Alaska behind me What Lies Ahead?

Posted on July 21, 2013July 21, 2013 by Dusty Roads

My traveling days are behind me for awhile I’m afraid. Even though my new job gives me 3 weeks vacation it will take awhile to “earn” the time. Plus all this running around from Alaska to Seattle and back again has taken a bite out of my travel reserve. It needs to be replenished.

The new company did reimburse me for my travel expenses when I went out for the company introduction but they don’t cover Pet Sitting costs any more than they would cover child sitting.

As you probably know the Northeast has been in the grip of a heat wave.

It is actually the 2nd heat wave of the summer. I was doing my practical training when the first one hit and driving home on RT 128 the AC in the car died. Of course it gave up the ghost when I was stopped in a 6 mile traffic jam in 90+ degrees and the sun beating down and not a whisper of a breeze. Needless to say the car went into the shop the next day and came out 3 days later with my wallet $700 lighter.

But, I could keep penguins happy in the car now and believe me, I was very thankful this past week when we had 6 days of 90+ weather and high, high humidity.

I told my Florida friends that we were experiencing the South Florida weather they get in August!

During all this I was studying harder than I’ve ever studied in my life. My new job requires that I have a real estate license. They hired me in good faith counting on me to get the license ASAP. I was hearing horror stories from everyone about the test and most people that had taken the “New, Revised and Tougher” Massachusetts exam had failed the first time. I would just die if I failed! OMG that was the stuff of nightmares for me so in a panic I spent every spare moment studying and taking practice exams.

On July 3rd I sat for the exam and to my great relief, Passed! So I am now a licensed real estate sales person in Massachusetts. YAY ME!

My whole mind and body gave a sigh of relief and I felt like I could look around and take stock of where I was for the first time since we’d left for Alaska in May.

My new duties let me work from home. Nice! I can save on gas and wear and tear on my old jalopy. I am also finding that I have a lot more time since I’m not spending hours commuting each day.

Although I am a “Night and Weekend” worker I am now working 8 hour shifts instead of 10 so I only have 2 days off in a row instead of 3, so mini vacations like I took last year are probably not an option, at least not right now.

So the bottom line is that I’m not sure what topics I’ll be covering until my next vacation. I hope little local jaunts and observations won’t be boring for anyone. As for my next vacation…well it’s just a germ of an idea …but I’m looking into Yellowstone and the Grand Tetons.

At this point it’s just an idea. I need to work out cost and logistics to see if it’s feasible. I’m still looking for a vacation that will let me get that icon bear or elk photo. So far the best vacation for wildlife has been the South Dakota vacation we took. I’m sure there will be more. I just have to find them. 🙂

Dear Southwest Airlines~The letter I wish I’d Written

Posted on July 20, 2013July 20, 2013 by Dusty Roads

Dear Southwest Airlines

I’ve heard so many good things about you. You have fun cabin attendants, open seating, Early Bird Check-In, Priority boarding and BAGS FLY FREE!

Recently I had the opportunity to fly across the country with you round trip. Yup all the way from Providence, Rhode Island aka T.F. Green to Seattle and back again. Everyone was very pleasant, smiling and nice.

I changed planes in Baltimore on the way to Seattle. While I was waiting for boarding I happened to look out and it was pouring. Torrential rains were coming down. I commented to one of my fellow passengers “Wow, look at the rain!” We stood at the window watching the uncovered baggage carts wheel out onto the tarmac and bags get loaded into the plane. Neither of us thought anything of it at the time but when we arrived at Seattle we were greeted by our luggage that was so wet that each bag left a puddle on the baggage carousel. I heard a lot of grumbling.

When the cabby loaded my bag into his trunk he gave me a look and pulled out a newspaper to line the trunk before he put the bag in. I was very embarrassed.

All of my clothing was soaked and had to be dried at my hotel! Maybe the rain surprised your baggage handlers as much as it had surprised us but here’s the thing, on my return trip I had a change of planes in Baltimore again.

You won’t believe what happened…another torrential rain storm swept through.

I wasn’t concerned. I was sure the soaked bags from the outbound trip was just a fluke. I fly often and have never had a problem like this before in spite of rain or snow storms.

Nope. When I arrived at T.F. Green once again the bags, and not just mine, were soaked to the point of having water drip and run out onto the baggage carousel. As if that wasn’t bad enough my bag had the bottom stabilizer broken off so you could no longer stand the bag upright and there were 2 holes were the stabilizer had been anchored. The holes did a fine job of draining the water.

I can only say I am not sure I saved any baggage fees by flying Southwest. I may not have paid the $25- $35 baggage fee of the other airlines but it cost me $89.00 to replace the damaged suitcase as well as the aggravation of drying my clothing in the room and having to wash even clean, but soaked, clothes when I got home.

Clearly bags fly free on Southwest but in the words of Rodney Dangerfield they “Don’t Get No Respect”.

