North to Alaska

Just got back from Alaska.

It was near summer and been a while since we had taken a long vacation. So, we decided to try an excursion to Alaska for 10 days. We arranged things through a travel company, with the help of a personal friend and were off.

First, the airline tickets were outrageously expensive. And there was the additional burden of timing-when to leave, layovers, and arrival times with the time difference of 3 hours to take into account.

It didn't go so well.

Word of advice. Take a trip on the airlines with either no-or few layovers. Travel time is bad enough. Sitting in a terminal hallway in hard-backed chairs for hours, wishing you have brought something to read, with your bottom already hurting from sitting in a plane seat, cramped and bored, with attendant feelings of gross claustrophobia, does not lend itself to vacation cheer.

Then we arrive at our first destination: A hotel in Anchorage. Where our first failure to account for times and the lack of alternatives for plane flights left us sitting there with our luggage stacked up near us. My wife has a photo of me in an armchair, eyes closed, obviously asleep. Luckily for us, a guest checked out early that morning and the clerk handed over that empty room to us, moving us into it.

Morning… and they had a fantastic breakfast (at about twice what you would normally pay in Arkansas.) We checked through our bags for the cabin in Seward that was our next destination, caught the train and we were on our way again.

Seward was the best! At the end of Resurrection Bay, it is the classic fishing village, a tiny town of 3,000 in tourist season (almost no one in the winter.) It has a couple of good restaurants, a good grocery store, hardware store and amenities, and is

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‘Wordaholic’ By Robert L. Hall ROBERT HALL (cont.)

is totally surrounded by snow-topped mountains.

We took the water tour out of the bay and onto the ocean, around a point and into yet another bay. We saw whales, seals, otterseven got a snapshot of four white mountain goats clinging to the top of a sheer cliff at the water's edge. That one will be on my wall when we develop it.

There were tremendous views of gigantic glaciers tilting toward the ocean.

What

be my wall will be any shot of me being seasick when the captain switched off the engine and we were floating around in the ocean-for about two hours in my case.

My dad told me what it was like when he was in the Navy. Now, I know for sure and don't have to imagine it. Even drinks of ginger ale and bitters, and having taken Dramamine pills did not prevent it in my case (or the case of several others on the tour boat.)

Next up was the town of Denali and a butt-busting small bus trip over 100 miles long through the mountain range there, with plenty of trees and bushes and powder baby-blue mountains which should have been black. They weren't because at the time of the tour there were approximately 250 active wildfires in Alaska and the smoke of course rose to the higher altitudes, making the smoky look-which you can also smell very easily.

We saw some moose and bear during the bus tour, but they were not as dangerous to us as the old woman across the aisle and two seats behind us, who was coughing constantly, as we found out the next morning, when we both awoke sickly the next morning in our room.

That was after yet another train ride, which I don't really think is so romantic as I used to think, when I saw trains in the movies.

Restricted access to food and drink, with –a separate dining car afforded only to the supremely-expensed riders, also hit a sour note with me… as well as others who complained about it during the trip to me.

Those uppity riders were called “Gold Star” riders.

Someone is always looking to make an extra buck at someone else's expense, it seems-even in this farflung frontier state.

We arrived at our last destination: a luxury mountain resort in Talkeeta. And it was planned right on time.

It was our 35th anniversary and we splurged at the best restaurant on the place. My stomach was in terrible shape, but I held up enough to finish the meal.

Although the maître d made fun of my drink of choice: A diet coke.

“It's a good vintage,” he quipped, trying to be funny. I informed him, “My wife and I don't travel much, but we live in Arkansas…so there is not much reason to leave our state anyway.”

He smiled knowingly.

“I see your point.”

“Just putting it out there,” I said, smiling and toasting my wife with my drink.

Two days at the hotel, we cancelled all events, being under the weather.

And although it was a downer, we were looking forward to coming home.

After 10 hours of waiting time at terminals and 8 hours travel time, we were back in Memphis.

So, there it is. Some good, some bad. Like the song: “Seems like life to me, ain't no tragedy.”

But, I've got some great pictures!

Robert L. Hall is a resident of Marion and has a Bachelor’s Degree in music from the University of Memphis and a Master’s Degree from Florida State University. He is the pianist for Avondale Baptist Church and a writer of fiction on Amazon eBooks.