Homeward Bound

When we got to Anchorage the train crew made us be the last off. I got our bags and looked for the taxi that should have been there. I didn’t see it and so asked a taxi driver (also from the Yellow Cab Capany) to call for it. He was pretty rude. I then called the taxi company and the woman I spoke to was even nastier. She tried to tell me that just because I reserved the taxi for a certain time didn’t mean I was guaranteed it would be there. Then she hung up on me. That really got me mad and I called back, but by then the taxi came. I told the driver to drive fast to the airport as we were 45 minutes late in being picked up. He drove pretty fast.

We got to the airport and went to the First-Class check-in for Alaska Airlines. It moved very slowly because the old guy was too busy flirting with two 16 year old girls. Then when it was our turn I gave him our IDs and instead of looking it up he asked what flight number we were on. When I told him I didn’t know he asked what time we were going to Seattle. I told him 1 am and he said that couldn’t be as there were no flights then. I showed him my paper from Alaska Airlines that said there was and he got our boarding passes (not sure how since the flight didn't exist according to him.) We then went to wait in the TSA line. They had no people telling us that there was a handicapped lane (as the First-Class lane was closed.) The TSA at Anchorage were beyond unprofessional and one of the worst I have ever seen. They had no lanes open and no one working (just standing around.) We had to wait 20 minutes to get screened and when I asked one of the TSA women who was at the metal detector talking to her friend and not doing her job she started talking to me as though I was dumb. A guy came up to me and said he was head of security. I told him about the lack of organization and how unprofessional his people were. As usual with these people he didn’t care. We finally made it through security and went to the Boardroom (which was pretty run-down.) We stayed for a few minutes and then left for the gate.

We pre-boarded the plane (although they let people with children before us even though they are supposed to wait until after those in wheelchairs.) The chair had to go under the plane again. We had the same seats as we always did (aisle 2.) It a 3 hour flight to Seattle. This time we didn’t have to take a train to another terminal, but the same nasty smell was there and we had to go from Terminal D to C. We saw on the news that the judge give his ruling in the Casey Anthony case and some people around us didn’t like it (I didn’t either.) We then boarded the plane bound for Boston. They served us some quiches which all of us who ate them complained about – they were just plain nasty. When we landed in Boston we got off the plane and waited for the chair to be brought up. The guys kept bringing the strollers and big bags even after we asked them for the wheelchair. I had words with the Delta/Alaska Airlines woman meeting the plane about it. We then got our bags and I called the shuttle for the off-airport parking. We kept seeing the busses for the right company go by us, but not the accessible one. We waited outside (luckily it wasn’t raining) for about 40 minutes until it came. We got our car and with my mom’s directions (which were much better than the GPS ones) we go to I-93 without much trouble. We decided to eat at the same Cracker Barrel that we did when starting the trip – since we don’t get down there much. It was weird to go from 10 days of not driving and having 21 hours of sunlight to driving in the dark, but we made it home and everything was in-tack. I couldn’t sleep last night because of the jet lag and so unpacked. Then early this morning I picked up the dogs from the kennel and got all the held mail – which had some birthday cards and presents for me.

I have to say that despite some issues and problems I had a really good time in Alaska. I credit it mostly to my mom. It seems that whenever we go on a trip together lately we have a good time (just like last December when we went to Germany, Croatia, Bosnia and Montenegro. I would go back to Alaska, but would tweak things. Since I didn’t care for Anchorage I would try to skip it and spend more time in Fairbanks. I would also not stay at the Denali Princess Lodge or take the Kenai Fjords Tour. I would also reconsider taking Alaska Airlines and going anywhere near the Seattle Airport.