Day 8
Sunday – 7 September
Well after the excitement of the early hours of the morning, a sleep in was required. We missed breakfast. As we were packed and ready to go we checked out of the hotel and bravely hit the road again. Overnight Rick’s driving skills on American roads hadn’t improved and my hair was going greyer by the minute. As we were both suffering from disturbed sleep, it took the two of us to concentrate on what side of the road we needed to be on, what the speed limits were and where we were going. Mind you the Alaskan roads were a might scratchy in that they have sunk into wheels ruts and when you drive you need to stay into the already created ruts or the car will wander into the next lane.
We were off to t he Alaskan Zoo. Although it wasn’t too far away, we didn’t have precise directions but a vague idea of where it was. We figured we’d just drive until we found it. And we did.
After having been to the Wildlife Park the yesterday, we found the zoo to be really disappointing. The animals were in small cages and had that ‘caged animal’ sway. Most looked sad and didn’t want to be seen if they could find a hiding place. Our objective was to see the DAHL SHEEP. When we found them they were hiding at the top of their exhibit and could barely be seen. Not happy! Time was getting on so we decided it was time to go as we needed to return the car. Just as we were walking out two little squirrels ran across our path. Here was wildlife running free. Yippee! We spent about 20 minutes watching and photographing these playful and elusive little critters. They were so cute and we did manage a photo or 2.
Our next stop was the Hilton Anchorage. This was to be our hotel for the tour we were going on. As you can imagine it was rather swish, with an eager Bellhop racing out to grab our bags from the car and footpath. Thank god because they are heavy. Once we checked in and sussed out the shampoo and extras it was time to go shopping.
Yes, it was time for the shopaholics fix. Richard had spied the signs for the Labor Day holiday sales. As Alaska has no sales taxes clothes, shoes etc are so much cheaper. So after a significant period of time we came out with a new pair of jeans and six pairs of socks – all greatly cheaper than in Australia. More weight for the suitcases! Hopefully the shopping bug has been fed and we don’t have to return to the store again.
The Hilton was nice enough but not as spacious as the Clarion. We had a great view from our room over the whole of Anchorage to the south, east and west. It was like a fairyland at night.
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Alaskan Wildlife Conservaion Centre
Day 7
Saturday – 6 September
A later start today as we were tired. We thought we would hire a car for the day and go down to the Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Centre. It was down near Portage but not as far as Whittier. We had a little trouble doing this as it was the Labor Day weekend and lots of people were visiting or holidaying. We were however lucky to be able to get a car at 2.00 from Avis (just a block away from us).
So at 2.30 pm we headed out down the highway in the very nice Chevy Impala. Needless to say I’d didn’t drive it. The Americans drive on the wrong side of the road, the car’s controls are in reverse and the auto was a column shift. I swear Richard had a love affair going on with the right-hand side of the road. We seemed to be constantly veering into the next lane or narrowly missing the gutters. I had to keep reminding him of which lane to use. It was quite confusing to start with. Coupled with the fact that we were in holiday traffic, it was somewhat terrifying. Eventually we made it to the highway and didn’t need to worry quite so much. The drive was a scenic one along the Turnagain Arm so it ended up being quite pleasurable.
The Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Centre was originally set up to protect and rehabilitate injured and orphaned animals. T has in recent years branched out to research into the breeding of bison for return to the plains of North America. So this was a great opportunity to see some buffalo in real life. They are big, hairy and they smell. They are slowly increasing in number and who knows where they may be found in years to come?
This place had our interest for several hours. It doesn’t close until 8 pm as the sun doesn’t set until about 9.30 – 10.00 pm. We saw elk, musk ox, porcupine, brown bears, caribou, moose, black bear (from a distance) bald eagle, horned owl and orphaned moose. It was fantastic to be able to get close to them and know you weren’t about to be eaten or gored. We have some amazing photos of just about all of them.
The bears were most interesting as they were being fed. The biggest of 3 was hogging all the food (an entire moose hind quarter) tied to a rope so he wouldn’t run off with it and visitors were able to stand just 10 feet away and watch and hear him feeding. Oh what BIG teeth he had! He wasn’t about to share with the other bears and ran the younger male off with a loud growl and bared teeth. He can move very quickly too. The younger bear knew his place and sat well away salivating. Every so often he would inch forward trying to get a little piece. No such luck. The female was of wondering in another part of the paddock, eventually going in for a swim and a play in the water. She too decided to challenge for the food and just waltzed in and crawled in and took some knee joint for herself. A few minutes later she had the lot and big bear up and left. Young male was off sulking and looking pathetic a short distance away. This interplay between the bears was interesting to watch.
We headed back to Anchorage and the traffic stopping along the way at a Fred Meyers supermarket – like a big Woolies. It was almost 10pm by the time we arrived back at the hotel. We needed to pack as we had to change hotels the next day.
But first the washing needed to be done as we wouldn’t have another chance for a week. Rick toddled off to bed having checked to see if the machines were free. It was now midnight and there was I sitting in the laundry waiting for the wash to finish and a dryer to be freed up (another lady was also as stupid as me and up doing her washing and hogging the dryer. In the end I finished up and 1.15am and barely awake. But the washing was done and we still had the hire care so we could make the most of the day.
I had no sooner gone to bed when the phone rings. There was excitement at the other end of the phone with Meg delivering the news that Kaitlin had given birth to a baby boy who has been named Blake. What delightful news to receive!
Eventually we both were able to get back to sleep and happy knowing that both Kaitlin and Blake were well.
