This morning, Grant and I woke up and did our Rasul treatment. It was a very relaxing way to spend our day. Plus, we got to spend a few minutes in the thermal suite before they took us to the rasul chamber so that was nice. The thermal suite had these tiled reclining benches that were very warm, and faced out to the sea.
After our spa time, we met up with mom and Bobby and had lunch in the Windjammer. After lunch, we decided to head towards the front of the ship to try to oget a good spot for spotting the glacier, but on the way we passed the rock wall - one of my goals for this trip. So - I did it! I climbed the rock wall. I did the beginner course and made it too the top. Then Bobby tried. There was almost no one there, so I went a head and did the beginning course again. Feeling so confident, I decided to try thje more advanced course (there were 6 different levels, but they only had the first and the fourth open today.) so I did the harder one, but I could only make it half way up - partly because I was tired and didin;t rest in between and partly becasue it was difficult. Once I realized that I wasn't going to make it this time, I turned around and told the guy. he was really nice about it - he said "just rest, it is okay, you can do it," but I had already sort of lost my nerve and I was really tired so finally I just went down. Oh well - thats cool. I climbed it a few times, which was my goal, and I can alwyas try again later!
So, we headed towards the front of the boat to see Hubbard glacier. again, the weather was awesome. The whole crew was out taking pictures, and many of them said that this had been the clearest day they'd had all summer, and last week had been very foggy. Today was crystal clear, sunny, and beautiful.
As we retrated, we all (mom Bobby Gary, Donna, Grant and I) came back to our balcony and watched the glacier as we pulled away. I personally didin;t see any activity, but Grant did!
Tonight was formal night, so we got dressed up in our fancy duds and headed out to get some pictures taken.
(more later)
Wednesday, August 30, 2006
Multiple posts
Sorry about all of the multiple posts. We usually get good Internet, however, the blog site has been acting really funny. I will clean up the multiple posts when I get home. I mat or may not blog - depending on how the site is actiong when I have time to sit and blog!
Monday, August 28, 2006
Seward - Cruise Day 1
Seward, Alaska. Today, we leave on our cruise. We awoke to a light rain that persisted most of the day. We packed up and hung around the house we rented until check out time at 11:00. It was nice for everyone, I think, to get to relax, sleep in, and rest up - it had been a busy week!
At 11:00, we got a taxi which took us and our bags to the cruise ship terminal. The same taxi took all of us and our bags in two trips. The boys and the bags went first and checked in the bags, and the ladies took the next trip.
We were allowed to check in immediately, which was nice. Our cruise books said that we could not check in until 6:00 PM. Most of the research we had done said you could check in way earlier, but we always heard around 12 or 12:30. So we checked in and then got in line to get on the ship (we couldn't actually get on until noon, so we had about a ten minute wait...)
We went through security and were among the first onboard (I would say within the first 50.) We got our welcome aboard pic and headed on up to the Windjammer, which would begin serving lunch at 12:30. We tried to swing by the cabin, however, the fire doors were still closed. But they would be open by 1:00 so we could go right after lunch.
While we waited for the buffet to open, we explored the pool area and the beautiful Solarium...I must say, the ship (Radiance of the Seas) is very beautiful, and the Solarium is one of the most beautiful parts on any ship I've ever seen. The Solarium is an indoor pool with a retractable roof, so it can be open in warm destinations, but here in Alaska, is it closed and kept a comfortable temperature for swimming. Typically it is an adults only area, but since it is too cold to swim in the regular pool most of the time, they allow children to swim at certain times on this itinerary - but anyway - The solarium is decorated like an Indian jungle - there are lush tropical plants all over, a wooden bridge crosses the pool in front of a huge, floor to ceiling pair of sculpted elephants in front of a cascading waterfall. It is so neat there.
The whole ship, as I said, is beautiful - lots of glass and cascading waterfalls. Just amazing.
We had a quick lunch in the Windjammer buffet, and then went to our rooms. Donna and Gary are on deck 10, cabin #1094. They have a junior suite - a very nice room, but their balcony is right under a hump that juts out over there cabin, so it sort of restricts their views of the scenic vistas - you can see out but not necessarily up - say - to the top of the mountains.
Mom and Bobby's room is right underneath Donna and Gary's, in cabin number 9244. They have a great port side view, which is nice because most of the scenery is on that side.
Grant and I are in cabin 9258, which is on the back of the ship, towards the port side. We have a huge balcony, that holds two chairs and two recliners. Plenty of room out there!
After we dropped off our carry ons, Grant, Gary, Donna and I headed back into Seward to watch a movie at the Seward library on the Alaska Earthquake of 1964. Mom and Bobby stayed back to explore the ship. The movies were kind of, well, old school. It was an interesting experience....
Then we went to the chocolate shop before heading back to the ship.
Once on board, we checked to see where our table was, and then Grant and I went by the spa to check out their menu. We booked the Rasul treatment for Sunday at 11:45. Then we headed back to our cabin to unpack before dinner (another advantage to checking in so early - our bags were delivered by 4:00! We also met our cabin steward, Dennis, from the Philippines.
