Sometimes it feels like the only reason to make plans is so that you’ll have something to change. This is even more prevalent when you’re talking about Alaska. Alaska eats plans.

Got the word yesterday via text that the ferry sailing on the 6th of July has been cancelled. There was a fire on board last Friday and the repairs are taking longer than they thought. No one was hurt but a whole lot of schedules were disrupted. Including ours. The only remaining option is to fly in, so I scrambled a little yesterday on the phone and got a ride to Wrangell on Sunday.

That puts me back on schedule again, but because I’m not taking the ferry up, I can’t bring any kayaks. (I have two waiting to get to the lighthouse and Marc was going to bring his along.) The cancellation affects what gear I can bring and how much, since weight limits aren’t really a factor in ferry travel. So there’s that.

The other thing about change is that it’s not cheap. Changing plans brings additional costs, especially in a place like Alaska, where everything is already so expensive. The change from ferry to airplane cost about $150 more, and I’m going to accrue some excess baggage fees on top of that. And there will be other expenses that I haven’t thought of yet… there always are.

Normally things don’t start falling apart until you get to Alaska. Apparently we have started earlier this year. Stay tuned.