Regards

A Dissatisfied Customer

(Photos courtesy of the internet)

Anchorage

Posted on July 6, 2013July 6, 2013 by Dusty Roads

As Mr. Roberts would say “It’s a lovely day in the neighborhood.” And that would be very true here in Anchorage. Sunny and warm, a perfect day! We ate breakfast in the hotel. When we were ready to go exploring the doorman pointed us in the right direction. It was just a couple of blocks to the Visitor Center, a sod thatched log cabin right there on a main street.

Our plan for the day was the Anchorage Zoo. There was a shuttle from the Visitor Center right to the Zoo. We got there just after the shuttle had pulled out so we had about 30-40 minutes to wait. I wandered the street exploring the souvenir shops while Sandy went into the Visitor Center and chatted with the ladies working in there.

Nearby was a Cultural Museum. That would have been interesting if there was more time. The totem poles were different.

One of the stores had a big plush bear in front of it.

Another was called “Once in a Blue Moose.” How cute is that !

I loved the Blue Moose totem pole by the door.

Look at that! They have a sign post! The first time I ever saw one of these was in Hawaii. Its a sign post with the distance to other places like North Pole. San Francisco, Seattle, Boston and so on. It’s always interesting to see what places made it onto a sign like this.

A trolley was offering city tours and if we’d had more time that would have been high on my list of first things to do. Trolley tours at a new location are one of the best ways to get the “lay of the land” but since we were only going to be here one day the zoo was a better choice.

When the Zoo shuttle arrived and we got settled, the driver told us how nice it was to finally get sunshine and warm weather. Like everyone else she said spring had come late this year. Normally the weather we were getting now should have started 2 weeks earlier. Just our luck!

It was about a 20 minute ride to the zoo. We were dropped off right by the entrance. We’d have about 1.5 hours before we’d have to catch the shuttle back so we could get back to the hotel for our shuttle to the airport. The driver said it was a little zoo and that we’d have plenty of time.

Maybe now I’d finally get to see some of the iconic Alaskan animals that had been eluding me.

Into the Interior

Posted on June 24, 2013June 24, 2013 by Dusty Roads

As we left the coast behind we moved through the Alaskan Tundra toward the Alaska Range and Mount McKinley also known as Denali. That can get confusing because Denali is also the National Park and a State Park. I’ll try to remember to make clear which one I’m referring to.

We weren’t seeing many bald eagles now and the reason we were given was that we were leaving the coast behind and bald eagles need the coastal waters and rivers to fish, salmon being a big part of thier diet. The higher into the mountains we traveled the more likely to see golden eagles which survive on small ground animals like squirrels or hares. (Don’t call them rabbits!)

The food and beverage service in the car seemed to be concentrated closer to the bar where several groups were keeping the attendant and bartender busy. The food menu in the car was quite limited so we decided to try the dining car which was really just the first level of our car. The restrooms were on that level too so about noon all 4 of us headed downstairs. Since we’d only have to climb over each other if we went at different times we thought it’d just be easier to all go together.

The menu in the dining car was also quite limited but that makes sense when you figure they have to bring all of the supplies for the whole trip. Eggs benedict seemed to be a featured item. I ordered what I thought was a crab cake lunch only to get crab cakes with eggs benedict piled on top. At least I wasn’t the only one who misunderstood the menu.

Back in our seats cries of “Moose” started going up. Most of the sightings were on the opposite side from us. I managed to stretch up far enough to see some of them but after 1 attempt to shoot over everyone’s heads and across the car and through the window I decided it just wasn’t going to work and gave up.

The moose on my side were a possibility but the angle of the sun made the reflections from the windows cause distortions in the pictures.

Our seatmate, Robert, came back up to say he had gotten some pictures from the platform but that it was really cold standing out there. We had a few stops with no explanations. After sitting still for 5-10 minutes at each unscheduled stop we’d start up again with no explanation.

Mount McKinley came into view in the distance. This is a rare sight from what we were told. The mountain is so high it makes it’s own weather and its almost always shrouded in clouds and fog. Over and over during our stay we were told that only about 30% of visitors ever get to see the mountain and how lucky we were.

Today it was really clear so everyone’s camera came out, including mine. Well almost everyone’s. We heard one husband complaining to his wife: ” You brought me all the way out here to see a mountain!” I guess the wonder that is Mount McKinley is lost on some people. 🙂

College Fjord

Posted on June 18, 2013June 18, 2013 by Dusty Roads

It’s the last day of cruising. We’re well on our way through the Gulf of Alaska and Prince William Sound .

Glacier Bay to College Fjord 438 nautical miles 18.4 knots

College Fjord contains the largest collection of tidewater glaciers in the world each named after an east coast college or university.

College Fjord is beautiful. Sometimes a picture really is worth a thousand words.

It seemed that we’d finally left the rain and clouds behind. The sun was bright, reflecting off the white snow covered mountains.

Once you enter the Fjord you will pass Holyoke, Barnard, Wellesley, Vassar, Bryn Mawr and Smith Glaciers on the port side. Harvard is at the head of the fjord.