We made it on the ferry, our big boat adventure of the trip! As expected, no internet or phone service except at some ports, so I'm posting late. We left our lovely Haines Hitch Up Campground on Thursday morning, July 14 at 8am to get to ferry terminal for the 10 am departure. The dock was about 5 miles outside of Haines, so just a 15 min drive, but so glad we had prepared the night before as it was misty, foggy and everything outside was damp. Fortunately, we had brought the bikes in and bike rack put away (to make our RV as short as possible for the cheaper fare!!). Check in went smoothly - lined up in 7 lanes of cars, trucks, motorcycles, RV's and bicycles, plus some individuals who were riding without a vehicle (one guy was riding to Juneau to pick up his truck which he had ferried there after an accident with a moose - insurance could only repair in Juneau but you can't drive there, so Ford repair was meeting him at the ferry with his repaired vehicle and he would ferry it back home to Haines - just an interesting story of life in Alaska!). We were tagged with a Prince Rupert sticker, they turned off our LP gas (which shuts off all refrigeration in RV), we drugged Sara with her Xanax and gave her a final run through the parking lot, and loaded back into RV. Linda had gone MIA (to the terminal restrooms) when they made the call to drive on the ferry so I had to proceed without her. Fortunately, I was at the front of the line and got to drive forward to the front of the ship, but then was directed to back up and over one lane to the left, when they pulled a red pick up truck tightly in front of me - not sure of the rationale for that parking arrangement, but I was just glad to be in my spot without scraping bottom (which I'm told can happen at low tides when the ramps have deeper angles). I waited awhile for Linda, but decided I needed to check the port area again - luckily we passed each other on the ship and then ran back down to the car deck to get our overnight supplies and cooler. No one was giving direction as to where to check in so we explored the ship finding levels for car deck, cabin deck, eating and lounge deck (altho we were told the bar had been closed due to new legislation re alcohol on ferries :( ), and the observation deck - has a yellow plexiglas outdoor "solarium" with reclining deck furniture and an indoor area with airline seats, where people go if you do not book a cabin (get a cabin if you go!). Our cabins were basic, but very comfortable - full bath with great water pressure in shower!!, 2 bunks, and a pull down desk. Big problem was non-working thermostat and very hot temperature - when we reported it, purser said all the cabins were hot and they gave us a small fan and said they'd send someone to look at it. The next morning, after sweating through the night, they overhead paged me (giving me a panic, since I was sure something horrible had happened to Sara!) and asked if we wanted to change rooms - to a 3 bunk room with a window!! Great room so we quickly moved belongings, even though I'm not sure the temperature was any better, but we grabbed our fan and focused on the view from the window! We had brought food with us, both to clear out refrig and because we had been told food was very expensive on board, but we were surprised by reasonable prices: dinner was halibut in cilantro butter or marinated flank steak, veggies, and potatoe or rice, very generous portions for $18 - and very good! They also had burgers and philly steaks for $13 from the grill that looked very good, but we ate our own food for our remaining meals. And I was thankful to be able to eat since I have had seasickness experiences on another ferry trip - the inner passage was clear as glass and smooth until close to the end of the trip. We bonded quickly with the other "dog people", but especially with a couple from Juneau who gave us a tour guide's view of what to expect at each port and along the way. We stop every 4-8 hours at ports in Juneau, Kake, Petersburg, Wrangall, and Ketchikan - stops mean we get to run down to car deck to break out Sara (along with all the other dog owners, about 15 of us), then squeeze through the lines of vehicles to get to the back of the ship, and run down the gang plank, to find a precious spot of grass - that was especially fun at 1 and 6 am, when it was dark and creepy!). But we were in good company and everyone was anxious to check on their beloved pets, so we could laugh at the experience. Sara was doing well at the first 1 visits, altho always standing in the driver seat, but not barking or panting, so I will try to maintain this Xanax dosing! I was able to leave the RV windows open and exhaust fans on, so temperature seemed comfortable. On shore, the temperature is warming up but still misty and overcast so it's nice to have the indoor lounge and dining room to sit and watch the scenery. Scenery is LOTS of wilderness coast, broken by occasional small towns and fishing lodges. We've seen lots of bald eagles (I guess the fishing camps attract them) and some deer, but very few whales. The town of Wrangell is known for it's Garnet ledge, where ruby red garnets have been mined since the 1860's - in 1907, the first all woman owned company in the US began mining and marketing the jewels. The company was sold twice, and now has been deeded to the Boy Scouts of America and the local Presbyterian Church as long as the children of Wrangell are the sole miners and sellers of the gems - so you can buy raw gems at kid-run stands at the port or through gift shops in town as long as children receive the proceeds! Pretty cool! We spent the last afternoon on the ship napping (Linda) and me reading, and both taking a great shower (love that water pressure!!) - all from our new upgraded cabin! We later discovered the whole ship crew and all our dog friends had been searching for us to let the Georgia RVer's know "that their dog had turned the lights on in the RV!" When we came on deck, we were besieged by everyone who had heard the story of our dog turning on the lights - in reality, we probably forgot to turn them out when we left, and the marine battery will run them without draining the main RV battery, so it was no big deal, but we had no idea how many people knew us or our dog! Our last stop was in Ketchikan, Alaska where we had a 1 hour stop to walk Sara and actually found a city park across the street and up a very steep hill, like in San Francisco! Poor Sara is wearying of this in and out, having a little diarrhea and panting more, so one more Xanax for her and back into the hold for the final 7 hour stretch to our final destination of Prince Rupert, Canada. Back on the ship, Sherry and Bob (the Juneau couple) stopped by our new cabin for a glass of wine (we were trying to use up anything we might have to declare at customs). She is a PhD in crab physiology and he is a builder in Juneau and both are very fun to talk to - they are headed on to a kayak/camping trip on Haida Gwaii Island, have 1 grown kids and their dog, Jake that we meet on our dog walks. They left by 9pm when the waters were getting rougher as we entered the main channel of the sea, so we could all get a nap in before our departure at 12 or 1am (we were so confused on time because the ship was Alaska time and we lost an hour when we reached Canadian waters, so our IPhones reset to Canadian time, but not our watches or the ship...we got up an hour early, then laid down again for half an hour - they gave wake up calls to your door, but we weren't sure they knew which cabin we were in, so we were afraid of "sleeping in"). And we really had no plans for once we disembarked - some RVer's were going to try to find the Walmart, some said they would park in the ferry terminal, we planned to "play it by ear, or eye".