A quick view of our hotel room here in Seattle with an update from L.J. about our Friday plans.
I know you were worried sick, we’re alive! Our great driver showed up right on time amidst the picketing outside the hotel and we got loaded and off we went! He was very friendly, we chatted about Seattle, his apartment rent is $3K a month for a 950 sq ft apartment. He’d like to relocate somewhere less expensive. He is also an HVAC tech and his company just laid off twelve of them on Friday for the “slow season” so he’ll increase his work driving both for the apps as well as private transfers.
Great flight from Seattle to Anchorage on Delta. This leg was our least expensive and we were able to secure first class again (woo-hoo!) for about $100 more per ticket. We had Shake Shack burgers for lunch which actually were quite tasty. We were a little late departing Seattle and arriving in Anchorage but not much.
Here’s my terrible selfie because 1) I’m terrible at them – 2) LJ was telling me how to adjust my arm and 3) people were waiting to take the obligatory moose photo
We secured all our luggage and then headed out to find a Lyft to make our way to our rental car for the trip. We were at the shuttle / taxi area and then found out Lyft picks up in the departures area so we made our way back into the airport, upstairs and out to departures just as he was arriving (that sounds confusing).
Our least friendly driver for sure but we loaded off in the mini van and headed the few miles to the rental car location, after missing a turn twice and then turning around, he dropped us off at the location and we proceeded with securing the vehicle. Rental cars are extremely expensive everywhere it seems. We’ve had good luck renting with Turo, where individuals can rent their personal cars. LJ found a Toyota Highlander Hybrid for the trip, it has some small dents on the back of the car but otherwise is pristine with less than 10K miles. He took the necessary photos, let them know we had arrived and then they remotely opened the vehicle. The keys were inside in a Faraday bag in the center console which allows them to safely lock them inside the vehicle. That was new for us. We loaded up and after a few attempts, got LJ’s phone connected to the vehicle. We later discovered two things, some vehicles do not like your phone to be running a VPN while using Android Auto and we also think it was unhappy with the cord we were using. After switching off VPN and to another cord, all was well!
In preparing for the trip, we found a great Facebook Group called, Alaska. Don’t Buy, Borrow! We were able to request bear spray for the times we’ll be out unaccompanied during our trip, as well as a cooler. We brought a collapsible small cooler that we actually bought in Alaska on a previous trip to use for lunches and drinks on our fishing days. This additional larger cooler will allow us to keep any fish we catch that are on non-charter days (if we’re that fortunate), safe and secure (in trash bags, we won’t mess up the cooler!) as we take them to the processor. So after picking up the Turo, we made our way to the person’s home that was providing the items for us. As we were there, another couple was returning some bear spray from their time in Alaska before they head off on a cruise out of Whittier. Such a great offering that people are willing to do!
Final stop before leaving Anchorage was a quick visit to Refuge Coffee which we found from one of the couples we follow here in Alaska, LeggLife. We had a yummy cookie, hot chocolate (I’m still not old enough to drink coffee) and LJ had a coffee. We also grabbed a gift card from here to be able to leave with the kind person who is loaning us the bear spray and cooler for the next two weeks! Now please just help me remember to leave it!
Tasks accomplished, we headed northwest to Wasilla. As you can see, even the pics I could grab while we were driving were simply amazing.
We have a VRBO in Wasilla for the first leg of our trip and it is just gorgeous. It’s part of a duplex on a great piece of property. The posting did include a moose picture so I’ll be diligently awaiting its arrival. We unloaded luggage and headed back out for dinner and a trip to Target.
We had seen a video about a restaurant in Wasilla located on a lake, called Bennett’s so we decided to give it a try. It was a great choice! We had a wonderful server, Anne Marie who provided excellent service and was very friendly.
I got the bacon wrapped scallops and LJ got the Smoked Gouda Fries as appetizers but mine was more like a full meal so then I just opted for a wedge salad and he chose a filet. The meal was delicious and the setting was perfect. We had planned to eat on the deck but after the “safety warning” from the hostess about the very friendly bees, hornets and wasps that liked to greet people on the deck, we snagged the last table available indoors by the window which worked out perfectly.
Next was Target for some supplies, and then we added a trip to FredMeyer to get some ice packs for our cooler. I stayed in the car for the second stop and LJ fortunately also secured a fan. Our house is supposed to have AC but we didn’t successfully get it running so the fan was a huge help for the first night.
