September 9, 2007

By the time the alarm went off, we were docked in Seattle. We had our last breakfast on board before getting in line for disembarking. When they called our group, we headed down the gangway to customs. Customs was quick and easy. We grabbed our luggage and headed out to the parking lot to wait for our car.

It was another beautiful sunny day and the morning coolness was perfect. Too soon we were being dropped at the airport and saying goodbye to my parents who were spending another night in Seattle. We checked in and then stood in the longest security line I have seen in years. Then we had a couple hours to kill in the airport.

It was a nice plane for the return trip with 3 seats on one side of the center aisle and 2 on the other. We were on the 2 side. I got the window which was exciting since it was a sunny day. As we flew out of the Seattle area, I was disappointed I was on the right side of the plane since I couldn’t see downtown or our boat. As we left the Seattle area, I was glad I was on the right side of the plane. I got the binoculars out of Kris’ backpack so that I could look at the scenery.

I soon found a city that looked a lot like Victoria. I don’t know how I can recognize a city from above when I have only seen it once from ground level, but the layout looked right. A closer look confirmed that the docks were the same we had been docked at the day before. I could pick out Vancouver in the distance on the mainland as we flew over Vancouver Island. Vancouver Island turned out to be more inhabited than I had thought with several towns, numerous ports, and trails cut all over the mountains.

North of Vancouver Island, the world began to look like wilderness with some odd features. With numerous islands and channels, I kept noticing strange boat docks in apparently remote locations. Many boats, large and small, were exploring all the various channels.

Continuing north, I began to suspect logging operations. My suspicions were confirmed by a small settlement with logs floating in the surrounding water. Apparently some harvesting of large, old growth trees is still taking place.

The reality of this coastline was apparent from the air. A line of snow capped mountains cut the shoreline off from the rest of the world. A rough map in the airline magazine allowed me to figure out where I was most of the way. My neck was getting stiff as the clouds began getting closer. I think I saw Ketchikan just before the cloud cover allowed me to sit back and take a nap in the plane. It was an unexpected surprise to get to retrace a significant portion of our cruise with a flyover on a sunny day.