Alaska Day 1

After years of taking long road trips, it feels odd to begin our trip by heading to the airport. Alaska, however, is kind of far for a casual road trip. It would require us to leave our cats for far too long, and I—the one who initially did not want a cat—would feel far too guilty leaving them for an indefinite period of time. As it is, I am feeling like a terrible person leaving them at all. In fact, it is weighing on me rather heavily. For a week, Dante has been suspicious that something was going on, something that wasn’t going to make him happy. He was extremely tuned in to our every action, especially when we were packing. Plus he has followed me around the house, not wanting to leave me. He was even much more cuddly than usual, snuggling next to me every night and in the early morning. This morning, as I was tending to last minute details, he looked up at me with his sad soulful eyes and silently asked me to pet him. I bent down to oblige and give him a kiss. Then he, along with Bean and Kramer, retreated under the bed. They did not come out to say good by. Perhaps its best. Dante’s parting look of betrayal and abandonment would have haunted me.

Our flight isn’t until 15:30. It’s weird to be leaving in the middle of the day. Usually, we aim to have a pre-dawn departure. Our friend came to take us to the airport. She has a small car, so Kati is actually driving to the airport, but Gina will take our car back home and then pick us up on our return.

Luckily, everything has gone smoothly so far. The line through security wasn’t short but it wasn’t eternal either.  Only G3’s bag was flagged for inspection but we don’t know why. It might have been due to the plethora of charging cords he brought for a variety of devices. Even though we got to the airport three hours early, by the time we got through security and grabbed something to eat, we only had a few minutes of down time before boarding. We are now settled on the plane and waiting for take-off. Thanks to the air tags Kati insisted upon, we know that our bags have been loaded onto the plane. We’ve checked our ring camera to see how the cats are doing. So far, only Bean and Kramer have been out looking for food. Kramer looked so hesitant, as if uncertain what to make of the extra water dishes. I hope they don’t think we abandoned them, especially Dante, who of the three, craves human affection the most. They have all experienced our trips in years past, so I hope they trust on some level that we will return. If only they understood the words we spoke, they might have felt less abandoned with an assurance that we will return.

The flight was uneventful but long. It was supposed to be eight hours but we arrived nearly a half hour sooner than expected. I read most of the flight. Kati and G3 watched movies and TV shows. The views from the plane, as we approached and reached Alaska, were absolutely stunning. Snow capped peaks rose up out of the clouds and made the ground appear much closer than it was. I took pictures, but the camera did not do justice to the landscape. As we approached Anchorage, the scenery shifted becoming green forest with dozens of ponds dotting the terrain.

Gray skies and rain greeted us upon arrival. We made our way through the airport quickly, waiting fewer than five minutes for our baggage, and then jumping into a cab which took us to the car rental place. Our hotel—expensive compared to what we usually pay, but cheap for Anchorage—is run down and feels icky. Actually, much of what we have seen so far of Anchorage is run down and decrepit and, if it was dark, it would feel unsafe. But the sun won’t set until 11:40. After checking in, we were all hungry so we went out for dinner. Too tired to drive far or debate about what to get—we all eat so differently—we drove to a nearby pizza place. I am not optimistic but I’m not awake enough to care.

Surprisingly, the pizza was not terrible.

Either that or I’m so tired my tastebuds are malfunctioning. Either way, eating was not painful and I can now go to bed on a full stomach. And I am definitely ready for bed. My body thinks it’s after one in the morning, but apparently, I am the only one still on east coast time because neither Kati nor G3 feel as if it is so late. Maybe I just overworked my eyes too much reading on the flight and that’s why they fighting so hard at the moment to give up and go to sleep. However, as tired as I am, I don’t know how I’m going to sleep without my cats waking me up and Dante looking for cuddles.