Saturday – 6 September
A later start today as we were tired. We thought we would hire a car for the day and go down to the Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Centre. It was down near Portage but not as far as Whittier. We had a little trouble doing this as it was the Labor Day weekend and lots of people were visiting or holidaying. We were however lucky to be able to get a car at 2.00 from Avis (just a block away from us).
So at 2.30 pm we headed out down the highway in the very nice Chevy Impala. Needless to say I’d didn’t drive it. The Americans drive on the wrong side of the road, the car’s controls are in reverse and the auto was a column shift. I swear Richard had a love affair going on with the right-hand side of the road. We seemed to be constantly veering into the next lane or narrowly missing the gutters. I had to keep reminding him of which lane to use. It was quite confusing to start with. Coupled with the fact that we were in holiday traffic, it was somewhat terrifying. Eventually we made it to the highway and didn’t need to worry quite so much. The drive was a scenic one along the Turnagain Arm so it ended up being quite pleasurable.
The Alaskan Wildlife Conservation Centre was originally set up to protect and rehabilitate injured and orphaned animals. T has in recent years branched out to research into the breeding of bison for return to the plains of North America. So this was a great opportunity to see some buffalo in real life. They are big, hairy and they smell. They are slowly increasing in number and who knows where they may be found in years to come?
This place had our interest for several hours. It doesn’t close until 8 pm as the sun doesn’t set until about 9.30 – 10.00 pm. We saw elk, musk ox, porcupine, brown bears, caribou, moose, black bear (from a distance) bald eagle, horned owl and orphaned moose. It was fantastic to be able to get close to them and know you weren’t about to be eaten or gored. We have some amazing photos of just about all of them.
The bears were most interesting as they were being fed. The biggest of 3 was hogging all the food (an entire moose hind quarter) tied to a rope so he wouldn’t run off with it and visitors were able to stand just 10 feet away and watch and hear him feeding. Oh what BIG teeth he had! He wasn’t about to share with the other bears and ran the younger male off with a loud growl and bared teeth. He can move very quickly too. The younger bear knew his place and sat well away salivating. Every so often he would inch forward trying to get a little piece. No such luck. The female was of wondering in another part of the paddock, eventually going in for a swim and a play in the water. She too decided to challenge for the food and just waltzed in and crawled in and took some knee joint for herself. A few minutes later she had the lot and big bear up and left. Young male was off sulking and looking pathetic a short distance away. This interplay between the bears was interesting to watch.
We headed back to Anchorage and the traffic stopping along the way at a Fred Meyers supermarket – like a big Woolies. It was almost 10pm by the time we arrived back at the hotel. We needed to pack as we had to change hotels the next day.
But first the washing needed to be done as we wouldn’t have another chance for a week. Rick toddled off to bed having checked to see if the machines were free. It was now midnight and there was I sitting in the laundry waiting for the wash to finish and a dryer to be freed up (another lady was also as stupid as me and up doing her washing and hogging the dryer. In the end I finished up and 1.15am and barely awake. But the washing was done and we still had the hire care so we could make the most of the day.
I had no sooner gone to bed when the phone rings. There was excitement at the other end of the phone with Meg delivering the news that Kaitlin had given birth to a baby boy who has been named Blake. What delightful news to receive!
Eventually we both were able to get back to sleep and happy knowing that both Kaitlin and Blake were well.
Prince William Sound - Glaciers Galore
Day 6
Saturday – 5 September
Trip to Prince William Sound
Another beautiful day dawns as we are about to head south for the day. An early start was necessary as we had a fair way to travel. We were picked up at 8.00 am at our hotel and then travelled a short way around town to collect other souls. Once done it was down the Old Seward Highway heading for Whittier and the cruise.
On the way we worked our way down the Cook Inlet –discovered by Captain Cook in 1778. He made landfall and traded with the natives. There was an artist on the ship who did some incredible sketches of the landscape and the natives and their day to day lives. There was a couple in the Alaskan museum - very detailed. We travelled along a section of the Inlet called Turnagain Arm. Cook named it because the sailors he sent to explore it had to keep turning again and tacking the ship because of the tides. The tides, on average, vary by between 35 -40 feet each day. The water rushes in to fill the almost empty inlet (which turns to massive mudflats as the tide recedes). This is the third largest tidal exchange in the world, behind Broome and somewhere I can’t remember. When the returning tide meets the outgoing tide twice a day, it creates what is called a BORE WAVE. It is quite extraordinary to see and we lucked upon it twice. The wave can range in height from a few inches to 6 feet rushing into the inlet. It was probably only about a foot high when we saw them but that will increase as the size of the tide increases. The locals told us that when the BORE Wave is 5 – 6 feet high the local surfers ride the wave to the end of the inlet – some 60 – 70 kilometres. What a buzz!
It was in the inlet that we saw some Beluga whales. They were only immature ones – grey not white as the adults are. They don’t jump out of the water but just roll out and in quickly. You have to really watch to see them as they move quickly.
To get to Prince William Sound we had to go to Whittier. This turned out to be a unique experience as we had to go through the longest tunnel in the North American continent. It was 2.5 klms long and perfectly straight. It was built in 1941-42 by the army as a means of transporting soldiers/goods to Anchorage and beyond if the Japanese invaded. They did bomb the outer islands of the Aleutian Islands, so the threat was very real. Seward was vulnerable, as was Juneau and Whittier – the only all year round ice free ports. The tunnel in only wide enough for the train, so it is shared on a rotational basis with the public - that is it is open at one end for 30 mins and then the other end has its turn. The locals are always keen to make the tunnel opening time or they have to sit and wait for an hour. The tunnel is carved into solid rock and has no internal supports and was built in 11 months. Quite an engineering feat!
