Adios Alaska

On our last day in Alaska, we slept in and packed up the minivan and made our way down the hill to the main road. The signs are definitely different in Alaska and gave us a good chuckle:



We returned to the Black Bear Coffeehouse (where we had picked up chai lattes yesterday) as we had confirmed they would be open on Labor Day for breakfast. I remarked this was the second time we ate at an establishment with “Bear” in the name - indeed we’re still in Bear country.

This was definitely the place to be as there was a line out the door, except it was raining so the line snaked inside. We were able to grab seats and we ordered various coffees and chai lattes and the Denali Platter which included biscuits and gravy from scratch with sausage or bacon, a breakfast “bearito”, and portobello sandwich:



I filled up the rental car gas tank twice - once as we left Denali and topped it off in Fairbanks. The first fill was over $5 a gallon and in Fairbanks about $4.67 per gallon. You would think gas would be cheaper here, but not so.

The drive north to Fairbanks Airport took about 2 hours. As we would have to transfer anyway to get to NY, I picked the closer airport instead of doubling back to Anchorage which would take over 4 hours.

It rained and the fog was dense despite the easy drive. We did get to enjoy the fall colors of the leaves for their short autumn season:



We ran a quick errand and drove through Fairbanks before returning the rental car and checking in. With all our luggage and crew, we navigated well through the airport. I had been concerned because I wasn’t able to check-in my mom, brother, or myself yesterday, but was able to check-in my cousin and aunt.

I believe it was because the reservation had gotten wonky - although the 5 of us were planning to transfer in Seattle for JFK in NY, I had split off my ticket a few weeks ago and will be transferring in Seattle for San Francisco for another adventure and rendezvous-vous. Although everything was okay, parts of our info did not transfer over, so the agent had to rekey in.

We made it to Seattle safely for the approximate 3.5 hour flight. The rest of the family splintered off as Justin got them into a lounge for their 3 hour layover and I headed to my gate for my roughly 90 minute layover.

I can’t wait to reconvene with my family and hope they have a safe redeye flight to NY and as they splinter again upon arrival, as Justin rushes to a meeting in Long Island.

I’m so grateful for the adventures we had in Vancouver before the cruise, the cruise itself, and then in Denali. All day we had been saying “Adios Alaska”. My cousin and aunt had lived in Spain and of course, Justin and I love practicing our Spanish. So it seemed pretty appropriate as we explored the great state together for an epic trip and experience!