2021 Alaska #1: Ramping Up

Alaska: a favorite destination

As I mentioned in my initial Iceland blog, after the Greenland portion of our trip was cancelled, we had planned a short trip to Alaska to perhaps see some aurora and give Scott a chance to go halibut fishing. 

This is what he wanted; Photo: 2018

Once Scott booked the air, we discovered a few things. First, we already knew it was late in the season for Alaska, but apparently it was very late for halibut fishing. 

Seemed reasonable

After lots of looking, Scott was finally able to book a spot in Homer (instead of Seward, where he initially looked). Not a big surprise: Homer is the self-proclaimed "Halibut Fishing Capital of the World." So, I set up two nights at a Best Western in Homer.

Second, because it was late in the season, we couldn’t get any spots on the transit buses in Denali National Park. Scott had already booked lodging, but not anything in the Park. Since you cannot drive yourself in the Park, you have to book on the buses.

Denali transit buses

The only thing available so late was the Tundra Wildlife Tour. Unlike the transit buses, where you can get off one and explore and then catch another, the tours are an all-day affair on one bus with the same people and the same driver. 

It doesn't matter which bus if you see wildlife

They aren’t bad, but they do cost a lot more and we have done them before.

But, to get in the park, I booked the same tour two days in a row. 

We had a few more surprises when we arrived, but I’ll talk about that later.

The lateness in the season also prevented us from being able to visit a Bear lodge. That really has to be planned in advance. In the past, we have visited lodges that provided great Bear viewing experiences: Silver Salmon Creek Lodge, Farm Lodge (operated by Lake Clark Air and the Katmai Wilderness Lodge (I wasn't blogging when I visited, but it is covered here, as are the other two.) 

I have 8 years worth to fix!

By the way, I apologize for the state of my early blogs. Blogspot.com is very wonky to use and it likes to change type size randomly. 

I have changed my formatting for the better since my early blogs, but haven't fixed all the old ones.  Plus. I discovered that the photos in my old blogs are mysteriously out of focus.

I decided to start fixing them as I put in links, but it's daunting. And, some formatting is so embedded that I cannot change it. Arrrggghhh!

Itinerary

But, we cobbled together an itinerary that looked promising:

 

• 

  The route

  Fly to Fairbanks and spend the night 
• Drive to Denali and explore the area where you can drive your car 
• Two consecutive days of Tundra Wildlife Tours (planned 6:40 a.m. to 2:40 p.m.) 
• Drive to Girdwood and explore along the way 
• Take a Glacier cruise in Prince William Sound 
• Drive to Homer where Scott would fish and I would bird 
• Drive back up to Wasilla and explore around Matanuska 
• Fly home from Anchorage 

Florida

Then, as I also mentioned, Scott’s mom died right before we left for Iceland. The family discussed having a memorial over Thanksgiving, but then decided to do it over Labor Day, instead. So, we booked a flight 23 hours after our scheduled return from Iceland, returning to Colorado 11 hours before our flight to Alaska.

Lots of flying

The entire family was going to Florida for the memorial, so I decided to book a house. We wanted enough room for Scott, me, our two daughters and our youngest daughter’s boyfriend. We needed a kitchen, a working TV with cable (we had issues the previous year in the Virgin Islands). And, Scott insisted that we have a pool so that he could relax without having to fear COVID exposure.

Originally, I found a nice house on HomeAway/VRBO near Scott’s brother’s house, assuming the activities would be based there.

After cold Iceland, this looked good

Then, they told us that everyone would be staying at a resort or near the resort on Indian Rocks Beach. So, I cancelled House #1 and looked at several close to the resort. It came down to two (after rejecting a few that had negative comments about pool cleanliness). We picked the one that featured its pool on the ad.

So, we returned without incident from Iceland and flew to Tampa. We arrived at the house and it looked lovely, just as advertised. Then, we looked out at the pool.

Not what we wanted

Yuck!

We picked the house because of the pool and it was pea soup! So, after making a few calls, I contacted the owner, who expressed surprise (“But, we have a guy that comes every week.” Apparently not!) and said he would send someone in the morning. Well, that meant that we would lose the pool the first two days because it obviously needed serious cleaning and to be shocked. The third day was iffy and then we would be leaving.

Scott (already distressed because we were there for his mother’s funeral) was NOT happy. So, we packed up and left. We managed to get rooms at the resort for ONLY $900 MORE than I had planned to pay for lodging. Plus, the transfer and calls ruined the first evening, making us late for the family gathering and really ramping up the tension.

Holiday Inns & Suites Clearwater Beach South Harbourside; Photo: Booking.com

On the plus side, HomeAway/VRBO gave me a full refund. But, this was not the first time I have had issues with lodging quality. I think I’ll stick with Booking.com from now on.

Ouch!

Plus, after the fact, HomeAway/VRBO gave ME a negative rating as a renter on this house!! 

I called VRBO and they said that only the owner could change it. The owner denied doing it. 

So, no more VRBO for me! I think I'll stick with Booking.com

Scott launching the urn

But, after we settled in, the rest of the weekend went smoothly. We had a dinner honoring Betty and then a boat trip to lay her to rest in an underwater cemetery she had selected.

It was, of course, the hottest, sweatiest time of year (quite a contrast to Iceland and Alaska). so, we didn't get many (any?) flattering photos of the family.

It was nice to see everyone and we all managed to NOT catch COVID.

The girls (Melissa, Becca, Caty, Melanie, Julie) on the beach

Plus, Betty was laid to rest at sea and everyone loved the video I produced. 

Betty Stevens (1927-2021), one of my former travel companions

So, exhausted, we returned home and headed to Alaska. We'll start that series in the next post.

Trip date: September 7-17, 2021