Touchdown Alaska

We made it! And wow, it took a lot of different forms of transportation to get us here. In order, van, train, bus, plane, plane, train, plane, ferry and car. It felt good to end the long day getting to dinner in Ketchikan on our own two feet.

For a full day of traveling, several thousand miles, it all went off surprisingly well. Not a single delay or misstep all day. We spent a lot of time on the plane rides napping, reading and catching up on my favorite magazines.

As plane number three headed North of Seattle, and we could start seeing the miles and miles of islands and waterways beneath us, I could finally feel the stress starting to leave my body and vacation brain settling in. The views flying into Ketchikan were gorgeous. It was cloudy, but very green. And the white peaked mountains seemed to go on forever into the distance.

Only about 15 or 20 of us got off the plane in Ketchikan. We made our way down to the ferry because the Ketchikan airport is on a small island apart from the city. In fact, remember the infamous "bridge to nowhere?" Apparently that bridge was supposed to connect Ketchikan to the airport. But instead we paid $10 and waited 30 mins for a ferry to take us on a five-minute ride across the channel. So I can now confirm, that the bridge wouldn't have quite been to nowhere. However, they seem to be handling it okay without it.

We were picked up by a nice man from the hotel. He was from Puerto Rico. Eight years ago he came to Ketchikan for vacation and never left. We learned a lot about the history of Alaska's fourth largest city from him during the 10-minute drive to the Inn.

We're staying in the New York Hotel and Inn at Creek Street. It is a 1920s building, right in downtown Ketchikan. It has a lot of charm and is right near the heart of the town, on the water front. Apparently by the time we wake up tomorrow morning, we'll have several large cruise ships parked outside our hotel windows, blocking out the sun.

We wandered into town and had a very nice dinner at Annabel's Famous Keg and Chowder House. At least, I think it was a nice dinner - because it was actually past 1 a.m. eastern time for us, so we were in a bleary-eyed daze.

Now, after the planes, trains and automobiles, we are ready for bed. It feels so good to be here and we can't wait for our adventures to start tomorrow. (I promise better pictures tomorrow, Dave passed out asleep before we could download any shots from his camera tonight!).

Exciting day tomorrow! Touchdown Alaska.