Alaska 2008

Alaska 2008

July 1,
Anchorage
After a busy day of getting ready to go; driving from Odessa to Seattle which the Exploder decided it would give us some more problems; having dinner with Janet, Cammie, Jennifer and friends Rowland and Kathy; we finally climbed on an airplane bound for Anchorage at 9:00 p.m. We were already tired, actually, it was time for bed for us, but we still had a few hours to go. We arrived in Anchorage 20 minutes early and I am thinking we are going to get to our hotel a few minutes early as well, but it was not to be. FINALLY our bags arrived (5 flights arrived at the same time, overwhelming the baggage carriers) and I sat Al out on the curb to wait while I went to get the rental car. And oh, by the way, it was a little cool out here…only 55 degrees. Where else could you get up in the morning (in Odessa) and leave there at a balmy 100 degrees, go to Seattle where it was 77 degrees and end your day at 55 degrees. My body was already starting to rebel!
At Avis is where the trouble started. First of all I was just a little on the tired side, I had been awake for over 18 hours and I don’t do that very well. Then Avis said they didn’t have my reservation, but, since I am always prepared for this, I had printed a copy of the reservation. They explained that they were a franchise and that their computers didn’t “talk” to the other Avis computers!?! HUH? Okay, but regardless of that, they still had the name AVIS on the door. Finally they called somewhere and, oh, I did have a reservation. But now the real trouble began and by this time I was just a little cranky. I rented the car through my Boeing Corporate rate that I am still entitled to. However, when AVIS drew up the contract for me to sign here, it was twice the amount I was quoted. Uh, NO! So we went round and round about the price and finally, after another call to the AVIS wizard, I got the price I was quoted. Then they wanted to give me a lesser car….round three. After 45 minutes, I finally got the price and the car I had reserved and by this time I was just a little more than cranky.
I pick up Al who, by this time, thought I had abandoned him (don’t go there) and we load the luggage in the car and take off for the hotel. I had made reservations at the Travel Inn for the night and we would move into my nephew’s motor home for the next couple of nights tomorrow. As we are driving to the hotel I look at Al and said “Remember a few years ago when we had reservations at the hotel from hell…The Rodeway Inn here?” He says “yes…where we slept with one eye open all night?” Yup..that one. Glad we aren’t staying there again. Uh huh. As we are pulling in to the Travel Inn, I look at Al and said “Does this look familiar?” and he says “oh-oh”. DAMN! Same damn hotel as the last time only the name had been changed. The hotel from hell was now the Travel Inn! DAMN, DAMN, DAMN! We have already paid for the night (I had tried to save a few dollars and went to the cheaper end of the rack rate) and we are so tired neither of us wanted to go looking for another hotel at 1:30 a.m. So I go to the desk and the same person who only speaks marginally better English then the last time I was here. It was like reliving a nightmare! I asked if this used to be a Rodeway Inn (Still not believing this was happening all over again) and he said yes, it had, but that Rodeway Inn had dropped their franchise a year ago and that they had changed the name to Travel Inn. ARRRGGG! Okay, we are here, give us your ugly room. Into the room we go, at least it was on the first floor this time. It looked clean enough. We drop our luggage, do our nightly cleaning ritual, and I pull back the covers on the bed and the sheets are brand new, never washed, right out of the package and on to the bed. Okay, I am too tired to worry about it. My head hits the pillow and immediately comes up again. WTH? This pillow was like putting your head on a bag of rocks it was so lumpy and hard. Shove the pillow aside and try to go to sleep. Wait! What was that noise? Sounds like a bear! No, it is just the guy in the room next door snoring! You have got to be kidding me? I lay there and toss and turn, and listen to the snoring, which has no rhythm at all. So all night I lay there, sleeping very little…between listening to Mr. Snorer next door and getting up to check and see if the car is still outside. Al got just barely a little more sleep than I did. Finally, at 8:00 a.m. I give up, get dressed and go in search of a cup of coffee. I find a Starbucks and get two venti coffee’s to go and have mine almost completely gone by the time I get back to the hotel – and it wasn’t that far! Al by that time is up, packed and ready to go. I put a note in my Palm Pilot to NEVER make reservations at a hotel that isn’t a major chain again….and if we have to pay more for it, so be it!
We arrived at my nephews a little worse for the wear, but we are here. My brother has sold his house of 40 years here and is staying with my nephew for the summer. My nephew had just finished washing our bedroom when we arrived…we are staying in his motor home since he has a 2 bedroom house.
After visiting a few minutes my brother, Al and I jump in the car and head for the store to pick up groceries to take to the river on Friday and to get our fishing license. We also did a Costco run to get needed paper supplies. My nephew drove to the river tonight taking all of our supplies with him and we are hanging around Anchorage waiting for our friend Randy to arrive from Florida. He comes in late tomorrow night and is staying at a hotel for the night (the Hilton, not the Travel Inn) and we will pick him up early on Friday and battle our way down to the river with the other thousands of people that will be heading down that day. But that is okay, it will give Randy some time to see the scenery. We are in no hurry.
Weather today was beautiful….mid 70’s and sunny and clear. It is suppose to rain/be cloudy for the next 4 days. As I write this I can look out to the west and over Turnagain Arm and see the clouds already starting to roll in. Perhaps today was summer?
Tomorrow I am going to go find a wifi spot. Somehow I had misplaced my air card for the computer (heck…I lost the darn thing!) and besides it doesn’t like to work up here in Alaska. So I am back to checking email only every other day or so.

July 3, 2008
We finally rolled out of bed this morning around 8:30 a.m. – I think we were tired, but at least we got some good sleep. Dick, Al and I went to a local café for breakfast that is just down the road from the house…the “Southside Grill” and boy, was it good. YUM!
After breakfast I went in search of a wifi spot and found one at Borders Books. Then I decided I would go visit the AT&T store and see if I could get a new air card for my computer. Yes, they had one in stock and it is now installed in my computer. It is the new and improved version and they claim it will work anywhere you get a cell signal. Down at the river will be the test!
It is raining and cloudy here today….summer was yesterday, today is a typical Alaskan summer day. UGH! Mt Iliamna Volcano is spitting and spewing lava today….we may be able to see it from the Kenai Peninsula tomorrow. I guess it spits and spews every once in a while. It is in the Aleutian Range and on the other side of Prince William Sound from where we are.
Tomorrow is down to the river day. So until next time we are fishin…and catching fish I hope.