Rich and Jane's Big European Extravaganza

Yes, we are off on another trip!  Back in the fall, we decided to book a cruise from Ft. Lauderdale to Rome.  After looking at the dates, we realized there was another cruise a week later, going from Savona to Stockholm.  Wowie, could we do both, with a week in Rome in between?  Yes, we could!  The first cruise is on Celebrity and is a repositioning cruise similar to the one we took to Australia a couple of years ago: mostly sea days, but a great way to get to Europe (and super inexpensive compared to some!)  The second cruise is on Costa, infamous for  running aground off the coast of Italy awhile back, and the captain abandoned ship while there were still passengers on board...I think there was also a Costa ship that caught on fire a few months later. So we will see how well this one goes. haha

My mom and one of her friends, and Rich's sister and one of her friends decided to join us on the first cruise and the week in Rome.  We left Unalaska on April 4, just to give ourselves a cushion in case we had bad weather at home or other delays that would prevent us from getting to Florida on time.  Of course, since we built in extra days, we had beautiful flying weather and no problems so we are just chillin' out in Ft. Lauderdale till we leave on the 9th.

In Anchorage waiting for our flight to Chicago.

After a six hour flight, we arrived in Chicago at 5 AM.  Neither of us could sleep much on the plane.  I am getting too old for these all nighters!

Then Chicago to Ft. Lauderdale, another 3 hours of flying.  Arrived in Florida at 10:30 AM and luckily our hotel let us check in early.  We were pretty jet-lagged and I had a bad headache from no sleep so we took at 4 hour nap, which threw us off even more.  Walked around a little bit and got some dinner. Watched two movies, "Selma," which I loved, of course, and "Birdman," which was interesting but odd.  Then we couldn't fall asleep till 6 AM! Crazy!

The next day we met up with Rich's friend Kevin, who used to live in Unalaska and worked with Rich. They hadn't seen each other in 12 or 13 years. We had a good time chatting and enjoyed Korean tacos and Bao buns for lunch before we said our goodbyes and Kevin dropped us off at our hotel.  It was fun to meet him and I know the guys had a good time catching up.

Today we are finally on a decent schedule and went to do some pre-cruise shopping.  We walked part of the three miles to the mall and then caught a bus the rest of the way when we decided it was pretty hot and Rich was about to get a sunburned head without a hat on.  My Alaskan husband has no suit, nor even a decent jacket for dress up nights on the boat or for any special occasion, so we splurged on a nice jacket for him and enjoyed talking with our sales guys all about Alaska, Sarah Palin, and who can or cannot see Russia from their house.

Caught the bus back, had dinner at the hotel, came back to our room and the TV remote did not work.  We called to see if we could get a different remote and the maintenance man came up to fix it.  After going back and forth a few times, he came to the conclusion that it was not fixable and would probably have to trade out the TV.  It was already late and we didn't have to have the TV so we told him no worries and they could just exchange it tomorrow after we checked out.  The front desk called us and told us they were comping our dinner. Score!

All of our fellow travelers arrive tomorrow and we are planning to do some laundry and a little more shopping before leaving on the boat on the 9th.  Internet is pricy onboard so I will probably not be posting much here but will be updating on Facebook and Instagram if you want to follow along.  Has anyone ever used the app "1 Second Every Day"?  I thought I would give it a try--it's just what it says, you video one second each day and in the end you have a quick little movie of your trip.  One second is really fast so it will whip by but I thought it might be fun.

And March marches in

Rich and I took an unexpected trip to Anchorage last Sunday and just returned home today.  He'd been feeling awful for several days last week; this is the guy who NEVER misses work and has hardly taken a sick day in 20 years so I knew something was terribly wrong when he called in sick. He could not eat, didn't even want to eat, and could not get comfortable enough to sleep at all. Friday he went to our local clinic where it was suspected that he had a gallstone and gall bladder issues and they wanted him to head to Anchorage immediately. Unfortunately, by that time of day, the last plane had already left here so we bought tickets for Saturday and he had to tough it out through another night of no sleep and nothing in his stomach, poor guy.  Saturday we got up early for what turned out to be no good reason because the weather was nasty and all flights were eventually cancelled.  Another day with not much to eat and another night with no sleep.  Sunday we managed to get out and had to go directly to the Emergency Room at Alaska Regional Hospital, where they were expecting us.  Our taxi driver was very interested in the situation in the Ukraine and told us if we had a different president: "Boom, Boom, Boom!"

