When we flew out of Pittsburgh on the morning of February 15 it was a whopping two degrees. We made the short flight (just over two hours) back to Florida, where the average high temperature at this time of year is around 75. It's easy to see why, what seems like billions of our friends from up north, migrate south at this time of year. They're easy to spot with their sunburned skin and smiles so big that you couldn't wipe them off their faces with sandpaper. They're so deliriously happy that they can often be found walking in the middle of the road on their way to or from the amazing beaches. They're typically nice folks. and it's good for the local economy. so we're glad to have them.
It's now been close to two weeks that we've been back on the island. We've thawed out and stretched our legs out from our cross-country drive from California to Pennsylvania. We've had a great time visiting with Beth's mom (NaNa). Her attitude, humor and outlook are always an inspiration. One of these days the planets are going to align, karma is going to smile on me and I'm going to actually beat her in rummy........I'll keep you posted.
Beth and I realize that our travels and adventures are sometimes a little out of the norm. So, while many folks are heading south to escape the frigid temperature, we'll be heading a long way in the opposite direction. We'll leave the flip-flops and shorts behind, pack up our cold weather gear and head to Alaska for two weeks.
We've visited Alaska at least a dozen times. Our visits have always been in the spring or fall and we've loved all of them. When we're there we've often talked about how interesting it would be to visit in the winter, so here we go! Admittedly going on March 1 isn't exactly in the middle of winter, but I think for a couple of Florida natives it'll give us a pretty good taste of winter. We booked the trip in the fall and were able to shop thrift and surplus stores in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnestoa, North Dakota and Montana as we drove the Silver Bullet from Michigan to California. We had a great time shopping for winter items that aren't typically on our shopping list and have ended up with way more than we need.
Our agenda is fairly simple, with stays in four familiar places. We'll fly into Anchorage, arriving around 10:00 Tuesday night. We'll pick up a rental car Wednesday morning and have a couple of nights in Girdwood at the Alyeska Resort. We'll then spend the weekend in Anchorage. The Fur Rondy Festival, Alaska's oldest and largest winter festival will be going on. We'll get to see the ceremonial start of the 50th Iditarod Dog Sled Race. It will be in downtown Anchorage on Saturday morning. The mushers and their teams of dogs will officially set out for Nome (approximately 1,000 miles away from the starting line in Willow) Sunday afternoon.
Early Tuesday morning we'll take the Alaska Railroad's Aurora Winter Train north to the small town of Talkeetna where we'll spend two nights. After Talkeetna it's back on the train heading a little more northward to Fairbanks. The World Ice Art Championships will be in full swing. All the while we'll be keeping an eye on the night sky in hopes of catching the Northern Lights. Beth has been closely monitoring the Northern Lights forecast and there are some favorable conditions during our stay.
Well as far as the temperatures go, it's going to be a little chilly in Girdwood and Anchorage (highs around 30). It's still a little too far out to have an accurate forecast for Talkeetna and Fairbanks, however the extended forecast is showing that the lows might be around -10 and the highs in the low teens. If you're wondering "who the heck goes to Alaska in the winter other than the Traveling Idiots, apparently a lot of people. The flights are pretty full and many of the hotels are sold out.
It should be fun! I'll be blogging as we go.........as long as my fingers don't fall off!