Once on the water we cruised past a bird rookery – Kitty Winks (we call them sea gulls). They migrate to the same area every year and are very specific as to where they roost. We moved on to the salmon hatchery. Here they breed and return in the order of 600 million hatchlings back into the wild each year. The salmon had just about finished their run for this year so we only saw a few stragglers in the water nearby. Very big ones, or so they seemed to us. We saw a couple of bald eagles sitting in the trees - USA native bird emblem – out hunting for whatever they could find.
We headed for the glaciers, which was the exciting. On the way we glimpsed a couple of sea lions chasing some fish. They are quite large in the water and very swift.
Next we came across some gorgeous sea otters. The hang about in “rafts” (groups) lolling on their backs and grooming themselves. They are very shy and don’t stay around for too long so are very difficult to photograph. We did manage a couple of long distance shots though. They had an otter pelt on board so we could feel how soft their hair is – it is hair not fur.
All the way we were surrounded by mountains and glaciers. Many of the glaciers are known as hanging glaciers as they never come to the water and remain high up in the mountain valleys. They shimmered and appeared blue in the sunlight. ‘Blue ice’ is not actually blue, but it is a trick of light refraction and blue is the only colour of the spectrum not absorbed by the light. We saw many glaciers and as we went further into the Sound we saw the magnificent tide water glaciers. These do come to the water and below for some hundreds of feet. They too, have a blue ice effect but also carry the dirt and rock from millions of years of having been grinding their way to the water (called moraines). They groan and creak and moan and crack really load pops like a shotgun being fired, as they move along. We were able to stay very near to the front of the Surprise Glacier so we could listen to it and watch to see if it ‘calved’. It did – 3 times – while we were there they were quite small calvings though. Below the front of the glacier were piles of floating ice and sunning themselves on the ice were seals. We weren’t able to get too close to them as they would just slide off the ice floe and into the water.
Photos don’t do the glaciers justice. They are so grand and big and impressive. Truly awesome! Although we hear that the glaciers are all receding and melting, this isn’t exactly true. Yes they have receded, but they have done this throughout history. Some of them are actually getting bigger and some have remained unchanged. Whatever one believes about global warming, we are glad we had the privilege of seeing them. Just awe inspiring!
So this day was long and gratifying and we were able to tick another box for the things to do in Alaska. A great day all round.
Saturday – 5 September
Trip to Prince William Sound
Another beautiful day dawns as we are about to head south for the day. An early start was necessary as we had a fair way to travel. We were picked up at 8.00 am at our hotel and then travelled a short way around town to collect other souls. Once done it was down the Old Seward Highway heading for Whittier and the cruise.
On the way we worked our way down the Cook Inlet –discovered by Captain Cook in 1778. He made landfall and traded with the natives. There was an artist on the ship who did some incredible sketches of the landscape and the natives and their day to day lives. There was a couple in the Alaskan museum - very detailed. We travelled along a section of the Inlet called Turnagain Arm. Cook named it because the sailors he sent to explore it had to keep turning again and tacking the ship because of the tides. The tides, on average, vary by between 35 -40 feet each day. The water rushes in to fill the almost empty inlet (which turns to massive mudflats as the tide recedes). This is the third largest tidal exchange in the world, behind Broome and somewhere I can’t remember. When the returning tide meets the outgoing tide twice a day, it creates what is called a BORE WAVE. It is quite extraordinary to see and we lucked upon it twice. The wave can range in height from a few inches to 6 feet rushing into the inlet. It was probably only about a foot high when we saw them but that will increase as the size of the tide increases. The locals told us that when the BORE Wave is 5 – 6 feet high the local surfers ride the wave to the end of the inlet – some 60 – 70 kilometres. What a buzz!
It was in the inlet that we saw some Beluga whales. They were only immature ones – grey not white as the adults are. They don’t jump out of the water but just roll out and in quickly. You have to really watch to see them as they move quickly.
To get to Prince William Sound we had to go to Whittier. This turned out to be a unique experience as we had to go through the longest tunnel in the North American continent. It was 2.5 klms long and perfectly straight. It was built in 1941-42 by the army as a means of transporting soldiers/goods to Anchorage and beyond if the Japanese invaded. They did bomb the outer islands of the Aleutian Islands, so the threat was very real. Seward was vulnerable, as was Juneau and Whittier – the only all year round ice free ports. The tunnel in only wide enough for the train, so it is shared on a rotational basis with the public - that is it is open at one end for 30 mins and then the other end has its turn. The locals are always keen to make the tunnel opening time or they have to sit and wait for an hour. The tunnel is carved into solid rock and has no internal supports and was built in 11 months. Quite an engineering feat!
Once on the water we cruised past a bird rookery – Kitty Winks (we call them sea gulls). They migrate to the same area every year and are very specific as to where they roost. We moved on to the salmon hatchery. Here they breed and return in the order of 600 million hatchlings back into the wild each year. The salmon had just about finished their run for this year so we only saw a few stragglers in the water nearby. Very big ones, or so they seemed to us. We saw a couple of bald eagles sitting in the trees - USA native bird emblem – out hunting for whatever they could find.
We headed for the glaciers, which was the exciting. On the way we glimpsed a couple of sea lions chasing some fish. They are quite large in the water and very swift.
