Monday August 6: Anchorage

ALASKA TRIP 1 Monday August 6 In February, our friends the Weases & the Schlotterbacks told us they were going on a cruise and tour in Alaska. We first said the we couldn't go but then decided that it would be a chance of a lifetime. We were so excited to leave and happy that we changed our minds.  The itinerary has us starting in Anchorage, then traveling on land for about a week, then boarding a Princess Cruise ship for a week along the coast.  Monday,  up at 4:45 am, Schlotterbacks picked us up at 5:30 so we could make it to Chicago for our flight out of OHare at 11am   We loaded our luggage into their SUV Sunday night to make sure we had plenty of room. We each packed one large case and a carry on (well, one person needed two cases but I won't say who!) The suitcase pile obstructed the rear view, a sign of good packing. Breakfast at the airport Macaroni's Grill (Italian for breakfast?) then on to our gate.   We flew to Seattle and had a fairly smooth 3 1/2 hour flight except Rick got stuck by a young woman with the sniffles.  Immediately when we got off the plane we bought some Airborne to help fight off any germs.  Lunch in Seattle was at the Bigfoot Cafe then Cary and I had to get Starbucks because, well, this is their Motherland.  Our bodies were still on Eastern Time so my empty belly alarm said we were way past lunch. Two hours later we board Alaska Airways to Anchorage.  This flight, though the same length seemed shorter because each couple sat beside an Alaska resident who were all friendly and full of information for us.  Weases sat beside a resident of Kodiak island who's lived here most of her life with her husband, a physician.  We sat beside a friendly guy who grew up in the Midwest but now lives in Alaska with his native wife, a former State Senator.  He practiced law  and formerly was a judge.  He was familiar with Indiana because he bought Larry Bird's house in French Lick as an investment property!   We arrived in Anchorage, 11pm according to our body clocks, 7pm Alaska time. Anchorage is a clean city of 250,000, about the size of Ft. Wayne.  After a small delay at the airport, a bus took us downtown to the Captain Cook Hotel, lovely but dated, probably 70's vintage, one of the tallest buildings in downtown Anchorage.  When we opened the door to our room...holey moley it smelled like PEE. I knew it was bad when Rick immediately left to exchange our room key!  Our second room smelled much better and had a better view. UPGRADE!  Rick told our friends that they put us in a two-level suite. We WERE on the Suite floor but the room was the same except the smell! Our luggage appeared at our room then we headed to the Hotel restaurant for a small "dinner" although it was 1 AM Indiana time.    I think we all fell asleep before our heads hit the pillow.   This morning, Rick was awake by 5 am, as well as almost every hour before that. No doubt it will take a few days for our bodies to catch up.  When we packed our suitcases at home it seemed logical to have one for each of us with everything needed for two weeks.  The tour company told us that we could check one bag through to the ship. Huh. Good idea. So I spent the morning repacking into stuff for now and stuff for later. Ah much better. Now we're only dealing with half the stuff every night.  Breakfast at the hotel before heading to Copper River.