Flights with Johns

After I got home from my little jaunt with Mr. Mormon last night- actually he wasn't a Mormon - I asked.  He told me that he was just like me.


I wasn't quite confident that he knew exactly what I 'was'... so I was tempted to say "so you're a Scientologist too?"

But instead, I chose to keep my mouth shut and allow him to think that we're both going to burn in hell for turning our backs on God.  At least I hope that was what he was thinking...

I guess it will always be a mystery.

I got back to the B&B to find one of the couples outside on the patio, enjoying the cool 10PM evening light, so I decided to join them.  They were from Michigan and not really sure where they stood on a lot of American politics, but the man who ran the B&B came up at one point and made more than a few jokes about gun control and how we need to get some intelligence in Washington.

Deadpan.  

He also made a comment about how he grew up Catholic... but is now a proud Atheist.
I replied "Amen, brother" and once again...

Deadpan.

Paul (man running BnB) and myself got in to a brief conversation about comedians... ones he likes... ones I like... and the couple threw in their two cents by suggesting that we might like a family orientated comedian who likes to keep it clean on stage.

So... if I were to hazard a guess... I would say that they were hard core, Christian values, I-like-my-gun, Trump supporters.

Now... don't get me wrong. I am fully accepting of the fact that people have different morals, integrity, obligations and political views.  I saw a girl a couple days ago wearing a red Support 2020 ball cap.

One. The girl was of Asian descent.
Two. The girl was quite chubby.

It makes me sad that this girl thinks that Trump would support her in return.
Unfortunately... not happening.  Not ever.

Three. I can guarantee the hat was made in China.

But... what do I know?

Maybe nothing.

I did ask the couple where they were from, and when they replied "Michigan", I was momentarily trying to place the state on the map my head... and the lady, obviously sensing my hesitation on location, quickly jumped in to let me know that it was 'below' Canada.

I laughed and thanked her, to which she chuckled as well, and replied, "Well, it IS below Canada!"... Pretty sure 48 of your states are...

No biggie.

Bed... so excited to go to bed!

Decided that I was going to wake up super early... get myself situation on one of the bikes, and bike all along the Coastal Trail... through Earthquake Park, down to Kincaid Park... up to the Aviation Museum... and then on to make my 11:30am flight.

That was the 'plan' anyway... and as I have found in my travels, my plans don't always pan out.
My other part of the 'plan' was to do the 11:30am flight... then bicycle in to the city... got to the Saturday market... bike back to the BnB and then get myself to the airport.

Let's just say that I did go to the airport... the rest ended up at the wayside.
And for good reason!

PS- I threw my old shoes away. They're gone forever.

I actually got a very good, lucky... and expensive break today!

I started my bike trip around 9:30am.  A little later than originally intended, but I was enjoying my coffees on the patio... and I was writing... and taking my sweet ass time.  Let's be honest.

Finally I had everything packed up and jumped on a bike.

It was fabulous... biking along the Alaskan coastline... wind at my face...


Well...  I'll say it was fabulous until I hit a small hill. Then it wasn't so fabulous anymore.  I would like to blame the heaviness of the mountain bike and the fact that I was a bit sick... but in all honesty, my bike legs have taken a bit of a laziness beating over the winter and I haven't touched my bike since September last year.

Shame.

Nothing like jumping right back in though!

I was taking my time, manoevering the hills at my own slow and steady pace...when suddenly I realized that I was running a bit behind. I was going to be late.  They'd asked me to be there 30 minutes prior to my little flight departure... and there was no way I was going to make it.

Not a chance...

Then, to top off the stress of being late, during one of my uphill climbs, my phone rang.  Strange number... but I picked it up.  It was the original Flight Tour places that I'd called yesterday.  They had a space for me- with 2 other people interested- and they offered to hold off until I was back from my other flight... if I was interested.  Remember that this entire conversation is happening while I'm struggling to climb a large hill / probably super small hill.

I was sweating... I was panting... I was contemplating my time frame and space left on my credit card... I probably shouldn't do it... one flight a day is enough.... ugh... should I? shouldn't I?

Fuck it!

YES!  Book me.

My greatest fear was that she was going to ask me my credit card number to confirm booking right at that moment... and I was on a hill, couldn't risk stopping AND I was running very late.