After hours of lying in a hospital bed and having blood tests, an ultrasound and a CT scan, we were told it was not Rich's gall bladder but his pancreas which had become inflamed and was causing all his pain and discomfort.  He may have had a gallstone, which might have initiated everything, but it was not visible by the time we got to Anchorage.  Apparently the treatment for pancreatitis is to "rest the pancreas," which meant only liquids and food that will liquify at room temperature.  We were released to go to a hotel to "rest" his pancreas for a few days and then see a doctor for follow up lab work.  Imagine Rich's dismay after not having eaten for several days already to be told he had to do the same for 48 more hours.  The next day we took a taxi to Fred Meyer and stocked up on fun stuff like plain broth, jello, popsicles, and water.  Oh, I did get some good snacks for myself.  :)   

Basically we spent the week holed up in a hotel.  It was not all that much fun.  Our hotel did not even have Pay-Per-View or HBO so we couldn't rent a movie and we missed our new favorite show "True Detective."  Even Comedy Central was fuzzy and kept going off the air so we did not get our "Daily Show" and "Colbert Report" fixes.  We mostly laid around, read, watched TV, napped, ate our snacks, and got on the computer.  Toward the end of the week, we did walk to the mall where I got a new pair of jeans after noticing that mine were about to bust through at the knee and Rich got some tennis shoes. Other than doctor visits and grocery shopping, that was about the extent of our excursions.

One day we went to a family practice clinic where Rich signed on as a patient and had his repeat labwork done.  A young woman picked us up in her cab  to take us back to the hotel, asking "Are you using Medicaid to pay for this?"  She then launched into a discussion about environmental issues, which led us to believe we were mostly on the same page about such things, till she eventually looped back around to what appeared to be her primary complaint that women have too many babies in order to "get a check."  As a former social worker, I could not keep my mouth shut and told her that was just untrue. So then I got a lecture about how she sees this all the time in her cab and how many women have told her they are just having babies to get a check.  I said this is anecdotal but not supported by research and that her perspective is probably a little skewed due to her experiences on the job. She was not buying that at all. She seemed pretty ill-informed as she also noted that she did not understand why women in China want to have 11 children (we supposed she had never heard  of the one-child policy).  As we approached the hotel, she stated that she did not want to pay taxes to support other people and that "women having too many babies is the biggest evil in the world."  I mentioned a few other things that were taking a lot more of her tax money and that there were probably a few more evil things to be concerned about, we gave her a nice tip, and wished her a good day. I am sure she was happy to get us out of her cab.

Rich's lab work was better, thankfully, but he still did not feel great the rest of the week.  We cabbed it back to Freddy's another day and replenished our food supply.  We made the mistake of going to the store around 4 PM and when I called to get a cab to take us back, I was told it would be 45 minutes to an hour.  "Is that okay?"  I said, "No!  Thanks anyway!" and called another cab company (by then we'd learned several taxi phone numbers by heart) only to be told it could be just as long.  When I lamented the wait, the dispatcher curtly told me "It's rush hour! It's always like this!" as if I should have known.  Thank goodness a cab showed up fairly quickly. When I told the guy how happy I was, we talked about the traffic and rush hour briefly and then he said he tries not to complain because it really does not do any good. I told him he was a wise man and I needed to hear that.  :)

On our last day we moved to a different hotel closer to the airport so we'd have a shuttle ride in the morning.  In the "small world" department, the cab driver who took us from one hotel to the other was good friends with a guy we know in Unalaska.   I ditched Rich that night and went out with our friends Jeanette and Paul--it was great to see them and we had a fun time at "First Friday" downtown, where different bars, restaurants and shops display various artists' work.  At the first place we stopped, one of their friends was the featured artist with beautiful photos from Israel and Jordan--all of colorful, interesting, and unusual doors.  We made several stops, had drinks, dinner and good conversation. I was glad to get out for awhile, though we were all sorry Rich did not feel up to it.

This morning we caught our plane back home. The flight left on time, the bumps weren't too bad, and we even landed a few minutes early.   *Red letter day!*   After taking a nap, we went to the store and stocked up on low fat/no fat food items so Rich can take good care of his pancreas.  He does NOT want to have another flare up, that's for certain!

And on a happier note, it was our sweet granddaughter Ally's  7th birthday today.  She's smart and funny and cute as a bug, a girly-girl with a big personality and a mind of her own! We love her and miss her lots!

On the Road Again

Well, not really the road.  More like many airplane rides!