Next we came across some gorgeous sea otters. The hang about in “rafts” (groups) lolling on their backs and grooming themselves. They are very shy and don’t stay around for too long so are very difficult to photograph. We did manage a couple of long distance shots though. They had an otter pelt on board so we could feel how soft their hair is – it is hair not fur.
All the way we were surrounded by mountains and glaciers. Many of the glaciers are known as hanging glaciers as they never come to the water and remain high up in the mountain valleys. They shimmered and appeared blue in the sunlight. ‘Blue ice’ is not actually blue, but it is a trick of light refraction and blue is the only colour of the spectrum not absorbed by the light. We saw many glaciers and as we went further into the Sound we saw the magnificent tide water glaciers. These do come to the water and below for some hundreds of feet. They too, have a blue ice effect but also carry the dirt and rock from millions of years of having been grinding their way to the water (called moraines). They groan and creak and moan and crack really load pops like a shotgun being fired, as they move along. We were able to stay very near to the front of the Surprise Glacier so we could listen to it and watch to see if it ‘calved’. It did – 3 times – while we were there they were quite small calvings though. Below the front of the glacier were piles of floating ice and sunning themselves on the ice were seals. We weren’t able to get too close to them as they would just slide off the ice floe and into the water.
Photos don’t do the glaciers justice. They are so grand and big and impressive. Truly awesome! Although we hear that the glaciers are all receding and melting, this isn’t exactly true. Yes they have receded, but they have done this throughout history. Some of them are actually getting bigger and some have remained unchanged. Whatever one believes about global warming, we are glad we had the privilege of seeing them. Just awe inspiring!
So this day was long and gratifying and we were able to tick another box for the things to do in Alaska. A great day all round.
Monday, September 7, 2009
Day 5 - History Lesson
Day 5
Friday – 4 September
Today was a quieter day as we needed to regroup and do mundane things such as THE LAUNDRY. This took a couple of hours in the hotel laundry, but at least there was a laundry in the hotel and we didn’t need to go and find a Laundromat somewhere in Anchorage.
Just 2 blocks from the hotel is a shopping mall. They do nice enough coffee so we like to go there for our daily caffeine fix. There is also a department store that Richard has fallen in love with. He found that the American stores are very much to his liking and he fairly salivates when the shoe section is found. (always for joggers) So needless to say we spent a bit of time shopping (imagine coming to Alaska to shop!) Eventually I removed him from the store so we could go and do Alaskan stuff. We went and booked a cruise to Prince William Sound for the tomorrow. We hoped the weather would hold.
We went to the Alaskan Museum for the afternoon. It was only a block from our hotel and only a short walk away. It is still in the building phase and some exhibits are not yet completed. However, the Alaskan Gallery was open and we luckily arrived just in time for a guided tour through the gallery. The exhibits followed the history of Alaska from the pre history, original inhabitants through to the invasion by the Japanese during WW2, the big earthquake of 1964, the building of the oil pipeline and to Statehood. Really interesting. Bec there was a large section on the Tlingit people and we have interesting photos to show you. All in all we spent a couple of hours there.
The weather is still spectacular. More Alaskan seafood for tea tonight.
Friday – 4 September
Today was a quieter day as we needed to regroup and do mundane things such as THE LAUNDRY. This took a couple of hours in the hotel laundry, but at least there was a laundry in the hotel and we didn’t need to go and find a Laundromat somewhere in Anchorage.
Just 2 blocks from the hotel is a shopping mall. They do nice enough coffee so we like to go there for our daily caffeine fix. There is also a department store that Richard has fallen in love with. He found that the American stores are very much to his liking and he fairly salivates when the shoe section is found. (always for joggers) So needless to say we spent a bit of time shopping (imagine coming to Alaska to shop!) Eventually I removed him from the store so we could go and do Alaskan stuff. We went and booked a cruise to Prince William Sound for the tomorrow. We hoped the weather would hold.
We went to the Alaskan Museum for the afternoon. It was only a block from our hotel and only a short walk away. It is still in the building phase and some exhibits are not yet completed. However, the Alaskan Gallery was open and we luckily arrived just in time for a guided tour through the gallery. The exhibits followed the history of Alaska from the pre history, original inhabitants through to the invasion by the Japanese during WW2, the big earthquake of 1964, the building of the oil pipeline and to Statehood. Really interesting. Bec there was a large section on the Tlingit people and we have interesting photos to show you. All in all we spent a couple of hours there.
The weather is still spectacular. More Alaskan seafood for tea tonight.
Friday, September 4, 2009
Day 3
2 September - Wednesday
Well the Holiday Inn Express proved to be a really good option in the end. The bed was soooo comfortable and the pillows were luscious. Our problem was we couldn’t work out what time it was. We needed to sleep in the day and get up at night and basically our body clocks were totally confused. Both of us kept waking up thinking it was time to go to the airport. After a restless sleep (no fault of the hotel) we had the complimentary breakfast and dragged our packed bags back down to the shuttle bus for the return trip to the airport.
Perhaps today we would see an improvement in the airport – we were waiting for something that would grab the travellers of the world and say “WOW! You lucky guys have landed in the glitzy capital of the world! Welcome”. We were once again disappointed by the dull, drab, untidy, poorly organized, loud and uninviting airport surrounds. Brisbane leaves them for dead, as do Melbourne and Sydney. Our international airports are the opposite – bright, spacious, inviting (Duty free everywhere you look) well signed and organized etc. We were glad to leave LA. Maybe one day we’ll go back and look at it with different eyes. It is a convenient stopover point for other exciting places in the world. Bye Bye LA!
