Another big time consumer this summer was travel. In July we did something we’ve been planning for years – headed up to Alaska.
I lived in Alaska for three years, but that was fifty years ago. My biggest question was whether or not I would recognize and remember anything! She Who Must Be Obeyed had never been to Alaska, so it was about time.
We ended up choosing a two week fly/cruise/train expedition: Fly into Vancouver, Canada, cruise up the Inside Passage to Seward, take a train to Anchorage, take another train from Anchorage to Denali National Park, three days in Denali, a bus to Fairbanks, and then fly home.
This was our first cruise and we had concerns about it. No need for concern, we loved it! The Inside Passage is completely smooth. The only way you could tell the ship was moving was to look out the window. Our balcony cabin was comfortable and offered great views. Food was great and there were things to do. We had three shore excursions and got to do a variety of things like whale watching.
I didn’t recognize Anchorage at all, even after living there for three years. This was a combination of changes to the city and fuzzy memory. I did recognize one thing: the 1950’s style sign for 4 Ave. Army Navy Surplus store – one of my favorite places 50 years ago. Great disappointment when I walked up and discovered that it was now Big Ray’s Alaska Outfitters…
From Anchorage we took the domeliner train to Denali National Park. Great views and a good ride.
At Denali we took a bus ride 42 miles into the park. Unfortunately we didn’t see Mt. Denali (formerly Mt. McKinley), but we did see a mother bear and three cubs. At a distance…
Leaving Denali we took a bus into Fairbanks, spent the night there, and then flew home.
All in all a great trip! It did take a lot of time to plan, prepare for, and recover from. All of which kept me away from working on the Imperial.
Then in October we drove to Oklahoma to see family. As we usually do, we spent some time driving around back roads we hadn’t been on before. Driving through the small town of Chickisha we did a sudden double take – there in the center of town was a 42′ tall leg lamp, straight out of A Christmas Story! Not what you expect to see in rural Oklahoma!
While I didn’t get any work done on the Imperial I did manage to get out to several local car shows. In the past I would get comments “what a neat car!”. This year I got comments “what a beautiful car!”. The hard work is beginning to pay off!