She didn't.

I promised I would be there as soon as my other flight landed... and she said that they'd wait for me.  It was like an agreement over a handshake.

At the top of the hill, I seriously booked it...  biked as fast as I physically could. I felt like I was trying to get E.T. to the starship before the government got a hold of him.  I even lost my headphones out of my hoodie pocket and there was zero time to stop and pick them up!

Keep going!!!

I made it.  15 minutes late, but I made it.

I locked up my bike... hit the bathroom... washed my face... and I was READY TO FLY!

Once outside, I met the two men that were going to be in the plane with me, along with the pilot, John. Once introductions were done, he walked us over to the plane to board and the men stopped suddenly, very upset that it wasn't a float plane.  To be honest, I thought that it was going to be a float plane too- but now I really didn't care because I had back to back flights going on in my life!

The two men decided that they wanted their money back - and I sat outside on the bench- awaiting the news that I would be a victim of cancellation due to their miscommunication.  Much to my surprise though, the pilot came walking out of the office and asked me if I was ready for my own personal tour of Anchorage...

"You're really going to take just me? Are you sure?"

He nodded and off we went! YIPPEE!

The pilot's name was John and he was amazing. I got shotgun... I got a personalized tour... I got to point to where I wanted to go and what I wanted to see!  It was absolutely incredible.  He flew over Anchorage and pointed out all the main points of attraction, as well as gave me some of the history of the area.  Then we flew around the Chucango mountain range.  He showed me a few hiking trails and although we looked for some wildlife, none were to be seen today.

\Pretty exhilarating.  Those men missed out!
I can't remember the last time that I was in such a small plane.

We came in for landing on the little strip beside the lake and the main International Airport.  All run by the same tower.

WOW... high on adrenaline and ecstatic with my experience... I jumped back on my bike and off to meet my next flight.

The float plane.

The next place was at Ellison Air and I met the pilot - John - funny enough. Think there's a pattern here. I told him that I was going to refuse to get on my next flight unless the pilot's name was John.  That might be a bit of an expensive refusal though...

Shortly after arriving there, a young couple showed up. Once again, I got shotgun and off we went!  First time in a water float plane!

This John asked me which tour I liked better- and the answer I gave him was that they were both so different.  The first one was a regular wheel plane that took me over the city and the surrounding mountain range for 30 minutes.  This one was a 2 hour float plane trip that ventured in to the tundra, the mountain ranges, dropped down on to the glacier, landed in Beluga Lake... we saw moose, bears, eagles, seals, Beluga whales... FAR superior and I would have kicked myself had I not said yes.


We flew right over top of the glacier and could see directly in to the crevices of the deep blue glacier splits...

When I asked if he ever saw any wildlife crossing the glacier field, John told me that he once saw a bear get in to trouble on the glacier.  He found himself trapped in an area where there was no way to go due to all the crevices... and ultimately that bear probably met his death.

Even the smoke seemed to clear so that we could enjoy a bit of the mountain ranges from above,

The Beluga whales were in groups of 7 or more and feeding at the mouth of the river leading in to Beluga lake - hence the name.  We did stop at Beluga lake for a bit, just to admire the beauty, the calm and the peacefulness of the lake.

It was pure majestic and not one inch of me regrets the second flight booking at all.

I said WOW for the first flight... this flight was triple WOW squared.

Bonanza WOW.

Once we landed, I was back on my bicycle and back to the B&B... I was starving because I hadn't eaten yet.  I was going to hit up the Aviation Museum or the Market in town, but decided that I was perhaps cutting it slightly short and should concentrate on getting myself together and to the airport.

That's exactly what I did.

My best friend, UBER, came and picked me up and delivered me right to the South Terminal.

Back to the lower 48, I go...

THREE Flights today.
1. Regal Air - Anchorage & Chugach Park
2. Ellion Air - Beluga Lake, Glacier, tundra, wildlife...
3. Allegiant Air - Anchorage to Bellingham.

:-)

Back home again!

Lazy Day

Coastal Trail in to Anchorage

I woke up in my own personal nightmare today.

Sick.

Might I remind you that I never get sick. That is, until I venture out on vacation, that is...