Yes you guessed it – our next flight was to Portland Oregon and then on to Anchorage. Back to the real world of flying “cattle class” AKA “sardine land”. We flew with Alaska Air to Portland in the oldest plane we had seen in a very long time. The seats were dreadful, bloody terrible in fact. Thankfully it was only a 2 1/2 hour flight and somehow the pilots managed to have us 25 minutes ahead of schedule. Must have been a great tail wind and we were grateful. The pressure really got to me and my ears are still blocked. I forgot to put in my earplugs – never again!
Landing in Portland was a pleasant surprise and the airport was bright, colourful, clean and well signed etc. - Complete opposite to the LA experience. We had a 2 1/2 hour wait for the last leg of the trip to Anchorage. Dad, unfortunately, didn’t have the opportunity to phone Audrey (I couldn’t hear anything anyway because of my blocked ears). I was going to send you a postcard from Portland but couldn’t find one - it seems that everything is electronic now, including postcards.
When leaving Portland we spotted the cutest plane. It was straight out of Disneyland – painted a bright, cheery blue with a huge Mickey Mouse on the tail and back of the plane with stars and other smaller Disney characters sprinkled across the fuselage. It turned out to be our plane – even the inside was decorated, with the bulkheads painted a pretty blue and filled with stars. This too was an Alaska Air flight and turned out to be slightly more comfortable. With ear plugs securely implanted I didn’t suffer any pressure problems this time. This was a nearly 4 hour flight and about half way through we had our first glance of the snow covered mountains from the window - VERY impressive and just like the brochures. Once again Alaska Air came through and we landed 15 minutes early. Obviously the pictures haven’t been Photoshopped!.
Anchorage airport reminded us of landing at Norfolk Island but on a bigger scale. Coming in to land we had a view of all of Anchorage. It is quite spread out and was larger than I thought. The terminal again put LA to shame; it let you know immediately that you were in Alaska. There were displays of bear, Dahl sheep, raptors etc. There was a chill in the air but it wasn’t cold. There was an astounding array of very large vehicles. It appears that the locals’ vehicles of choice are big F150, F300 4 wheel drives. Our hotel has a shuttle service to and from the airport, so after just a short wait it arrived and off we went. It was 7pm when we finally got to the hotel so it had been another long day.
We are staying at the Clarion Suites and they are very nice, quite spacious and will do very nicely for a few days before we start our tour. I’ll get Richard to break out the camera and we’ll take some photos for you all to see. As it was tea time we asked the receptionist to recommend somewhere to go for tea. She thought “tea” was for us to drink and suggested we look in the room. Once we sorted out the language issue (they are after all Americans!) we had the name of a local café to try. So off we went to “Phyllis’s Café and Salmon Bake” where they served local seafood and other local cuisine.
Upon looking at the menu we realized we were truly in a wilderness area. The first item to jump out us was reindeer sausage, followed by elk burger. King crab featured high on the menu as well along with snow crabs. The king crabs are those giant crabs caught by the Alaskan fishermen on the “World’s Deadliest Catch” TV show. They are huge. The legs don’t even fit on a plate but hang over. They are sold by the pound, so on the menu you order ½ pound or 1 pound of legs depending on how hungry you are. With the snow crabs you eat and eat them (All you can eat..) . They aren’t big on veggies or salads here so Bec you would have a hard time. But crabs and halibut are standout items. We had reindeer sausage (sorry Santa !) in BBQ sauce, and they were beautiful. We shared a plate so as not to offend the reindeer lovers too much and thank heavens we did as it would have been a complete meal for 1 person – BIG serves of everything here. That was our entrée so for mains we tried halibut and a side of clam chowder (Rick) while I had blackened shrimp (prawns in Cajun sauce). Both meals were yummy. We also tried the local beer – Alaskan Summer Ale – which was really nice and much like a XXXX ale but sweeter. Rick describes it as simply “VERY drinkable”. You don’t get a choice of glass size either - they just come as a schooner. Thankfully we had a 3 block walk back to the hotel to walk off dinner.
Back to the hotel for a minute. When we arrived the room was quite warm, even by our standards so we turned on the air con to cool it down. When we arrived back from dinner the room was now unbearably hot. Rick trotted down to tell the office who kindly sent the Maintenance man up to fix it. An hour later it was unchanged, so back to maintenance. It was now about 11.00 pm and we were tired. The maintenance guy agreed that the air con was broken and they moved us a couple of rooms down to a room that was blessedly cooler. Thus we had a good night’s sleep (and in Rick’s case a long sleep in as well).
Our body clocks are just starting to get into sync again. So far since leaving home we have crossed the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer, the Equator and the International Dateline. We have gained almost a day – we did Tuesday twice – and crossed from Eastern Standard Time, Pacific Time (LA) and Pacific Time (daylight saving Alaska) so we have had to adjust to 3 different time zones and can barely work out what day it is. Confusing!
Day 4
3rd September – Thursday
SO nice to be in one place for a few days and not have to drag the heavy suitcases around again. We started off slowly this morning – but this was anticipated and planned for after 2 days of travel to the other end of the world. Even though the distance is great, the world is really a small place and people are the same everywhere (they just have some quirky ways….).
Anyway after breakfast – complimentary with the room - we came back to plan the day. Unfortunately the washing needed to be done, so after Rick had a short morning nap (9.15am) we headed to the laundry. We used the intervening time well and decided to do one or two activities depending on how the day went. It had showered overnight but had cleared away early to a fine and sunny day. We have brought along our cold weather gear and are still waiting for the cold weather to arrive - not that we are unhappy about fine, sunny days.