We had dinner at 6:00 in the Cascades Dining room. We are at a table of 8, which means its us 6 and another couple - they have been on a ton of cruises - 10 on Royal Caribbean!
I had a mushroom pastry, saigon chicken noodle soup, a spinach salad,
Grant had smoked fish talpenade, tuscan tomato soup, a spinach salad, ling cod, and
Mom had the smoked fish tapenade, saigon chicken soup, the cod, and a fruit salad for dessert.
Bobby had the smoked fish tapenade, spinach salad, the ling cod, and
Donna had the tuscan tomato soup, the spinach salad, and
Gary had
After dinner, we went to our cabin to get ready for the 8:15 muster drill. It went pretty quick and by 9:00 we were back in our cabin on the balcony watching the ship pull away from Seward.
We did some exploring and then went to the Welcome Aboard show. The comedian was hilarious - he could do some dead on hilarious impressions. My favorite was Don Knott -- he did both Mr. Furley and Andy Griffith.
The theater, by the way is set up very cool, more like a theater and less like a "club" with booth seats facing sideways, so more people could fit, and everyone faced forward. Also, the poles and such were positioned in a way that almost every seat was good and not blocked...
After dinner we did more exploring, deck by deck. It was freezing outside and super windy, so I wussed out and didn't go some places.
On our way back to our cabin, we stopped by to check on Bobby. W3e had promised him that he would barely feel the ship move and would be fine. Little did we know that the seas would be choppy and we would be going so fast - you could really feel the motion of the ocean! "See if I ever listen to you again..." Bobby says. But he felt fine so that was good.
Back in our room, we ordered some room service snackins and watched some tv.
I love this ship.
At 11:00, we got a taxi which took us and our bags to the cruise ship terminal. The same taxi took all of us and our bags in two trips. The boys and the bags went first and checked in the bags, and the ladies took the next trip.
We were allowed to check in immediately, which was nice. Our cruise books said that we could not check in until 6:00 PM. Most of the research we had done said you could check in way earlier, but we always heard around 12 or 12:30. So we checked in and then got in line to get on the ship (we couldn't actually get on until noon, so we had about a ten minute wait...)
We went through security and were among the first onboard (I would say within the first 50.) We got our welcome aboard pic and headed on up to the Windjammer, which would begin serving lunch at 12:30. We tried to swing by the cabin, however, the fire doors were still closed. But they would be open by 1:00 so we could go right after lunch.
While we waited for the buffet to open, we explored the pool area and the beautiful Solarium...I must say, the ship (Radiance of the Seas) is very beautiful, and the Solarium is one of the most beautiful parts on any ship I've ever seen. The Solarium is an indoor pool with a retractable roof, so it can be open in warm destinations, but here in Alaska, is it closed and kept a comfortable temperature for swimming. Typically it is an adults only area, but since it is too cold to swim in the regular pool most of the time, they allow children to swim at certain times on this itinerary - but anyway - The solarium is decorated like an Indian jungle - there are lush tropical plants all over, a wooden bridge crosses the pool in front of a huge, floor to ceiling pair of sculpted elephants in front of a cascading waterfall. It is so neat there.
The whole ship, as I said, is beautiful - lots of glass and cascading waterfalls. Just amazing.
We had a quick lunch in the Windjammer buffet, and then went to our rooms. Donna and Gary are on deck 10, cabin #1094. They have a junior suite - a very nice room, but their balcony is right under a hump that juts out over there cabin, so it sort of restricts their views of the scenic vistas - you can see out but not necessarily up - say - to the top of the mountains.
Mom and Bobby's room is right underneath Donna and Gary's, in cabin number 9244. They have a great port side view, which is nice because most of the scenery is on that side.
Grant and I are in cabin 9258, which is on the back of the ship, towards the port side. We have a huge balcony, that holds two chairs and two recliners. Plenty of room out there!
After we dropped off our carry ons, Grant, Gary, Donna and I headed back into Seward to watch a movie at the Seward library on the Alaska Earthquake of 1964. Mom and Bobby stayed back to explore the ship. The movies were kind of, well, old school. It was an interesting experience....
Then we went to the chocolate shop before heading back to the ship.
Once on board, we checked to see where our table was, and then Grant and I went by the spa to check out their menu. We booked the Rasul treatment for Sunday at 11:45. Then we headed back to our cabin to unpack before dinner (another advantage to checking in so early - our bags were delivered by 4:00! We also met our cabin steward, Dennis, from the Philippines.
We had dinner at 6:00 in the Cascades Dining room. We are at a table of 8, which means its us 6 and another couple - they have been on a ton of cruises - 10 on Royal Caribbean!
I had a mushroom pastry, saigon chicken noodle soup, a spinach salad,
Grant had smoked fish talpenade, tuscan tomato soup, a spinach salad, ling cod, and
Mom had the smoked fish tapenade, saigon chicken soup, the cod, and a fruit salad for dessert.
Bobby had the smoked fish tapenade, spinach salad, the ling cod, and
Donna had the tuscan tomato soup, the spinach salad, and
Gary had
After dinner, we went to our cabin to get ready for the 8:15 muster drill. It went pretty quick and by 9:00 we were back in our cabin on the balcony watching the ship pull away from Seward.
