It's Time To Go

We've reached the time of year when our muscles and joints need heat and our brain needs sunlight.  We are packing for our 2 month adventure 'down south', which is a term we Alaskan's use to describe the lower '48.'

 
This is the 11th year we've dropped everything and packed to go so we have the routine down.  The hardest part is cleaning up after Christmas and putting our home to bed for the winter.  Luckily, my mom and daughter live just down the street and they water the plants and keep an eye on the house.  My son checks our mail so that is taken care of too.  It is very nice to have my entire extended family in Petersburg, and I do miss them when I'm away.

I also spend a day or two planning my sewing projects and getting them ready for the trip.  The first leg of the trip is aboard Alaska Marine Highway ferry MV Columbia.  We leave Tuesday night late and arrive in Bellingham, Washington the Friday morning at 7am.  That is two days and three nights of relaxing, eating and sewing.  We bring some food for meals and snacks and I also bring my sewing machine and a few projects to my stateroom, which really helps to pass the time.  Of course we bring our dog Cessna.  She is a 12 year old chocolate lab and she has made this trip for most of her life.

This year, I am bringing aprons.  I wholesale aprons to shops around Southeast Alaska and I have orders for the summer tourist season that I need to start working on.  I will be working on aprons on the ferry.  I also brought lots of Kona solid 10" square half stacks, which I plan to play with as well.  I generally bring way more than I can use and I buy fabric during my travels too, so I'm never at a loss for something to do.  

This is our little stateroom.  We barely fit but I am still able to make room for sewing a pile of straps and pockets.  

It will be fun to put the pieces together when we get to our 5th wheel in Washington.