daily slice-of-life photo blog of a Gen-X dad
We spent the first day of our Alaska trip in Fairbanks, with most of the day aboard the Riverboat Discovery III. During the cruise, we learned a lot about life in Alaska. We watched a bush plane take off and land right next to the boat, saw a dog mushing demonstration, and visited Chena Village where we learned about native Alaskan culture. It was such a cool experience, and I really enjoyed it.
Today marks the start of our Alaska vacation. The plan is to fly to Fairbanks and meet up with the rest of my family, who are flying up from California. Unfortunately, the cruise line booked Mariko and Bay on a different flight, so I am traveling solo today.
I really liked the colorful lights in the pedestrian tunnel at O’Hare and had to take a photo. Since I had a long layover, I used one of our two visits per year to the United Club. It was nice to enjoy a hot meal and a glass of wine before the six-hour flight to Fairbanks.
I arrived at the hotel in Fairbanks around 8:45 pm and met up with my family. They had arrived earlier in the afternoon and were ready for bed. It felt strange because it was still bright outside, almost like daytime. Once I noticed that the sun wouldn’t be setting, I suddenly felt very tired too. It was a long day, but a great start to the trip!
Today, we continued our odyssey with just a little bit left of New Mexico before crossing into Texas. It took us about 8 hours to cross half the state before arriving at home. Once again, we had the ballgame to keep us company and this time the Dodgers won. Yay!
The drive back to Texas from California began today! Koa and I set out on our two-day road trip, with today’s leg being a long, easy stretch. We passed the time listening to the Dodger game (sadly, they didn’t win) and eventually stopped for the night in Lordsburg, New Mexico. Tomorrow, the drive continues through West Texas, and then we’ll be home!
Today is Children’s Day in Japan. This year I am in California, so this year’s photo is of my Mom’s koinobori. When she put them out, the blue skies appeared! But only for about 15 minutes before the sky became grey again. Oh well.