We did some exploring and then went to the Welcome Aboard show. The comedian was hilarious - he could do some dead on hilarious impressions. My favorite was Don Knott -- he did both Mr. Furley and Andy Griffith.
The theater, by the way is set up very cool, more like a theater and less like a "club" with booth seats facing sideways, so more people could fit, and everyone faced forward. Also, the poles and such were positioned in a way that almost every seat was good and not blocked...
After dinner we did more exploring, deck by deck. It was freezing outside and super windy, so I wussed out and didn't go some places.
On our way back to our cabin, we stopped by to check on Bobby. W3e had promised him that he would barely feel the ship move and would be fine. Little did we know that the seas would be choppy and we would be going so fast - you could really feel the motion of the ocean! "See if I ever listen to you again..." Bobby says. But he felt fine so that was good.
Back in our room, we ordered some room service snackins and watched some tv.
I love this ship.
Saturday, August 26, 2006
Seward - Kenai Fjords
5:00 AM the alarm beeps and we drag out of bed to get to the train station in the rain to catch the 6:40 train to Seward. Yeah, pretty cranky. But we made it and the train ride was beautiful. the train was only half full, and we realized that the rear car was all but empty, so we ended up staying there for the rest of the trip. This train ride was beautiful - (as were all of them...) we saw glaciers and waterfalls and the closer we got to Seward, the clearer the skies were.
We arrived in Seward at 11:00 and headed down to the docks to take a boat ride through Kenai fjords national park. We saw a glacier from close up, tons of jellyfish, goats, seals, otters, and...yes... whales! (So I saw the moose, bear, and whale I was hoping to see!) we also had a delicious salmon and prime rib dinner.
The waters were really choppy. Although the weather was clear and beautiful, the sea was still choppy from yesterday's rain storm. (we really lucked out weather wise on this trip!) Poor Bobby, though, had a few bouts of sea sickness, however, we discovered that the ginger candy really does help. Even I didn't feel great some of the time.
After our boat tour, we walked to our hotel. We are staying at the Harborview hotel. Our room is actually the old owners home when this was a smaller bed and Breakfast, so we are staying in a 4-bedroom house, with a family room, kitchen, and two full bathrooms. And.... a washer drier! So we settled in and did our laundry. Bobby, Grant and I walked down to pick up some pizzas (apparently nobody felt like delivering...) and Gary got some sodas. After that, I went to bed. I was tired from only getting 6 hours of sleep the night before.
However, at around 4:00 AM, we went out and looked at the cruise ship that had just pulled in, all lit up.
Today, we leave on our cruise!
We arrived in Seward at 11:00 and headed down to the docks to take a boat ride through Kenai fjords national park. We saw a glacier from close up, tons of jellyfish, goats, seals, otters, and...yes... whales! (So I saw the moose, bear, and whale I was hoping to see!) we also had a delicious salmon and prime rib dinner.
The waters were really choppy. Although the weather was clear and beautiful, the sea was still choppy from yesterday's rain storm. (we really lucked out weather wise on this trip!) Poor Bobby, though, had a few bouts of sea sickness, however, we discovered that the ginger candy really does help. Even I didn't feel great some of the time.
After our boat tour, we walked to our hotel. We are staying at the Harborview hotel. Our room is actually the old owners home when this was a smaller bed and Breakfast, so we are staying in a 4-bedroom house, with a family room, kitchen, and two full bathrooms. And.... a washer drier! So we settled in and did our laundry. Bobby, Grant and I walked down to pick up some pizzas (apparently nobody felt like delivering...) and Gary got some sodas. After that, I went to bed. I was tired from only getting 6 hours of sleep the night before.
However, at around 4:00 AM, we went out and looked at the cruise ship that had just pulled in, all lit up.
Today, we leave on our cruise!
Talkeetna to Anchorage... eventually
Today we checked out of the Princess Lodge. actually, not today, but two days ago, but since I don't remember what day, I am going to write it in present tense. Well, let me think about this... today is Saturday...Thursday, I think?
Ok, so Thursday, we checked out of the lodge. We went down to the main part of the lodge and took a nature walk with the ranger, which was way cool.
Donna and Gary had to return the rental car to Anchorage, so Gary decided to drive it back with all of our luggage while the rest of us took the train. We took the 1:30 shuttle into Talkeetna and ate lunch (we went to the pizza place, I can;t remember the exact name, and shared a hummus platter and a margharetti pizza) and then we dutifully headed down to the train station to get there at 4:15, ready for the train that would arrive at 4:40... having been assured that the train was indeed on time. (although it had been late for the past 4 days becasue of the floods.) Honestly, we didin;t mind that it was late - we were irritated about the lack of communication. We coule have spent time shopping in Talkeetna or whatever. Instead of sitting on a bench at the station for two hours.
The train arrived at 6:40... well,, at least we knew Gary was safely in Anchorage - he called us while we were waiting!
The train was a bit confusing because our names weren't printed on the front page of the manifest for the car we were supposed to be in. As a matter of fact, the guy was going to take us all the way to the Alaska railroad cars if I hadn't glanced at the manifest and saw our names. We think the mix up occurred because the train car we were supposed to be on wasn't on the train, (we were quite possibly the only people scheduled to be on it) and so we were actually getting put with another group.
