After moving into our rental house and watching my husband grow stronger and regain almost all of his mobility, we settled into a comfortable routine of medical appointments and local excursions. We were located nearly midway between Chicago and Milwaukee. Never having lived anywhere but New York, I was thrilled to find great restaurants, shopping and entertainment. We even found a pizza restaurant that had really good cannolis. I asked who made them and they told me the secret. The shells and filling are delivered from, you guessed it, New York. We had created a life in Illinois and it was comfortable. Time to shake things up a bit! You already had a glimpse of our epic trek through O’Hare. We finally were onboard the ship en route to Alaska. That first night after dinner, drinks and great company we collapsed onto the very comfortable cabin bed.
Next stop Ketchikan. Ketchikan was originally a summer fish camp for Tlingit natives and was established as a town in 1885. It has the world’s largest collection of standing totem poles and looks exactly as you would expect. An absolutely wonderful glimpse into the past.
What to do in Ketchikan? First thing we see as we stepped off the ship is an add for ziplining in the Alaskan rain forest. The cousin, the friend and myself were all in. My husband not so much. His mobility was really good but his confidence wasn’t quite there. In his defense, this is the man who would never go on amusement park rides. His idea of fun was sitting on our cabin’s balcony with Lenny while enjoying the scenery and good scotch.
I think it’s time to introduce some of the characters in this adventure. My husband, Charlie otherwise known as Butch, the cousin, Rosemarie or Roe, the friends, Dolores, Joanne and Fredricka or Fred.
Ziplining was a blast but Roe decided to tell us halfway through the course that she’s terrified of heights. Too late now. The zipline was the only way back. To make matters worse when you got to the end of the course, you had to repel down!
Once you got back on solid ground, there was another long, steep drop to the end of the course that could be reached either by stairs or a scary wood slide. By now, Roe was determined to finish the course without taking the easy way out and she did. Although she did say, “don’t ever ask me to go ziplining again”. I forgot to remind her, it was her idea.
The next day we were on our way to Juneau. The plan was Butch and I were going for a dog sled ride on the glacier. This was the one thing he was absolutely passionate about doing. The the dog sled camp is accessed by helicopter and if you haven’t heard, the weather in Alaska gives the Pacific Northwest a run for its money. That morning, the fog was so thick, flying was out of the question. Since we were only there for a day, the dog sled ride might not happen but I was determined to find a way. Downtown Juneau is worth exploring. Lots of history, lots of shopping (of course) and a central area where there were several kiosks for tourist excursions. I found one advertising a trip to the dog sled camp and was assured that if the fog cleared, they would be flying. I instantly booked two slots for us and then had to wait to see if the weather would cooperate. To pass the time, I wandered into a large all purpose souvenir shop. The jewelry counter caught my eye and I walked over to “browse”. The owner asked if I needed help and I declined. I was just looking. He showed me a beautiful blue and white diamond ring and looked at me for what seemed a long time. He then said “you’re from New York”. It was not a question but a statement. Thinking I had just met the first psychic jeweler, I asked how he knew. He told me he had sold me a ring in St. Thomas over 10 years ago. He was right. When I got back to the ship and told Butch and he insisted I go back to get the ring. Every time I wear it, I have the best memories. So much for “just looking”. The weather did clear and we were able to go for the eagerly anticipated dogsled ride. What an amazing excursion. We were at the camp of the previous years second place Iditarod team. What these dogs are capable of is incredible. Their preferred climate is -20 degrees or colder and they would rather sleep on the roof of their doghouse than in it. We were given the opportunity to drive the dog sled and I did. Butch was content to ride (under the blanket).
All in all, this was a great day. Dinner that night was a lively exchange of today’s experiences and since the day had started early, we decided it was time to say goodnight.
Tomorrow, on to Skagway. After exploring this former gold rush town, we took a ride on the White Pass and Yukon Route railway.
Magnificent scenery. For a short distance, the train actually passes through Canada. The train ride was a good choice. We got to see the many different faces of southern Alaska. The town, the rural areas with homesteaders and the beautifully desolate mountainous areas.
On to Sitka. Sitka is located on Baranof island and has a complicated history. Originally an indigenous fishing camp settlement, it came under Russian control in 1799. In 1867, the United States purchased Alaska and it became part of the U.S. Sitka is accessed by tender from the cruise ships which needless to say, is not as calm as the large ship with stabilizers. Lenny was not a fan but did his best to get on and off.
The best way to describe Sitka is serene. We spent the day wandering around, marveling at the gorgeous flowers, window shopping, actually shopping and saw the beautiful Russian Orthodox Cathedral.
