Alaska Planning

Posted on April 2, 2013April 2, 2013 by Dusty Roads

It’s almost cruise time. The long-awaited Alaska Cruise and Denali Landtour is only about 6 weeks away. Yes, I’m still going. After all, it was paid for before I knew I was about to be laid off. The money is gone. It won’t solve anything by not going. And since it’s a cruise most of the meals are all paid for as well. Our day-to-day out-of-pocket should be minimal unless we go crazy for souvenirs and since mine are usually the ones I take with my camera I’m not too worried.

We’re booked on the Island Princess. The web site describes her this way:

Island Princess was built to Panamax size – this means she was built to the maximum size a cruise ship can be to sail through the Panama Canal. A high percentage of balcony staterooms give passengers the chance to view this feat of engineering up-close, or take in stunning views of spectacular glaciers during cruises to Alaska. Featured on just one other Princess ship, the Bayou Café and SteakhouseSM is a unique dining venue on board in which to enjoy authentic New Orleans cuisine accompanied by live jazz.

The only thing left is to decide what excursions we want to do while in port.

Our First Port of call is Ketchikan, the First City on the Inside Passage of Southeast Alaska.

With an estimated population of 14,070 in 2010, it is the fifth most populous city in the state.

Ketchikan has the world’s largest collection of standing totem poles, located at three major locations: Saxman Village, Totem Bight, and the Totem Heritage Center. So of course we want to see those. Combining a visit to Saxman Native Village and the Totem poles seems like a perfect way to soak up some of the Native Alaska-American Culture.

Visit Saxman Native Village and experience the rich living culture of southeast Alaska’s Native Americans. Get an exclusive look at the fascinating culture of SE Alaska’s original inhabitants. The Tlingits welcome guests in the traditional style that defines the culture of Southeast Alaska. A short video program introduces you to the culture and history of Saxman. You will then enter the Beaver Clan House where you are welcomed by song and dance by the Cape Fox Dance group. Visitors are encouraged to participate in the final dance, before moving on to the Saxman Totem Park, one of the largest gatherings of totems in the world. Your guide will help unravel the mysteries of these towering, majestic poles. At the Village Carving Center craftsmen pass on their skill to eager apprentices. Learn how modern day carvers differ from their ancestors and learn of their current projects around the world. Fine Alaska Native art and small mementos are for sale at the Native Faces store.

Now I just have to see if my travel companion , this time my sister not Joe, agrees. 🙂

Change

Posted on April 1, 2013April 1, 2013 by Dusty Roads

When one door closes another one opens…or so the saying goes. No matter what, change is hard and sometimes scary. These last 3 months have been a roller coaster of emotions; sometimes exhilarating, sometimes sad, sometimes nearly panic only to swing back to excited.

I have worked many places with many people but no other work situation has fostered such close ties. From the dispatchers I shared the office with to the techs in the field it was like a big family. Things didn’t always go smooth. There were disagreements and arguments but there was also laughter, kind words, support and fun and over the years we began to feel like family. This made for great working conditions but now that it’s over there is a lot more emotion than just leaving a job.

This last week has been a concentrated version of the past three months. Everyone seemed to be wearing their feelings on their sleeves, one moment laughing, the next crying and the work demands never let up to give us a chance to come to terms with the “Last Day”.

This week the management team ordered pizza, the HR manager brought pizza, even one of the techs spent his own money to bring us pizza. Then the last morning we all brought breakfast food; juice, coffee, sweet rolls, coffee cake, apple fritters, fruit, bagels, muffins…enough food for an army. I couldn’t help thinking it was like a wake or funeral as more food poured in and visitors came by to say their good byes.

At a particularly loud moment it hit me hard. Yes like an Irish Wake without the whiskey and like a funeral after the burial those of us that remained would be…alone.

For all the complaining and groaning that goes on in a normal day-to-day give and take, when it was over those of use not going on to Malden would be alone with no place to go on Monday morning. No co-workers to chat with, fight with, laugh with…no work family.

But then the emotional swing went the other way arching back up to optimism. Look at all the opportunity, a clean slate . This is different because of the bonds made over the last 10 years but the job changing is not. Everything will be fine, not the same but it will be fine.

It will all work out and the adventure of finding where this path will go is still ahead.