It all worked out. We had a good dinner on the train - Grant and mom had a pork loin dinner with apples and sweet potatoes, Donna had chicken, Bobby had Halibut, I think, and I had a shrimp stir-fry.
The tour guide on this train was really good - he was from Alaska and he was very nice and a great story teller, so we heard all sorts of interesting things on our way.
We arrived in Anchorage at 10:00 ish, and Gary met us in the rental car. We got to our hotel and settled in quickly, because we had to catch the 6:45 train the next morning.
Ok, so Thursday, we checked out of the lodge. We went down to the main part of the lodge and took a nature walk with the ranger, which was way cool.
Donna and Gary had to return the rental car to Anchorage, so Gary decided to drive it back with all of our luggage while the rest of us took the train. We took the 1:30 shuttle into Talkeetna and ate lunch (we went to the pizza place, I can;t remember the exact name, and shared a hummus platter and a margharetti pizza) and then we dutifully headed down to the train station to get there at 4:15, ready for the train that would arrive at 4:40... having been assured that the train was indeed on time. (although it had been late for the past 4 days becasue of the floods.) Honestly, we didin;t mind that it was late - we were irritated about the lack of communication. We coule have spent time shopping in Talkeetna or whatever. Instead of sitting on a bench at the station for two hours.
The train arrived at 6:40... well,, at least we knew Gary was safely in Anchorage - he called us while we were waiting!
The train was a bit confusing because our names weren't printed on the front page of the manifest for the car we were supposed to be in. As a matter of fact, the guy was going to take us all the way to the Alaska railroad cars if I hadn't glanced at the manifest and saw our names. We think the mix up occurred because the train car we were supposed to be on wasn't on the train, (we were quite possibly the only people scheduled to be on it) and so we were actually getting put with another group.
It all worked out. We had a good dinner on the train - Grant and mom had a pork loin dinner with apples and sweet potatoes, Donna had chicken, Bobby had Halibut, I think, and I had a shrimp stir-fry.
The tour guide on this train was really good - he was from Alaska and he was very nice and a great story teller, so we heard all sorts of interesting things on our way.
We arrived in Anchorage at 10:00 ish, and Gary met us in the rental car. We got to our hotel and settled in quickly, because we had to catch the 6:45 train the next morning.
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Mt. McKinley Princess Lodge, Talkeetna
So today we headed into the cute little town of Talkeetna, which was brushing itself off after weeks of rains and the worst flooding it had had since 1986. (Yes, we are here in Alaska on the tail end of the 2006 Alaska flood!)
We took the Princess shuttle bus into town and then had lunch at the West Rib Pub and Grill. We sat out on the patio and enjoyed a nice lunch. I had a crab cake burget again, Grant had halibut burger, Donna had a regular hamburger, Bobby and Gary had Buffalo burgers and mom had a fish sampler that had a crab cake, halibut and Salmon, which was good becasue she got a little taste of these to see what she really liked (and she liked them all!) Now she knows what Alaskan dishes to order.
After lunch we went to check in to our excursion (although it was running really late.) We took a two hour boar tide on the Susitna and talkeetna rivers, up to a place where salmon spawn. Thanks to mom's good eye, we got to see a grizzly bear! It was so cool - a mom and her cubs...the mom stood right up and stared at us for a moment.
We also saw a bald eagle and an eagle's nest. We took a short nature walk and saw an Indian camp recreation which was quite cool. Our tour guide, Angela, was very knowledgable becasue she was an Eskimo and she had lived in a small village at one time. Also, there was a trapper's cabin, which was somethihng to see - it was small and dark!
After our boat trip we haded back to the lodge and viewed Mt. McKinley from our hotel. It is very cloudy, so we're not actually sure if we can see mt. McKinley or just the mountain range in front of it, but it is beautiful, none the less.
We went back to 20-3 -20 for dinner - (Gary ordered the crab cakes, although I didn't three in a row would be a bit much - Donna had a club Croissant, Mom had chicken manicotti, grant had the salmon, and Bobbi and I went halvsies on a pepperoni pizza and a chicken quesedilla. Now we're just hanging out...
We took the Princess shuttle bus into town and then had lunch at the West Rib Pub and Grill. We sat out on the patio and enjoyed a nice lunch. I had a crab cake burget again, Grant had halibut burger, Donna had a regular hamburger, Bobby and Gary had Buffalo burgers and mom had a fish sampler that had a crab cake, halibut and Salmon, which was good becasue she got a little taste of these to see what she really liked (and she liked them all!) Now she knows what Alaskan dishes to order.
After lunch we went to check in to our excursion (although it was running really late.) We took a two hour boar tide on the Susitna and talkeetna rivers, up to a place where salmon spawn. Thanks to mom's good eye, we got to see a grizzly bear! It was so cool - a mom and her cubs...the mom stood right up and stared at us for a moment.
We also saw a bald eagle and an eagle's nest. We took a short nature walk and saw an Indian camp recreation which was quite cool. Our tour guide, Angela, was very knowledgable becasue she was an Eskimo and she had lived in a small village at one time. Also, there was a trapper's cabin, which was somethihng to see - it was small and dark!
