry’s ramp. I took the extra time to read a book and double-check that I had packed everything I’d need for the next few days.

Finally, after quite some time, the ramp issue had been resolved and we were let on board the ferry. My dad parked our RV inside the MV Columbia according to the instructions and hand signals of crew members, and then we began the fun game of hauling a myriad of luggage bags up several flights of stairs. On the upper deck, we received our cabin keys at the Purser Counter and then lugged our luggage up one more flight of stairs to the cabin deck, which is Deck 6 on the MV Columbia. Although we had cabins, some people decided to save some money and sleep inside their tent(s) taped down outside on the steel deck. I think that would have been a fun experience to sleep in a tent on the deck of a ship – as long as the weather holds out, at least. From my experience, it isn’t much fun to be stuck inside a tent during a rain storm.

When my dad finally opened the doors to our cabins, I couldn’t help smiling. The words “adventure awaits” zigzagged through my brain, and I couldn’t wait for the amazing adventures ahead.

Later that evening, my dad and I attended the safety briefing that was given at the forward viewing lounge. To be honest, it wasn’t as informative as I’d thought it’d be, considering that it lasted a mere five minutes and all that was covered was how to put on a life jacket and where the muster stations are located. I half-expected a quick simulation or drill for in the event that there was an emergency aboard the ship, similar to what I had received on a previous cruise. Either way, I was glad I had attended the briefing because if I hadn’t, I probably wouldn’t have enjoyed such a spectacular view as the ferry cruised northward and entered Canadian waters.

The entire horizon was bathed in an apricot orange, with a few streaks of strawberry pink. The sky was completely cloudless – all except for a few line-thin clouds on the horizon. A gleaming crescent moon shone like a beacon in the evening sky, and mountains on either side of the straight were silhouetted in a deep navy blue. Soon after we entered Canadian waters, we spotted twinkling lights to the right of us in the near distance – Vancouver. Several cargo barges and fishing boats passed by us along the calm, ripple-like ocean, and even though the evening was growing later and the sky getting darker, it was hard to pull my eyes away from the beautiful scenery. When I finally did, it was quite late, so I quickly got ready for bed and climbed up the ladder to the top bunk. Although I didn’t feel tired, within a few minutes I was fast asleep.

Day 2

Our second day on the ferry was spent entirely at sea on the Inner Passage. We didn’t have any stops until the next day. One thing I should probably mention is that there isn’t any Wi-Fi or cellphone signal aboard the ferry (at least until you reach some of the destinations). I didn’t mind at all, since I had lots of fun writing for hours on end, reading my favorite books, and running from one deck to the next to get the best views and pictures. As the MV Columbia winded through the Thousand Islands along the coasts of Canada and the US, I even got to see a few whales! Unfortunately, none of them soared out of the water like you’d see in a National Geographic picture, but it was cool enough to see the pod of whales surface a bit and blow columns of water from their blowholes.

I loved how the sunlight danced across the many tree-covered mountains, casting shadows in certain areas and brightening others. I must have gotten at least sixty pictures from that stretch, trying to capture all the natural beauty.

Meals aboard the MV Columbia are served at the cafeteria. It isn’t an all-inclusive buffet, so you do have to pay for your food at each meal. If you need to keep something cool (such as medicine or supplements), it’s advised to bring a cooler. You can purchase bags of ice on the ferry so that you can keep your cooler cold.

Day 3

We had several stops this day: Ketchikan, Wrangell, and Petersburg. During each stop, you’re allowed to go down to the car deck, although when the ferry is underway, it’s closed. You can also leave the ferry during the stops as long as you have your boarding pass with you – but make sure to be back on board the ship before it leaves because it will leave without you. I had wanted to explore Ketchikan, but it was early in the morning when our ferry arrived at the dock, and quite drizzly, so instead I observed the town from the observation deck and continued with some writing.

After Ketchikan, we cruised over Milbanke Sound, an area of the Inner Passage that is known for being a bit rougher and having bigger swells. It wasn’t as rough of a ride as I’d thought it’d be, but it was still fun to watch the ferry break through the waves, sending long sprays of water across the ship.

Later in the afternoon we docked at Wrangell. For this stop, my family got off the ferry and took a quick 45-minute walk around town. Although I had been to Alaska on a business trip with my dad two months before, it was my two youngest sisters’ first time taking foot on Alaskan soil. From what I could tell, it looked like they quite liked our quick outing to Wrangell.