I had to PRY my left eye open today because... and I apologize now for being disgusting... the pus exuding from it had locked my eyelashes together as it dried overnight.

See?

This is what happens to me when I'm sick...

I stayed in bed until 11:30AM... granted, I did do some work... and some writing... but mostly I was just sick and lazy.  And coughing.

I finally pried myself out of bed and had a shower... then hit the coastal trail to head in to the city again.  Take it easy day.

I had originally booked a scenic hiking tour for today, but at 10:30PM on Tuesday night, (the night before I was scheduled to depart for Alaska) they sent me a text telling me that the tour was full and they were refunding me my money.

I was pissed off... to say the least... as I had booked 2 weeks in advance... and they had taken my money and confirmed at the time.

My suspicions tell me that they overbooked at the last minute, and who better to discard than the solo traveler? Ahhh.... the life of being single.

Turns out- I'm sick and wouldn't have had fun on their dumb tour anyway.
Blessing.

I walked in to town... walked around town... took some pictures... brought some crap...
Sunnier than yesterday, but still a lovely degree of freezing...

I tried to go in to a museum, but it was like going through airport security, and I found it too annoying to endure, so I retreated from the lineup and continued my walk about town.

Then... right on point with trying to feel better... I forced myself in to a local pub to have a glass of wine.

As I sat down, I noticed that there was a huge chunk of cheese, some napkins and a container of Saltine crackers beside me...

I was curious as to why it was there... and could I have some?

My quick glass of wine in the pub time became obsessed with  this CHEESE!  People kept coming up to it and slicing some off on to the napkins provided, grabbing a pack of crackers and replacing the cellophane.
A couple ladies were sitting beside me, when this older gentleman walked up and started slicing off some strips to take back to his table.  He turned to me, "Want some?"

"Sure... yes! Thank you."

I looked at the ladies and said, "Why is everyone eating it?  The sign says DO NOT EAT!"

"Oh honey, that's just to make the Health Inspector happy!"

DO NOT EAT

No shit. The Health Inspector at home would have an absolute fit!  They must just turn a blind eye. WHO puts an enormous block of cheese out for display?

With a cheese slicer... ?  And some crackers?

Anyway... it was Tillamook cheddar and it was delicious.  Probably more of everyone in the bar's DNA than cheese... but still delish.

At 2:30pm, I caught the Anchorage Trolley.  I'm not normally a trolley/bus tour person, but it was enticing to me because I was low energy (sick) and it boasted heat... which appealed to me more than anything else.

Turns out that it was too much heat and my entire journey, I felt clammy... but I managed to endure the pain and survive.

The driver was young and actually quite knowledgeable and funny.

Interesting facts about Anchorage that I learned from being on my little Mr. Rogers trolley today! (of course, I had to look stuff up because I don't remember...)

1. Captain James Cook is credited with first exploding and describing Anchorage in 1778.  He was bound and determined to find the great Northern passage... which actually doesn't exist.  He thought it was here in Anchorage though... and off he went! Five miles up, had to turn around. Recorded in his notes, "Seems I must turn again my ship..." - ending the the straight becoming Turnagain Arm in Anchorage!

2. The city of Anchorage got its start in 1914 because of the railroad construction.  The men living up here were given a vote on which name they wanted for the town and they were given 3 options-

1. Alaska City
2. Anchorage
3. Tent City - because it quickly became a tent city of workers

Alaska City won- and they sent their choice for name change down to Seattle- which was their only means of communication with the world. Someone who was working in the Post Office wrote back and said "Too bad. We have been calling you Anchorage for 2 years now and we're not changing. Your name is Anchorage." And so it became...
Thought Tent City is a popular one now-a-days...

3. The big earthquake hit Anchorage on March 27th, 1964.  Strongest ever recorded in North America.  Hit 9.2 on the Richter scale. Very devastating.  He told us stories of heroism and how last minute plans made had prevented so many deaths...
Only one high rise made it through the devastation.  All other buildings are on sliders now.
AND we saw a fully underground house.
Our driver made a joke about it and said that the only bad thing was that you had to mow the roof! Har har har...

