Forty Seven and a half hours in Alaska, June, 2008
Sometimes in travel, everything comes together in a way you can't resist. That is what happened on this trip.
So you just have to jump at the chance to get away for a bit.
The trip started off Saturday morning with a drive to LaGuardia, then a cab from there over to Kennedy. We were flying back into LaGuardia, so leaving the car there, but flying out of Kennedy. We expected way more traffic between the two airports then there was, we thought the running at Belmont would have really messed up the day, but there was no traffic on any of the roads what so ever.
The flights for the entire trip were all perfect. You don't get to say that much about getting on airplanes anymore, but it was totally uneventful. The only delay, and it was minor at most, was the TSA at Kennedy were having some sort of staff meeting, so only one checkpoint was open in the terminal, but that was only minor delay. All the planes were on time, all the bags made it, never a hassle at the airports, etc.
Saturday afternoon waiting in the lounge to board
One of the most common questions we were asked, was how long does it take to get to Alaska? Well, heading out you have the time difference in your favor. We left Kennedy at about 3:30 in the afternoon, and we were on the ground in Anchorage just about midnight.
The very first thing you notice was even though the sunset was at 11:30 or so, it was still light out. Very light. We met a few other travelers we knew who were taking advantage of the fares and that lived there we knew for a quick hello, then off to pick up the rental.
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Avis gave us a Chevrolet Aveo, which they bill as the least expensive car in America. A bit apprehensive at first, it was really a decent car for what we needed. Granted, we were for the most part always on paved roads, and the weather was good so it wasn't an issue, but it was comfortable, had decent enough pick up and power, etc. |
We stayed at the Homewood Suites in Anchorage for the two nights.
Sunday we had breakfast at the hotel, then headed up towards Matanuska Glacier. The plans for the day were to walk out on the Glacier, then in the afternoon to do some white water rafting on the rivers fed from the melting water of the Glacier.
Sunday Morning on the way up to Matanuska:
Us at one of the many road side pull outs/picture spots |
The river was fed both from the melting ice at the glaciers on it's path and the rain the day before, so it was a bit higher then usual for this time of year |
The morning clouds had not yet burned off, but in the afternoon the sky was wonderful. Our River Guide told us it was the first time this season the clouds burned off enough to actually see anything in the distance |
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The Matanuska Glacier in the distance, where we were headed |
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