After Wrangell, we weaved our way through the Wrangell Narrows on our route to Petersburg. It was fun to watch the ship turn left and right and back again as it navigated through the straight, land closing in on both sides. It’s also a very scenic part of the voyage (I’m not sure if I can think of an un-scenic part of the trip), so if you ever cruise along the Alaska Marine Highway System, you’ll want to be outside on the deck, solarium, or up front at either viewing/observation lounges to enjoy all the spectacular views.

We were running a little behind schedule, so the MV Columbia moored at Petersburg for only twenty-three minutes, which would have been hardly enough time to do  anything (unless we just wanted to step off the ferry to say we’d walked at Petersburg) had we left the ship and gone on land. However, I enjoyed the seaside town from the ferry as the late afternoon sun bathed the entire town in its deep orange rays. We also got our first up-front view of Alaska’s giant mountains, along with distant ice and snow sheets gleaming with the days last rays of sun.

That evening we enjoyed yet another amazing sunset on the water. Beautiful sunsets are the perfect endings to beautiful days, and I was very thankful that we’d had good weather for the entire trip that far (other than a bit of rain one night).

Day 4

When I woke up, we were docked at the state capital of Alaska, Juneau.

Unfortunately, the ferry had developed a problem with its main engine. Until it got fixed, we were stuck at the port in Juneau, which put us hours behind schedule. It wasn’t a problem for me, since I had wanted more time aboard the ferry, although all of the passengers who were going to Skagway had to be offloaded and took the MV Hubbard instead. It turned out that a lot of people on board were going to Skagway, because the onboard population dropped by at least half. Finally, the engine was repaired for our trip to Haines (our final destination), so we set sail again. Although I loved every part of our trip so far, the next stretch was my favorite.

The water was a beautiful aquamarine color; on either side of us stood high, jagged emerald mountains topped with snow. In fact, they were so tall that their peaks broke through the clouds! My dad nicknamed this section “Little Switzerland” since the jagged mountains really do resemble those of Switzerland. We even found one mountain which looked similar to the Matterhorn! Similar, not exact, but it stood out amongst the others and had a horn-like peak. I also spotted dozens of high, gushing waterfalls that cascade down the mountains. Compared to the colossal mountains, these waterfalls looked like white squiggly lines cut through the alpine landscape.

Along our route we came across a picturesque octagonal lighthouse built on an island. This lighthouse, called Eldred Rock Lighthouse, is the oldest original lighthouse left from the gold rush days in Alaska! I kept my eyes ahead and on the water, scanning – and hoping – to see a whale breach. This expanse was full of majestic surprises, so I figured I had a pretty good chance at getting my wish.

Soon after, our stay aboard the MV Columbia came to an end. My family and I grabbed our bags, and once the ferry docked, brought everything inside our RV and drove off the ship. We had a quick ten minute drive to our campground in Haines, which we stayed at for the night.

The next morning, we suited up for our first of two long drive days. From Haines, we drove north toward Canada and crossed the border into the beautiful territory of British Columbia. The scenery there was stunning, and I was glued to the windows the entire time. The road was really bumpy, so I continually had to reposition items inside the camper to keep from getting in the way of anybody. To give you an idea of how rough the road was, we passed by a large Solitude fifth-wheel with a broken triple axel, and a few miles later, we found a broken down Jeep – so we made sure to drive extra carefully and pay attention to the many potholes along the road. After British Columbia, we entered Yukon. We continued along the bumpy road passing through Destruction Bay (so eerie!) until we crossed back into Alaska. At the Alaska-Yukon border there’s a wooden bench that sits halfway in Canada and halfway in Alaska. My sister and I had some fun putting one foot on either side of the bench so we could stand in both Canada and Alaska.

From the Alaskan border, we made our way to Tok, where we spent the night, and the following day we drove west toward Anchorage and on to our new home in the Mat-Su (Matanuska-Susitna) Valley. The last two hours of our drive were especially picturesque – we even drove by a giant glacier! I sat up front with my mom’s phone stuck to the window as I tried to capture our drive through time lapse videos.

It had been my family’s lifelong dream to live up in Alaska. After over two years on the road, we were finally settling into a stable home. As my dad often says, we had saved the “best place for last!”

Dare to explore!

Vivienne