The Alaska Adventure - Part I

Day 1

So because some of my classes break in August, and Brandon is away for training, I decided to take a little trip.  I was homesick for Mexican food and English and bookstores, a little stir-crazy, and ready for a break from a suffocating, muggy Japanese summer filled with the constant drone of cicadas.  Last year, I had spent a couple weeks with my husband in Alaska and fallen in love.  I had done a lot, seen a lot, but was by no means done with it.  Flying north for the summer was perfect.  And two of my friends were up for it.  Sadly, only one could make it because our departure date was unexpectedly shifted.  A space-A flight was docketed to leave in a couple days.  About a week earlier than planned, but still.  We got excited, started making plans. 

Then, pretty late that night, we learned that the flight had been rescheduled for 4 AM the following morning.  I biked home immediately, slightly buzzed from Wine Wednesday.  

Somehow, we both managed to pack our things and to show up at the terminal on time, and with a couple hours of sleep to boot. One flight for Elmendorf, Alaska.  We were thrilled.  It was happening!  We checked luggage, got tickets, and were getting ready to board.  Then an announcement came on.

This plane is not going to Alaska.  It’s going to Seattle.

The other passengers made small efforts for our sake to hide their excitement at this unexpected change.  We’ll wait for the next one, I said.  Bound to be something else going out soon.  We started the process of getting back our luggage. Disappointment started to creep in.  We watched the others who were buzzing with excitement, ready to depart, to take flight.  My friend and I exchanged glances. 

I’ve never been to Seattle, she said. 

I’ve wanted to go back, I said. 

And then we were running back to the counter, asking could you please let us back on the plane?  We want to go!

The flight was 9 hours of hurry up and wait, with no way of knowing where to stay or how to get around once we landed, which happened to be in the earliest hours of the morning in Seattle.

No lodging on or around base had vacancies.  But, there was an airport shuttle coming for its last pickup.  The terminal would be locking its doors behind us. 

An irritable old man who drove the shuttle informed us that we were in luck- there were two no-shows for the ride to SEA-TAC.  We went to the USO, which I have never stopped by before now, feeling awkwardly undeserving of their services.  We were able to get a shower, store our luggage, and use their computers to book a room at a Motel 6 for a couple nights.  We would have to wait for e very cheap fare to Anchorage to pop up, but that gave us a few days to explore Seattle. 

Everyone at the USO was incredibly kind and helpful. It is definitely a much- needed service for all the families trying to get on the rotator out to Japan or Korea, and it is staffed with sweet old veterans who had some interesting local stories to share, as well as directions and advice. 

After laying out a plan for the next couple of days, we decided to head downtown and enjoy the day since we were wired from the flight and had several hours until check-in.  We were able to browse around Pike Place market, which was infinitely more peaceful and quaint in the quiet early morning hours when many merchants were still setting up. 

We walked over to the Space Needle, decided against going up in it and were walking to the EMP museum when something strange happened.  A one-legged monk clad in orange robes hobbled over to us on crutches.  He grabbed our hands without warning and began chattering away in Thai mixed with a few English words, and it seemed that he was praying.  He slipped bracelets onto our hands.  Right on cue, he then produced a booklet and started plying us for donations.

Now I’ve seen plenty of monks travelling through Asia, and this is not how they behave.  I was too stunned, confused, and wary of knocking the old hobbling man over to pull away quickly, but I did not see any other monks with him, which was strange.  Just then a man in a uniform started shouting.

Hey!  You! Get out of here!  Girls, don’t give him any money.  A radio squawked in his hand.  The fake monk is back.  Yep, the one on the crutches.  Hey, we already 86’d you, you need to leave!

The security guard later explained that there were a whole pack of them, who the local Bhuddist temples had claimed no association with, going around pick-pocketing tourists and panhandling.  He would’ve had a hard time getting anything off of us, luckily, but he limped off so quickly he left the beaded bracelets on our wrists, my favorite souvenir from Seattle. 

But back to the EMP museum.  A perfect distraction for our jetlagged, sleepless state, the museum featured exhibits in music, sci-fi, and pop-culture.  They had original props and costumes from several of the biggest franchises and movies in fantasy, horror, and sci-fi.  An entire, sprawling exhibit was dedicated to Star Trek.  There was a gallery showing the evolution of the guitar, and hand- scrawled lyrics from Jimi Hendrix and Nirvana.  A special exhibit showcased wearable art, which had several mannequins sporting fantastical and totally impractical ‘clothes’.

Yep, those are bras.

 They even had a room for indie games, which Seattle has been a hotspot for.  Several systems were set up to allow visitors to play a wide array of the newest, quirkiest independently developed video games. 

I’ve been to a few futuristic and interactive events at the Emerging Sciences museum in Tokyo, but the EMP is by far one of the coolest museums I’ve been to. 

After that we stopped by the Chihuly glass museum.  I’m not really that nuts about glass, but the large displays are impressive, and the gardens would’ve been beautiful to visit at night. 

Totally burnt out at this point, we wandered back to the Motel 6 and, after an epic battle of wills with Bon Qui Qui, who manned the front desk, were able to check in and sleep. 

Day 2

The next day, we rented a cheap car and took off for Olympic National Park.  Now, it is recommended that to see the highlights of the park you need at least a 1 night stay.  We did it in one very long, determined day. 

Not for the faint of heart

First stop was Port Angeles, to get a map from the visitor’s center there.  From there it’s a straightforward drive up to Hurricane Ridge, with great mountain views.  

Then you head out to Lake Crescent, although there’s a bit of a shortcut off the main highway that can save miles and time. 

The water is very blue and clear

We made a quick stop to hike in to Sol Duc Falls, in an old-growth forest that pictures just don’t do justice. 

Then we hurried on to the Hoh Rain Forest, but to get there you have to pass through Forks.

My 13 year-old self would have freaked out

I was actually surprised that the Twilight hype seems to have died down to reasonable levels around there.

We had time to do the Hall of Mosses, and not much more.  But it was a dreamy walk. 

It's an Ent!

Back up to Forks, we decided to take a risk and see if we could make it to Rialto Beach with time to spare.  The beach is on the Quileute reservation, and there were a couple cheeky signs that referenced the books I’m sure they’re sick to death of hearing about.  

I’m so glad that we took the detour to Rialto beach.  It was so different than any other scenery that day.  What had been a warm, clear, sunny day changed immediately to fog, cold winds, and a mysterious beach with the color drained right out of it.  It was beautiful. 

The rental car was due at 11:30 PM, and we rolled in at 11:15.  After more haggling with Bon Qui Qui, we got our shuttle to pick us up and take us back to the Motel 6, to sleep.  Or at least pretend to sleep after passing some very high, creepy people in the halls and listening to what sounded like violent tap dance in the room above us. 

 
Day 3

We had a late flight out, so in the morning we enjoyed some famous Seattle coffee, and took one of the Underground tours, which is really interesting.  We checked out a couple adorable shops and bookstores around Pioneer Square, and killed some time in the free Gold Rush museum.  Apparently a lot of people stopped in Seattle to outfit their gold mining parties and book passage to Alaska, so it seemed oddly appropriate that we read up on some of that history.  We stopped by Pike’s Place once more to ogle the array fresh veggies and flowers, had lunch on the pier, then headed to the airport again. 

Once we landed in Anchorage, very late, we took a cab to the Arctic Adventure Hostel, which was clean, reasonably close to downtown, and cheap, and was a great place for us to hit the ground in Anchorage and plan our next steps.  It had taken 3 days, but we had made it to Alaska!  


To be continued.

- Brooke