A Weekend in Anchorage

After traveling 10+ hours, crossing four, yes FOUR time zones, and arriving in Anchorage in the early hours on Saturday, we knew it was going to be a light day. After a leisurely morning we spent the afternoon strolling through the outdoor Anchorage Market and Festival conveniently located in downtown Anchorage. It was a good introduction to Alaskan fresh produce, goods and craft items. The festival consists of more than 300 vendors on seven acres selling unique Alaska products.

Sunday was our friend Gracie’s day for church service, allowing Sue and I to drive into Anchorage for a full day of sightseeing. Our first stop was the Anchorage Trolley Tour. We highly recommend it and hope you are lucky enough to get Alice our singing tour guide.

 

We boarded the tour at the Anchorage Visitors Center, a log cabin surrounded by the gorgeous flowers that are everywhere in Anchorage. There were lots of sights to see on the one hour tour; Earthquake Park (site of the largest quake in North America), and Lake Hood Seaplane Base (where we saw planes taking off and landing on water).

We passed the architecturally stunning Anchorage Museum where a visit to the museum store is a priority on anyone's list. It is the largest museum in Alaska and the store contains objects from all Alaska Native cultures. We decided a return visit was definitely a must.

Continuing our journey to shop uniquely Alaskan products, a must on the list is fur and fish, which are staple Alaska products. A quick visit ensued to the venerable David Green fur shop to drool over the hats, scarfs and coats. We ended the day with a late evening viewing of the salmon run at Ship Creek in downtown Anchorage. People lined the banks, catching fish and cleaning fish on the dock!

To see Alaska products up close and personal, we visited the Oomingmak Co-operative where a Native Alaskan woman was knitting an exquisite Qiviut scarf. Qiviut (kiv-ee-ute) is the underwool from the Arctic musk ox. Stay tuned, we are visiting the Musk Ox farm tomorrow to see these prehistoric looking animals!

 

Lots of fishermen and women standing on the banks and in the water casting about for the many salmon swimming in the water. We stood on a bridge overlooking Ship Creek watching schools of fish. Whatever was caught could be gutted and cleaned right at the cleaning station on the bridge. All within sight of downtown hotels. Rent a room and walk to your fishing hole. A busy day and really exciting!

Tales from 30,000 Feet: Medical Emergencies Edition

Finally, after all the planning and preparing, it was time to depart for ALASKA. Sue and I met at the Rochester airport around 3:30pm to catch our 5:30pm flight to Chicago. Even with all the construction, the bags were checked, promptly and security was swift, arriving at the gate with time to spare.

Sue and Sheila in United Club Lounge

Given the busy activity at the gate area, the extra $25 to ensure early boarding was a prudent investment, as we were able to be amongst the first to board and get settled. It was a completely full flight for this short 1 hour 30 minute flight to Chicago.

Pro Tip: Check your itineraries on the airline websites. Sometimes they offer trip enhancements (like early boarding, priority security, better seats) for only a few dollars more.

The first medical emergency of the day occurred when the passenger who brought an unregistered oxygen tank on the aircraft did not know how to use it. This caused a minor medical kerfuffle, but helpful crew members resolved the problem quickly and professionally.

Next up, our 5 hour 45 minute flight from O’Hare to Ted Stevens International Airport. Thankfully we had time to decompress while ensconced in high back velvet chairs with crystal chandeliers over our head in one of the recently renovated United Club lounges. It’s easy to forget you are in an airport, given the lack of foot traffic and the relaxed atmosphere around you. Light snacks, salads and free drinks were an added bonus while anticipating the next leg of our trip. At midnight, we boarded Alaska Airlines for the final leg of our journey. 

Our second medical emergency of the day occurred not long after departure. It’s easy to dismiss that familiar “DING” sound when someone presses the flight attendant button, but we became a little more alert when the call “if there is a doctor or other medical personnel on board, please ring your call button” went out in the cabin A first responder jumped into action and assisted a passenger with heart trouble. With the patient sedated and resting comfortably through the rest of the flight, we eagerly anticipated our trip to Gracie’s home in Eagle River, a half hour drive from the airport.

Anchorage Ted Stevens International Airport is the gateway to many of the travel adventures in Alaska and was humming with activity upon our arrival, at 3:30am. The airport has world class treasures of Native American artwork and a wonderful collection of taxidermy animals - bears, musk ox, trumpeter swans and moose.

Eagerly anticipating our trip to Gracie's home, after securing our rental vehicle we headed northeast to Eagle River, a half hour drive from the airport. Sue said driving to Eagle River and looking at the pine trees on the mountain was like being in a postcard!  Here we are at long last! Excited to begin our Alaska adventure. Photos of the road to Gracie's home, our home away from home, and the lovely flowers on her front porch.

  

Alaska Is Not Next Door

Remember when we said Alaska was at the end of the earth? It is faaaaar. Blog followers want to know, “how do you get to Alaska” and “how long does it take”?

Many years ago when I lived in Alaska, to get to the lower 48 (what Alaskan's call the contiguous U.S.) you had to connect through Seattle, Denver, Salt Lake City, or seasonally via Chicago or Minneapolis. Now you can get to Anchorage from all airline hubs outside of the East Coast.


For this trip just the flight time alone, excluding time spent driving to the airport, going through security, waiting to board the aircraft, and relaxing in lounges along the way, is scheduled for 8 hours and 38 minutes. 


Airlines love to pad schedules to account for airport congestion and route inefficiencies. The airlines have scheduled Rochester to Chicago at 2 hours 3 minutes flight time, with Chicago to Anchorage clocking in at a whopping 6 hours 35 minutes. In reality these flights will be shorter, but not by much more than 30 minutes. 

All told, it will be around 10.5 hours of travel over 2 days and we will still be in the United States! This leaves lots of time to check out the inflight entertainment, read your Kindle, or listen to a podcast... or eight. When not trying to run for a flight yourself, airports are also great places to people watch.


Pro Tip: at 24 hours prior to departure, check-in to your flight online and find out what entertainment options (streaming content, in-seat Audio, Video, On Demand or AVOD, wifi) are available. That way you will always be prepared!


Keep your questions coming and I will post answers as we travel the state.