4. You can see six mountain ranges from Anchorage:  I can't because of the smoke... but if you come here, you can!
Chugach, Kenai, Talkeetna, Tordrillo, Alaska and Aleutian.

5. With extreme tidal changes and very fine glacial silt, most of Anchorage's sea coast consists of treacherous mudflats - not like the beaches down South at all...

6. Anchorage's Lake Hood Seaplane base is the world's busiest seaplane base- handling an average of 190 flights per day!

7. Anchorage's public bus system is called The People Mover.

8. Approximately 250 black hearts and 60 grizzly bears live within urban Anchorage and surrounding areas.  Moose - summer population of 250 that increases to more that 1,500 during the winter.

Anchorage... to me... kinda resembles the opening credits to WKRP - all the building are that 70's/80's brown and beige... of course, not as busy as Cincinnati... but definitely along the same colour scheme,

Streets are A, B, C, D, E... and 1, 2, 3, 4... so it would seem that it would be super easy not to get lost... except, of course, for me.  I got turned around a few times.

After the tour, I popped in to the Visitor Information Centre- and whoa! Flashback to my time in Lake Louise working behind that counter when I saw the lineups of people just wanting to ask where they could see bears and where the bathrooms were!

Took information in to my own hands and grabbed a bunch of Float Plane Tour leaflets and just started calling!  I called 6 places before I finally found a place that had an open spot for a single traveler just wanting to go up and down in a small float plane!

My new hoodie... cold!

I'm booked in with Regal Air for tomorrow at 11:30am...
Headed out in a float plane in Alaska... famous last words?  Time will tell...

Did more wandering and shopping and picture taking and then decided to head back to the bed and breakfast along the Coastal Trail.

On the way home, one of the other companies called me and said they had an opening for a 4 hour tour at exactly the same time as I had booked my other tour for.  Unfortunate... but I guess I saved a bit of money.

I think my tour will suffice... short as it is... my bank account will like me more!

What I should be spending my hard earned money on, is clothing!  I was ill prepared for this journey... and looking back on my recent adventures, it seems to be a pattern for me.  I brought one pair of leggings... nothing else for my legs. So basically, what I'm saying is that I've worn the exact same outfit for 3 days.  Hope you like it... cuz you're going to see it again tomorrow.

If the stupid sun would come out...

Once home, I realized that I was missing the important things... that I don't normally forget... wine & dinner!

UBER!!

I love Uber... British Columbia, smarten up!
My new friend, Richard, was there within moments and whipped me over to the closest Supermarket to get my provisions.

I don't want to brag... but I got ID'd.
I got told that everyone gets ID's, but I don't care.  I think I did because of my youthful and flawless complexion.  I actually panicked for a minute because I didn't think I'd brought my ID in the little change purse I'd grabbed, but alas, there it was!

In our little there and back conversation, Richard told me that he's "been everywhere and done everything."
Curious...
Sounds extremely well travelled...

Of course, I had to ask Stompin' Tom where he'd been.
Expecting him to break out in to song, his response was...

... wait for it...

... wait for it...

Salt Lake City.

WHERE he married a Mormon lady... but it didn't work out... and he didn't like his job... so he came back to Alaska...

Now I definitely need the wine.

Train Tour or Kayak Tour?

So today was the BIG day...
My kayaking through glacier excursion!

I didn't have a lot of information, as the website and the email confirmations were a bit up for debate... take what you can get.

The lady had told me to be at the train for 9am.
I made that happen,

In fact, an older couple at my BnB told me that they were headed for the exact SAME train station.
No ride offered, I might add... as they watched me call Uber.

Whatever... they became convinced that I was taking a completely different train than them because they were told to be there at 8:45 for their 9:45am train... and I was told to be there at 9 for my 9:45am train.

Maybe they have learning disabilities.
Maybe I do.

Maybe me telling them that I was getting sick was the reason they didn't want me in their car.  I can't blame them.

I was exhausted - and looked it - because I hadn't slept all night.  I developed some kind of tickling in my throat that kept me coughing every couple of minutes, and subsequently kept me up for a LOT of the midnight daylight...

Probably kept them up as well.

I actually ran in to them on the train and the lady exclaimed, with delight! "You made it!" 

Ya... I made the 9:45am train with a 45 minute window...

