Back to the Lower 48

Trip Start Sep 05, 2008
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Trip End Sep 16, 2008


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Flag of United States  , Alaska,
Monday, September 15, 2008

We awoke to another cloudy day, but no rain!  It was an improvement at least.  Today was our last day in Alaska, so we would leave Seward to drive back to Anchorage for our flight at 1:00 am.  Luckily, they were opening the airport in Houston the day we were to arrive.  We had some time to burn.  We did a little shopping for souvenirs before leaving Seward and then headed out back to Anchorage.  As we got up into the mountains, the clouds broke up a little and we were greeted with little pockets of sunshine.  The drive was beautiful, and we tried to stop at bird point for a picnic lunch, but it turned out to be a little colder than we expected so we enjoyed the view for a bit and went on our way to Anchorage. 
 
We arrived in Anchorage, ate at Arby's (the thought of another PB&J didn't thrill us) and we went to the downtown area to do a little shopping.  It was weird being back in a city with so many cars and people.  We wandered through a few stores that were pretty touristy, and eventually ended up at the Sleeping Lady Brewery to try out what they had to offer.  I don't know about Rick, but the sampling process left me pretty loaded.  After drinking quite a few, we wandered around downtown looking for a place to eat.  Unfortunately, by the time we were done drinking, most places were closed, including the reindeer hotdog vendor.  I had seen this guy on a documentary TV program all about hotdogs, and I wanted so badly to partake in a reindeer hotdog ever since I saw it on the program.  Alas, the booze clouded my priorities, and I missed out on the opportunity.  A little part of my life will remain unfulfilled....  We ended up getting in the car and driving over to the Moose's Tooth for more beer and the most awesome pizza I've ever had.  After burning time at the restaurant, cleaning out the rental car, we finally made our way back to the airport.  We bid farewell to our trusty Ford Focus, a little muddier and 1,500 miles later. 
 
So our flight didn't leave until 1:00 in the morning.  In hindsight it wasn't the best idea to drink all afternoon and then get on a plane.  I was pretty hung over by that time, and on top of a lot of pizza and a viscous cold, I was about as miserable as a person could get.  Yes, I was THAT person- the one on the plane coughing and snarfing and spreading disease to the poor people trapped in there with me.  I wanted nothing more than to sleep, but I was stuck in the middle seat and the woman next to me decided to play her portable DVD player the entire time.  Friends blared from the screen that was as bright as the surface of the sun. I tried to bury myself in a blanket, but no sleep came for the 3 hour trip to Seattle. 
 
We were greeted by a beautiful, cloudless morning in Seattle.  My brother offered for us to get off and stay there with him while we waited out the hurricane mess, and that beautiful morning made it really tempting.  We were able to get off the plane again, and it was nice to get some fresh air and replenish my Kleenex supply.  The 4 hours back to Houston wasn't so bad- the in-flight movie was good (Ms. Pettigrew Lives for a Day), I got a window seat, I could periodically breathe, and we were not served and food items containing ranch. 
 
We arrived at the airport, and everything seemed normal despite the hurricane:  air conditioning, power, and all the comforts of civilization.  Once outside it was quite different and a new ordeal began....
 
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