• North to Alaska By RV 2021
    The 21st Street Bridge ... en route to the Port of Tacoma, Washington.
    1Mt Rainier ... hazy and distant ... but majestic — Tacoma, WA.The Blue shed is the Tote Vehicle Department — Port of Tacoma, WA.4Time to weigh the RV @ Tote Maritime — Port of Tacoma, WA.The length of the RV determines the shipping cost — Tote Maritime, Port of Tacoma, WA.One of the hummingbirds entertaining us @ Tote — Port of Tacoma, WA.

    Delivery Day!

    May 11, 2021 in the United States ⋅ ☀️ 52 °F

    Today was the big day … an important milestone in our Alaska RV trip … the day we were going to deliver the Cruiser and the CR-V to Tote Maritime for tomorrow’s departure of the North Star.

    My plan was to leave JBLM around 10:00a for the 14-mile drive to the Port of Tacoma. As it turns out, we had so little to do this morning that we were on the road by 8:45a … the sky blue … the sun shining ... a light breeze adding a chill to the morning temperature of 52F. Even the infamous I-5 traffic cooperated by flowing smoothly for a change.

    Having done our recon drive a few days ago, we knew exactly where we were going. When we pulled up to the North Gate at the Port of Tacoma, the guard at the door took down Mui’s name, gave us directions, and verified that the Uber we were planning to call for the ride to the hotel would be directed to the Tote offices.

    Once we arrived at the “Vehicle Department” — a small shed situated next to a scale — we were directed to unhook the toad and get each vehicle weighed individually. Next, they measured the length and width of each vehicle. Though they did not include the tow bar in the length measurement of the RV, it was suggested that we remove it if possible … so it would not be accidentally damaged. We had practiced removing it, so it was easy peasy to do so.

    The paperwork took just a few minutes. And then I paid the shipping charges. While I was doing that, Mui ordered an Uber … which took about 15 minutes to arrive. No matter, the weather was nice and hummingbirds were visiting the feeders … nice entertainment.

    It feels odd to be on an RV trip with no RV and toad. We’ll just have to be patient until the vehicles finish their cruise and meet us in Anchorage on 17 May.    Read more