We decided to do a Trolley Car Anchorage Orientation Tour. The red trolley bus is an original – the first in Alaska and owned and operated by 3 generations of the same Alaskan family. It took us past historic sights such as the Alaskan Railway, some of the housing typical to Anchorage – very average and old by our standards. We saw Earthquake Park more a siding at the edge of the road, but historic following the 1964 earthquake that almost destroyed Anchorage and sent a tidal wave as far south as San Francisco. Whole areas of Anchorage – suburbs and 4 city blocks dropped 30 feet. We also went past Lake Hood which is the largest and busiest float-plane base in the world. There were hundreds of little planes moored to the shore – just like boats. Owners can wait up to 9 years for the privilege of a ‘parking spot’. They simply take off and land on the water of the lake. In Alaska you can get both your pilot’s and car license at 16 years. Planes are more prevalent than cars, as the country is so rugged that there are no roads in many areas. Because it was such a clear day we were able to see Mt McKinley in the distance (125 klms away). Quite a majestic sight really – and in a few days we get to go right to it.
Tonight we went to Phyllis’s Café so we could have a crab encounter. The pictures are self explanatory….
Love
Janet & Richard
2 September - Wednesday
Well the Holiday Inn Express proved to be a really good option in the end. The bed was soooo comfortable and the pillows were luscious. Our problem was we couldn’t work out what time it was. We needed to sleep in the day and get up at night and basically our body clocks were totally confused. Both of us kept waking up thinking it was time to go to the airport. After a restless sleep (no fault of the hotel) we had the complimentary breakfast and dragged our packed bags back down to the shuttle bus for the return trip to the airport.
Perhaps today we would see an improvement in the airport – we were waiting for something that would grab the travellers of the world and say “WOW! You lucky guys have landed in the glitzy capital of the world! Welcome”. We were once again disappointed by the dull, drab, untidy, poorly organized, loud and uninviting airport surrounds. Brisbane leaves them for dead, as do Melbourne and Sydney. Our international airports are the opposite – bright, spacious, inviting (Duty free everywhere you look) well signed and organized etc. We were glad to leave LA. Maybe one day we’ll go back and look at it with different eyes. It is a convenient stopover point for other exciting places in the world. Bye Bye LA!
Yes you guessed it – our next flight was to Portland Oregon and then on to Anchorage. Back to the real world of flying “cattle class” AKA “sardine land”. We flew with Alaska Air to Portland in the oldest plane we had seen in a very long time. The seats were dreadful, bloody terrible in fact. Thankfully it was only a 2 1/2 hour flight and somehow the pilots managed to have us 25 minutes ahead of schedule. Must have been a great tail wind and we were grateful. The pressure really got to me and my ears are still blocked. I forgot to put in my earplugs – never again!
Landing in Portland was a pleasant surprise and the airport was bright, colourful, clean and well signed etc. - Complete opposite to the LA experience. We had a 2 1/2 hour wait for the last leg of the trip to Anchorage. Dad, unfortunately, didn’t have the opportunity to phone Audrey (I couldn’t hear anything anyway because of my blocked ears). I was going to send you a postcard from Portland but couldn’t find one - it seems that everything is electronic now, including postcards.
When leaving Portland we spotted the cutest plane. It was straight out of Disneyland – painted a bright, cheery blue with a huge Mickey Mouse on the tail and back of the plane with stars and other smaller Disney characters sprinkled across the fuselage. It turned out to be our plane – even the inside was decorated, with the bulkheads painted a pretty blue and filled with stars. This too was an Alaska Air flight and turned out to be slightly more comfortable. With ear plugs securely implanted I didn’t suffer any pressure problems this time. This was a nearly 4 hour flight and about half way through we had our first glance of the snow covered mountains from the window - VERY impressive and just like the brochures. Once again Alaska Air came through and we landed 15 minutes early. Obviously the pictures haven’t been Photoshopped!.
Anchorage airport reminded us of landing at Norfolk Island but on a bigger scale. Coming in to land we had a view of all of Anchorage. It is quite spread out and was larger than I thought. The terminal again put LA to shame; it let you know immediately that you were in Alaska. There were displays of bear, Dahl sheep, raptors etc. There was a chill in the air but it wasn’t cold. There was an astounding array of very large vehicles. It appears that the locals’ vehicles of choice are big F150, F300 4 wheel drives. Our hotel has a shuttle service to and from the airport, so after just a short wait it arrived and off we went. It was 7pm when we finally got to the hotel so it had been another long day.
We are staying at the Clarion Suites and they are very nice, quite spacious and will do very nicely for a few days before we start our tour. I’ll get Richard to break out the camera and we’ll take some photos for you all to see. As it was tea time we asked the receptionist to recommend somewhere to go for tea. She thought “tea” was for us to drink and suggested we look in the room. Once we sorted out the language issue (they are after all Americans!) we had the name of a local café to try. So off we went to “Phyllis’s Café and Salmon Bake” where they served local seafood and other local cuisine.
