Sunday, August 25, 2013...Our Alaska/Northwest Adventure was about to begin.  Having stayed at Pat & Sharon Savage's the night before, Pat & I were packed and ready to head out with Sharon as our chauffeur to the Greater Cincinnati International Airport.  Of course breakfast at Lawrenceburg's Waffle House was important, as our LONG DAY of flying through Houston, Texas to Anchorage, Alaska would not give us much time for nourishment. With 23 days worth of necessary "layered" clothing and accessories, Pat & I headed to the United Airlines counter...let the adventure truly begin!

After a brief flight to Houston on a small United Express Jet, we buckled down (me in the middle seat) for our 7 hour flight to our land destination and starting point in Anchorage, Alaska.  I somehow survived the flight next to a silent, sleeping stranger with the help of some music, a movie ("42"), old TV episodes, and reading on my Kindle.  Arriving 5 minutes early, we deplaned and were welcomed by our first "Royal Caribbean" tour guide.  WOW!  It was nice to have someone else worry about and care for ALL our luggage...this was ROYAL treatment!  The bus driver pointed out some of the beautiful landmarks of Anchorage as we were taken directly to Marriott, which would be our home for first two days of our journey.  The friendly desk staff speedily completed the check in process and Pat & I were on our way up to Room 1600, overlooking the beautiful Cook Inlet and Alaskan Mountain Range.

Our view of the Cook Inlet at dusk on our 1st night in Anchorage, Alaska.



Our Waffle House breakfast had long since left us, so feeling hungry, we headed downstairs to the hotel café for some iced tea and appetizers.  We next decided to walk around the block to get the "lay of the land" and talk about plans for the next day, which would be "on our own."  Coming back to the room we found an Alaskan Tourism TV channel and learned that the "Snow City Cafe" was a great, funky, local place for breakfast...so that was going to be our plan to start the next morning.  After our LONG day (remember we had extended our DAY by 4 hours!) we went to sleep easily!



Good morning, Anchorage...and the Alaskan Range!
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Alaskan mask exhibit to promote
various health concerns....this one
was representing heart disease.

Alaskan Native handcrafted baskets woven from strips of baleen from whales.

I'm admiring a mother whale and babe mural on the side of the JC Penney in Anchorage.

Monday, August 26, 2013...We walked to "Snow City Café" for a great "Polar Bear" breakfast.  What a great idea...lots of coffee, and a stash of unique coffee cups, to fill up and make you feel right at home in this "funky-hip" original café!  Even before we finished our first welcoming cup of coffee, we were taken to our table to enjoy the delicious breakfast offerings...including reindeer sausage.  We MUST be in Alaska!  We headed out to check out the town.  We explored a couple of Native Alaskan galleries...beautifully crafted artwork...with even MORE beautiful prices!  There were lots of souvenir shops with just what I needed for family, friends and of course, grandkids. 

We took a LONG walk along one of the many "hiking/biking" paths to a beautiful stream looking for salmon, and found the train station, as well as, the famous ULU Knife Factory!  The Ulu knife with a  curved steel blade, is an all-purpose knife traditionally used by Eskimo women, both Yupik and Inuit. It is utilized in applications as diverse as skinning and cleaning animals, cutting a child's hair, cutting food and, if necessary, trimming blocks of snow and ice used to build an igloo...or making a nice chopped salad!   (Don't attempt to put an Ulu in your suitcase and carry it on board your ship!...I'll explain later.)

Thanks to the Ulu Factory's free shuttle we headed back into the downtown area and explored the multi-level shopping mall, which reminded us that, yes, Alaska is IN the United States!  We treated ourselves to some fresh fruit yogurt before heading up the street to "Kobuks" a local coffee/bakery shop for some hearty coffee and a yummy peanut butter cookie.  (I mean we HAD to keep up our strength!) 

 

Salmon watching near our hiking path

Alaska Railroad Station in Anchorage

You can watch skilled craftsman create Ulu knives and wooden carving bowls here

We next walked to a beautiful shop featuring unusual glass art objects by local artisans.  The shop happened to be connected to the Glacier Brew House, one of the TV recommended Anchorage "hot spots".  Since we had "skipped lunch" after that BIG breakfast, we decided that 4:00 PM was about right for OUR dinner time.  Boy we were lucky we did, because THIS PLACE WAS HOPPING soon after we put in our order...wood oven-fired pepperoni pizza with tomato basil sauce and mozzarella...and BIG salads.  Everything was delightful...great brew house atmosphere too!

Upon arriving back at the Marriott we were met by our Royal Caribbean tour guide, Donte.  He briefly outlined our next five days, gave us luggage tags (white for our "cruise" luggage to stay on the bus and green for luggage to be brought to our lodge room each day.  Donte explained that tomorrow would be our earliest start, requiring that our luggage be out by our door by 6:00 AM.  We were to board the bus by 7:20 AM.  He also explained that we would be on Bill's tour bus with HIM all week...and we would be told each day when the "bag pull" would occur for our next journey.  We were impressed by the planning and organization, so far!  Time to relax in our room, review our day, and repack for the "bag pull" came next, as we would have to be UP early.