Final Hours in Fort Lauderdale

Posted on March 10, 2013March 10, 2013 by Dusty Roads

My Mexico cruise/ Fort Lauderdale adventure is winding down. I have one last thing to squeeze in and that is a visit to family.

I met my cousin at Lester’s Diner in Fort Lauderdale where we enjoyed a real good old-fashioned breakfast of pancakes and bacon. The diner is like a blast from the past, an authentic 50′s style restaurant and home to the infamous 14oz coffee cup. This signature landmark has been a family owned and operated business in South Florida for over 43 years.

My cousin told me she used to work there and met her husband there. Another old-fashioned touch. She was a waitress, he was a trucker. Sounds like the basis for a romantic movie. 🙂

My cousin is the outgoing one and she seemed to know everyone as we made out way to our booth.

After breakfast we headed to my aunt’s home which turned out to be literally around the corner from the Diner and after a short visit there we went on to the airport also just “around the corner.”

That should have been the end of the story. Drop off rental car, get on plane , arrive home but it turned out it wasn’t quite that easy. I dropped off the rental and grabbed the shuttle to the terminal. I checked my bags curbside and headed into the security line. It was huge. As I stood there looking around I realized I didn’t have my coat! It was still in the rental car. I tried calling the lost and found but kept getting lost in the IVR prompts so back to the shuttle to reverse my previous trip.

At the Hertz counter they directed me to lost & found and there was my coat. Yay! Now back on the shuttle again to the terminal and back on the line. It hadn’t moved much. I was in the same place as when I left. Slowly , very slowly the line began to creep forward.

In the Fort Lauderdale airport the security is on a slightly lower level from the check in counters. As the line crept forward I eventually reach a point where there was a ramp that led down to the TSA agent and security scanners. I wish the TSA had allowed pictures because at that point I could look out over all the travelers and it was a wall to wall sea of people all jostling and pushing for position! It was an amazing sight and I had lots of time to watch as I waited for my line to move forward again.

Once at the scanners the routine was the same…shoes off, lap top out of the luggage, walk through scanner, retrieve, put shoes back on and find the gate. Whew! from the time I got back on line the 2nd time until I made it to my gate it was over 1 hour! So glad I went early. My cousin had suggested I chat a little longer saying I’d be through security in 10 minutes. Maybe if I was on an early flight but apparently not if you are flying mid-day!

The rest of my flights were uneventful. I offered to be “bumped” in exchange for a $400 voucher but I would have to fly out the next day, not just a later flight on the same day so I passed it up.

My flight finally landed around 8:30 pm amid snow and sleet. The parking valet had my car warmed up and cleaned off when I got off the shuttle. The drive home was not too bad in spite of the weather and there they were. 2 little furry faces meeting me at the door.

I love travel but I love coming home too.

Happy Birthday to me!

Posted on February 15, 2013February 15, 2013 by Dusty Roads

A Mayan/ Mexican Ritual

Posted on February 8, 2013February 8, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Our Mexican jumping bean of a tour guide’s name is Paula. From the moment she introduced herself she was just a bundle of energy. One of the first things she did was tell us all to sit on the lower deck of the ferry for the return trip and to close our eyes. She said she would guarantee we would not be sick if we did that.

That out of the way she began explaining the true meaning of the Mayan calendar.

You know the one… the one that was supposed to end the world on 12/21/12. Having prepared us with the history and true meaning of the calendar we pulled into a trading post.

She called it a shopping center but it wasn’t anything like our shopping centers. It was a super sized souvenir stand.

There were some amazing things there including replicas of the Mayan Calender.

We spent about 30 minutes there before we all climbed back on the bus to finish our trip to the ruins.

I would love to go back with pockets full of cash!

Maybe 45 minutes later we pulled into the parking lot at Tulum.

The tour description said there was about a mile walk to the ruins. Miss Ball of Energy said it was a 5 -7 minute walk. Still suffering from a blister on my foot I opted to take the “tram” instead of walking. I was sure I could walk that far but not that I could keep up with Speedy Paula with my sore foot. Joe headed off with Paula on foot.

While those of us too “infirm” to walk waited for the tram we saw a group of costumed mexicans begin climbing a huge pole.