We left Unalaska on May 7 and were in Anchorage till the 10th so that I could attend a work related conference.  While I was conferencing, Rich was relaxing at the hotel, reading, wandering the mall, AND he went to see a movie in a real theater.  :)  My conference was good--informative and interesting.  After hours I was able to meet with the woman in charge of the ESL/GED program I teach for and I enjoyed getting to chat with her. Rich and I also met our friend Paul for dinner one night and had a great time catching up with him.

On the 10th we flew to Seattle for a few days' stay.  We've had fun walking around the city, doing some shopping and eating out.  We made ourselves go to the hotel gym a couple of times and we have walked miles and miles every day so hopefully we are canceling out our eating.

Of course we had to go back to Pike's Place Market, which is one of our usual stops.  We bought some fruit and bread and snacks for the room so we would not have to eat out for every single meal.  However, on this trip we seem to be taking a tour of Chef Tom Douglas' restaurants.  He has a slew of them in Seattle and is probably the best known chef from this area of the country. On Mother's Day, we wanted to avoid the big crush of families at brunch and dinner so we went to Serious Pie, Douglas' gourmet pizza place, which was really good.  We've eaten at The Dahlia Lounge on a previous trip and this time we also added the restaurants Lola and Etta to the list.  

Pike's Place Market

Lola

Night view from our hotel

On Saturday night, we met Rich's old friend Cole for dinner at Andaluca. They hadn't seen each other in many years and I'd never met Cole. We had a great time talking and eating a number of delicious small plates--this was probably my favorite of the restaurants we tried (and not one of Tom Douglas')

Monday, my cousin Rob met us at our hotel, the Edgewater, and we had a great lunch in its restaurant.  They had lunch "bento boxes" which included a cup of soup, a half sandwich and a half salad of your choosing.  Plus homemade chips.  It was super.  And really nice to catch up with my cuz.

Rob and me

After Rob left, Rich set out to teach me how to play chess. I have never learned and had a bad experience years ago when my uncle tried to teach me and I ended up just feeling really inept and stupid because I couldn't grasp it.  I can't say I did a WHOLE lot better this time, but now I think I could at least tell you how each piece is supposed to move and a minor bit of strategy.  :)

Ugh, my brain hurts!

Tuesday, some friends came over from Sequim to hang out with us for a few hours. We met Linda and Ed on our Australian cruise and have stayed in touch on Facebook so we were pleased that they were willing to take the ferry to Seattle to see us.  We walked all over the place, chatting along the way, had some lunch, strolled through the market, walked some more and then saw them off to return home.  It was really fun to see them again.

Restaurant Etta

The price of Bering Sea king crab

Ed, Rich and Linda

We have not stayed anywhere with a laundromat for this whole trip.  I can never go for too terribly long without doing laundry so we've been searching for the right place and the right opportunity to get some washing done! Our hotel would do the laundry for us, but wants to charge $2.75 per piece of underwear and $5 or $6 per shirt or jeans so there was no way we wanted to pay that.  This evening we ended up taking a cab to a laundromat a good little distance away, wandered the streets while the wash was going, picked up some sandwiches at the deli next door to the laundromat and now we are in for the night.  We have to get up EARLY tomorrow to be picked up at 6:30 AM to go to the airport.  Off to Chicago!

I love vacations!

We stayed up way too late last Sunday night; of course, there was a lot to do to get the house ready for the house/plant/cat sitter, and then I always have trouble sleeping the night before we travel.  We were scheduled for a 7 AM flight out of Unalaska, which meant getting up around 5 to get to the airport around 6.  Ms. Not a Morning Person was dreading this.  We called the airport before leaving the house and asked if the plane was on time.  No, it was delayed.  BUT "you still need to come down and check in."  "When should we come?" "NOW."  Okay, so we finished up and headed down to check in.  We were told to be back at 8 so we left to run a few errands.  We FINALLY left at 9:30 AM--man, I was annoyed that we could have slept a little longer!  It was a beautiful sunny day so at least I did not have to indulge my flying fears too much.

