I know it's been ages...and frankly I just have a lot to catch up on. I wanted to document this event today because it's just so crazy and as it was happening I told Joel 'I'm writing this in my journal!' and since this is as close as I'll ever get to a journal - here it goes! I'll just start with the beginning of the day and move forward from there! We woke up and were gearing up for an adventure to check out a truck on Whidbey Island. We were taking the 11am ferry from Port Townsend to Clinton which takes about 30 minutes typically. As we were about to leave the title company called about our refinance and said we were missing one form of signatures so I husteled and printed and signed and scanned before we left. Then we headed to Poulsbo to pull out the money for the truck and headed toward Port Townsend. We were a few minutes early so we played at a park (yay!) and threw some rocks in the bay. Then we got in line for the ferry. And waited. And the wind. picked. up. A LOT.
By the time we got on the water and were moving it was obvious it was going to be a rocky ride. The waves were crashing the boat was rocking. This ferry is a LOT smaller than the ferries we typically ride on. There were less than 30 passengers on the ferry and probably 20 cars at most. Small time. I was nervous but holding it together when the waves got a little bit worse. Just at that moment a sweet older ferry worker came over and asked if we were alright. We were seated at the back windows of the ferry since the captain announced no one was to be standing, sitting only due to the boat rocking.
The ferry worker eased my mind and assured me everything was fine. And I was a bit better. He made sure to do his rounds by us about every 5-10 minutes which I was grateful for. Joel was such a trooper helping the girls stay calm and making sure I was not falling apart. And all was well and good until it was clear the waves were getting much worse. Storage room doors started swinging, bathroom stall doors were slamming open and closed, the ferry was creaking and groaning. We checked our navigation on my phone and I realized that we were sailing far south of the route normally taken. I started to panic then. Like real bad. It was at this point the captain announced that all passengers were not to be in their cars or on the car deck as the swells were getting dangerously high and strong. And then I panic again. I was shaking so bad, I was starting to black out. I couldn't breathe. I told Joel I needed to get up and leave. It was eerie. The boat was nearly empty (which I think is normal, it's not a busy route) but there was one woman who looked as shaken as I was and we exchanged a few words. The Captain announced that he was going to turn off the front engine and start up the rear engine because of weight distribution which meant that all our cars were facing the opposite direction of the receiving terminal but he was going to flip it when we got close to docking. And he added that he was going to attempt the swells one more time and if it was unsuccessful we would seek another port for safety and docking.
I voted whole-heartedly to nix the attempt and head straight for safe waters...but this is what they pay the captains the big bucks for...so I tried to calm down. I made it back to Joel and where we were sitting had then become the front of the boat and it was even scarier to look out the front. So I told Joel I needed to leave ASAP. We ran into our ferry worker friend and he said, get low and to the back - it wouldn't be as bad. So we went to the 'mezzanine' level which was essentially some bench seats and bike storage racks. I laid down across a few seats and closed my eyes while Joel and the girls sat across from me in some seats by the window. Thank you, Netflix, for keeping my babies happy.
I calmed down since there were less creaks and cracks and less doors that swung open to and fro on this level. Our ferry worker friend came and checked on us several times and kept me updated on how things were okay. The ride was more tolerable and I was able to calm down significantly. We hadn't eaten lunch and I knew I needed some sugar to help my blood sugar and anxiety so I went upstairs and asked our friend where the vending machines were...he said, 'Oh, do you like red vines?' and I replied yes. He gave me his red vines from his lunch! He pulled them out of his lunch bag and handed them over to me. I wanted to hug him. I said thank you a hundred times at least.
We were getting closer and things were looking better as I got some sugar and laid down on the middle level when our ferry friend came down and snuck me a yummy caramel candy. He told us we were nearly there and everything was going to be fine. And it was. We survived.
Joel was so patient with me even though I was a complete headcase. And really, I've been doing so well. My anxiety I think was justified here...it was a pretty intense situation. We ended up buying the truck too! We took two different ferries home just to avoid the Port Townsend ferry because I just couldn't fathom enduring that run again. I don't know if I will ever be able to. What should have been 30 minutes ran 90 minutes long. 90 minutes of pure terror as far as I am concerned. BUT on our way home on our last ferry I got a call that our 3 month long refinance was officially recorded and finalized. GREAT NEWS!
No comments:
Post a Comment