Hey—long time, no see! When I said back in January that I was ready for a more organic pace after the strict schedule of my Project 52, I didn’t necessarily have an 8 month hiatus in mind…but that’s what ended up happening. I’ve still been taking pictures, but life has been busy, and sometimes you just have to shift your priorities around a bit, even if temporarily. But here I am again, to share a highlight from my summer!

This July, I got to see a part of Alaska I’d never seen before, via the Alaska Marine Highway ferry. Some people have even dubbed it the “Poor Man’s Cruise”, because you get to go the same places as the giant luxury cruise ships along Alaska’s Inside Passage—but for a fraction of the price! Scenic byway or not, it’s simply the most economical way to travel between some of the isolated communities of southeast Alaska. Susanna was signed up to go to Bible camp in Juneau, and this was the most sensible way to get there. We were blessed with fabulous weather for this voyage, and therefore stunning views. Want to come along?

Note that I did not say this was the fastest way to travel! To give those of you who are unfamiliar some perspective on the length of this trip: we drove 1 hour across our island to board the Interisland Ferry for a 3 hour voyage to Ketchikan. In Ketchikan, we boarded the MV Columbia, the largest ship in Alaska Marine Highway fleet (pictured above), for the 18 hour voyage to Juneau.

We watched the porpoises dance along in our wake, and spotted a few whales in the distance. As we neared the glaciers, there was a distinct line in the water where the glacial silt hovered, and all water north of there was a milky shade of jade green. It was strangely beautiful to sail straight into it, like crossing a line into a different world.

We treated ourselves to a mommy/daughter date in the ship dining room for supper, and even though we had to stand in line for a while to secure a table, it couldn’t have been more lovely. The shrimp linguine was just right, and the views slipping slowly past our window of Wrangell Narrows were stunning. Later, after a brief stroll into Petersburg while they boarded more passengers, we came back for the mile-high lemon meringue pie and warm brownies with ice cream.

We fell asleep during the long set of the midnight sun, and were awakened sometime around 4 AM with a jolt by a man pounding on our door. “Wake up call for Auke Bay! Prepare to disembark!” I peered out the porthole of our little cabin window to see this stunning view of our destination, with the first colors of pastel dawn streaking the sky. What a journey—and to think it was only the beginning!

Stay tuned for Part 2 of our adventures, coming next!

“And embarking in a ship of Adramyttium, which was about to sail to the ports along the coast of Asia, we put to sea…” (Acts 27:2)

“They lift up their voices, they sing for joy; over the majesty of the LORD they shout from the west. Therefore in the east give glory to the LORD; in the coastlands of the sea, give glory to the name of the LORD, the God of Israel. From the ends of the earth we hear songs of praise, of glory to the Righteous One.” (Isaiah 24:14-16