A pretty perfect day. Getting off the tender, the water became a bit rough. It happened with Lenny halfway on the ramp. He decided the best thing to do was to go back on the tender and that was it. He was not moving. We tried everything we could think of to encourage him but moving a 95 pound dog when he’s determined to stay put is not going to happen. At that point, a man behind us asked if he could help and we quickly agreed. In one quick movement he grabbed the handle of Lenny’s service dog vest and lifted him onto the ship! Time for dinner, sleep and tomorrow’s adventure.
The next day we were taken to a preserve where we saw bison, elk and bald eagles. There was a circular area with a number of stations where recreations of the different Alaskan tribe houses were on display. In the center, there was an arch made of whale rib bones. Lenny apparently thought this was a great location for a photo op.
The highlight of this excursion was a performance by young native dancers. We were told this is a program for at risk youth which reintroduces them to the customs and traditions of their respective nations. The map on the wall behind the dancers depicts the areas of the state where each nation originated. The performance was amazing and contained elements of the different nations the dancers were from.
This was the last day of our cruise but we still had a three day train tour to Denali to look forward to.
It was an eight hour train ride to the resort complex where we would be spending the next two nights. The train was fun. The passenger car had a glass roof which gave us an unobstructed view of everything. It also had a dining car serving really good food. Following the train photo, there is a photo of what looks like mountain scenery. If you enlarge it, you’ll see two Dall sheep walking along narrow rocky ledges. They are unbelievably sure footed.
We spent the night at an appropriately rustic collection of mini log cabins and were off early the next morning to see the majestic Denali. Not! Our guide told us about the 30% club which unfortunately, we did not get to join that day. 70% of the time Denali is shrouded in heavy fog and it was that day. It was however, another day of awesome scenery. The resort had a good restaurant and an amazing gift shop with many locally made items. The next day we were back on the train to Fairbanks and our flight home. Sadly, our Alaskan odyssey had come to an end. This was the first major trip Butch and I had taken since his cancer diagnosis and treatment. Considering all he had been through, it was relatively stress free. Whatever stage you are at in your health journey, almost every limitation can be managed. Travel is possible. However, before we could think about our next adventure, the time to move back to New York had arrived. As with not being able to pack light, I also need my living quarters to be comfortable and attractive. I had a small interior design business in New York that I was not able to bring to Illinois. Therefore, I set about making our rental house a place where we could be happy with our surroundings. The result was a large inventory of things going home that had not accompanied us on our move to Illinois. As always, life tosses a curve ball. I had made arrangements with my cousin to come out and help us move back. I was going to need, in addition to our car, a cargo van. It turns out, cargo vans were not available anywhere so I had to settle for a large SUV. Thinking the problem was somewhat solved, I was in for yet another surprise. My cousin called to tell me he didn’t realize the date of our move coincided with a medical procedure he was having so he wouldn’t be able to make it. This was one of the few times in my life that I felt fate might win. That was not to be. I’m blessed to have the most incredible friends and what happened next was the best illustration of that. Rich and I had been working at the same company for a couple of years but only met in person twice. We both worked late into the night and developed a friendship through work related late night calls that became the norm. I had mentioned my moving plans did not work out when he somewhat abruptly ended the conversation on an odd note. I figured he’d explain in the next call. He called the next day with the opening line “do you still need help moving back?” When I said yes he said “Lisa and I are up for a road trip and we’ve never been to Chicago.” (Lisa was Rich’s fiancé at the time, now his wife). Good thing I was sitting down! They insisted on paying for their flight to Chicago but I insisted on paying for their lodging. There is a wonderful hotel on Lake Michigan which was the perfect place so we made the reservations and waited for them to arrive. We had a few days of Chicago sightseeing and then it was time to go home.
As expected, the trek home was another scene out of a comedy skit. I couldn’t find the receipt for the rental car but I was sure the name began with a vowel. We drove to O’Hare to pick up the SUV and left Butch to circle the airport until we had the vehicle. Butch had recently begun driving again and was not happy with his part in the operation. It was late and the rental counters were scaling back. We tried every rental car company beginning with a vowel and out of desperation tried Budget. You guessed it. It was Budget. Since I was not driving the rental, Lisa who I had just met for the first time, offered to rent it. I can’t say enough about the generosity of this couple. We finally completed the transaction, located a not too happy Butch and drove back to our now almost former address. Next morning, we loaded the two vehicles and started home. We planned to make the drive in two days. I had booked a hotel for the night in Pennsylvania, not sure what Rich and Lisa’s plans were. The room would have easily accommodated all of us but they decided to keep going expecting to find a motel along the way. Everything was full and they wound up sleeping in the car. The next day we were on the road after breakfast with Rich and Lisa far ahead. They arrived hours before us, unloaded everything and since the SUV was a one way rental, returned it to LaGuardia Airport for us with a note that said, pay us when you’re settled. I don’t know many people who are fortunate enough to have friends like these.
After settling in, we decided to do a transatlantic cruise starting in England and stopping in France, Ireland, Iceland and Canada.