I really know how to live on the edge.

Take chances...

My Uber driver was super laid back - retired- I begged him to stop at a convenience store on the way to the station because I'd forgotten my toothbrush and toothpaste.... typical.

There was a big announcement before anyone could board the train, informing us ALL (no exceptions) that we had to check our firearms before boarding.

I wasn't having any of it.

I was getting ON that train to the glaciers... WITH my gun.  Who do I speak to about this absurdity?

Once on the train, chugging along the coast of the Turnagain Arm, all I could concentrate on was the nagging southern accent behind me saying, "Sure doesn't look like the beaches we got down south."

And, to her credit, I'm sure the muddy, silty, sludge along the coastline of the Turnagain Arm resembled nothing of the South Georgian beachside...

About 40 times... "Nope... not at all like the beaches down south."
I don't understand why some people travel.

I sat across from a plump female version of Marilyn Manson and I could NOT help but wonder where  she was going, as the train chugged deeper and deeper in to the wilderness.

About an hour in to the fun train ride, instant regret hit.
I was cold.

Really cold.

The air conditioning in the train was on full blast and I had not packed well, nor chosen my outfit wisely.

Shorts... a workout shirt, my new Alaska shirt that I bought on a whim and now I think it's too big and the sleeves are too long and I think it's a mans shirt.

I was so angry with myself.
They'd given me a list of things to bring and I ignored it.
Warm pants - nope.
Warm shirt - nope.
Warm jacket - nope.
Gloves - not a chance.

I pack for the tan I plan on getting... not the trip I'm actually about to embark on,.

I tried to get a coffee to warm up- and had to endure the pain of the little creamers...

All around was damp, drizzling, cold... and I knew that there was no way that I was going to warm up when I got to a glacier lake to paddle for the day.

As the train chugged on, the smoke did begin to clear slightly, opening up the surrounding mountains... and there were glimpses of bright coming through (NOT sun... just bright)... but the temperature refused to rise.

Now... when I say that the train chugged along... I want to be perfectly clear about one thing... I was ON that train from 9:45am...

And remember that I was there for 9am...

I finally reached my destination for the guide to pick me up at 2:30!!!!!

FOUR HOURS AND FORTY FIVE MINUTES on this train... cold and tired.

Cold and tired... yes... and not wanting to fall asleep because I had NO idea where I was supposed to get off.

Not one word of a lie,
Not kidding at all.
Strike me down...

I finally PHONED the Ascending Path office in Anchorage... when the train rolled in to the in of the in and out of service areas...

"Hello... this is Joanna McBride and I think I missed my tour today because I've been on this train for  over 3 hours and I wasn't sure where to get off."

They assured me that the train ride was part of the "experience" and to just enjoy the ride until the guide found me in my seat...

An hour later...
We went Anchorage - Girdwood - Portage - Whittier - Portage - Spencer Whislte Stop #1 - Spencer Whistle Stop #2... that is where the guide got us all off the train to begin our kayaking experience.

I was SO confused.

If anyone had told me that I would be on a train for 4.5 hours, I would have seriously reconsidered booking the trip!

Our tour guide was Allison - and she grew up in New York City. Crazy!!!

Mordor

There was a mother & son duo and a father & son duo on the trip... and me!  I rode tandem with Allison and after gearing up with rain jackets, rain pants (thank GAWD because they warmed me up!), paddle, life jacket... and a little bit of instruction on what to do if we capsized... off we went in to the freezing cold water!

It was incredible.

Words escape me.

I had read that it was the most scenic glacier trips in Alaska and it did not disappoint.
Kayaking through all the glacier debris that was left floating throughout the lake - I don't think that I've ever been close to something so geologically & historically magnificently impressive.

I asked loads of questions about everything... but of course, I've forgotten almost everything.

She explained the history of the Glacier... how at about 50 years ago, it reached the train station stop... so it had receded so much since then and just kept going back.

It was named after a man named Spencer, who used to run back and forth between railroad camps, collecting time cards.  One of his routes was across the glacier, as he has a path across the ice field.  But this particular night, he headed out to cross it without a lantern and obviously wandered off the path somehow.

They apparently found his belongings scattered- but never found his body and he was never seen again.

