Today!!!!!!

Oh My GOD! I woke up this morning and realized it is today that I leave for Seattle! This will be the trip of a lifetime in so many ways, and it starts with the first flight at 4:30 this afternoon. My innards are like jelly all of a sudden. 

Of course, I am not packed...yet. But there is stuff strewn throughout the master suite. I think that the critical stuff is the camera equipment, rather than choice of clothing. I have about a thousand errands to run, and then Laurie is picking me up for the trip to the Jetport. 

Tomorrow, Marilyn will arrive in Seattle about 2:00 pm, and then we will fly off to Ketchikan about 6:00. This will be the first time I will see Marilyn since Mom died, but I know that she needs this trip even more than I do. She went home to two more deaths in my uncle Aubrey's family. Marilyn amazes me with her resilience. She calmly sails through these losses, supporting those around her. Then she grieves in private. 

Marilyn is one of the most fun people I have ever met. She has the spirit of adventure, she is smart and funny and brings enthusiasm to everything she undertakes. Thankfully, we are very compatible in hotels, we always room together if it is just us two. That part of the trip is a bonus, because in some ways it will be a three week long slumber party.

The only accommodations that we have that are cramped is on the state ferry line. There we have a "stateroom" with it's own private bathroom and bunk beds. That promises to be an adventure. But Marilyn's cousin Anna Lou says that we will be out on deck most of the time because the ferry line stays close to the coast, and the wildlife watching is exceptional.


Everywhere we are going, the wildlife watching is supposed to be amazing. We will see the eagles in Ketchikan and Prince of Wales Island, the bears on the mainland, whales and other fauna. We don't have a lot of touristy plans, and we are more open to more in-depth opportunities than the cruise ship people.


When I went on the cruise to Alaska in 2008, we just got a tiny taste of Alaska. We were in Ketchikan for 6 hours and not much more time in Juneau, Skagway and Anchorage. Plus, on a cruise ship you are many stories above the water, so any fauna you do see is at a great distance. I have lots of photos of distant otters, bears, killer whales and other critters. 


I should stop writing now, I have to get myself into gear and not stop all day.