We arrived in Anchorage at 12:30 and were not leaving for LAX till 5:30 so we were able to meet our friends Anne and Jeanette for lunch.  It was great catching up with them--we hadn't seen them since they left Unalaska about a year and a half ago.  It was sunny and warm in Anchorage so after we took Jeanette back to work, Anne, Rich and I took a little walk on one of the local trails and soaked up some much needed Vitamin D.  Then Anne took us back to the airport where we soon took off for LAX.  Long flight but not too bad.  We arrived at LAX and had to switch from AK Air to American for our flight to DFW.  First off, we couldn't find any directions or monitors showing us how to get to American.  An AK Air pilot saw me looking around with a confused expression and told me we should go to the end of the hallway and walk about 3 minutes to American's terminal. We

did that and it appeared that we were going to have to exit the secure area so I thought maybe I'd misunderstood. I asked a TSA guy what to do and he directed us back the way we came to look for a shuttle connection.  We found the shuttle area but it was dark, closed up, and no sign that there was any shuttle coming.  It was almost midnight and we were supposed to board in 25 minutes.  SO back to the TSA guy we go, tell him what we found, and he says, "Yeah, they probably quit running around 8," which only made me wonder why he sent us there in the first place.  Then he tells us we should exit the terminal, turn left and walk five minutes to the American terminal. I ask if we have to go back through Security and he says yes.  What the heck.  We trudge down to American, wind around the hallway, go through Security and find our gate.  Now for a nice overnight flight to DFW.   Rich and I both volunteered to be moved to Exit rows, not together, but our seats had not been together in the first place so we figured at least we would have more room.  I lucked out with a young couple who were willing to let me sit on the aisle. Rich was crammed into a short row that did not seem like the typical Exit row at all.  Finally we arrived in Dallas at 6 AM; poor Sarah had to get up early and come get us.  We were so happy to see her!  Here she is with her adorable kids.

We were really jet-lagged and suffering from lack of sleep but wanted to play with the kids and visit with Sarah and Miles.  Their new home is just beautiful and they did a great job building and decorating.  We are always impressed with their work!  Elle and Beck have grown so much since I saw them last September and Rich had not seen them since the Jersey shore a year ago.   They are just the sweetest!

Try as we might, we could not keep our eyes open so relented and took a nap while Sarah and the kids ran some errands.  Then we enjoyed the rest of the day playing and visiting and going out to dinner. 

Miles with his cuties before bed time

It was a very quick layover since we'd already reserved tickets to Amarillo for the next morning.  After a good night's sleep,  but still feeling like I was on AK time, we left for the airport before 7 AM.  Elle wanted to ride along and we chatted all the way.  She was telling me that we needed to get a big ladder so she could see Alaska.  But then she realized "if you are way up high, everything will look too small to see."  I was amazed that she could figure that out at age 4.  We promised her we'd take her to see "Brave" when we come back to Dallas in a few weeks.  Love, love, love this family of four!  Next stop, Amarillo, where we get to see Bonnie, David and Emery and meet new baby Luke!

Catching up from the Land of the Fast Internet

I've been MIA for a little while--lots going on! On the 3rd, it was my turn to host Bunco and, as always, a big night of fun. These gals are a blast!

Lou Anne and Andrea

Erin, Lori and Sonia

Alyssa, Juliette, Tammy and DJ

Lovely shortcake trios by Rich

Hilary and Melanie

I can't even remember everything that's been occupying our time. We did make some more jam--this time salmonberry-pomegranate and salmonberry-citrus-rose. So good! Remember those scones I made a few weeks ago? Well...there were some in the freezer, so guess what we've been doing? I think we've both gained a few pounds back. But it may be worth it. :)

We've both been really busy at work. I know I keep saying that lately! I worked feverishly all day on Wednesday and then flew out on the 7:30 PM plane to Anchorage. It was a little windy and I was very nervous about flying. I sure have had my flying issues lately. I started to think we would not go at all but we left about 8 PM with no problems whatsoever--guess I need to relax about the whole thing. I'm in Anchorage for a development conference with people from many of the other public radio stations in Alaska. It's been very informative, especially for someone who does not come from a sales and marketing background. I've enjoyed meeting my colleagues from around the state and networking with them. The conference ends tomorrow at noon and then I will be hanging around waiting for my 1 AM (Sunday) flight to Seattle and on to Dallas. Can't wait to see the kids and grandkids!