After our boat trip we haded back to the lodge and viewed Mt. McKinley from our hotel. It is very cloudy, so we're not actually sure if we can see mt. McKinley or just the mountain range in front of it, but it is beautiful, none the less.
We went back to 20-3 -20 for dinner - (Gary ordered the crab cakes, although I didn't three in a row would be a bit much - Donna had a club Croissant, Mom had chicken manicotti, grant had the salmon, and Bobbi and I went halvsies on a pepperoni pizza and a chicken quesedilla. Now we're just hanging out...
Train from Fairbanfs to Talkeetna
Railroad from Fairbanks to Talkeetna
We had to get up pretty early this morning to catch a 7:00 shuttle to the train station. Today, we took an 8 hour train ride from Fairbanks to Talkeetna on the Alaska railroad. We paid the extra for the Gold Star Service, so we got to sit in a rally spectacular domed car with high, domed glass windows. On the way, we did see a couple of moose!
We ate lunch in the dining car - Grant, Bobby and I had the wild game stew - so I have now officially eaten reindeer and buffalo. Mom got pot roast.
Sitting in the Gold Star section we also got free beverages and these cute snack packs with pretzels and honey mustard and jam and chocolate covered blue berries.
The train was pretty late coming in - all of the rains caused severe flooding and the trains had been closed for the past few days, so in many places they were still working hard at clearing the side by side tracks. We saw many parts of the hills that had mudslide damage, and the water levels were really high.
We got in to Talkeetna at around 7:00, which was about 3 hours late. Gary met us and drove us to the lodge in his rental car. The train station took care of our luggage and brought it to the lodge for us.
We met up with Donna after checking in. Our rooms are in building 17 - 1711 for Grant and I, 1714 for Gary and Donna, and 1712 for Mom and Bobby. We had dinner at Twenty-three-twenty, which is one if the restaurants here, named for the altitude of Mount McKinley. Grant and Bobby had Salmon, Mom and Donna had a shrimp and crab salad on a croissant, Gary had the Buffalo stew, and I had crab cake sliders. Yummy!
After dinner we chatted about which excursion we wanted to do and then headed off to bed!
We had to get up pretty early this morning to catch a 7:00 shuttle to the train station. Today, we took an 8 hour train ride from Fairbanks to Talkeetna on the Alaska railroad. We paid the extra for the Gold Star Service, so we got to sit in a rally spectacular domed car with high, domed glass windows. On the way, we did see a couple of moose!
We ate lunch in the dining car - Grant, Bobby and I had the wild game stew - so I have now officially eaten reindeer and buffalo. Mom got pot roast.
Sitting in the Gold Star section we also got free beverages and these cute snack packs with pretzels and honey mustard and jam and chocolate covered blue berries.
The train was pretty late coming in - all of the rains caused severe flooding and the trains had been closed for the past few days, so in many places they were still working hard at clearing the side by side tracks. We saw many parts of the hills that had mudslide damage, and the water levels were really high.
We got in to Talkeetna at around 7:00, which was about 3 hours late. Gary met us and drove us to the lodge in his rental car. The train station took care of our luggage and brought it to the lodge for us.
We met up with Donna after checking in. Our rooms are in building 17 - 1711 for Grant and I, 1714 for Gary and Donna, and 1712 for Mom and Bobby. We had dinner at Twenty-three-twenty, which is one if the restaurants here, named for the altitude of Mount McKinley. Grant and Bobby had Salmon, Mom and Donna had a shrimp and crab salad on a croissant, Gary had the Buffalo stew, and I had crab cake sliders. Yummy!
After dinner we chatted about which excursion we wanted to do and then headed off to bed!
Monday, August 21, 2006
So...where was I?
So we got in to Seattle at like 1:00, got our hotel voucher, and spent the night at the Gateway Radison.We got about 6 and a half hours of sleep before it was time to get up again... (By the way - we've now officially tried that sleep by number bed - not big fans, Grant and I, of the sleep by number system...)
This morning we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel with our voucher from the airline. Then we went to the airport and got on our flight to Fairbanks (via Anchorage). Luckily thought, we were in first class, so we had a free meal and free use of the video screens (Dig E players) with movies and TV shows.
We finally got to Fairbanks (and all of our luggage made it as well!) We got to our hotel at around 4:30. Mom and Bobby were already here (they had gotten in last night). We checked in and chatted and then we headed out to go to dinner. We stopped at the Fudge Pot and bought some fudge to eat on the train tomorrow.
We had dinner at a place called Past Bella...I had Eggplant Parmigiana, Bobby had lasagna, and Mom and Grant had Chicken of the Sun (CHicken sauteed with garlic and sundried tomatoes.)
We are back at the hotel and getting ready for bed... we have to take the 7:00 shuttle so we have to get up early.
Gary and Donna decided not to come to fairbanks and take the train becasue if the risk of the trains not running, so they will drive up to Talkeetna and meet us tomorrow.
