Leaving your house for a long trip while coralling a baby and two dogs sucks. You can be well planned and well packed and it still feels like chaos and stress until you are safely out the door, mentally checking things off your list for the first twenty minutes, hoping you didn't forget anything major.
But, we were off, took a bus from our house to the metro and the metro down to Reagan International. Our flight to Dallas was simple and uneventful and from there we had a very tight layover that basically involved walking off one plane and standing in line for the other. In the process we met up with the rest of the Hals! Who were excited to see Hannah and quite impressed with her walking skills. The flight from Dallas to Anchorage was awful. It was with American Airlines and was one of the shittiest planes I have ever been on for a seven hour flight. They almost ran out of the snacks they were selling and they kept trying to ration my water - as they said they only had eleven liters on the plane for at least a hundred people! Holy cow! I was really uncomfrortable with this and really nervous. On a flight that long we usually fill up our nalgene before boarding, which we had to skip because we didn't have enough time and there usually drinking two more between myself, Daniel, and Hannah. The seats were terrible, it was just a crappy flight.
Once we landed in Anchorage all was better. Our bags had all made it, our shuttle picked us up in reasonable time, the hotel was nice and clean, and Hannah was overjoyed to get to walk the halls of the hotel and thoroughly enjoyed rolling around on the hotel bed. We had a pack and play crib waiting for us too!
The next day we woke up feeling like it was much later than it was (the perks of a four hours to the West time change) and all took turns with Hannah, getting breakfast, working out, and getting ready. We had pizza delivered to the room and soon found ourselves on a bus bound for Whittier. We took Seward Highway, which runs along the water and I was particulary intrigued by the terrain along the water - the mud flats had such a unique look to them! They are a combination of mud and glacial silt and can by downright deadly to walk on, particularly as the tide is coming in, but I still thought they were fascinating. We stopped at a few scenic spots along the way for photos.
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| Enjoying the Alaskan coastline |
We stopped at a touristy wildlife preserve, but enjoyed seeing Elk (whose racks are far larger and furrier than I realized...and one was so close I pet its antler when no one was looking - they are actually really soft!), there was a fox who was obsessed with Hannah, me and the empty coffee cup she was holding, and probably the most awesome of all - there were black bears and grizzly bears. The two grizzlies were playing and rough housing and Hannah loved it. She kept growling at the bears and has since growled whenever she sees a bear!
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| Elk! Fuzzy elk! |
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| I pet him, I pet him, I snuck a feel and pet him! Hannah did not approve. |
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| Bears! They were rough housing and wrestling - and Hannah growled at them observantly |
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| the fox that was obsessed with our empty cup of coffee |
And then we were back on the bus - heading for the famous tunnel that can only handle one lane of traffic in one direction and is owned by the railroad. Thus for 15 minutes buses and cars can head into Whittier, for 15 minutes trains can head into Whittier, for 15 minutes buses and cars can leave Whittier, and for 15 monutes trains head out of Whittier. It's a tunnel built during WW II and it wasn't until 2000 that the tunnel allowed cars or buses to pass through (it had previously only been trains). The toll to pass? $120 for around trip (thankfully built into our bus ticket and divided amongst the bus patrons). It was pretty crazy. The town of Whittier is tiny - and the entire city lives in one large multi-story building.
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| hanging out on the bus with her puppy and snacks...that child was SO ready to be off a bus, metro, plane, shuttle, or bus, but she did fantastic! |
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| playing with the straw in my water bottle |
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| coastline between Anchorage and Whittier |
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| tunnel to Whittier |
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| tunnel to Whittier, one lane only, rail road track, and built during WW II to lead to the military base |
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| The Star Princess or "White Lady" as the captain would call her |
We rolled up to the port and were suddenly dropping our bags, gathering our things and working our way through the checkin terminal - we thankfully got expedited service (Hannah was pretty near full meltdown) and made it into our cabin far more quickly than I was anticipating. She was so thrilled to crawl around and roll around our bed and we hung out and waiting for Daniel's family to board as well. We got an interior room across the hall from the rest of the Hals - and they got a balcony suite for the four of them. It has been super convenient and a great way to all get to spend time together and all enjoy the balcony views. We have also been able to put Hannah down for a nap or the evening, turn on the baby monitor, and come across the hall to hang out together. It's amazing! We all went to dinner (Hannah melted down around 6 pm...which was 10 pm East coast time, poor kiddo) and enjoyed the yummy food, dropped Hannah off in our room, and Daniel and I were off for an evening stroll around the ship BY OURSELVES! Ahhhhhmazing!
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| We made it! Our room was bigger than expected (there was more) and they actually moved our bed and we fit a crib beside it - it worked well! |
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| Someone was wiped out! |
We crashed hard pretty early, excited to enjoy an official full day of vacation on our first "day at sea."
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