The Long and Winding Road

Well my friends, it has been a long, adventurous, tiring, and exciting journey from Manchester, England to Sitka, Alaska! 8347 miles, give or take a foot!!

We flew on Wednesday from Manchester (leaving at 11 am) to JFK (arriving at 1:40 pm), where Kirsty got her K-1 Visa stamped. Four hours later we flew to Las Vegas (arriving at 8:30 pm) and we were married the next day at 2:00 pm! Viva Las Vegas!

Right after the nuptials, we hopped in a car and drove to San Diego (we were so tired of planes), arriving Thursday night. Walking around in a daze, we collected my stuff in storage (thanks Jen!), saw family and friends, tried to figure out what time zone we were in, and packed the car (Kirsty is a pro at packing things).

We got up early Sunday morning and headed north on Hwy 101, up the coast to San Simeon where we camped. The next day we headed up the coast to Humboldt Redwood park and camped there. We left the 101 and crossed over into Oregon the next day, camping at Silver Falls, then cruised north to Seattle to spend a couple of days with Jamie and Gretchen, ship some stuff on a barge, and hit Trader Joes and Uwajimaya for some provisions.  We had Sushi at Umi Sushi in Seattle of course, as well as breakfast at Portage Bay with Jamie and Gretchen (who drove us all over Seattle, thanks so much!).

Friday we drove up to Bellingham and boarded the Alaskan Ferry Columbia, cruising up the inside passage to Ketchikan, then to Petersburg after a short layover. We drove off the ferry at Petersburg, then boarded our favorite ferry, the Taku, after a 13 hour layover to Sitka. We arrived at Sitka at 2:55 am, slept in the car for a bit, then set up camp at the Sportsman Campground, where we will hang about for a bit until we find other accommodations.

Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan are safely ensconced in Sitka, Alaska!

Me and my lovely bride in Las Vegas!

San Simeon:

Humboldt:

Kirsty by a redwood tree root. It was getting dark, so the camera on the iphone tried its best, but a bit blurry.

Kirsty making dinner. This is a fantastic park, a must stay if you love the redwoods!!

Standing by a tree trunk so big she could hide in it!

Pike Place Market:

Huge shrimp!!

Bellingham:

Bellingham Ferry Building view from Columbia.

 U.S. Coast Guard escorting us out of the harbor!

 Driving onto the Columbia.

 Mt. Baker from the Columbia.

 The very happy couple on board!!

 A ship being built next to ferry port.

 One of those signs I find amusing.

View northeast from ferry dock.

Inside Passage:

Ketchikan:

 The creek at Creek St.

In port, with a view of the Taku (heading south to Prince Rupert, then back north to meet us in Petersburg).

 Very large salmon in the creek.

 Inter-Island Ferry.

Plane taking off next to ferry.

That is all for now my friends. I miss you all!

Peace