I'm back from my big adventure. A more detailed trip report is to come, but there's a lot of memories to parse and a lot of pictures to sort (and I mean a lot, too. I bought an extra 4 gig SD card while I was up there). In the meantime, I offer some brief observations from the last week's activities:
-- It's funny how you can absolutely dread having to start a trip like this, but once it's in motion, you lament that it has to end. (Especially when it involves a location you love so much.)
-- Along with that, right when you get the hang of things and stop acting like a stumblebum is just before the trip ends.
-- Waiting three years between trips to Alaska is a terrible thing to do to yourself, especially if you could have prevented that lapse from happening.
-- Next time I do this, I'm scheduling at least a night's layover in Seattle on the way home. Maybe two. It's good to help one decompress, especially after the kind of adventurous, fun week I ended up having.
-- But if all you have is a brief layover, there are things you can do to catch your breath. For me, it's making a few moments to have an Alaskan Amber at the KSEA Seattle Tap Room.
-- Houston's B Concourse is an excellent example of a five-pound bag being asked to haul sixty times the material. Aside from Shipley Do-Nuts and the fact that it's how I get to the plane that takes me to or from home, I don't have much use for it in its current incarnation. I hope it's replaced very, very soon.
-- On the other hand, Continental's got a pretty good airline going; I've even managed to put certain things about its past behind me, and I've made it my own airline of choice for now. I sure hope the forthcoming merger doesn't ruin things.
-- Not enough can be said about the importance of a very, very good noise-canceling headset and an MP3 player full of recordings you love. As far as I'm concerned, the developers of the Bose Quiet Comfort 15 deserve the Nobel Prize plus infinity. Their device helped me stay sane.
Anyhow, stay tuned. The whole trip was unbelievable, and the pictures can't even begin to approach the magic.
-- It's funny how you can absolutely dread having to start a trip like this, but once it's in motion, you lament that it has to end. (Especially when it involves a location you love so much.)
-- Along with that, right when you get the hang of things and stop acting like a stumblebum is just before the trip ends.
-- Waiting three years between trips to Alaska is a terrible thing to do to yourself, especially if you could have prevented that lapse from happening.
-- Next time I do this, I'm scheduling at least a night's layover in Seattle on the way home. Maybe two. It's good to help one decompress, especially after the kind of adventurous, fun week I ended up having.
-- But if all you have is a brief layover, there are things you can do to catch your breath. For me, it's making a few moments to have an Alaskan Amber at the KSEA Seattle Tap Room.
-- Houston's B Concourse is an excellent example of a five-pound bag being asked to haul sixty times the material. Aside from Shipley Do-Nuts and the fact that it's how I get to the plane that takes me to or from home, I don't have much use for it in its current incarnation. I hope it's replaced very, very soon.
-- On the other hand, Continental's got a pretty good airline going; I've even managed to put certain things about its past behind me, and I've made it my own airline of choice for now. I sure hope the forthcoming merger doesn't ruin things.
-- Not enough can be said about the importance of a very, very good noise-canceling headset and an MP3 player full of recordings you love. As far as I'm concerned, the developers of the Bose Quiet Comfort 15 deserve the Nobel Prize plus infinity. Their device helped me stay sane.
-- Most of all, this trip helped remind me that, no, travel isn't quite the ordeal I'd imagined it was once I fell out of practice. There are pains to it, yes, but for the most part, it was just fun. And maybe, I'm saying to myself, I should just go on ahead and take a couple more journeys soon. Perhaps I will. I don't know. Some calculations must be done, but it may be possible on some small scale.
-- And, oddly enough, this year's visit didn't end with teary goodbyes. It ended with me telling my host, "Make sure this place don't go nowhere. I'll be right back."
Anyhow, stay tuned. The whole trip was unbelievable, and the pictures can't even begin to approach the magic.
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