In the morning we took our sweet time getting up. We slept in as long as BB would let us and we just played and spent time together. It was decided that we were all going to take good showers before we got on the ferry because we weren’t sure what the shower situation would be like on the ferry. So we let BB play in the bath extra long and I can only speak for myself but I took full advantage of any excuse to take an extra long relaxing shower.

We sold my Prius before we left and had the check still from the sale. The only problem with that was that it was made out to D and all of his banks are in Arizona (or online but they said he would have to mail it to them for them to deposit a check so large). Also Juneau doesn’t have many large major banks so D felt like we needed to take care of it before headqing over there. I have an account with Chase bank which happened to have a branch just across the street from our hotel. We set out over there to add D to the account and deposit the check. Long story short we got all the way through the process then realized we can’t add him without a signature from someone in AZ who is on my account still from when I set it up as a 15 year old. So (what we should have done/asked in the first place) we asked if we could just deposit it. They said of course and looked at us like we were crazy for going through all the trouble just to deposit a check.

On the way back we decided to treat ourselves to Olive Garden for lunch as a sort of last meal in the lower 48. We went big and even ordered some of their fancy drinks! It was a nice treat to enjoy lunch as a family and just have a slow easy day.
Also, the day before we had spent some time calling extended stay hotels in Juneau to find out where we will be staying after we get there. We had very little luck and we’re putting our eggs in the basket that required we try and pull off that our 40 lb dog is only 25 lbs. That morning D received an email from a coworker that had a small mother in law apartment that we could rent. This felt like an answer to our prayers Dom called her and we made the necessary arrangements. The plan was to stay 1 night at the extended stay and then move into the mother in law apartment until we were able to find a place that was permanent. This made everything seem more do able. We had a place that was an actual place it had a room and a living room and they were separate and it had a kitchen. My heart was calm and I was confident that we could do this.

With a plan set in stone I was able to relax and enjoy the family time we had on the beach before we got on the ferry.

When people would ask me what the ferry was like I would jokingly explain it as a cruise for poor people. Over time it got the nickname of “The Hobo Cruise”. As we were checking into our hobo cruise we had another moment that caused me to panic. When we checked into the ferry D gave them our names to pull the tickets. They found BB and I but they didn’t D, R, or the car. I wasn’t sure at this point what to think. Fortunately they found their tickets shortly after and we were set. Just had about an hour until we started the boarding process. We sat on the beach, enjoyed the sights, and played with Nora while we waited.

The entire time we waited D kept singing and saying all aboard the Hobo Cruise!!! It was fun and just what I needed, a light hearted start to the next leg of the adventure. We waited our turn to get on the ferry, parked, gave R our love and then went up to check out our home for the next 2 1/2 days.  I was a little surprised at how small the rooms were but I figured we would make due. We beat the crowds for dinner and enjoyed sitting out on the deck and viewing the sights. That night D indulged my desire to stress eat with chocolate cake AND chocolate milk. He is always doing those sweet thoughtful little things for me.

Once it got dark, there was nothing to see and BB started to act tired we retreated to our room and called it a night. Until we heard the announcement that you would be able to go and feed/water/walk your pet on the car deck. This was the last time until morning and as you can imagine I was very worried about R and how she was doing alone, in the car, not knowing what was happening. D was almost asleep, but I begged that he go check on her and give her the treat I got her. Being the amazing husband he is, he obliged. Reporting upon his return that she was doing just fine and was just laying in her bed relaxing. This put my mind at ease and we called it a night.