 By Hunter Davis October 22, 2007
The tourists have disappeared. The itinerant dealers in precious gemstones have packed up and left. The streets are empty again. The rains have started in gray earnest. And it looks like we can all just stay right here and get wet. I have been trying to get a vehicle to Washington to have repairs done that I just don't want to have done up here. Unfortunately, the Alaska Marine Highway System doesn't seem to give a hoot. Every ferry south, as of today, 20 October, is full for vehicles from Haines on down to Bellingham until 21 November. This means no vehicles on ferries for anyone in Southeast who did not have the presence of mind to get a space weeks ago. I am not clairvoyant enough to have foreseen the need for engine work. It seems that we here in Southeast are experiencing the results of the cancellations of the cross-Gulf runs. Every ferry seems to be full from Haines, full of travelers from South Central Alaska. Evidently there is no provision for any spaces to be left for even limited use by those of us who cannot drive out. So, we cannot get a space in the Summer, and now we cannot get a space in the Fall. The AMHS announces a great deal, thirty percent off the price of a fare, but right now it seems it is for those folks on the road system up North, not the residents on the Marine Road System. So it will have to be a barge trip for the vehicle and an Alaskan Airlines airfare for me. Oh, and that next available sailing?...Spend Thanksgiving in Canadian waters. How joyous. That is all. Cordially, Hunter Davis Received October 20, 2007 - Published October 22, 2007 Viewpoints - Opinion Letters:
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