The Journey to Barrow (a vacation summary)

Well, we made it to Barrow, Alaska! As I sit and bang away on my Mac Book, please be assured that they are emanating from above the Arctic Circle. Before I begin be sure to take a moment and post a comment below as we would be happy to answer questions or share in your thoughts.

The Journey to Barrow (a vacation summary)

Our first destination was The Mall of America in Minneapolis St Paul. At first I thought it would just be a fun way to spend a few hours; however it stretched into four days of extended shopping and finding ways to ditch our two sons who proved to be quite annoying at times. I know you’re saying to yourself, “NO WAY! Not teenagers! Something must be wrong with your brain!” And in thinking that you would be only partially correct. Seriously, traveling with teenagers should be added as an extra circle in Dante Alighieri’s epic vision of hell. If you will please visualize us crawling… bloody fingernails stripped and bloody to the bone crawling and praying for respite but it never comes... That is how it was; however Dante’s vision might have been more tolerable. But I digress. If you ever have a chance to visit the Mall of America please give it a go; however count on a few days as opposed to a few hours. My favorite purchase was my very first pair of Doc Martin’s ever- a pair of shoes that even a geek (I wear that moniker proudly) like me can feel cool in. Karen was jazzed about her boots as well. The thing we both loved was walking around hand-in-hand and strolling through stores.

After Minneapolis we loaded up the car and the van and made the 14-hour drive to Billings, Montana. The only tourist type venture that we were able to muster on the trip was a series of photos from Painted Canyon, Montana; however this great state sure is fun to view in any case. We pulled into our motel around 1:00 AM and crashed. The next morning we hit the LAST Cracker Barrel that we would see until Christmas and headed for Seattle.

We spent the day driving through the most amazing mountains that you could ever imagine. I wanted to just stop and take it all in however our time schedule would not permit it. The Montana-Idaho boarder rang like a stunning symphony in the eyes. I thought to myself that it must be wonderful to see this every day. It was mountains and forest redefined completely for me. Some place just after the Washington State border everything changed to a gray and desolate soil, flat with occasional patches of ponds. The sun was going down and the sky was so large on the horizon that it unsettled me just a little bit. Gunner was in charge of the music in the van so I asked him to keep it upbeat. No sooner did I say that, he played “Head Over Heals” by Tears for Fears, which is mine and Karen’s song so all was well. We continued on to another mountain range in the rising dark with whips of light still whistling through the mostly cloudy west coast evening creating swaths of red, purple, mauve, pink, and orange all giving away to midnights blue. NOTE: If you are getting tired of my overly detailed descriptions please comment below and I will take it to heart. Until then I will stay in pseudo poetry mode.

Our first full day in Seattle found us on the way to Portland, Oregon, in order to shop at the open market, visit Powell’s Books, and load up at Voodoo Donuts. This was simply a great trip. Karen and I were in the same car (we had to drive two cars up until this point) and we could visit while Gunner and Satchel slept. Portland is just a great, fun, weird place to visit. They have a weekend market where you can find just about anything. I purchased Karen a clever face disguise made of old forks and knifes (see picture). We spent three hours talking to the kind people of Portland and sampling local jellies (my favorite thing to do). We then set off to Powell’s books which essentially a well-organized book warehouse. Karen and I were able to find books on Eskimo mythology for some insight into the culture. We finished the day at a place Called Voodoo Donuts, which is considered to be the best donuts in the world. Open 24 hours a day and 365 days a year you will always find a line around the block waiting to fill-up on these wonderfully, bad-for-you charms of fried bread. 

With our feet sore and stomachs full we made the 2.5-hour drive back to the Red Roof Inn by the Seattle Airport. We watched “Saturday Night Live” and crashed. The next day we went to downtown Seattle and the Pike Place market. The main attraction there besides the arts, crafts, and food is the original Starbucks Coffee House (see pictures). For Karen, I am sure that this was more of a spiritual event as opposed to a tourist experience as she loves Starbucks in a frightening way. We made sure that she had a shirt, mug, and an iced coffee to go with the pictures of her trip to the Coffee Holy Land. During our family time it was revealed by all that Pike Place was the favorite spot to visit of all. I dissented and chose The Mall of America as my favorite because of the AMAZING shoe shopping… Oh they had great Sushi as well!