Good night
This morning we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel with our voucher from the airline. Then we went to the airport and got on our flight to Fairbanks (via Anchorage). Luckily thought, we were in first class, so we had a free meal and free use of the video screens (Dig E players) with movies and TV shows.
We finally got to Fairbanks (and all of our luggage made it as well!) We got to our hotel at around 4:30. Mom and Bobby were already here (they had gotten in last night). We checked in and chatted and then we headed out to go to dinner. We stopped at the Fudge Pot and bought some fudge to eat on the train tomorrow.
We had dinner at a place called Past Bella...I had Eggplant Parmigiana, Bobby had lasagna, and Mom and Grant had Chicken of the Sun (CHicken sauteed with garlic and sundried tomatoes.)
We are back at the hotel and getting ready for bed... we have to take the 7:00 shuttle so we have to get up early.
Gary and Donna decided not to come to fairbanks and take the train becasue if the risk of the trains not running, so they will drive up to Talkeetna and meet us tomorrow.
Good night
Articles
Here is the text from the news articles in case they are later taken down:
From: http://www.nbc4.tv/news/9708437/detail.html
Crew Evacuates Long Beach Passengers From Smoke-Filled Cabin
POSTED: 6:34 am PDT August 21, 2006
UPDATED: 6:52 am PDT August 21, 2006
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Passengers landing at Long Beach airport on a flight from Seattle got a scare Sunday when the cabin filled up with smoke.
The Alaska airlines jet was evacuating shortly after touching down at 6:00 p.m.
Airline spokeswoman Caroline Boren says there was so much smoke in the cabin that the crew decided to evacuate passengers using the airplane's slide.
She saids three of the 140 passengers and one flight attendant requested assistance from paramedics for injuries they apparently suffered during the evacuation. One requested further treatment at a hospital.
No word yet on what caused the smoke.
From: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-jonbenet21aug21,0,2419400.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Ramsey Case Suspect Is Back on U.S. Soil
John Mark Karr lands at LAX and is taken into custody. He faces extradition to Colorado.
By Stuart Silverstein and Joel Rubin, Times Staff Writers
August 21, 2006
John Mark Karr, the suspect in the slaying of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey, arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday night aboard a Thai Airways International flight from Bangkok.
Federal immigration officials processed Karr shortly after he arrived at Los Angeles International Airport. He was taken into police custody on a Colorado warrant, informed of the charges against him and taken by helicopter to the Twin Towers Jail in downtown Los Angeles, officials said.
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Karr will be held in isolation at the jail to protect him from other inmates, according to sheriff's spokesman Deputy Rick Pena. "Accused child molesters are targets for some of the other criminals in there," he said.
Colorado authorities said Karr had to be arrested in California and go through an extradition process, rather than simply being put on a connecting flight to Boulder, because of rules that regulate the transfer of accused criminals from one state to another. Los Angeles court officials said Sunday night that an extradition hearing had not yet been scheduled.
Carolyn French, a spokeswoman for the Boulder County district attorney's office, said that if Karr agreed to the extradition, he could be flown to Colorado as soon as a day after the hearing. But if he contests it, she said, he could remain in Los Angeles up to 30 days.
Karr is expected to face charges in Colorado of firstdegree murder, kidnapping and child sexual assault in connection with the 1996 killing of JonBenet.
A passenger who sat near Karr during the long flight said the suspect seemed to enjoy a friendly rapport with law enforcement agents.
"They always had smiles on their faces — except when they were protecting him in the bathroom," said Dan Shiff of Montreal.
Karr shied away from the throngs of cameras that crowded around him in Bangkok, but spent about 30 minutes "primping" before the plane landed in Los Angeles, Shiff said.
Despite the overwhelming media coverage of Karr's moves over the last few days, some aboard the flight were unaware of his presence.
"I didn't know what was going on," said University of Southern California student Lalida Mangkornkanok, 21.
"We weren't informed that he was on the flight…. I'm glad nothing happened."
Five days after he was taken into custody by authorities in Bangkok, Karr, 41, was led out of the Thai city's downtown immigration detention center at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Surrounded closely by a cadre of about a dozen uniformed police officials, Karr was not handcuffed but was ushered quickly to a white van.
Karr, wearing black pants, a maroon, short-sleeved shirt and a black tie, remained expressionless as he walked through a media throng.
A frantic motorcade of several taxis and cars chased the van through Bangkok's traffic-choked streets and onto its express toll road for the 20-minute drive to Don Muang International Airport. As the van pulled up to the curb at Terminal 1 beneath a Thai Airways sign, a crush of television cameramen and photographers descended.
A melee ensued as a phalanx of immigration police officers formed a tight ring to secure Karr. With the escorts pushing violently against the aggressive horde of journalists, travelers looked on as the spectacle snaked its way through the terminal.
Again, Karr stayed silent, looking ahead blankly.
Meanwhile on Sunday, Dr. Thep Vechavisit, a prominent Thai plastic surgeon who specializes in sex-change operations, breast enhancement procedures and other cosmetic plastic surgeries, acknowledged that Karr "was one of my patients," the Associated Press reported.
Vechavisit declined to elaborate, but a staffer at the clinic, who asked for anonymity because she was not authorized to talk to the media, said Karr had consulted the doctor about a sex-change operation.