Happy Birthday, Aidan, and how we spent one more day in Anchorage

Called AK Air this morning and were told there were no seats available at all today. Yes, flights were going but we were not getting on any of them. Resigned, we got on the computer and pricelined another room, halfway expecting to get the Millennium again but we were given the Sheraton for $50. Happy to get a room for $50 but that meant we had to pack up and move to a different place. Reserved the car for another day. Checked my emails and a little birdie blog reader had sent me a message that fellow blogger Lauri (Life on the Rock--the Unalaska one, not the Akutan one) was here in Anchorage at Providence Hospital! Bless Lauri's heart, she'd been having some respiratory problems for several days and finally got flown to Anchorage. Rich and I ran down to say hi and see if she needed anything. She was in good spirits and said to tell everyone hi--she will definitely be blogging about her experiences when she can. She has taken up knitting and has had a friend spending a lot of time in her room with her, so that's good. And is quitting smoking, so that's even better. We know that's a hard habit to break but know you can do it, Lauri--take care of yourself, we want you around for a long time to come!! Hey, everyone, go to Lauri's blog and send her some good wishes!
www.lauri-lifeontherock.blogspot.com.

So we did a bunch of running around today. Had a fabulous late breakfast at the Snow City Cafe. We found this place when we were here another time and just loved it. SO busy! I think everyone in town loves it. We drove by yesterday and it was packed but today we managed to get in around 11 so the breakfast crowd was gone and the lunch crowd had not started arriving yet. Dee-lish! Then to the Post Office to mail 47 pounds of frames and supplies in a big box marked FRAGILE. We bought some insurance, halfway expecting that at least some of them will be shattered by the time they arrive. However, we were most surprised and pleased that the shipping was only $18. SO much cheaper than ordering stuff from down south and having to pay for shipping. Then to the 5th Avenue Mall where we browsed the shops, bought Rich some shoes, and I stocked up on greeting cards at Hallmark.

The photo above is from the favorite store of many Alaskans, Fred Meyer, aka "Freddy's." I told Rich I was sure we would run into someone we knew, and sure enough, there was Amy Rose at the counter returning some items! We had a good chat; she, Forest and Arne are doing great in Anchorage and it was so nice to see her. She recommended we try a place called Dami for supper--Japanese and sushi--which is exactly what we did. Turns out it's right around the corner from our hotel and we just finished a very nice dinner there. Thanks for the suggestion, Amy!

Lauren, our general manager at UCB, was supposed to fly from Unalaska to Portland tonight for the same conference I am trying to attend. She called to say she was still scheduled to leave home at 8 PM but her Portland flight had been cancelled. She went on to say that she'd just heard that the volcano had blown again! We'd been in and out of the car all day and hadn't heard a word. Oh. my. gosh. She was trying to decide what to do, and we are both wondering if either of us will make it to the conference. Rich and I are still confirmed on the milk run tomorrow, but not sure how likely that is looking. We have now missed his sister Vesta altogether (we were all meeting at their brother George and wife Nadine's in Sutherlin, OR before the conference) and she has headed home to California. If we get out tomorrow, Rich can still go to see George and Nadine while I am finishing up my training. But what are the chances?? (Based on the poll on the sidebar, not good!)

Finally, just have to send out birthday wishes to my sweet grandson, Aidan, who just turned 6. I talked with him after school and he sounded like he had a happy day. He is my #1 boy and I am just crazy about him (as I am my two little granddaughters as well). As I mentioned with Bonnie yesterday, I don't have photos on this new laptop but you can just imagine his big blue eyes and cute smile (or go back and look at older posts!) We love you and miss you lots, Aidan!

Happy Birthday, Bonnie, from "Still Stranded."

Today was my middle daughter Bonnie's birthday. Hope you had a great day, Bon! I am on a new computer and totally forgot to transfer any photos so I could upload a few to commemorate the occasion. :( But you know we love you lots and wish we could have been there to celebrate with you.

Above is a small slice of the scene at the Anchorage airport today. When we got up this morning, we called Alaska Air to check on flights. Lo and behold, we were told that we could get on a flight at 3 PM but to get to the airport early because it was going to be a madhouse. It was a sunny day with a lot of snow on the ground, clear skies, no sign of ashfall. We were feeling giddy that we were actually leaving! After returning our rental car, we walked into the terminal only to discover that the volcano had erupted again and all flights to Seattle were cancelled. You. have. got. to. be. kidding. me. We hauled our luggage over to the AK Air counter to have the information confirmed. For some odd reason, they were still sending planes to Honolulu. Now I do not get this at all. If it is unsafe to take off, it's unsafe to take off, right? We had a split second thought about changing our trip to Hawaii.

