We made it to Alaska!!

Thursday morning Mairead and I headed down to the lobby at Days Inn to catch the 6:30 shuttle. Dan and Amanda had texted that they had taken the 6 am shuttle. I am too used to Logan airport where you are dropped of in front of the terminal. I hadn't thought about the hike from where the shuttle dropped us off on the 4th floor to the check-in desks. When the driver dropped us off there again, I was thinking that Dan and Amanda had made a good decision to leave at 6 am. 

We printed our boarding passes and luggage tags and headed for the luggage drop off. We had to get into a long line with only 3 people checking the bags - it was after 7 - we still had to go through security, and we were boarding at 7:30 am. Fortunately for us, the gal taking our bags showed us that we didn't have to go through the long line for security because TSA precheck was printed on our boarding passes!  I had never even looked at it except to make sure it had my name on it! We didn't have to take off our shoes, I didn't have to take out my computer or liquids! I set off the alarms and had to go into the X-ray machine - but then NO pat downs or wandings! What a break and time saver! What a change from Logan and other airports - even some museums in England were more strict than this!!

We joined up with Dan and Amanda. It seemed like a long time before we started boarding. Dan was first on - Amanda was sitting closer to us in the back. It was a 3 1/2 hour trip - Mairead and I had aisle seats again.  The flight was not as smooth as the flight from Boston to Seattle when we had no turbulence and barely felt the touch down. Landing in Anchorage was not quite so smooth.

We gathered up our bags then headed to Enterprise Rent A Car, but first Dan and Amanda had to stop to take picture to celebrate Dan hitting all 50 states!! It is quite an accomplishment! More than most people will ever do. I certainly will never see all 50. Cheers, Dan!!

I signed up to be the second driver in case Dan gets sick of driving - Alaska is a big state, and I had read that some of the driving conditions are not the greatest. We did the paper work on one floor then took the elevator to the next floor to actually pick up the car - mini van actually - not too macho for Danno to be driving, but it is extremely comfortable with all the newest digital gadgets - a Chrysler Pacifica! And I was certainly glad that I wasn't driving out of that garage! The extremely narrow tight turns around circular columns to the exit were frightening - we could see where other cars had scrapped against the concrete columns! They were covered with dents and scratch marks.

Rental car outside our chalet

We headed for Anchorage - Hello Alaska!! Traffic was light compared to other big cities. We passed a sign thanking US Senator Lisa Murkowski for voting against Trumpcare. She is a hero for standing up for what is right and voting against the Republican health care bill despite intense Republican pressure. But enough politics. 

I was surprised that Anchorage was so flat - the mountains were in the distance. And it was so cool compared to 90+ degrees in Seattle - we were all enjoying that change! And Anchorage didn't seem too busy - it was after 11 am - no traffic jams - everything seemed pretty orderly.

Our first stop was Walmart - we stocked up on bottles of water, snacks - I bought English muffins and some cereal for breakfasts. I was surprised at how low the prices were considering the distance that everything has to be transported. Then someone mentioned that Walmart headquarters is in Seattle - so that isn't so far.

Next we decided that we needed to eat. So we went to the Glacier Brew House "where Alaskans meet Alaskans." It was a nice place - very busy! Were all those people tourists or Alaskans? We had to wait 10 minutes or so. Dan, Amanda and I had seafood chowder which was delicious. They then had burgers - Mairead had meatloaf which was a surprising choice to me - she said it was very good - I had a mushroom and arugula salad which was okay. Home made cream soda and home made root beer were on the menu - Mairead tried the cream soda and Dan tried the root beer. Both got outstanding ratings - the drinks, not Dan and Mairead - although they can be outstanding too!!

After eating, we headed for Girdwood where we are renting a chalet. But only after finding a parking ticket on the window of the car - welcome to Anchorage! I was still surprised that the streets in Anchorage did not seem so busy with traffic or people. Who was giving out tickets?

It was about an hour drive to Alyeska in Girdwood along Turnagain Arm where there are absolutely huge mud flats stretching out to mountains we could see in the distance while the Chugach Mountains were beside us on the left.

Dan and Mairead

Turnagain Arm interestingly was named by William Bligh serving under Captain Cook who was searching for the Northwest passage - a sea route connecting the Pacific with the Atlantic Ocean. He had attempted to sail up two passages from Cook Inlet, but they turned out to be rivers - the second one Bligh called Turnagain because they had to turn around again. William Bligh went on to command the HMS Bounty of the mutiny fame!

