Travel to Alaska

I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to get through the Memphis TSA check. The last time I went through it was a pain. The hardest part was saying good bye to family and friends. As many of you know my wife and I don’t do much in the way of long trips apart. Not since I left the military have we spent much time apart. Now I have a granddaughter as well and she and I are thick. She didn’t handle my leaving as well as I had hoped but the girls went shopping after dropping me off and I think that helped.

I lucked up and only had to pay for one checked bag. I checked 2 at check in and checked my carry on at the gate when they volunteered to check it for free.  That turned out to be very helpful in the long run because I ended up having to rush between every flight. Weather delayed our flight into Atlanta and all flights out were slightly delayed. I had just enough time to make each connection to Anchorage. I noticed coming into Anchorage was odd because at that time of night there was daylight at altitude but once we got below the clouds it was pitch dark. We got into Anchorage at 2 AM local time, 3 hours behind CST.  I picked up my bags and found a bench where I could catch some sleep.

After checking into the next airline I found a place in the airport that was open for breakfast.  Reindeer sausage is a thing in Alaska. The flight into Bethel was a little over an hour. Deplaning was done on the open runway and the airport baggage area was in a small area that could barely handle all of the people. I was met by a representative from the district and he carried me to a bed and breakfast where they have arraignments for incoming administrators to stay during orientation.  Other teachers were met and placed in a group and bused to accommodations for the their in processing.  The temperature on arrival was 56 degrees and felt a little cooler due to a breeze.

In conclusion, I would say that my travel to Alaska was uneventful and that I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the airlines made my trip. I hope that is a sign of good things to come.