This morning, I woke up in Anchorage at 7:30. It never ceases to amaze me how, each morning, I'm a little farther northwest, a little farther from home. Well, today my farther-from-home journey has come to a close(well, almost...except for 30 miles farther north to the Bible camp on Sunday night). But first, we were in Anchorage. I got ready and did a little bit of stretching, and then went down to a great breakfast of cereal and milk at 8:15. We got all our bags packed and ready, and then finally drove away at 10:15 to check out Anchorage (our last BIG city for awhile). Finally, a day with no rain...but, alas, we still had clouds and a few sprinkles here and there.
We got gas, parked our car, and then went out and proceeded to walk around Anchorage for about two hours. I got a good taste of the city -- its stores, restaurants, corporate buildings, culture, and people. On the side of the JC Penney's, a man had painted a beautiful mural of sea life...it stretches the whole side wall and is very vivid and well-thought-out. We also ran through Nordstrom's just to see what it was like -- LOTS of shoes and pretty high prices. Of course, I am not a shopper, so who knows? Maybe they were normal prices. :) We also went to the Visitor Center, which is in a cute log cabin and had a nice warm fire to escape to from the cool (45-50 degrees). Grandma got a map so we could see where everything was. We walked through a few fancy hotels; I was struck by how huge and high-class they were, with jade floors, fountains, and valets.
After all the walking, looking, and absorbing, we were hungry, so we headed to La Cabana Mexican Restaurant & Cantina. I had the #7 Dinner -- a beef enchilada, a cheese enchilada, and sides of beans and rice. It was all very delicious, hearty food; fast service; and a parking lot -- Anchorage charges for parking almost everywhere and pretty much every shop doesn't have any parking. It was a really yummy lunch. After that, we drove around a little bit more before going back to Grandma's friends' home. We loaded our bags into the car and went to the airport. We stood in line a LONG time to check our bags because all four desks had people with problems -- like one man thought his flight was tomorrow morning at 2 AM, but it was THIS morning at 2 AM. Yeah, I know...pretty crazy. But anyway, they all had big problems, and we just kept standing in the same place. Finally, we went to a different place (after a lady told us) because we were only travelling in Alaska. It took about five minutes; what a breeze after standing around! Then through security -- no problems -- and to the gate by 4:15, where our plane was getting ready. Now, our flight was supposed to take off at 5:10. We were beginning to board around 4:55, but then everyone turned around as we were walking down to the plane, saying that the plane was broken. I'm still not sure what happened, but they said it was a problem with fueling. We sat around for awhile, until we boarded the plane at 6 PM. The plane took off at 6:15 or so, and they went faster than normal (they also had a small tailwind). We landed in Kotzebue at 7:25, stopped to fuel the big bird up again, and got to sit around for awhile (no reason). Finally, we were back up in the air at 8:15 (the time we should have been in Nome), heading to Nome. We flew right over Salmon Lake and saw the camp buildings...so exciting to see it from above, to get the whole picture! We touched down in Nome at 8:45, collected all our bags, and got to the apartment by about 9:30. We went out to get some groceries, came back, and now we are kind of settled in. I have to go eat supper, get a shower, and figure out where to sleep still.
But nevertheless, we eventually made it to Nome, and I absolutely love it here. All the people are friendly and welcoming (well, at least the few people I've met so far), and it's not some huge old city with nothing but big buildings. I love these small towns with dirt roads. And, an added bonus...the sun is still up, even at 10:40. It's a beautiful town and I hope to share some pictures with you tomorrow. I am going to sleep in! Sunday evening we head to the camp, and what a witness opportunity I have. Next Friday, I'll let you know how it went. Thanks for reading, and I'm sorry there's no pictures. Check back tomorrow, and have a blessed weekend!
~Anna~
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