ANCHORAGE ARRIVAL
August 2:
All adventures have their demands. Our first challenge was getting up at 4:00 am to give us time to board the Alaska Airlines flight out of Sacramento. Even with the early rising we barely made the 8:30 boarding time. As we prepared for take-off, we sent the first email blast to family about our spur of the moment Alaska holiday.
Soon we were soaring over the foothills and mountains. We could see Camp Far West, Lake Oroville, Lake Almanor, and Mount Lassen. We passed directly over Shasta Lake following I-5. Before descending for a short layover in Portland, we could see the string of volcanoes (Crater Lake, Three Sisters, Mount Jefferson, Mount Hood, and Mount St. Helens just beyond Portland). Back in the sky, we hoped to see more, but smoke, haze and clouds prevailed all the way to Alaska. But all was not lost. Barbara was seated next to a woman from Anchorage who recommended the glacier cruise out of Prince William Sound, the Sea Life Center in Seward, stops at Girdwood, Independence Mine State Park, Patchers Pass, Palmer (for lunch), and the Kincade Grill in Anchorage for the best sea food. Ironically, she had flown in her husband's plane all over Alaska but had never visited Denali National Park or the cruise ship stops below Anchorage.
As we landed, our stomachs were growling. Alaska Airlines had only provided a couple cups of coffee, a few stale cookies, some apple juice, and a handful of pretzels. Our Anchorage friend knew better and ordered a pricey salad for lunch. Hunger was replaced with the anxiety of picking up our rental car. Avis had a nice Mazda SUV ready for us. Before heading for the exit, we asked for help with the navigation system. We were challenged by all the buttons and knobs. Thankfully, I had brought a USB cord to attach to the console. Google maps would save the day. We had a few minutes for some fast food before a 5:00 pm vigil Mass at Holy Cross Church (see below) so we followed the GPS directions to a nearby McDonald's. Enjoying a second childhood, we ordered happy meals without the toys. Later on, we felt at home with local parishioners and a retired priest at Mass, a great start for the week.
Our next GPS stop was our 'apartment', a bargain on Expedia. The bargain was an immediate headache because we couldn't figure out how to enter the code that was provided to unlock the door. The manager at a remote location offered to open the door and leave video instructions for us when we returned from Mass. We must have said the right prayers, since the video gave us the details we needed. Now we could celebrate with some real food from a local Applebee's. As we enjoyed ribs, fries, a salad, and a Blue Moon beer, we looked at the Applebee's sign that featured something about "Alex's Lemonade Stand". It was a great connection with our grandson Alex and the rest of our family back in the lower 48.
With a few groceries from Target we were ready for a TV snack before bed. I pulled a bottle of Merlot from the Target sack but couldn't find a corkscrew in any of the kitchen drawers. Barbara and I attacked the cork with a knife until the wine was in our glasses. We watched an Alaska survival movie featuring caribou heart, kidneys, stomach and liver in a frying pan. We too were learning how to survive in Alaska.