We've covered a decent amount of ground in the past 5 days. Darrin and I waved goodbye to Phoenix on the morning of the 4th. From there, we pressed on toward Loma Rica, CA to Sylverleaf Olive Orchard...my cousin Gene and his wife Beth's career venture. We got to their farm after nightfall. They took us down to the local pizza place for food and drinks. They are both a breath of fresh air...completely laid back. Beth doesn't have a shy bone in her body. I believe Gene's approaching 40 and Beth's already there. They act nothing like it. We had a lot of laughs. After breakfast, Gene took us around the farm and orchard. Darrin had already been, but this was the first look for me. The orchard is comprised of 200 trees (with more on the way) spread over roughly 25 acres. They just recently celebrated the trees' centennial. It really was a nice piece of property. Interestingly enough, the underbelly of the olive leaves emit a silver sheen. With Beth's last name being Sylver, it was only a matter of time before they settled on Sylverleaf. A suitable name. Mountains were visible from their plot...not sure which ones? The Sexton family has had a few additions to the family: 2 horse, 5 Chinese chickens, 1 dog (Maya), 1 cat(??) and various ducks & birds. Years ago no one, Gene included, would have pegged him as the kind of guy that would end up on a farm, but there he was...doing it. It suits them.
After the orchard tour, Darrin and I were back on the road. I-5 would be taking us north around Mt. Shasta. Now, I thought that I had already seen the majority that N. California had to offer, but I was sorely mistaken. Mt. Shasta, part of the Cascade Range, is a stratovolcano sitting at 14,179' (California's 5th highest peak)...last erupting in 1786. The surrounding valleys and lakes leading up to Shasta were incredible. Lush terrain could be found all the way up to the snow-line. Shasta was completely covered, but, thankfully, the roads were all clear. It made for a great drive through the mountains. As we passed through, I couldn't keep my eyes off the peak and everything else, really. Safe driver, right? Sadly, this trip was not conducive to taking shots outside the vehicle. Needless to say, the pictures were not what they could have been. Regardless, the scene was caught. As we crept into the valley north of Mt. Shasta, I would periodically glance in the mirror to catch the final glimpses of one of N. California's breathtaking peaks. And then, before I even knew it, we were in Oregon.
A couple of buddies and myself had plans to move out to Oregon. The plan fell through, but 2 years later I found myself passing through the towns that not long ago we so thoughtfully poured over on our map. The weather wasn't what we'd hoped...lots of rain and fog. Thankfully, we didn't have as much ground to cover to get to Portland. Darrin and I stayed the night in Portland. The next morning, as if we never really looked at the map, we found out we were only 200 miles from Seattle where we would be staying the next night. Anyway, we drove there around noon and relaxed at the hotel most of the time. That following afternoon I took Darrin to Sea-Tac Airport. I was sorry to see him go. I had a great time with him and wished he could have made the trip all the way up to Sitka.
On the morning of the 8th, I drove the remaining distance up to Bellingham where I would catch my ferry. Bellingham seemed like a really cool place. I would have liked to spend more time there. As it was, I had to spend the majority of my time sitting in a line of vehicles at the ferry terminal waiting to board Malaspina. I was the next-to-last vehicle to pull on. It worked out pretty well because I didn't have anybody right behind me...plenty of room for the truck. After boarding, I went up and got the key to my room. I was really excited to get into the room because they all have a BIG window in them...you can see all sorts of sites from your room. Much to my disappointment, I was given Room #165...right in the middle of the boat. Not land-locked...room-locked. As soon as I could, I went up to the desk to upgrade to a room with a view. For a small, easily justified fee, I moved to #153.
Malaspina, whose keel was laid in 1962, is just 30' longer than the cutter I spent my time on. It's the first of the Malaspina-class vessel in the Alaska Marine Highway System. At 408', Malaspina can travel up to 16.5 knots, hold 700 passengers, 120 vehicles, and contains 73 staterooms. I'm unsure of how many crew are onboard. The vessel has a forward viewing room, aft viewing room, movie theatre, children's play room, cafeteria, gift shop, and surely more. I will say that it does ride smooth. A lot smoother than my previous boat.
Since my report date isn't until the 17th, I think I might travel north with the ferry to Skagway and then back down to Sitka. Maybe catch a break in the weather for some pictures. Today has been nothing but rain and fog. I'm not sure how much ground we covered during night, but I think British Columbia is directly west of us. The houses that I have seen are few and far between in the fullest sense of the phrase. As daylight dwindles, I see a lighthouse. It's light is weak and flickers as it comes around. I wonder how easy it would be to see it out here at night. The fog is beginning to roll in. Not sure if it's engulfed the coast, or if we have moved further out to sea. It mostly looks cold and rough out there.
I was less than comfortable. Being in civilian attire and having a beard is not necessarily the look you want when first meeting your higher-ups. After checking into housing and being shown around the base, I was wondering around the helicopter hangar waiting on AMT2 Pickard when I heard, "are you lost?" Immediately I turned around to see 2 of the 1st Class Rescue Swimmers with confused faces. Taken aback, I told them I was their new airmen. They quickly introduced themselves and asked me out to lunch with them. We went to a local Asian eatery, ate and hung out. It was a good time. Their current airmen, whose name escapes me, was there. He filled me in on some of the training among other things concerning station-life. Once we got back to base, he took me around to the gym and the barracks. Consequently, we were roomed together. Barracks #29. At first, I was hoping for a room to myself, but I was happy to be shacked up with him. He was nice and forthcoming with information. A good guy to have around. 
