Alaska Again At Last!

At last I am allowing myself to talk about it. I mean blog about it. Alaska! Travel plans have been made for the past two months but I am so excited about going back, I knew if I talked about it all this time, I mean blogged about it, I'd be driving people nuts. So I told myself I wouldn't broach the subject here until six weeks prior to my departure date.

Well... kids, grandkids and great grandkids have been pleasant distractions and I've overshot by a week. I leave five weeks from today!

This will be my third trip to our northernmost state, and similar to the previous two in many ways: I'm taking the Alaska Highway System passenger fairy again from Bellingham, WA (3 days, 3 nights) to Juneau. Staying there a few days, then jumping back on board to head farther north to Skagway, as before. Staying a bit, then back to Juneau. Plan to put in some traditional token time at the Red Dog Saloon (the original). I've already made reservations for another raft trip on the Mendenhahl one day, and to spend another day riding the narrow gauge train (original box cars complete with pot belly stoves) -- a breathtaking adventure, although the train no longer goes all the way to Whitehorse, Yukon Territory (as before)..

The huge difference is that this time I won't be with Frank, my honey of a husband for 34+ years. He enjoyed Alaska the first two times, but has no desire to go back. My son Craig has been there on business and isn't interested in going again, but his wife Blanca has always wanted to go, and so we're making it a Girls Going Crazy adventure. We always have a good time together but, considering I'm not as young as she is and I'm not as young as I used to be either, I hope I can keep up with her and survive the good time we plan to have!

Alaska is the only place I've ever travelled to where I didn't want to come home. I'm not a traveler by nature and usually my favorite part of any trip is coming home. But in Alaska, the air is clean and crisp and clear, and the people are... different from the people here. They're... friendly. Not the "Welcome, tourist!" kind of friendly you often find in Hawaii, but genuinely amiable, always interested in helping, and obviously proud of their State. Regardless of the elements, they blend into their environment and invite you in as well. I love Alaska -- the people, the place, and the outdoorsy lifestyle. I would live there in a heartbeat if I could move all my family with me.

There's just one tiny problem I foresee around the bend, however; and I believe we can nip it in the bud. One of us is nuts about Sarah Palin and one of us can't stand to hear the mention of her name. Alaska is Sarah Palin country, but we have vowed not to speak of her on our trip.

Since drinking is the national pass-time in Alaska, and I'm not exactly known for my ability to handle booze well, I'm in the early stage of inventing something I think might help... duct tape with a hole in it to hold a straw. I'll let you know how it works when I return toward the end of August. (Give me a little time to recuperate first...)