Pictures of Turnagain Arm

Approaching Girdwood

We started seeing chalets along the road especially after we turned onto Alyeska Highway. They reminded me of Switzerland or Austria. The houses are built from large logs - a couple of stories high - some are colorfully decorated with gardens, window boxes, hanging flowers. And they are everywhere!!

We passed a gas station and a couple of shops as we turned onto Alyeska Highway - a mile or so further we passed a left turn that looked like it might have a few shops. It was at least 2 miles to the Alyeska Accommodations check in building from the turn off the Seward highway. Dan went into one building with a sign that said they had moved to another location. We drove around the block and found it - we passed a small restaurant which we will have to check out.

Map of Girdwood and Alyeska Ski Resort - our chalet is on the corner of Davos and Donner Streets near the plane and skier in the middle toward the top.

We found our chalet - it is so cute! Hot tub on the deck and all. Dan and Amanda took the bedroom on first floor. There is a bedroom on the second floor with a double bed. And then there are the two beds in the loft. The caveat is that you have to climb a ladder to reach them. Mairead got part way up before fear of heights overtook her. I went up the ladder to take a look but have enough sense to know that I would fall off the loft trying to climb back down in the middle of the night to go to the bathroom.  So Mairead and I will take turns on the comfortable sofa in the living room. 

Ladder to the loft where two mattresses are on the floor. Second bedroom is there behind the kitchen.

Sofa that Mairead and I will take turns sleeping on

We had turned on the TV to hear some news. I normally watch the news throughout the day. I start the morning with CBS This Morning - flipping to CNN and MSNBC during commercials. Sometimes I am up at 5:30 or 6 and turn on CNN or MSNBC. I take a quick break around noon to hear the local news and catch the CBS or ABC evening news when I finish work at 6:30. Unless there is something good on TV, I end the night with news and then Charlie Rose or Brian Williams at 11. So I feel like I am going through withdrawal - the news shows are on at such early times here! But we did hear a weather forecast for Friday that was full of warnings about the heat - watch out for children and dogs - it will be in the 70s for the next few days!! 70s!! Warnings?!?! We get those warnings in Boston for temps of high 80s or 90s! Friday is supposed to be cool in the morning and get up into the 70s as the day goes on. Clear and dry. Sounds good to me!

We were all tired from the early morning departure. Mairead and I did take a drive to a general store in Girdwood for milk and fishing licenses. They had the fishing licenses, but Mairead had no ID with her, and you can't buy a license for someone else. We went back to the house to tell Dan and Amanda - but Dan was too tired to go out, and Amanda was already asleep - it was around 7pm. The guy in the shop had said the gas station sold licenses and was open 24 hours. Mairead and I took a drive to check it out because we are all going fishing in the morning, and we each need to have a license. 

We pulled into that little shopping center we had passed on the way into Alyeska. We got our licenses at the gas station, and yes, Dan and Amanda could get theirs at 6 am tomorrow morning. So Mairead and I checked out the little shops in this place. There was a guy playing guitar outside with a hat for donations as we walked out the door. There is a pizza shop, an ice cream shop, a gift shop, and a bakery. We checked them all out. I couldn't pass up huckleberry ice cream! And it was delicious! 

We explored Girdwood a little - we found the Post Office, the elementary/middle school, the town hall, fire station. Everything looks brand new.  I was reading that Girdwood was founded in the late 1800s as a supply camp for miners with claims along Turnagain Arm. It was named for Colonel James Girdwood of Belfast, Ireland - a linen merchant who staked the first claims along Crow Creek which is not far from our chalet. The 1964 earthquake devastated the original town along Turnagain Arm. New Girdwood - which Mairead and I saw - moved over 2 1/2 miles further up into the valley. A famous resident was US Senator Ted Stevens - the airport in Anchorage was named for him - he was one of the longest serving members of Congress - he died in a plane crash in Alaska. Girdwood was also the finishing line for The Amazing Race 2012.

It is still daylight here at 10 pm which is very disorienting.

Tomorrow morning we are going fishing for salmon for four hours - we have to leave a few minutes before 6 am - it's a 2 hour drive to Sterling after Dan and Amanda get their fishing licenses. We are all looking forward to cooking that salmon on the grill for supper!