Living in Alaska - Life in the Last Frontier

(Part One is here)

(Part Two is here)

The flight from Atlanta to Seattle was long, but at least we were comfortable. I requested a digi-player, so I could watch a movie to pass the time. I was finally able to view “The Blind Side“, which was quite good. I also watched the movie “Arranged” - which I also enjoyed. (On the trip out to Atlanta from Seattle, I watched the movie “Water“, a poignant film with the most amazing scenes. Throughout the movie, I was taking photographs in my head. It was truly a treat for the eyes - at least this photographer’s eyes.)

We landed in Seattle at 9:45pm. By the time we collected our luggage it was close to 10. We had a reservation at the Best Western Airport Executel Hotel - a no frills hotel that suited our needs (and wallet) for the short time we’d be staying there.

We had a 22-hour layover in Seattle, which we planned so that we could spend several hours exploring the city. The Best Western had a free shuttle that carried us from the airport to the hotel, and then back to the airport the next morning. It also offered a breakfast buffet, but we didn’t have time to eat at the hotel, as we wanted to take the Link Light Rail train to downtown Seattle as soon as we got ourselves up and dressed.

Steve was quite disappointed, however, that the breakfast buffet - which was supposed to last until 9am - was out of coffee (and creamer, and sugar, etc) at 8:15am, when he went down to get us some coffee. He had to ask the waitress to brew another pot, and then to find some sugar and creamer, and each time he made a request she rolled her eyes and huffed and puffed. Not exactly professional.

Before getting on the shuttle back to the airport, Steve called the USO at SEATAC airport, to inquire as to whether we could stow our luggage there while sight-seeing in town. We were thrilled to find out that we could (free of charge to military personnel), because there are few alternatives at SEATAC for storing luggage. One option (Ken’s Baggage) is a pricey alternative if you’ve got quite a few bags (we had five, to include carry-on bags and Steve’s computer bag). The USO was a life-saver, and our bags were stowed in a secure closet and could not be removed without a claim ticket.

We then walked about 10 minutes (level 4 of the parking garage) to catch the Link Light Rail to downtown Seattle.  The opening of this station is a real plus, and makes exploring Seattle without having a rental car (or using a taxi) easy.

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(Part One is here)

Monday morning, we scheduled a 6am wake up call, as we had a very long day of driving ahead of us. Our route would take us from Statesville, NC to Blowing Rock, and then we had hopes of getting on the Blue Ridge Parkway for some scenic driving to Asheville. From Asheville, we planned to drive through the Cashiers area, and then continue on to Acworth via Blairsville and Ellijay, GA.  The drive would be almost 400 miles, on two-lane roads that meander through the mountains of western NC.  We knew there’d be no 65mph highway traveling, and expected to be on the road a good 10+ hours.

Well, we didn’t quite get to do what we originally planned. With all the snowfall the east coast has had, the Blue Ridge Parkway was closed in the Blowing Rock and Grandfather Mountain areas. We were able to get up on the road via ramp and drive about 1000 yards at one point, before having to get back off, and the views of the snowy landscape were beautiful. The road was a mess though, so there’s no way we could have driven it, even if the road was open.

In the end, our trip took us from Statesville to Blowing Rock via Rt 321, and then to Linville via Rt 221. We followed 221 to I-40 into Asheville, got on I-26 to Rt 64 outside of Hendersonville, and then followed that switchback two-lane road to Cashiers, Highlands, Oakhill and Hayesville, where we picked up 515 into Blairsville and Ellijay, GA. From that point, we had highway driving to Acworth.  And believe me… we were happy about that. Rt 64 is so switchback and twisty, that I was feeling a little carsick. Blech.  However, the views were very pretty and we stopped a few times along the way so I could take some photos.

Some of the more interesting things we saw along the way were barns painted with quilt square blocks. I wish we would have had time to really appreciate these beautiful barns, and the colorful paintings on them. I did a little online research and found this great link about the NC Quilt Trail. Here’s an abridged version of the information I found on that website:

What started with one woman in Ohio honoring her mother by hanging an art block on her barn has now spread to a nationwide cultural art expression found in 33 states. Western North Carolina is second only to Kentucky for having the most painted quilt blocks as a public art expression. The quilt blocks are featured in the Western North Carolina Counties of Mitchell, Yancey, Ashe, Avery, Watauga and Madison.

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(PHOTO HEAVY!)

Steve and I had the most wonderful trip to NC and GA (and Seattle) last week. It was a long flight, but thanks to frequent flier miles, we were able to upgrade to First Class. It sure made traveling much more enjoyable, with the wider and more comfortable seats, the free Digi-player to watch movies, free drinks, and much better food. It’s going to be difficult to go back to coach traveling again, but since we don’t have a money tree in our back yard, nor do we have a glut of airline miles, you’ll find us being herded like cattle on future flights.

Traveling First Class does have its privileges, but unfortunately is not immune to rough-handed baggage crews or TSA agents who like to paw through your dirty laundry. The airline broke a wheel off my duffel bag, cut a zipper pull totally off the same bag (there was an unlocked lock hanging from it, but apparently they were too blind to see it wasn’t latched), and I found a TSA card in my bag indicating that a stranger’s hands touched my clothes. I always feel so violated when I find that card.

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We left Fairbanks at 1am on Wednesday morning and arrived in Atlanta at dinnertime. We were exhausted from the long day of travel, and worried that it would take us some time to collect our bags, pick up our rental car, and make the drive to our hotel northeast of the city.  But we were so wrong! The transportation system at the ATL airport has improved greatly since the last time we traveled through in the late 1990s. A quick train took us from baggage claim to a centralized car rental center, where it only took us 10 minutes to get our car. Before long, we were on the highway heading out of the city.

Steve and I have been in Alaska too long. We no longer know how to drive in east coast traffic. Although the speed limit was 55 on the interstate, and Steve was doing a respectable 65mph, cars were whipping by us as if we were in a Nascar race. We were so happy to leave the traffic behind and settle into our room in Suwannee. We were asleep by 9pm.

The next morning (Thursday), we were on the road by 10am. The drive from Suwanee to Statesville NC is about 275 miles via interstate.  We settled into our room and then called Kayla to let her know we had arrived. She, Robby, and Colt met us at our hotel, and we all went out to dinner, and then back to their house to visit with each other. Colt didn’t really remember us, but within minutes he was climbing all over (Steve) Paw Paw’s lap and snuggling with him on the sofa.

Robby and Kayla just moved into a new house (also with a dairy) a couple of months ago and they’ve been busy doing some renovations (new wood floors, painting, etc). Their home is lovely - and spacious - and their property is beautiful. We took a tour of the dairy facilities, and had a short lesson in milking. We also met the newest additions to the family - tiny little furball puppies born three weeks ago to Kayla’s Corgi, after a tryst with a Labrador! We later discovered that there’s actually a name for this cross-breed: Corgidor! Puppy cuddling is so relaxing, and if they would have been able to leave mama, I might have tried to smuggle one home to AK.

We visited until nearly midnight and made plans to go back at 9am for a home-cooked country breakfast.

Here are some photos from our first night in town:

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