My dad planned a fishing trip-leaving from Whittier AK. (Well a guy he knows said he would take us fishing, and then he flaked out on us and sent another guy he knows to take us...Long story.)
Anyway, we needed to make the 3:30 Whittier tunnel opening (because it's a one lane road that also is the train tracks...therefore there's a schedule when certain types of vehicles can go certain directions...)
Anyway, at 3:28 the tunnel was in sight.
At 3:29 we got pulled over for speeding.
At 3:34 we got off with a verbal warning and we made it through the tunnel. (Best day ever!)
But I should've known it was a sign.
I should've guessed that the boat (which turned out to be a very tiny boat) wasn't going to make it to the island in the middle of Prince William Sound where we were supposed to stay (Chenega Island or something like that). The boat didn't stop working...it just wouldn't plane so we ended up burning too much fuel too fast. So, we had to turn around and go back to Whittier. It took forever. 5 miles per hour in a boat on rough water...yuck! (There was a small boat advisory for the sound that day. There were some pretty good sized swells...)
But we made it back safely and we found some motel rooms for the night.
Whittier is an interesting place. It's beautiful. And weird. Very weird. Everyone in the town lives in a high-rise building. There are creepy abandoned army barracks. But it is also breathtakingly beautiful, so that was a plus!
The next day we tried again. It was raining. My mom opted to stay behind and explore the town. The water was a lot calmer but the boat still wouldn't plane making it impossible to get to our destination for the day (Knight Island) The owner/captain guy was befuddled. His boat was working just fine a few days ago. (Sure it was...). So we hung out in the water closer to the port in Whittier near an island called Esther Island.
And to top of the trip we caught zero fish. But the sun did come out
AND got to see a whale! Woohoo!
Besides it was a very very very memorable trip.
Here are some pictures:
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| The light at the end of the tunnel...and a boat... |
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| Welcome to Whittier! |
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| Dad, Luke and John (captain/boat owner) |
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| My mom is actually afraid of water...so she knitted to stay calm. And Wendi was trying not to be sick... |
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| Fisherman Luke |
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| Me and Luke :) |
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| There's still a lot of snow in Prince William Sound! |
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| Luke and Wendi |
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| C'mon fish! We know you're there! |
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| Day 2. In the rain. |
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| The cruise ship that came into town around the same time we did. We're glad it didn't run us over! It's as big as the town! |
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| Getting the boat in |
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| This is the nifty boat we were on. |
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| Alaska State Ferry in the distance |
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| I told Wendi she should live on that tiny island in the distance. She didn't like that idea... |
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| Dad said "let me know when the fish start biting..." |
The whale! (a humpback whale...we think anyway...)
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| He was getting a nice back scratch on the rocks... or something... |
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| Avalanche chute |
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| The water was so much calmer today! |
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| The map in the boat...Prince William Sound is HUGE! |
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| We tried trolling for fish. Still no luck. |
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| Getting bored... |
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| See how pretty Whittier is!?! |
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| The building where the whole town lives. Weird! |
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| Abandoned army barracks |
I have a feeling this trip will come up at the all of the family "Remember that one time..." events.
You know the kind...
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