We kayaked for about 2 & 1/2 hours, then hiked up hear the glacier for an hour... then back in to the kayaks to head back to the beloved train.

MUCH better train this time though - it had heat... and popcorn... and red wine.

As soon as I sat down for the 2 hour journey (better than 4.5!), I felt the blood rush to my face and I knew that the sickness was taking over.  The cough came back immediately and then pure exhaustion hit.

I never get sick.  Trust me to get sick on a 2 day vacation!

I have to say one thing about waiting for the train... or even, waiting to get off the train.  This- see photo - is the train station.  Maybe it stops, maybe it doesn't. Maybe there is someone waiting for you... maybe not.

I'll tell you a NOT maybe... I'll tell you a FOR SURE.
There are mosquitos.
BIG mosquitos.

And lots of them... that attack your face.

BIG.
HUGE.

Basically, the entire load of us just hysterically danced for twenty minutes, in order to avoid mosquitos sucking us dry.

Literally helicopter bugs landing on your face.

I think that my shoes have seen the last of their days and I intend to chuck them in to the closest Alaskan garbage can before I leave.  I had originally discarded them back in October, before I left for Vietnam.  Bought a nice new pair of runners to take with me on vacation... and anyone that remembers my Vietnam stories might remember that I stepped in human poo... so these shoes came back out of retirement...

To the Midnight Smoke I go!

Anchorage

Hold on to your hats...
I think that today, my life suddenly took a turn in the absolute opposite direction from normal...
I honestly do not have much to complain about or even laugh at and make fun of.

Some, of course... but not the usual pile!

Get a hold of this...

I left work a little bit later than originally anticipated and to be honest, I was stressing out slightly about travel time to the airport... border crossing line up waits... border crossing hassle...

... the usual...

I think of at least 15 lights between Mission and the border, I only hit TWO red lights.
There were a couple times I threw my hands in the air and literally raised the roof right in my little red car.

When I pulled up to the lineup at the border, the electronic sign informed me that the border wait was: Sumas 20 minutes.

20 minutes, my ass. 

Coastal Trail

 I know what 20 minutes translates in to.
1 hour and 20 minutes.

Experience finally taught me to take the left lane... even though the right lane was shorter and tempting me... calling to me... beckoning...

I wasn't having ANY of it.

Left lane all the way.

Guess who made it to the border officer in less than 15 minutes?

Me.

Me and my dirty, red car.

I was mentally prepared for everything that I was positive was about to hit me.

Why are you traveling alone?
Where's your husband?
How can you just leave the kids? 

Coastal Trail

... hit me.

Nope.  Nothing!  Zip...

Instead, I got this;

Border Patrol cutie: Where you from?
Me: Mission.
Border Patrol cutie: Where you heading today?
Me: Alaska.

Big pause... 

Border Patrol cutie: (holding a completely stern expression) You're heading in the wrong direction.

I looked at him...

...he looked at me...

For a brief second, I honestly considered the error of my ways and then... HE BURST IN TO LAUGHTER!

Have a great trip...

... and I was on my way,

Coastal Trail

Pulled in to the Bellingham Airport car park, the van was waiting right there to take me to the airport.
Zero wait times.

The guy driving the airport shuttle was quite chatty and told me his big story of the bird that has been whistling outside his window for the past three years.

Robin? 

Not a robin.

Then he pointed at an actual robin that we saw and said, "that's the bird!"

Well... that's a robin. 

Nope... not a robin,

Anyway- whatever small brown, red bellied non-robin bird this is has been singing the same two notes for 3 years and just yesterday, he discovered that it's a mating call.
Poor bird... he can't find a mate.

Westchester Lagoon

I suggested that perhaps, by some weird coincidence, it might be more than one bird.
Not, not a robin and not more birds... same bird.

Can't find love.

Strange.
Fear of rejection?  Anger issues?  Commitment phobia....

I arrive at the airport... very uneventful.  I've already checked in and I'm only taking carry, on - so I head through the security, knowing full well that Brown's is waiting for me on the other side with an obscenely expensive glass of red wine!