Ran into a few people from Unalaska, one of whom stated that the volcano was erupting as they flew past. How exciting would that be?! Apparently at least one flight got in, maybe more. I called Lauren, the general manager at the station, discussing when our point of no return would be. She's trying to get to ANC tomorrow and all the way to Portland to attend the same conference I am supposed to attend. Unfortunately, since Rich and I changed our flight to today, we lost our confirmed seats for tomorrow. I called AK Air back and the first confirmed seats we could get will be on the aforementioned "milk run" through Juneau on Wednesday--the day my conference begins. We were told to call back tomorrow as other flights may be added. So far our luck has not been the best on this front, has it? If we don't get out by Wednesday, I think we will just try to go home. The way things have been going, that could take another week, no?

We have become pros at priceline on this trip. While still at the airport, we pricelined a room and got the same hotel again, but this time for only $60. Nice! We then reserved another rental car, went to pick it up, and finally got to eat some lunch (after no breakfast) at Ray's Place, a Vietnamese restaurant that was recommended by my friend Shelly. Great suggestion--thanks, Shelly! We loved it.

From there, back to Michael's crafty store to buy a bunch of photo mats and frames for Rich's photo business. They were having a 40%-50% off sale. Sweet! Plus bubble wrap and tape and then to Office Max to purchase a couple of boxes to ship everything back to Unalaska since it is way too much to carry with us. Hopefully we can get the stuff home without any breakage.

Dinner tonight at Mexico in Alaska, and some delicious flan, which you know I have to try no matter how full I am.

We will get up tomorrow and do it all again. I think I am going to add a little poll to the sidebar on the blog and you can vote on what you think the most likely outcome will be. :)

Welcome, Lori and Unalaska Newbie--thanks for following! Hopefully there will come a day when the topic will not be "stranded in Anchorage."

Should we take bets on when we will get out of here?

Cool ice walls around picnic tables in a park downtown.


Not that I don't enjoy Anchorage, but it would be good to get where we need to be! Since we were pretty much destined to remain here today, we decided to rent a car and get out and about. First we pricelined a room for tonight and were given the same hotel (Millennium) for a cheaper rate than we paid last night--woohoo! We didn't even have to change rooms. We took the hotel shuttle back to the airport to get the rental car and the airport was quite a spooky looking place. No one at the counters at Alaska Air, pretty dark all around, though there were a few people waiting for who knows what. Technically, the whole airport was closed.

We spent the day running around town, did some shopping and browsing, ate lunch and dinner out, and saw the movie "Duplicity." It was pretty cute and we enjoyed seeing a movie in a theater for a change! I also bought four books at Borders so maybe I will catch up on my 100 book challenge while waiting for planes or flying on planes (that's the optimist speaking).

I called Alaska Air tonight and was told that no planes went to Seattle today, tomorrow is unknown but all flights are sold out, including the "milk run" that we missed this morning. We were advised to keep our reservations for Tuesday but to check back tomorrow just in case some more flights get added or seats open up.

There were some greyish clouds hanging over the city today but I really didn't notice a lot of ash or grit when we were walking around. Hopefully it is dissipating.

One thing I love about Alaska is that we run into people we know no matter where we go! It's crazy--such a big state but it feels like a small town at the same time. We've seen folks from Unalaska, a friend from Dillingham, and one of my former bosses.

Tomorrow is a little iffy....we will have to play it by ear and see if we can find a flight out, but I am not feeling too hopeful. I never thought I would be happy about a confirmed seat on TUESDAY but now I have to admit I am very grateful for it.

Vacationing in Anchorage

So we get up at 5:30 AM to get ready to go to the airport. Because I hate getting up early, I took my shower last night and put my hair up on top of my head in hopes that I would not have the worst bedhead in the world this morning. That hope was not realized. While Rich showered, I got dressed and checked emails, including a message indicating that our flight was cancelled. I checked Alaska Air online and sure enough, it confirmed that fact. Next, back on the phone with AK Air to see what the deal was, and when we might reschedule. I was told "all planes are cancelled, the airport is closed, and the next available flight to Seattle is Tuesday at 3 PM." Okay, we will take it! The good news is that it's non-stop. The bad news is that it's two days off. :) I was also told we could keep calling the airport to find out if it had opened back up and it is possible that some extra flights will be added once the planes start flying again.

We went to breakfast at 6:30 and just got back to our room. Now our dilemma is whether we should reserve a room for another night or go hang out at the airport this afternoon and try to get on a flight. IF the airport opens. Since it is still so darned early, we can put this decision off a little longer.

Rich watched "The Dark Knight" last night while I was mostly on the computer, though I did catch a little bit of it. We figure we can get in another movie this morning and it will still be early when it's finished. LOL Personally, I think I am ready for a nap.