Part 3 ……………………. “North to Alaska”

Thu 14 Jul 16

PHX-ANC, 1715-2151
AA653, A319

I almost successfully navigated the return to Sky Harbor via I-10. In true American fashion, they initially had signs saying “Rental Car Return” on the Interstate highway … and then they didn’t, so I left I-10 too soon and found myself at the Eastern end of the airport. Ho-hum … grind through 3 miles of confusing lanes of road, including one stretch where [on the other side of a low hedge] was traffic going the other way on what appeared to be the UK side of a dual carriageway! Very disconcerting! However, all was recovered, we found our way into the Rental Centre, descended the dedicated Avis ramp to the lower level, and dropped the car. With our cases we returned to the surface and the Shuttle stops. Now I’m clearly losing my looks, as I was identified as someone needing assistance, when a staffer took our bags and placed them kerb-side, whilst also ushering us to the front of the queue! “Shuttle to Terminal 4 … wait here”, which we did for some 10 minutes, before eventually being dropped off at the right place. To add insult to previous injury, iWife was then offered a wheelchair as we entered the Departures hall! Check-in/bag drop was performed by the surliest and most miserable staffer I have ever encountered. Whatever, that’s her problem. TSA Pre✓ took but a few moments, and we settled in to the Admirals Lounge for an hour.

At 1645 we were boarded in the usual efficient AA manner, and settled in to 1A/B in the tiny Domestic First cabin … just 2 rows of 2-2 seats I don’t know why I picked Row 1 … DYKWIA moment? It was soon obvious that legroom was less than ideal for the 5.5 hours to ANC. Careless moment, should know better!



However, the prompt arrival of pretzels and PDB champagne alleviated my suffering, and the discovery that they had loaded some Sauvignon Blanc [instead of the almost inevitable US-style Chardonnay, which we hate] raised our spirits further.

Push-back was on the dot of 1715, as advertised … AA seem to do so well in that respect. Taxying out offered some interesting views, as we passed over and under and alongside roads on the way to the runway!







And then up and away …



Drinks were served at 1745, and the main meal at 1820, by our very nice and personable male FA. We had pre-ordered the Herbed Chicken, which was rather good. However, again there was a slight overload on salad-y starters.







Drone. Drone. Boring. Uncomfortable. Legs starting to twitch. Can’t sleep, but some people can. It must be awful back there in Coach.



And then it became apparent that we were possibly approaching Alaska, as the dry dusty plains gave way to Rocky things with white tops … WooT







… and through the scratched windows came the sight of the setting sun, as 2240 turned into 2140 [local time] …



… and we arrived at the Gate exactly on time again! Heading for reclaim, we were met by our friends who we hadn’t seen for 10 years - gosh, they haven’t changed a bit! Bags collected [prioritised again!] they then kindly drove us to our new location … Homewood Suites Anchorage! There we discovered we had snagged a ‘space available upgrade’ from a Studio to a proper Suite for the princely sum of $64 for the 8 days. Contentment! After quickly unpacking, and a moment to catch our breath, we crashed at 2359 local.



After 8 solid hours of sleep, it was time to get going and discover some of Alaska. Shower, dress, draw the blackout curtains to reveal … sunshine!! Indeed, our entire week was blessed with dry and sunny days, with temperatures in the mid-70s/~24ºC. After navigating our way down the very long corridor to the Lobby …



… where we enjoyed a decent [free] breakfast, and asked Reception to hail the Hilton shuttle-bus to take us Downtown [which was up to the north of us] to the Anchorage Visitor Center. This is a most useful hub for various city tours and other touristy things. (City Tour is 1 hour and $20, if that’s your thing). But on this, our first day, we just wandered to the Police Museum, checked out the Shopping Mall and some Tourist-y shops, and sat awhile in the Town Square. I have to say there’s not a lot to Anchorage, it seems, although they’re well geared up for the Cruise Ship tourists.







Then it was back to the Visitor Center, where there are free phones to call your hotel’s shuttle bus … a very helpful setup.







We headed back early, as we were being picked up to return to our friends’ place for a BBQ - which they do rather well!



