The Journey Ahead

Now that we can count the days left at school in Alameda on one hand, we are starting to look forward to our trip north.  Even though it seems like we just made this trip in reverse (really, it was only 7 months ago!), we are happy that it is fresh on our minds so we can remember all the things we'd like to do differently.

We will start by taking two days to drive to Bellingham, WA with a stop somewhere in Oregon in the middle.  Once in Bellingham, we will have almost a whole extra day to run off energy and stock up on food for the ferry.  We will be taking the Alaska Marine Highway again, just like last time.  We'll have a one-day and part of a night layover in Juneau, making our entire journey take a week.

This time, we have decided that we need to bring along more entertainment for the ferry ride.  I have a stack of board games set aside, and Ava is planning to set up shop as a bracelet maker with her Rainbow Loom and Loop-de-doo.  We are also not going to limit ourselves to eating only microwavable meals and snack foods while onboard.  Yes, ferry food is expensive, but eating Easy Mac and canned soup for every meal does nothing to boost morale when trapped on a 400-foot, floating, bare-bones hotel.

In Juneau, we will get the chance to meet the adorable 3-week-old baby boy of some good friends who are currently stationed there, as well as touch base with a few other Coast Guard friends and maybe even our pal from AKontheGO.  I have to say, we have gotten to the point in our Coast Guard journey where we seem to have friends in pretty much any place we visit.  It has been so nice this time around to know several people who are either from Sitka, currently living there, or have been stationed there in the past.

Oh, and remember the Traveling Nana? She will be joining us again on our journey, so I don't have to do it solo.  Thank goodness for that!

And just because this all sounds almost too easy, we decided to throw a real challenge in the mix.  When Nana flies in on Saturday from Florida, she will be bringing our new furry son with her!  That's right, we're adding a second pup to our family.   Our cousin is a dog breeder/trainer/groomer and has a really adorable goldendoodle for us. He's about 7 months old, and we met him when we were in Florida over Thanksgiving. The kids named him Charlie.

Two weeks from today, we arrive in Sitka!  Are we there yet?