From: http://www.nbc4.tv/news/9708437/detail.html
Crew Evacuates Long Beach Passengers From Smoke-Filled Cabin
POSTED: 6:34 am PDT August 21, 2006
UPDATED: 6:52 am PDT August 21, 2006
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Passengers landing at Long Beach airport on a flight from Seattle got a scare Sunday when the cabin filled up with smoke.
The Alaska airlines jet was evacuating shortly after touching down at 6:00 p.m.
Airline spokeswoman Caroline Boren says there was so much smoke in the cabin that the crew decided to evacuate passengers using the airplane's slide.
She saids three of the 140 passengers and one flight attendant requested assistance from paramedics for injuries they apparently suffered during the evacuation. One requested further treatment at a hospital.
No word yet on what caused the smoke.
From: http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-jonbenet21aug21,0,2419400.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Ramsey Case Suspect Is Back on U.S. Soil
John Mark Karr lands at LAX and is taken into custody. He faces extradition to Colorado.
By Stuart Silverstein and Joel Rubin, Times Staff Writers
August 21, 2006
John Mark Karr, the suspect in the slaying of 6-year-old JonBenet Ramsey, arrived in Los Angeles on Sunday night aboard a Thai Airways International flight from Bangkok.
Federal immigration officials processed Karr shortly after he arrived at Los Angeles International Airport. He was taken into police custody on a Colorado warrant, informed of the charges against him and taken by helicopter to the Twin Towers Jail in downtown Los Angeles, officials said.
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Karr will be held in isolation at the jail to protect him from other inmates, according to sheriff's spokesman Deputy Rick Pena. "Accused child molesters are targets for some of the other criminals in there," he said.
Colorado authorities said Karr had to be arrested in California and go through an extradition process, rather than simply being put on a connecting flight to Boulder, because of rules that regulate the transfer of accused criminals from one state to another. Los Angeles court officials said Sunday night that an extradition hearing had not yet been scheduled.
Carolyn French, a spokeswoman for the Boulder County district attorney's office, said that if Karr agreed to the extradition, he could be flown to Colorado as soon as a day after the hearing. But if he contests it, she said, he could remain in Los Angeles up to 30 days.
Karr is expected to face charges in Colorado of firstdegree murder, kidnapping and child sexual assault in connection with the 1996 killing of JonBenet.
A passenger who sat near Karr during the long flight said the suspect seemed to enjoy a friendly rapport with law enforcement agents.
"They always had smiles on their faces — except when they were protecting him in the bathroom," said Dan Shiff of Montreal.
Karr shied away from the throngs of cameras that crowded around him in Bangkok, but spent about 30 minutes "primping" before the plane landed in Los Angeles, Shiff said.
Despite the overwhelming media coverage of Karr's moves over the last few days, some aboard the flight were unaware of his presence.
"I didn't know what was going on," said University of Southern California student Lalida Mangkornkanok, 21.
"We weren't informed that he was on the flight…. I'm glad nothing happened."
Five days after he was taken into custody by authorities in Bangkok, Karr, 41, was led out of the Thai city's downtown immigration detention center at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Surrounded closely by a cadre of about a dozen uniformed police officials, Karr was not handcuffed but was ushered quickly to a white van.
Karr, wearing black pants, a maroon, short-sleeved shirt and a black tie, remained expressionless as he walked through a media throng.
A frantic motorcade of several taxis and cars chased the van through Bangkok's traffic-choked streets and onto its express toll road for the 20-minute drive to Don Muang International Airport. As the van pulled up to the curb at Terminal 1 beneath a Thai Airways sign, a crush of television cameramen and photographers descended.
A melee ensued as a phalanx of immigration police officers formed a tight ring to secure Karr. With the escorts pushing violently against the aggressive horde of journalists, travelers looked on as the spectacle snaked its way through the terminal.
Again, Karr stayed silent, looking ahead blankly.
Meanwhile on Sunday, Dr. Thep Vechavisit, a prominent Thai plastic surgeon who specializes in sex-change operations, breast enhancement procedures and other cosmetic plastic surgeries, acknowledged that Karr "was one of my patients," the Associated Press reported.
Vechavisit declined to elaborate, but a staffer at the clinic, who asked for anonymity because she was not authorized to talk to the media, said Karr had consulted the doctor about a sex-change operation.
A series of unfortunate events....
Wow! So much to say, and we haven't even left LA yet!
So, the plane that we are going to take comes in to
Long Beach for an emergency landing. They have to park the plane on the runway and evacuate the passengers using the emergency exits. This is around, 5:30.
So, the plane is dead so we have to make other arrangements. We stand in line for 40 minutes at the ticket desk (no one was there...) while Grant tried to get help over the phone. Finally at 6:30 we get someone to help us and she says, "One of you go get your bags..." so I go out to get the bags and Grant gets us rebooked on a 9:00 flight to Seattle out of LAX, a hotel voucher, and an 11:00 AM flight tomorrow morning to Fairbanks.
