Writing today’s report is difficult. I’m not quite sure which end of the day I should begin with.
Actually, I think I should start with last night so this becomes Prince Rupert, Pt. 2. I walked around Prince Rupert for the better part of the evening, waiting for the fireworks in the land of the midnight sun. By the time it got to be 10 PM, I was getting tired. Since I had a 4:30 wakeup call in the morning, I decided to forget the fireworks and I headed back to the hotel. At the hotel I discovered that they hotel had put a youth rugby team on my floor and the party had already started. Things got quiet around 10:30 because they all left to watch the fireworks. By 11:30, they were back. Between the rugby team and knowing I had to be up so as not to miss the ferry sailing, I got very little sleep and, what I did get, was very restless. At exactly 4:30 AM, my cell phone alarm went off and the hotel called. I finished up the bit of packing that I had to do, loaded up the bike, stopped at Tim Horton’s for a muffin and an O.J., and headed for the docks. There was already quite a line there waiting. I think they want you there 3 hours early because you have to go inside and get your tickets. I’d already paid for my ticket online and stopped here on my first day in town to get everything done in advance. So I waited. They started loading vehicles around 7:30 AM. I was 5th in line to get on but got pulled out of line. When I asked the guy what I’d done, he said nothing, it was just that they weren’t calling for motorcycles just yet. I did get on and was motioned to an outside lane. I finally got to used my, now infamous, orange tie downs. They told me to only tie down the left side of the bike, winch it down on the kickstand side. They gave me chock blocks for the rear wheel.
I had originally planned to take everything I was carrying upstairs but one of the deckhands, an HD Ultra rider, told me that whatever I didn’t want to take with me would be safe just left on the bike. He said that once we got under way, no one was allowed on the car deck and there were multiple security cameras to make sure nothing got touched or taken. I left my big blue bag, including the laptop, on the bike, just taking the tank bag upstairs.
Upstairs, you can just wander around till you find a location/seat you like. At first, I picked an outside window seat but later, as I explored the ship, I decided to take a front row seat, literally. I felt like Leonardo DiCaprio in the Titanic movie…..“I’m the King of The World!” After the fiasco of not getting much sleep the night before, an hour into our 5 ½ hour trip, I was falling asleep sitting up in my front row seat. The chairs on this ferry don’t recline so I moved to the back of the salon and just laid on the floor.
Then I met Clayton! A drop-dead gorgeous, blond haired, 4 year old bundle of energy, with a million questions.
Hi!
Hi!
What’s your name?
Stan, what’s yours?
Clayton, I’m 4, how old are you ?
“I’m 60.’
“You’re 64?”
“No young‘un, I’m 60, don’t make things worse than they are.”
“What’s your kids name?”
“Clayton”
“My name’s Clayton”
And off he went, to find somebody else to ask those same questions.
This scene repeated itself several times in our trip. He had the question part mastered, it was the memory thing that needed a bit of work.
A bit later, his mother, Anna, tried to get him to take a nap.
“Time to take a nap”
“I’m not tired”
“Yes, I think you are.”
“No”
“Yes”
Being a typical 4 year old little boy, he squirmed and fidgeted and fought it for all he was worth. Me, being Clayton’s trouble making grandpa for a day, would pick the M&M’s out of a bag of trail mix I’d brought on board, lay down on the floor and look at Clayton under mom’s seat. He’d get a big smile on his face when I showed him the M&M, then I throw it over to him. Mom’s trying to get him to take a nap and “grandpa” is hopping the kid up on chocolate but we “kids” were having a good old time.
All of my interaction with Clayton, prompted conversations with mom, Anna, and her friend Matt. It seems Anna had just finished a year long school program in Pensacola, Florida, to learn sonar. No, not Navy sonar, hospital sonar. She takes some serious pictures of hearts and arteries and, yes, babies. While in Pensacola, she met Matt. As she neared her graduation, she asked if he’d like to go to Alaska, being 25 he said why not, and here we all are, stuck on the ferry TAKU, headed into Ketchikan, Alaska. Anna grew up in Ketchikan, Matt, I don’t think, had ever been west of the Mississippi. They just driven from Pensacola To Prince Rupert in 5 days. I think that might actually be some sort of land speed record.
As the ferry docked, we said our goodbyes. I passed on my address here at FuzzyTravel since I’d told them that they were going into my daily report. If, in the next few months, you find yourself in Ketchikan and see a cute little boy with blond hair bleach even whiter by the Florida sun, be sure to say hi because it can only be my little buddy Clayton.
The Blue Max was parked relatively close to the front of the ferry so was I was off quickly. Anna had told me how to get to the Bar Harbor Restaurant. Exit the ship, turn right on the main drag, Tongass. The restaurant is up about a mile, on the right. I manage to find the restaurant ok but find out that nobody is there since it’s only open 3 hours a day, 5 - 8 PM. Marty did show up in a few minutes and we did the introduction thing. I asked if there was a Wells Fargo in town since I’d arrived with exactly $1 American in my pocket. He told me it was just up the street, in the “mall”, which he said was the biggest building in town, very easy to find. As I rode there, I was exactly having good vibrations about how things were going to go. In the bank, I decided to ask for a phonebook and see if there was a hostel in town. There are two, neither of which is listed in my hostel handbook. I called both. One is run by a book captain who was out on a charter fishing trip when I called. He didn’t sound promising. I called the other one and found out that it’s operated out of a local Methodist Church. I told the lady who’d answered the phone that I ’might” need a place to stay and I’d call her back. I then headed back to the restaurant to clarify things. Seems that Marty was aware that I’d be stopping by but he said he wasn’t aware that I needed a place to stay. He told me that, since he and his wife had two roommates, that all he had was a couch, which I was welcome to use. Those conditions seemed a little crowded to me so I called the church lady back for directions. Since Ketchikan is literally built on the side of a mountain, finding the church by driving straight up and straight down the hills was a real project on a motorcycle but I found it. I think I’ve got it figured out for today when I go back.
Today, it’s Friday, July 3rd and I just finished doing my report. I’m currently sitting in a McDonald’s, watching people setting up vendor stands in the parking lot for the weekend’s festivities. I asked about a wireless connection and they said they had wireless here, $2.00 for 2 hours. I saw a place down the street with a big wireless sign out front so I’m going to go back there to try and upload this report. The hostel has wireless for their computers but Judy, the hostel mom, has no idea how I can access it.
Today, I going to ride every paved road in Ketchikan, should take me about 1 ½ hours. Actually, Judy gave me a map so I’m going to ride north to the end of the road, then south to the end of the road. Judy says that there’s a stream south of town where you can watch the bears catch salmon…..a bear version of McDonalds. I’m going to try to not be lunch!