Upon looking at the menu we realized we were truly in a wilderness area. The first item to jump out us was reindeer sausage, followed by elk burger. King crab featured high on the menu as well along with snow crabs. The king crabs are those giant crabs caught by the Alaskan fishermen on the “World’s Deadliest Catch” TV show. They are huge. The legs don’t even fit on a plate but hang over. They are sold by the pound, so on the menu you order ½ pound or 1 pound of legs depending on how hungry you are. With the snow crabs you eat and eat them (All you can eat..) . They aren’t big on veggies or salads here so Bec you would have a hard time. But crabs and halibut are standout items. We had reindeer sausage (sorry Santa !) in BBQ sauce, and they were beautiful. We shared a plate so as not to offend the reindeer lovers too much and thank heavens we did as it would have been a complete meal for 1 person – BIG serves of everything here. That was our entrée so for mains we tried halibut and a side of clam chowder (Rick) while I had blackened shrimp (prawns in Cajun sauce). Both meals were yummy. We also tried the local beer – Alaskan Summer Ale – which was really nice and much like a XXXX ale but sweeter. Rick describes it as simply “VERY drinkable”. You don’t get a choice of glass size either - they just come as a schooner. Thankfully we had a 3 block walk back to the hotel to walk off dinner.
Back to the hotel for a minute. When we arrived the room was quite warm, even by our standards so we turned on the air con to cool it down. When we arrived back from dinner the room was now unbearably hot. Rick trotted down to tell the office who kindly sent the Maintenance man up to fix it. An hour later it was unchanged, so back to maintenance. It was now about 11.00 pm and we were tired. The maintenance guy agreed that the air con was broken and they moved us a couple of rooms down to a room that was blessedly cooler. Thus we had a good night’s sleep (and in Rick’s case a long sleep in as well).
Our body clocks are just starting to get into sync again. So far since leaving home we have crossed the Tropics of Capricorn and Cancer, the Equator and the International Dateline. We have gained almost a day – we did Tuesday twice – and crossed from Eastern Standard Time, Pacific Time (LA) and Pacific Time (daylight saving Alaska) so we have had to adjust to 3 different time zones and can barely work out what day it is. Confusing!
Day 4
3rd September – Thursday
SO nice to be in one place for a few days and not have to drag the heavy suitcases around again. We started off slowly this morning – but this was anticipated and planned for after 2 days of travel to the other end of the world. Even though the distance is great, the world is really a small place and people are the same everywhere (they just have some quirky ways….).
Anyway after breakfast – complimentary with the room - we came back to plan the day. Unfortunately the washing needed to be done, so after Rick had a short morning nap (9.15am) we headed to the laundry. We used the intervening time well and decided to do one or two activities depending on how the day went. It had showered overnight but had cleared away early to a fine and sunny day. We have brought along our cold weather gear and are still waiting for the cold weather to arrive - not that we are unhappy about fine, sunny days.
We decided to do a Trolley Car Anchorage Orientation Tour. The red trolley bus is an original – the first in Alaska and owned and operated by 3 generations of the same Alaskan family. It took us past historic sights such as the Alaskan Railway, some of the housing typical to Anchorage – very average and old by our standards. We saw Earthquake Park more a siding at the edge of the road, but historic following the 1964 earthquake that almost destroyed Anchorage and sent a tidal wave as far south as San Francisco. Whole areas of Anchorage – suburbs and 4 city blocks dropped 30 feet. We also went past Lake Hood which is the largest and busiest float-plane base in the world. There were hundreds of little planes moored to the shore – just like boats. Owners can wait up to 9 years for the privilege of a ‘parking spot’. They simply take off and land on the water of the lake. In Alaska you can get both your pilot’s and car license at 16 years. Planes are more prevalent than cars, as the country is so rugged that there are no roads in many areas. Because it was such a clear day we were able to see Mt McKinley in the distance (125 klms away). Quite a majestic sight really – and in a few days we get to go right to it.
Tonight we went to Phyllis’s Café so we could have a crab encounter. The pictures are self explanatory….
Love
Janet & Richard
Thursday, September 3, 2009
Alaskan /Canadian Holiday
Alaskan and Canadian Adventure 2009
Day 1
31st August
We have to start on the 31st because the packing and last minute stuff that goes with a big trip is all a part of it really. So with the last round of washing, yard stuff and tidying done, all attention was turned to the packing of the suitcases. Knowing the limits the airlines place on the weight of bags we were very conscious of the need to keep within range. We actually managed to come in with a kilo to spare in each bag - that is if our scales were correct. With the packing done we headed off to pick up a hire car to get to the airport. We got a little Kia Rio – it would fit into the Fairlane’s boot – but Rick thought it was OK and it did the job.
Needless to say we were later leaving home than anticipated and we still had to drop in to say goodbye to Kaitlin and Mikayla. That was very hard to do knowing that Kaitlin is about to give birth and we will desperately miss not being there to be with her. Mikayla will be so different in 2 months time – she may even forget who we are?????
Mum and Dad had generously cooked a lamb roast for our going away dinner and although the veggies were a little crunchy (due to our late arrival) it was yummy. Meg joined us as well so we had a nice Aussie farewell before leaving Australian shores, however we didn’t invite Tom Cruise.
Off to bed for a couple of hours sleep (3.5 exactly) before an early start…
Day 2
1st September
Rising before the crows and the roosters – at 3.ooam – we had a quick shower and headed to the airport. We said goodbye to the little car and checked in for our 5.50am flight to Melbourne. All went smoothly and we left Brisbane on time. Amazingly the flight was absolutely full – all the suits heading to Melbourne for business and a sprinkling of non suited folk going elsewhere.
