Our Bountiful Life: The Road to Bellingham

Being that we were traveling over 3,000 miles with two kids and two cats, Joe and I decided that one or more of us might not survive if we attempted to drive the entire way. Instead, our plan was to drive 935 miles to Bellingham, Washington, where we would board the Alaska Marine Highway Ferry for a three day ferry ride up the Alaska Inside Passage, and disembark in Haines, Alaska. From Haines, we would drive the remaining 626 miles to our new home in North Pole, Alaska. This would cut our driving time in half, and on the ferry we could all relax and take in the beautiful scenery of the Inside Passage (well, the humans could......the cats, not so much).

So the first leg of our trip, the road to Bellingham, got underway Christmas morning at 10:30 am, which surprisingly was only 1 1/2 hours behind our planned departure time. For those of you who know our family well, you will understand that statement, not to mention it was Christmas morning, after all. Why leave on Christmas morning, you ask? We wanted the boys to finish the fall semester at their schools in California and start the spring semester at their new schools in Alaska. The only ferry departure that would accommodate our time frame departed Bellingham on December 26th. The next ferry did not leave until mid-January. Hence, the Christmas day departure.

Here we are, packed into the Jeep like sardines......

And here are the cats, Tucker and Oreo, wishing they had a can of sardines.

And here is our route......

The plan for the first day was to drive to Portland, Oregon and stop for the night. Our day was pretty uneventful... beautiful weather all day, no howling cats, no traffic. Justin entertained us much of the way talking with Suri on his new iPhone he got for Christmas. I have to say, Suri is pretty freaky. Her responses to some of his questions and comments were absolutely hysterical, but so human like. Here is one of our favorites: Justin says..."I love you, Suri". Her response...."Oh, I bet you say that to all your Apple products". I am convinced there is a tiny person inside each and every iPhone.

Our only issue that first day was finding an open place to eat, being that it was Christmas Day. We got excited when we spied an In-N-Out Burger, but were disappointed to find it closed. There is no In-N-Out in Fairbanks, one of our few concerns about moving to Alaska. Although I would have loved one last delicious In-N-Out burger, I am glad they were closed to allow their employees to be with family on Christmas. Jack was not so accommodating.

The scenery in Northern California is beautiful, especially Mt. Shasta. Justin and I agreed it looks like the Abominable Snowman's mountain. Here's a bad pic I took with my phone, through the window, driving down the road. Road Natzi Joe would not stop so I could take a proper picture.

Mt. Shasta

Here's Justin's take.....

Now tilt your head back up to continue reading.

We arrived in Portland that night as planned. Justin thought that the view of downtown Portland from the freeway looked like District 11 from the Hunger Games. I kind of had to agree.

Let me just say, La Quinta Inns are very pet friendly and clean, considering that they are indeed pet friendly. Everyone, including the cats, were glad to stretch their legs and get some sleep. Cats, as a general rule, are not great travelers. We were very surprised though, and eternally grateful, that our cats were handling it well. It was at this hotel that Tucker started a new habit that he continues today.....sleeping in cupboards. He got inside the cupboard under the bathroom sink and slept through the night.

The next morning as we headed out of the hotel parking lot, Joe and the boys were excited to see a Ferrari dealership next to the hotel. So of course we had to drive through the parking lot and look at the cars. Duh.

Photo credit to Justin

Our plan for day two was to stop in Seattle on the way to Bellingham and go to the Space Needle. The boys and I had never been to Seattle, other than the airport changing airplanes, and Joe had only passed through back in his younger trucking days. It seems like a really cool city, with lots to do and see. We will definitely go back when we have more time to explore. We did make it to the Space Needle, but alas could not go up inside it. The lines were super long and we were too afraid of missing the ferry if we hit traffic and were late getting to Bellingham. It was a major disappointment for all of us, but at least we got to see it and now we have something to look forward to later. Man, that thing is really tall when you are standing beneath it!

The Space Needle

View of Seattle from the freeway by Justin

Jason got a kick out of this tour bus/boat at the Space Needle. Photo credit to Jason.

We arrived at the ferry terminal later that afternoon on time, got checked in, and lined up with the other vehicles boarding the ferry. We were all super excited to board the ferry and start the next leg of our journey to Alaska!