Travel Day...Onward to Alaska

Long, long day today.  After a tough night's sleep...I guess worry about oversleeping...we were up at 4:30 and on the 5:00 shuttle to Orlando International.  Could not believe how crowded it was!!  We never realized until this morning that it was Memorial Day weekend...lots of people flying out of Orlando today.  Security, breakfast sandwich and a bit of down time and then we were off......

7:36 off to Seattle.  Long 6 hour flight that was gratefully uneventful, getting us into Seattle at 10:17 am.  (Yes, Virginia...time travel is possible!!)  Seattle didn't disappoint...it was cloudy, misty and cool there....exactly what you would expect in the Northwest.  Chris & Kim had gotten in about 10 minutes before us and were waiting at the gate as we walked off the plane.  So wonderful to see them after 10 months!!  A great lunch at the Bigfoot Grill and we were ready to board our next flight to Anchorage.

OK..another 3 hours on a plane...this was getting a bit tedious.  Never mind that we were beginning to feel the lack of sleep.  But the thrill of seeing the beautiful mountains of Canada as we traveled up the west coast really perked us up.

Then some glaciers and we were really getting excited!   

Before we knew it we were landing in Anchorage where we had another 1 1/2 hour layover and saw our first moose...OK...it was stuffed...but still....

  So, checking our time...it was 2:30 Alaska time but already 6:30 EDT...we rationalized it was definitely time for a drink.  Found a great little pub in the terminal...The Silver Gulch...where they guys had an Alaskan beer and Kim and I decided on home brewed sodas...root beer for her and blueberry cream for me.  It was absolutely delicious!












Then at 4:15 our last flight of the day to Fairbanks.  This would be our shortest flight of the day...barely 45 minutes...in a turbo prop plane which had me a bit nervous due to it's size and those props, but it turned out to be OK.   The highlight of the flight was the opportunity to see Mt. McKinley - The Big One: Denali - off in the distance.

All three legs of our trip were flown on Alaskan Air and we have nothing but good things to say about their service.  The flight attendants were all very friendly and helpful, the planes were comfortable,  and, the best thing, all of our luggage showed up in Fairbanks.   But, as we stepped out of the terminal, we thought we were back in Florida...it was 91 degrees in Fairbanks today!!!  Unbelievable!!!  All those who live here, though, have informed us it is "dry heat".  This part of Alaska is just like a desert.

We hopped into a taxi and took the 3 minute ride to the Fairbanks Princess Riverside Lodge

where we checked into our rooms and headed out to the deck to have dinner and enjoy the beautiful day...or night...depending on your time zone.

It's now 10:12 pm...and look at how bright it is out!  The sun sets at 11:32 tonight!   Since my internal body clock is telling me it is now 2:12 am...it's time for me to say good night.  There's sure to be some great adventures tomorrow.