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Alaska, 2005 |
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Alaska is one of my favorite places. My first trip was in 1987, when I spent the summer there. My riding buddy Eric (who you are familiar with if you have read my other journals) and I were in college together, and he invited several guys to come up and work in the family fishing business. I lived with him, his parents, and two brothers; built boats, tendered salmon from the fishing boats to the docks, had the best summer of my life, and cemented a friendship that has stood the test to time and distance. Over the years I had made two more trips up, and had always thought about taking a cruise up the inside passage. Lana had never seen Alaska, and liked the idea. So this trip was born. |
| The planning for this trip went through more evolution and
change than I can remember. Early on we invited other couples to join
us, and ended up with Lana’s parents Jerry and Arlon, (hereafter referred to
collectively as JA), friends Barry and Karen (BK) and Roger and Kate (RK),
with Kate’s sister and brother-in-law joining us on the cruise. I did
most of the trip planning and soon discovered that I was not put on this
earth to be a travel agent! I have a new-found respect for those
people. I have no idea how many hours I spent on the Internet, setting
up the cruise, transfers, hotels, rental cars, and the like. But in
the end, it all came together surprisingly well, with the exception of a
mini-van that turned out to be a little more “mini” than we expected.
More on that later. By the way, I used an agent that I came across on a now-forgotten website to book the cruise, and she was great…excellent service and prices. If you need a cruise agent, get in touch with Reina Sachs, reinapye@aol.com, 248-943-5779. No affiliation, just a happy customer. |
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Barry introduced a wonderful twist to this trip. He and Karen had been dating for a while, and I knew they were serious. One day Barry called me and said that he was going to propose to Karen, and he wanted to get married on the cruise. She, in an obvious moment of insanity, accepted. Lana and I were asked to be Best Man, Best Chick, witnesses, ring-bearers, and photographers. We were overjoyed.
All the time, I had planned for this to be a motorcycle trip, with a cruise and Alaskan land tour thrown in for good measure. (I hope to ride all the way up the Alcan in 2006). My jump-off date was June 3. But around June 1, I came down with some kind of bug…fever, chills, exhaustion, and muscle aches. By the 3rd, I was in no shape to head off into the sunset on a bike. By the 8th I was feeling pretty good, but I had to be in Seattle on June 15, when the rest of the group was coming in. That gave me 8 days to get across country. That is certainly do-able, but I had planned to visit friends and a lot of National Parks on the way across. This new schedule would not allow for that, and I could not add those stops onto the return trip back east. With great sadness, I unpacked my camping gear, bought a plane ticket, and twiddled my thumbs for the next 8 days, wishing that I was cruising across the Great Plains or twisting through the Rockies. I was REALLY DISAPPOINTED at having to cancel the motorcycle section of the trip. However, as you will find out later, all things work together for good. |
We were away for 28 days, shot 6 hours of video, and over 3000 stills (love those digital cameras). To make your reading easier, I have broken the trip down into four chapters.
Chapter One: Alaskan Cruise (June 16-24)
Chapter Two: Anchorage and Denali (June 25-29)
Chapter Three: Alaska with the Locals (June 30-July 5)
Chapter Four: The Pacific Coast Highway and California Wine Country (July 6-July 11)
So, without further ado, I invite you to fix a drink, kick back, and join us as we explore our majestic 49th state, Alaska!