I can't really say that I breezed through security because they did take my bags away from me briefly.
I was concerned because they put my particular bags in an area that I couldn't seem to reach... and I definitely tried. Finally one of the border officers came over and informed me that it was where it was because she needed to check it.

Something suspicious in there.

Suspicious?

My mind was racing...

The Coastal Trail

All I could think was that I'd attempted to board an American flight with too much, high-risk, sound the bells & call security ridiculously expensive facial cream.

The sweat on my brow was beginning to accumulate as I envisioned them grabbing it out of my toiletries bag and chucking it in the garbage can to die a painful death with 8000 water bottles.

Then it dawned on me what they were looking for

... rummaging through all my belongings...

My corkscrew.

Don't ever travel without a corkscrew.
***Unless you're traveling through security at an airport.

Bellingham was the recipient of a new black corkscrew.

Bastards!
I admit that I was glad to be disarmed my of my weapons as opposed to being relieved of my moisturizer.

Glass of red wine at Browns.
Check!

On the flight.
Check!

Once on board, I was scouring the plane looking for my seat...

...and then I saw it. 

The Coastal Trail

Middle seat.  Right in between two guys and a rambunctious toddler. The one guy looked quite stressed trying to keep the kicking child still for a brief moment while everyone boarded.

My bliss was gone.

I approached them with what probably was the most miserable face they'd ever seen and said "that's my seat" ... and pointed to the empty seat smack dab in the middle of the row.  Pure misery oozed from every inch of me.

Then he looked up at me, with a look of pure desperation and said "I made a big mistake and booked C and D seats by mistake- is there any way that you would trade me seats so that I can sit beside my son. You can have that aisle seat?" and he pointed across the aisle to the open seat.

Bliss returned.

The moose outside my BnB

Check!

No problem.

The two of them ended up moving seats half way through the flight because the guy on the other side of the chaos passed out and kept falling over on to the father. And I think he stunk.
I wanted to ask... but I didn't.

I should have.

The flight was good. Little rocky at time, but not bad. The pilot kept telling us that Anchorage was smokey... not looking forward to that.

He was right.
It's smokey and the air quality is shit... but I'm here!

I have to say, Anchorage Airport has a lot of signs everywhere leading you in each and every direction... except OUT.  I wandered around really hesitating at every turn I made because I had no idea if I was nearing the exit or if I was heading deeper and deeper in to the terminal.

My room.
How do they know I'm loved? lol

I did manage to make it out alive- and in to a cab... with a cabbie who seemed quite disgruntled about having waited in the airport line for so long for a fare,.. only to be stuck driving me around... and I only needed to go 8 minutes down the road! Oh well.


My Air BnB is a little eccentric... it's a BC box... in Alaska.
The gardens are quite colourful and enticing... but inside kinda resembles lipstick on a pig.
It's like, "let's make it hippy ... today."

Perhaps a little tacky and a little outlandish wrapped up all in one.

The lady who runs it is lovely and see walked me around the house, showed me where everything was and then gave me a map and told me all about the city and where to go.  Slow talker.

There is a chalkboard sign up in case you want to book the time you want your shower.  To avoid fights... for reals.

I followed the Coastal trail in to Anchorage and wandered around.  So beautiful!

I took loads of pictures.
A crack head walked by me and told me to stop wasting his time... so that was interesting.

My first friend in Alaska :-)

I ate a large brewery restaurant and almost froze out on the patio.  The server eventually brought me a blanket!

I ate crab stuffed, bacon wrapped jalapeños - I was going to take a picture, but my phone died and I had to get the waiter to plug it in for a bit. Delish...

Then I almost got lost on the way home because I decided to take the residential route back!  My phone was dying, I couldn't access Google Maps and I used up all my data on my phone. Always a good combination in a strange place.

Smrt.

As I write this, it's 11:44pm and it's like 5pm outside.  I'm exhausted, but I feel like I should wait until it's dark to go to sleep.
The lady who owns this place told me that it would start to get dark around 11:30... not happening...

I can feel the smoke in my lungs too.  I have been fighting a cold for a bit, but now have developed a tickling couch that is making me crazy. And probably everyone else here in this crickety old, not well insulated BC box.

I have to be up and at the Train Station for 9am tomorrow...

There is seriously no such thing as darkness here,