Cramming almost three weeks worth of gear, every layer of winter wear I could find, plus a big box of hand warmers into one suitcase was a near miracle. The question was, would said suitcase meet the weight limit? The case did meet the weight limit with two pounds to spare, but the security scanners didn’t love the chemicals in the hand warmers. After digging through my precariously packed suitcase to open and test the chemicals, the luggage was cleared. Oh drat, where’s my luggage lock?
Flights and other travel arrangements went as smoothly as they could have. Together with the woman sitting next to me – a medical records clerk stationed at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska – we rented a movie player for the 6.5 hour flight (nope, movies aren’t free anymore). We watched The Blind Side and I tried hard not to cry through the whole thing.
I arrived at my hotel at about 11:00 p.m. (3:00 a.m. EST) last night. Slept until some little internal instinct said the clock read 3:30, my semi-normal wake up time at home, and then struggled to get a bit more sleep.
The lady making breakfast in the lobby, a Pittsburgh native, warned me to be sure to try all the foods offered to me in Nome as a manner of courtesy. She suggested there might be moose, musk ox, seal, and caribou and that some of those treats might be rather vile. Oh goodie!
I can hardly believe I’m in Alaska. I’ve seen the inside of the airport, the inside of a van, and the inside of my hotel room. Today, though, I expect to see some beautiful landscapes and some beautiful people.
Current Temperature: 33°
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