He comes out to meet me, and our bags still aren't there...wha wha what? So we wait, and then... the bags from the people who were evacuated come through (I understand helping these people - they'd been through a lot - but we all had connections to catch at LAX! And the odd thing was, our bags were just sitting somewhere... they hadn't been put on the plane.... They'd known since 6:00 that we'd need our bags (all of us!) and yet our bags weren't here yet!
So while we were waiting, Grant called and changed our flight out of LAX to the 9:45 flight, so we'd be less time crunched. (We also heard that security and media would be making the airport extra busy tonight becasue the guy who ic accused of murdering JonBenet Ramsey is scheduled to land here from Thailand tonight at 9:30 - I misheard and thought it was some dignitary and relayed the information to someone else...oops.... hee hee)
So anyway our bags came out at like 7:40 and we grabbed a taxi (with an airline voucher, of course) and got to LAX at 8:00. It is 8:50 now and Grant just got back with Burger King (another good reason to take the late flight!
More later
So, the plane that we are going to take comes in to
Long Beach for an emergency landing. They have to park the plane on the runway and evacuate the passengers using the emergency exits. This is around, 5:30.
So, the plane is dead so we have to make other arrangements. We stand in line for 40 minutes at the ticket desk (no one was there...) while Grant tried to get help over the phone. Finally at 6:30 we get someone to help us and she says, "One of you go get your bags..." so I go out to get the bags and Grant gets us rebooked on a 9:00 flight to Seattle out of LAX, a hotel voucher, and an 11:00 AM flight tomorrow morning to Fairbanks.
He comes out to meet me, and our bags still aren't there...wha wha what? So we wait, and then... the bags from the people who were evacuated come through (I understand helping these people - they'd been through a lot - but we all had connections to catch at LAX! And the odd thing was, our bags were just sitting somewhere... they hadn't been put on the plane.... They'd known since 6:00 that we'd need our bags (all of us!) and yet our bags weren't here yet!
So while we were waiting, Grant called and changed our flight out of LAX to the 9:45 flight, so we'd be less time crunched. (We also heard that security and media would be making the airport extra busy tonight becasue the guy who ic accused of murdering JonBenet Ramsey is scheduled to land here from Thailand tonight at 9:30 - I misheard and thought it was some dignitary and relayed the information to someone else...oops.... hee hee)
So anyway our bags came out at like 7:40 and we grabbed a taxi (with an airline voucher, of course) and got to LAX at 8:00. It is 8:50 now and Grant just got back with Burger King (another good reason to take the late flight!
More later
Sunday, August 20, 2006
Alaska! - Long Beach Airport
Grant and I are sitting in the terminal waiting for our delayed flight.
I am feeling crappy becasue the agents gave me a hard time about the contact solution I brought - I had checked online and it specifically listed contact saline solution as something I could bring. I left it sealed in its box, thinking that would help, and I went out to specifically buy a 4 ounce bottle (which by the way costs the same amount as a full size bottle...)
My big concern was if we missed our connection and I had to spend the night.
I told the lady I checked the website and it said the solution was fine and she said, "the key word is essential...is the contact solution essential?" I explained that the solution would be if my flight was delayed and I missed my connection, and she argued with me, 'Well, how do you know your flight will be delayed? Did they tell you it would?" You could tell she was irritated that I had brought it, but it was allowed so she wasn't going to stop me.
I just felt bad. I don;t like to push rules or limits m- I like to comply and be not a pain or a problem... I wasn't going to bring it. I have only had two instances when my contacts have gotten really dry on planes and I have had to take them out and soak them, but long flights or late nights tend to do it. I really just wanted to make sure - and the website said it was okay. I don;t know why I feel crummy. I just do.
Anyways...
I have this game called 20Q. I have a portable one, but you can play online at that link. I am addicted. I love this thing. It passes time while waiting here.
As of now, our flight is delayed, so we will miss our connection. They already rebooked us on a later flight so we;ll be getting into Fairbanks an hour and a half later.
I am feeling crappy becasue the agents gave me a hard time about the contact solution I brought - I had checked online and it specifically listed contact saline solution as something I could bring. I left it sealed in its box, thinking that would help, and I went out to specifically buy a 4 ounce bottle (which by the way costs the same amount as a full size bottle...)
My big concern was if we missed our connection and I had to spend the night.
I told the lady I checked the website and it said the solution was fine and she said, "the key word is essential...is the contact solution essential?" I explained that the solution would be if my flight was delayed and I missed my connection, and she argued with me, 'Well, how do you know your flight will be delayed? Did they tell you it would?" You could tell she was irritated that I had brought it, but it was allowed so she wasn't going to stop me.
I just felt bad. I don;t like to push rules or limits m- I like to comply and be not a pain or a problem... I wasn't going to bring it. I have only had two instances when my contacts have gotten really dry on planes and I have had to take them out and soak them, but long flights or late nights tend to do it. I really just wanted to make sure - and the website said it was okay. I don;t know why I feel crummy. I just do.
Anyways...
I have this game called 20Q. I have a portable one, but you can play online at that link. I am addicted. I love this thing. It passes time while waiting here.
As of now, our flight is delayed, so we will miss our connection. They already rebooked us on a later flight so we;ll be getting into Fairbanks an hour and a half later.
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