The Odyssey - Our Ferry-Journey to Seattle

Neither of us had ever been on a ferry before so we were pretty excited about it. Katie pointed us in the way we should go and, babies in tow, we were off. Here we are in line to get on the ferry. We didn't have a schedule and weren't sure how long we were going to be parked here, but the people-in-the-know left their cars in line and walked up the hill for ice cream. Had we known how much time we had or where the ice cream came from or we would have done that also. The ferry ride from Port Orchard to Seattle cost us $11.

It wasn't too long before the line started to move. Here we are getting onto the ferry.

Here we are parked inside the ferry. It's very exciting! We thought the ferry ride to Seattle was great! How fun is it to ride, in your car, on a boat! It was fun. It was sort of a trip to look out the side and see that we were moving and then look out the front and it seemed like we weren't - sort of dizzying. We giggled like school girls all the way and the babies slept almost all the way.

Here we are getting off the ferry in Seattle.

We had fun in Seattle (see previous post) and then it was time to go back to Katie's house. So we pulled out our map and found the road that goes back to the ferry. No problem, I'm good at reading maps. So, we head out on the road that goes back to the ferry and everything is great until we come upon a road crew who is in the process of digging a big hole in the middle of the street where we're driving. Crap. They are detouring us. Detouring us across train tracks where there just happens to be a train going by - ever so slowly. Then the train stops (audible groans). Then a hobo jumps off the train (audible giggling). I tried to get a picture...it would have made the whole affair worthwhile...but it was night and my camera just wouldn't do it. Then said train starts going backward (screams of dismay). Finally, this impossibly long train clears out and we continue on. Turns out this road also goes straight to the ferry.

We arrive at the ferry place and get into line with the other cars that are ferrying. Soon a police officer comes by and asks where we're going. "Port Orchard" we say, and here is his reply...

"Okay, here's what you're gonna do. You're gonna pull out of here and go up there. Up there, there is a black F150 - that's a truck, a big black truck. Behind that truck is a small red pickup truck. You need to go between those trucks to the ticket booth. But you're not gonna fit. So, here's what you're gonna do. You're gonna drive up on the curb - you can do this. You have this sporty little SUV - you can do it. Just drive up on the curb and go on through. You can do it - go. GO, GO, GO!!!

So we do that. You should have seen the look on the face of the lady walking on the sidewalk. Sort of a combination of terror and disbelief. She's an idiot for keeping walking. If I saw someone driving slowly up onto the curb my instinct would be to stop and back up. Anyway, we get to the ticket booth and they say, "Just the two of you?" and we say "yes" (never mind the two babies in the back) and they charged us $16 to go back. And when we asked they said that it was 'per person' on the way back. Which also makes no sense unless the price is different on the other side or at night. Whatever. We get in line, again, for the ferry. The ferry ride to the Seventh Circle of Hell.....

When we finally got to the ferry there were people directing us where to park. The person in charge was motioning us up the ramp to the upper parking place. Then he stopped us on the ramp. And told us to put it into park. WHAT? You're not serious. It's like a 45 degree angle. We have to park HERE?! EEEK! We didn't like it one bit, but we were trapped. This is a picture looking down from our 'place of honor' on the stupid ramp.

They put blocks behind the wheels! I asked Carrie how many cars slid off the ferry into the Sound before they started putting blocks behind the tires. I bet Puget Sound is LITTERED with cars where the ferries go. Eventually, two other cars parked behind us. This made us feel better since they would slide into the water before us.
Carrie was hoping that there would be some sort of gate on the back of the boat. This seems like a good idea to me as well. So when the ferry starts to move I took a look. This stupid net is the only thing across the back of the boat. Oh good, that will save us.

So here we are, parked at a 45 degree angle, on a boat, with sleeping babies in the car. The car feels like we'll roll backward at any second. There are blocks behind the tires that don't look especially helpful and a net on the back of the boat to keep us all aboard. Then the babies woke up and they were NOT happy. They liked being parked at an angle even less than we did. Of course, we were being pulled back into the seat. The babies (in rear-facing car seats) were being pull forward. They screamed the entire way. This video isn't really for the visual effect, it's for the audio. I tried to commentate but it was so horrible that we ended up laughing like crazy people. We're NEVER riding the ferry again.