We both woke up early this morning, before our alarm. Anthony drove us to the airport, and we got there an hour early to check in. Samara always gets flagged by TSA for an extra security check. It really pisses her off, and we have no idea why it happens. So we had to stand there the extra few minutes while they called someone to clear her to fly.
The flight from Dillingham was okay. We sat in the exit row right over the wing, and it's a Saab turboprop plane, so there was a fair amount of buzzing vibration from the engines. They give you earplugs, if that gives you any idea what kind of flight it is. The plane sits three to a row--one on one side of the aisle, and two on the other. I got a window seat, and although I didn't take any pictures, it was neat to get a bird's eye view of Dillingham as we left.
Samara bought us some new books while she was in Anchorage last week. I had already read one, and started the second before we left on our trip. I finished the second one on the Dillingham to Anchorage flight. That left me a little time to just stare around the plane. Honestly, flying on a Saab turboprop is kind of like taking a Greyhound bus with wings. They do provide in-flight service, though. Soda and bags of made-in-Alaska potato chips.
We got into Anchorage and got off the plane fairly quickly. With these small planes, they just park you on the tarmac and you take the stairs down and walk across the asphalt to the airport. Once inside, we went straight for the baggage carousel. At Dillingham, they gave me both my boarding passes and checked my bags through to Fairbanks. Since Samara was flagged, she only got her boarding pass for her first flight, and they said her bag wasn't checked through. So we were waiting for her bag in Anchorage, but it didn't show up on the carousel. She asked the nice baggage ladies, who told her that she was checked through.
Upstairs we went to the Alaska Airlines check-in and waited in line. My boarding pass said 12:25 was the flight to Fairbanks, and it was already after noon. I was worried we'd miss our flight. Samara got her boarding pass for Fairbanks, though, and the girl said we had plenty of time. Turns out that it wasn't departing until 1:10, and didn't load until 12:40.
We had to take off our shoes, pull out my laptop, take off our jackets, and Samara had to throw away some hand lotion so that we could go through security. PenAir is definitely our favorite airline. You don't have to go through any security at all to get on their planes, either in Dillingham or Anchorage. But Alaska Air, you gotta go through the TSA folks. Samara was convinced that she would beep in the metal detector, but it was me who beeped. I had to go into a separate little glass cubicle and the guy patted down my baggy pants. Dunno what he thought he'd find.
I left my shoes off after that, and we cruised on down to the gate for our flight. Then we realized we had plenty of time, so I put my shoes back on and bought some magazines to read on the Ancohrage-Fairbanks flight. I got a Shooting Times and The Economist. Samara just laughed at me.
The flight to Fairbanks was on a jet, which was more comfortable, quieter, and had lots more people. It probably took longer to load and unload the jet than we were actually in the air. The flight is less than an hour. We only got water or juice and a small bag of peanuts. Lame. PenAir is definitely better, even if you do have to wear ear plugs.
Once in Fairbanks, we got our luggage pretty easily, and then Samara stood in line forever to get our Ford Fusion rental car. We drove out of the airport, and realized that we didn't actually know where the hotel was. It's the Extended Stay, and thankfully Fairbanks isn't that big. We drove right by it. It's right next to a Fred Meyer store. It's not the nicest hotel ever, but it's okay, and the small indoor pool does seem to be working. Also, we got it for $43 per night on Priceline. Not bad.
After getting our stuff unloaded, we decided that 3pm was long enough to go with nothing to eat except airline food all day. We drove down the strip and found a Wendy's. Besides the fast food Samara has flown into Dillingham on her trips, this is the first time I've eaten fast food in 8 months. It was yummy. But they didn't have air conditioning, and Fairbanks is hot compared to Dillingham. It's almost 80 degrees here. After eating our lunch, we decided to drive down and explore some more.
I can't say much except that Fairbanks doesn't seem to have a lot going on. Between the rental car and its strange new car smell, the flat terrain and strange city, I felt like I was in Oklahoma for some reason. It was like vacation flashback, or something.
On our way back to our hotel, we stopped at Pioneer Park. This is a public park with free admission that was first set up for some kind of expo in the 60s. They have old cabins turned into museums and gift shops, as well as various restaurants and park stuff there.
This is me outside the entrance, with a little train going up overhead in the background.
There's a big paddlewheel boat that's been turned into a museum with boring dioramas here.
Whee, boat!
Samara is relaxing outside a gift shop.
Doesn't she look nice? Compare that to my scruffy mug outside an old church.
Samara talked me into buying her some ice cream.
It was okay, but we didn't finish the tiny cup. Then we walked around a bit more and went back to the car. On the way home, I stumbled onto the place I wanted to rent a canoe from. You can rent a canoe and go down the river here for a few hours and then they pick you up. It seems like a fun thing to do, and if the weather holds, we'll probably do that tomorrow or Tuesday.We're back at the hotel now, and Samara is napping away. I think flying takes it out of her. She had a headache and some nausea. We're talking about taking in a movie tonight. The new Star Trek is out, and that seems like a good bet. It's been 8 months since I've seen a movie in a theater, too.
It's actually been 8 months since I've done a lot of "civilized" things. This should be an interesting trip. Stay tuned.
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