We began the next (from Seattle) leg of our journey by heading into Canada, Prince George to be exact. Because we shortened our trip time we found ourselves driving anywhere from 12 to 15 hours a day. We arrived in Prince George at 8:00 PM after a 15-hour stint on the road. Karen went on and secured our hotel while Gunner and I went to secure some Subways Sandwiches. Which reminds me, did you know that you could get egg salad submarine sandwiches in Canada? I mean, wow, you had better have a single payer healthcare system if you go around eating white bread loaded with that much mayonnaise and egg product! I asked if it was popular in Canada and they all said “Ooooo-Ya! We love it here, eh!” One thing I took to mind was the lack of smiles in at least this part of Canada (it got worse the closer we got to the Alaska Border)! Maybe they are just really calm. The road found us early the next morning with stops in Dease Lake and Whitehorse in the Yukon. Be mindful that you can only use the restroom in Canada if you buy something and gas does not count! So always keep in mind to time your bowel and bladder urgencies with your desire for overpriced salty snacks and soda. With that said the shop owners would still be cranky with you. I tried being extra nice to them and a few times they started to warm up only to think to themselves, “Hey, why am I being nice?” They would then snap back into their own cranky modes. Over all I found it cute as well as prime fodder for making the family laugh during hotel times. On a non-related subject please note that McDonalds restaurants in Canada have great breakfast muffins of all flavors even bran, which at 47 years old I have grown to appreciate.

We arrived at the Alaska border with our hopes set on Anchorage. Interestingly enough the XM satellite radio died soon after we crossed back into the United States. The next six hours were another sky show with glaciers, mountains, and scenic views. If you are ever able, you really must drive the Alaska Highway particularly if you are not the one behind the wheel. We ate dinner at a small family restaurant, you know the kind the one where you walk in and they look at you like “How dare you eat here! Townies only, friend.” The walls and doors were tagged with all the things they forbid at the restaurant... Things like “Do not stand here or you must ask for condiments.” (Lol- extra charge). I think I even saw a “God Bless Jefferson Davis” sign; however, I digress. “Now that will be $80.00 for four burgers, fries, and cokes and do not let the door hit you on the way out.” I would Yelp them if I could only remember their name.

When we entered Anchorage it was like a light at the end of a never-ending tunnel as we were getting tired of the long drives. We crashed at a HoJo’s in downtown Anchorage and sought out the nearest Starbucks in order to relax and eat a bit. After a day of shopping for food and other sundry items we were fortunate enough to spend the day with Karen’s cousin and his wonderful family. David is the only relative that she tends to glow about, so in a way it was like meeting a legend. David’s wife, Linda, and their children, Kyle and Kaitlin walked us around the Anchorage Open Market and helped us on the road to becoming real Alaskan citizens. That evening they treated us to dinner and we finished the day by watching Spider Man on the Imax screen.

With our luggage and cooler packed with food and our cat Flora (stalker cat) we left for Barrow early Monday morning. Flora was allowed to ride with us as carry-on baggage so we were all more concerned about our kitty than gawking out of the window. Stay tuned, as our next blog will be all about arriving in and living in Barrow, Alaska.

Things That Kept Us Sane:

XM Satellite Radio

Starbucks Iced Coffee

Our cat, Flora

Any and all products created by the Apple Corporation

Sugar Free Jelly Bellies

Sugar Free Oreos (thank you Anderson family)

Bad Canadian TV

Bad American TV

Bad TV’s

The entire city of Portland, Oregon

Voodoo Donuts

A place to hang our hat (regardless of its cleanliness…)

Sugar-free chocolate covered cherries

Fresh cherries from Portland and Seattle

Bands on Our Travel Play List

Cowboy Junkies

Muse

Pink Floyd

The Rainmakers

Steely Dan

Kanye West

Johnny Cash

Buck Owens

Namoli Brennet

Ash

Spitfire

Between the Buried & Me

Bob Walkenhorst

Enya

Beastie Boys

BoB

Neil Young

Cold Play

Super Tramp

Things That Nearly Drove Us Over the Edge (Never to Return)

Karen’s inability to drive the speed limit or even slightly above.

Sharing a hotel bathroom the entire time with four people

The boys sleeping habits (they stay up WAY to late)

The sad faced nation of Canada (cheer up guys you are cool in my book)

Bank of America… I am pretty sure that you all know.

Hotel rooms that were dirty before we ever arrived (ICK!)

My inability to understand mile markers and how they work

Converting kilometers per hour to miles per hour before anyone noticed