Shortly after our arrival at my parents’ farm, my husband and I had a serious discussion over whether or not to replace the yellow Corvette. Neither of us was willing to trust it for the return trip to Alaska. It just so happened that he had already scoped out the local car dealerships and guess what? One of them had a new 1969 white Corvette on the showroom floor with a price tag of $6,005.00. So we said good-bye to the yellow and ‘hello’ to the white. My mother, who was not a car person, kept calling it a “Corvair” (a five passenger compact car) which was blasphemy to my husband’s ears.
A picnic at John Brown’s Mound with family and friends signaled the end of our Missouri stay. The following day we packed and loaded the new Corvette, bound for Washington to catch a ferry. Our mission was to keep the new car off gravel roads as much as possible.
Stopping in Seattle, I was introduced to my husband’s uncle and wife. Spending the night at their house proved to be interesting. The only unoccupied bed available was a twin size. The Uncle said, “You two are newlyweds, you won’t mind sleeping on a twin bed.” We had been sleeping in the car since leaving Missouri, so a chance to stretch out horizontally - no matter the width - was great.
We left the following day to catch the ferry bound for Vancouver Island, British Columbia, where we disembarked and spent the day sightseeing. We enjoyed the opportunity to visit the island with its lone city of steeples and spires. After a good night’s sleep, we headed for the ferry terminal at the northwestern portion of the island. One more boat exchange in Prince Rupert, British Columbia, and we were on our way to Alaska. The whole trip was exciting as it was my first ship ride. The scenery was spectacular, particularly along the Inside Passage.
The voyage back to Alaska was relatively uneventful compared to the road trip we had experienced just weeks before. Our budget did not allow for staterooms so we slept in deck chairs. We learned to pick our “beds” early in the evening as we were not the only ones sleeping on the deck, and the lounge chairs went quick. The ship was heading for Petersburg, Alaska where it was rumored that a group of locals would board for a little bit of fun and laughter around midnight. I remember wanting to stay awake to witness the event that would take place in an hour or so. However, I was so tired that sleep overtook my best efforts to stay awake. The next morning, my husband told me that I was the star of the night. Seems as though one of the Petersburg locals tried his best to wake me, but to no avail. Others came to observe and help, but I was zonked. No one could fathom how I could sleep through all the noise, much less the tormenting!
Five days on the ferry had flown by when we found ourselves anchored in Haines, Alaska, our disembarking site. It was now time to drive the new car on gravel for 350 miles before reaching the Alaska/Canadian Border, and pavement. We were on pins and needles, hoping that the new car would survive this stretch of road. Once we finally hit Alaskan pavement without incident, all three of us released a collective sigh of relief. The remainder of the trip proved to be smooth sailing.
“Be it ever so humble there is no place like home,” a quotation that had vivid poignancy for us as we climbed out of the Corvette to greet our unassuming dwelling place. We vowed not to take this home for granted, but more importantly, never to drive a Corvette over the Alaska Highway again. Lesson learned!