Out and About

We were utterly spoiled by our friends … they had both taken time off work to really show us around. And they certainly did that! We were whizzed here, there and everywhere with 2 knowledgeable local guides [they’ve been in Anchorage for 10 years now]. The following pictures give a small taste of the things we saw …

Lake Hood, right by the Airport … A huge seaplane base for all those folks heading into the wilds to go fishing, hunting or whatever. An extraordinary sight - there must have been over 100 floatplanes there. And masses of other light aircraft parked on the dry bits nearby. ATC at ANC must be quite good fun!







Anchorage Saturday Market, where you could spend a small fortune and meet some very friendly huskies!





Part of Chugach State Park, and a large lake … such things clearly appeal to the local community, but a bit rural for our taste!





Eagle River Nature Reserve - it was here that our host was once pursued by a curious bear to the very end of the boardwalk!



City Water Park and [paved] Trails



Potter Marsh Wildlife Sanctuary. Moose footprints in the sand, probably. Or bears. Or elephants. We did however see a distant Bald Eagle perched on a branch, through binoculars, with some difficulty!





Anchorage Museum … a most interesting 2 hour wander though the various exhibits, many highlighting Native culture and dress. I’m not, by nature, a museums person, but I found this one really interesting. Excellent dioramas showing the lifestyle of the native Americans, and their amazing clothing, and an insight into their lifestyle ... definitely worth a visit, especially with the OAP discount!











An Exciting Day Out

Tuesday 19 Sep. A new record temperature for the Airport - 79ºF/26ºC

Primary destination was the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center near Portage, some 40 miles SouthEast down the Seward Highway. The road follows the coastline and is basically the ONLY road heading south. It wasn’t long before we encountered signs of the wildfire that had been burning since Saturday … right above the road!





That small obstacle overcome, we reached our destination and wandered the various enclosures to get our first close-up views of Alaskan wildlife [even if not in the wild]. Now then. children, can you name all of them?











Having spoken nicely to the animals, and not having been eaten or gored, it was time to go and eat some animals … and thus we headed to “Double Musky” in Girdwood. This is a very popular [if unpretentious] local eating place, as was evidenced by the queue forming at the door waiting for the 1700 opening time! It may not look much, but the food was superb and the wines [by the glass] sensibly priced - their cellar bottles can be seriously expensive!





Given the enormous size of the main course portions [20 oz steak, anyone?] 3 of us decided to feast on an assortment of appetisers at around $12 each - Bang Bang Shrimp, Steak Tips and Mushrooms stuffed with scallops









Having settled the bill, time came to retrace our route back up Seward Highway. Which worked until around 1905, when we hit a tailback of traffic on this 2-lane road. And stopped. Completely. There was a brief movement at 1950, which moved us several hundred yards. And then we stopped again. It was clear that the problem was the wildfire up the road .. and that was about 10 miles further on! By this time, there was probably another 10 miles of traffic behind us, and with no side roads to take as an option we could be here for the night, as the stationary traffic stretched into the far distance!!



Then suddenly there was some southbound traffic … and at 2140, nearly 3 hours after we hit the tail of the traffic, we were all mobile again! By 2200 as the sun was going down we were back at the hotel, and desperate to sleep!!



After that experience we’d had enough of Alaska, and decided to go home!!

Thu 21 Jul 16

The day dawned overcast, with persistent rain/drizzle. This clearly reinforced our decision to go home! A flurry of packing, a light lunch and an attempt to grab a couple of hours sleep [which didn’t really work]. Dinner downstairs at 1700, with our friends joining us for a drink courtesy of the Guest Services Manager [bless her], and then we braced ourselves for the journey home with the Shuttle to the airport ‘booked’ for 2230. Excuse me? This is past my bedtime already!!

Bags dropped, a wad of BPs printed, TSA Pre✓ painless, what’s to worry about? Ah, of course, we were politely denied access to the Alaskan Boardroom Lounge!! OWE flying AA carries no weight here!! Oh well, go and perch at the Gate with the Public, then




ANC-PHX-CLT-DUB-JER awaits!