Arriving in Melbourne we headed to the Check In counter only to be told that we had been UPGRADED - the very word that anyone who is an accomplished “cattle class” flyer dreams of hearing. As we already had seats in Premium Economy that meant we were UPGRADED to BUSINESS CLASS. The Holy Grail! We were stunned. We not only managed this incredible feat, but with it came the benefit of the QANTAS BUSINESS CLUB Lounge (who knew these things existed?) and Express tickets that allowed us to by- pass ALL the queues at Customs and Immigration. Straight through and NO waiting at all! A little taste of the bliss to come! In the Lounge there were free drinks –alcoholic and non alcoholic – we stuck to coffee as it was still only before 9.00am, and breakfast. Everyone was quiet and composed as if they were used to this sort of thing (spoiled brats!). Richard was happy because the Stock Market Report was live on a big screen in the business centre of the lounge. It was like checking into a plush hotel - big glass doors, reception counter, lovely décor etc…. We were really enjoying this trip now and all the last minute rush around was quickly forgotten. We are obviously easily pleased …
The toilets were like no other airport toilets we had ever been to and therefore are worth mentioning. They were clean! There were no bits of paper on the nicely tiled floor. It had always amazed me how untidy airport toilets are generally, so this was a pleasure. But there was more… toilet seat liners, enormous cubicles large enough for half a dozen ladies (Rick says 3 guys in their cubicles) at the same time, no graffiti on the walls, great hand basins, thick hands towels that didn’t need to be pulled out of a dispenser but were neatly folded for our convenience, hand creams – a choice of 2 from some famous cosmetics maker whose name I have now forgotten – and a lovely vase of Australian flowers (what a nice touch). I made two visits so as to make the most of our 1 hour in the QANTAS Lounge for Business travellers. I might join the QANTAS Club before we travel overseas again – we loved it.
AS part of this express service we didn’t have to board the plane until they called us 10 minutes before departure (unlike ‘cattle class’ who board 30 -40 mins. ahead). It was just a short walk to the plane – separated from the non business class folk – and greeted by the lovely smiling stewards, who were dressed in high class livery, and who directed us to go upstairs (they have upstairs in planes??). This just got better as we went along.
Did you ever wonder what was at the front pointy end and upstairs of those jumbo jets. Well I can tell you now – the pilots, and 24 business class seats. Very exclusive spot. First impressions were WOW! Look at the seats! Look at the space! Where are all the people? Directed to our seat with a “Welcome Mr & Mrs Shaw” from a friendly smiling steward “May I hang your jacket for you Mr Shaw?” This was shortly followed by the offer of champagne, orange juice or water – it is never too early for champers. I hadn’t even had time to buckle in before there was a glass in my hand. I wondered what it was like in “cattle class”, knowing that the rest of our flights will be in with the masses but determined to make the most of the unexpected and gratefully received experience.
The meals were yummy and were from Neil Perry’s Rockpool Restaurant in Sydney. All were served on CHINA and glasses were GLASS, forks and spoons were silverware – knives plastic anti-terrorist variety. Our tray tables were covered with white linen tablecloths – WOW! - and serviettes were also linen. Impressive, to say the very least.
And on the toilet theme again, we had our own private toilet to share among the24 of us. No queues or waiting at all. Once again flowers in a vase, hand creams, and disposable cloth hands towels. We were also given a beautiful thick blanket, a personal care pack (eye mask, socks, ear plugs etc). Believe it or not they also gave everyone a pair of QANTAS pyjamas to change into if you wanted to – some did and most didn’t. They have become our first souvenir.
Now to the seats- how extraordinary they are. They were enormous and the SPACE! I literally couldn’t reach the seat in front of me – I had to stand up to do so. You could lie down and stretch out completely and you didn’t interfere with anyone else. We each had our own TV/DVD screen and could watch whatever we wanted independent of everyone else. We both made the most of the seats and, no doubt, arrived in LA some 15 hours later feeling better than if we had travelled in our usual manner.
Speaking of LA, what a huge city! We flew for a good 15 minutes over the city before reaching the airport. There are large bushfires circling the city and a significant amount of smoke in the atmosphere – just adds to the smog. We could actually smell the smoke in the plane which required the captain to announce that there was no need to panic (not that we were) but it wasn’t the plane, just bushfire smoke. The landing was perfect – barely noticed the touchdown. Great pilot! (or perhaps autopilot?). My faith and belief in QANTAS has been restored from this entire experience.
LA airport was singularly UNimpressive. Dingy and uninviting. Lots of customs and security people bossing everyone around. So many of them were Hispanic or Negro, but mainly Hispanic. It only took about 45 minutes to get through immigration – which we thought was fairly good and another 20 minutes or so to get to our hotel shuttle bus. The driver (Hispanic) was helpful.
We are staying at the Holiday Inn Express which is only a 5 minute drive from the airport. We were able to check in straight away – about 9.00am (that’s 23 hours after we left Mum and Dad’s this morning.) No wonder we are tired. Although we tried to stay awake today we both ended up have a short nap but will sleep well tonight. The hotel is perfectly fine for an overnight stay. The area around is not so conducive to us going out for a walk however, as it appears to be a lower socio-economic region of the city. There is a Sizzler right next door to the hotel and we had tea there tonight. Bec, you and Dave would have liked it as it was cheaper than at home. In American fashion you have to tip everyone so it s
eemed a little odd to just throw money on the table when we left – just like in the movies.
We have another early start in the morning (6.30am) so we can get to the airport to fly to Anchorage. That is another 8 hours flying with a stopover in Portland. That’s when we really start the holiday I suppose.
We are off to bed shortly as it is 9.00pm (Tuesday 1st Sept and 2.00pmWednesday 2nd in your neck of the woods) here now.
Goodnight and Love from the Wanderers
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