Well, today's the day we hit our 50th state! Arranged for a town car to pick us up at the stable, said our good-bys to our four-legged family members, and headed out to the airport. Unlike my earlier flight this week, we got the 5th degree from TSA. They confiscated my corkscrew because it had a one and a half inch "blade" on it, then searched both bags, chastised me for several minutes because I had too many liquids and wasn't following the 3-1-1 rule, then when they finally learned I was handling baggage for two, it suddenly became all right, though no apology was offered, just another lecture about "in the future," all the while using a tone that of a 1st grade teacher (and not in the nice way). This despite the fact I had a TSA pre-board pass. Despite being over 70, they still made him take off his jacket and shoes, because he had to have a pat down (because of his defibrillator), and they said it would help make it "go faster." What a crock. Anyway, we finally managed to make it through, and we had breakfast at the restaurant in the terminal, which was surprisingly good considering the monopoly. Finally got on the plane, which was another turbo jet like Monday, and were in Seattle in no time. Fortunately, our outgoing flight to Anchorage was also in the same terminal just a few gates away, so that was easier than before. Wasn't long before we were winging our way north! The flight was uneventful, and we landed easily enough, and our baggage was out in no time. Called Great Alaskan Holidays, from whom we had rented an RV, and they were out in no time. We had originally planned on staying the night there, then getting the orientation in the morning and heading out, but we had taken an earlier flight than originally planned, so we just managed to squeak in under the wire, saw most of the video before we reminded them we were full-time Rvers, and they quickly sent us on our way just before they closed their gates at 7:00. We headed out to Fred Meyers (it was recommended over Walmart, but that proved to be a mistake), where we bought as many supplies as we could, though they didn't have a lot that we would normally get. Got a bit perturbed by a clerk in their liquor store, when she insisted that we BOTH show ID in order to buy brandy and wine, insisting that even if I walked away she wouldn't serve Hubby because I had "touched the bottles". I had left mine in the RV, and no amount of reasoning would change her mind, so I ended up having to go all the way out to the edge of the parking lot to get mine, how stupid. Not a good first impression of Alaska, I'm afraid. We had learned late that there was no overnight parking allowed anywhere in Anchorage, so we had to get out of town asap, not part of the plan, but there you go. We still didn't want to spend the night in the RV parking lot, so we headed south. There were many turnouts along the way, but most were right on the road, which we wanted to avoid if we could. We finally pulled into Bird Creek, a fee parking area that had a row of trees separating the RV area from the road, and for $5, it was worth it. We didn't bother pulling the slide out, we just had a quick dinner and settled in for the night, grateful that it wasn't raining despite dire forecasts, and having seen some fantastic scenery as we headed along the Chugash mountains on one side and the Cook Inlet on the other. Gorgeous! And most importantly, we made it!! Our 50th state!
Speak Your Mind