Alaska trip, day eleven (of a ten-day trip)
[I'm going to post this as is, then write another little note in a separate post.]
Day Eleven--Going Home
Did you know that some flights have wifi available? Unfortunately, it costs money, so I'm going to just write this up now and post it tomorrow (unless I get bored enough to pay the six bucks for internet access). This is my second 4 hour, 45 minute flight of the day. I'm currently due into New York shortly before midnight, local time. I got up at 5:30 again this morning. Of course, that was 9:30 Eastern time, but I went to bed on Alaska time, and it was my fourth very early morning in a row. That's going to help avoiding jetlag, but in the meantime, I'm quite sleepy. I napped a little on the earlier flight and may again on this one.
It was about 60 degrees in Anchorage this morning, and it's currently around 65 in NYC, but it was 99 in Salt Lake City, where I just changed planes. That wouldn't matter much, but the jetways are not air-conditioned. This flight was delayed by about 20 minutes, but we're due in close to our original schedule. There's bad weather in the New York area, however--a bad storm off the coast--so that may change. If any of my flights this trip had to be delayed, this was the right one, since I'm not trying to make a connection for once.
I had a marvellous time on my trip. It was not quite too long, but any longer would be. Seven days was just about right for the cruise--I'd do one again, maybe a little shorter but not longer. Then three more days was just right for the land portion. Changing locations every night is pretty tiring, especially for a poor traveller like me. On top of the cruise, I wouldn't have wanted any more. In a few years, when I (and my bank account) have recovered from this trip, I may think about a New England/Canada cruise; there are some leaving from NYC or nearby New Jersey. Anyone want to join me?
Princess made the arrangements very simple and seamless. High marks for organization. My cabin was cramped but comfortable, service was excellent. The onshore rooms were, not surprisingly, much bigger and also quite comfortable. The food on average was good (some excellent, a lot merely average, some mediocre to almost inedible), and certainly plentiful. I dread stepping on my scale tomorrow morning!
While we're on the subject of food: Salmon chowder is wonderful, so is salmon jerky. Reindeer sausage is tasty, but virtually indistinguishable from pork. Reindeer chili is scrumptious, both the thin-broth-with-vegetables-and-spices that they served on the ship one cold day and the more traditional chili that they served on the train. The latter was again virtually indistinguishable from the regular stuff. I wanted to try moose, but couldn't find anywhere that was serving it. Ah, well. Perhaps some other time.
I took almost 550 photographs. The final count was 542, but I did delete two (maybe three) already because they were awful. There are more that aren't very good, and a *lot* of repetition. I went through seven sets of AA batteries for the camera, not counting the set that was dead on arrival. My next task is to organize and label the photos. I made a start on that on the trip, making notes every night on my computer, so I wouldn't forget what everything is. Nonetheless, some details were already lost. When I finish weeding out the duds, I'll post the remainder to my new Photobucket account and give you the URL. I won't print anywhere near all--leaving out most of the dups--but everything decent is going up online, including all the repeats.
Day Eleven--Going Home
Did you know that some flights have wifi available? Unfortunately, it costs money, so I'm going to just write this up now and post it tomorrow (unless I get bored enough to pay the six bucks for internet access). This is my second 4 hour, 45 minute flight of the day. I'm currently due into New York shortly before midnight, local time. I got up at 5:30 again this morning. Of course, that was 9:30 Eastern time, but I went to bed on Alaska time, and it was my fourth very early morning in a row. That's going to help avoiding jetlag, but in the meantime, I'm quite sleepy. I napped a little on the earlier flight and may again on this one.
It was about 60 degrees in Anchorage this morning, and it's currently around 65 in NYC, but it was 99 in Salt Lake City, where I just changed planes. That wouldn't matter much, but the jetways are not air-conditioned. This flight was delayed by about 20 minutes, but we're due in close to our original schedule. There's bad weather in the New York area, however--a bad storm off the coast--so that may change. If any of my flights this trip had to be delayed, this was the right one, since I'm not trying to make a connection for once.
I had a marvellous time on my trip. It was not quite too long, but any longer would be. Seven days was just about right for the cruise--I'd do one again, maybe a little shorter but not longer. Then three more days was just right for the land portion. Changing locations every night is pretty tiring, especially for a poor traveller like me. On top of the cruise, I wouldn't have wanted any more. In a few years, when I (and my bank account) have recovered from this trip, I may think about a New England/Canada cruise; there are some leaving from NYC or nearby New Jersey. Anyone want to join me?
Princess made the arrangements very simple and seamless. High marks for organization. My cabin was cramped but comfortable, service was excellent. The onshore rooms were, not surprisingly, much bigger and also quite comfortable. The food on average was good (some excellent, a lot merely average, some mediocre to almost inedible), and certainly plentiful. I dread stepping on my scale tomorrow morning!
While we're on the subject of food: Salmon chowder is wonderful, so is salmon jerky. Reindeer sausage is tasty, but virtually indistinguishable from pork. Reindeer chili is scrumptious, both the thin-broth-with-vegetables-and-spices that they served on the ship one cold day and the more traditional chili that they served on the train. The latter was again virtually indistinguishable from the regular stuff. I wanted to try moose, but couldn't find anywhere that was serving it. Ah, well. Perhaps some other time.
I took almost 550 photographs. The final count was 542, but I did delete two (maybe three) already because they were awful. There are more that aren't very good, and a *lot* of repetition. I went through seven sets of AA batteries for the camera, not counting the set that was dead on arrival. My next task is to organize and label the photos. I made a start on that on the trip, making notes every night on my computer, so I wouldn't forget what everything is. Nonetheless, some details were already lost. When I finish weeding out the duds, I'll post the remainder to my new Photobucket account and give you the URL. I won't print anywhere near all--leaving out most of the dups--but everything decent is going up online, including all the repeats.