I was perfectly content knowing I had flown my last Anchorage trip for the season. Then out of habit I looked to see if we had any Anchorage trips for October. I’ll admit. I became instantly giddy when I saw we indeed had a couple Anchorage trips for October. Better yet, there was an Anchorage trip on a Tuesday. I typically fly Tuesday through Thursday. When I saw the trip, I emphatically knew Alaska was calling me to fly back there one more time. Needless to say, I put Anchorage down as my first trip choice. When our October bids came out several days later, I was ecstatic to discover I would be going back to Anchorage. Better yet. I’d be flying with my Skyter friend Wayne.
I flew my first Anchorage trip this summer with Skyter Wayne. We then flew another Anchorage trip together a few weeks later. If we weren’t flying together, we were still flying Anchorage trips every week. Yessiree. Skyter Wayne and I enthusiastically answered Alaska’s weekly call to come back to Anchorage. Fortunately for us, Skytress Lucy and Skytress Kenisha answered the call for this last Anchorage trip, too.
From the moment we met at the gate, I knew we were going to have a marvelous trip. Our excitement for laying over in Anchorage was palpable. When we learned Skytress Kenisha was bringing her boyfriend Ron on our trip to celebrate his birthday, we made him an honorary crew member. The five of us created such an instant bond, numerous passengers asked us if we flew together all the time. They said they never saw a flight crew having such fun flying together. That didn’t surprise us. Our primary objective on this trip was to have fun. Boy, did we have fun!
This trip to Anchorage was slightly different from my previous layovers. First, we were laying over at a different hotel. Yessiree. We were back at our airline’s beloved Anchorage layover hotel. I’ll admit. This hotel outshines the other hotel by the bushels. Plus, this hotel is located closer to the coveted Snow City Cafe. Alleluia and amen for this! The other noticeable differences on this trip were the changes in the weather and in the amount of daylight. The consistent upper 60 degree weather I enjoyed all summer was gone. The temperature now struggled to get above freezing. The sun, also, struggled to shine for 11 hours. This was a drastic change from the 23 hours of sunlight I had become accustomed to this summer. I’ll admit. I didn’t mind these changes in the least. In my mind, the new changes all added another layer to the Anchorage charm.
We all agreed to meet early in the morning to have breakfast at the Snow City Cafe. Out of habit I checked the wait list at the cafe before I left my room. I couldn’t believe there wasn’t a wait time. I, also, couldn’t believe how dark it was outside when we headed to the restaurant at 7:30 am. The sun was still fast asleep. Amazingly, it was well past 8am before the sun started to make her appearance. I was flabbergasted by this fact. Even more amazing was the fact the Snow City Cafe had available seating the entire time we were there. This summer the restaurant was always filled to the gills with lively patrons eating…..and patrons waiting to get a table. We took advantage of the empty restaurant and relaxed atmosphere. We lingered in our booth after we finished eating our breakfast and swapped numerous stories. One flying story led to another….and to another. What can I say? Skytresses and Skyters are known for telling the best flying stories. Our crew bond grew tighter with each story we told. Our laughter grew heartier with each story we told. Heck, yes. It was the perfect way to start the day in Anchorage.
Skytress Kenisha and Ron scheduled a sightseeing trip to see glaciers, the rain forest and the animal conservatory. So, after breakfast we parted our ways. Skytress Lucy, Skyter Wayne and I hung out in the city with the local Anchoragites. The tourists were almost nonexistent. Well, except for the three of us. The three of us happily zig-zagged from one shop to another. I bought a fury winter hat I had been eyeing for weeks. Skytress Lucy bought a sweatshirt for herself and a pooping moose for her nephew. Skyter Wayne bought a vase from Paul Newman’s estate and a unique Iditarod pocket watch. We all bought Samovar tea. Heck. It wouldn’t be a trip to Anchorage if we didn’t. We planned on having baked Alaska ice cream cones from Wild Scoops. Sadly, we discovered they were closed for the season. We, also, discovered the fishermen weren’t fishing in Ship Creek. We consoled ourselves by taking selfies in the middle of the streets with the snow capped mountains in the background. The mountains glistened all around us. I swear the mountains looked even closer than they had all summer long. Even Denali seemed closer. Yessiree. We had a perfect view of Denali on this trip. Thankfully, Mother Nature gave us a crystal clear day to see all the glorious mountains surrounding the city. Everywhere I looked I saw one spectacular view after another. I’ll admit. I was completely in my winter-loving element. I couldn’t stop smiling. Yessiree. I walked around all day with a dopey smile on my face.
The next morning the crew van was filled with laughter as we exchanged stories with each other. Skytress Kenisha and Ron shared the most incredible pictures from their tour. We enthusiastically filled them in on our adventures….and how we didn’t stop Skyter Wayne from purchasing items in every store we walked into. Of course, we laughed about the pooping moose. Skytress Lucy showed our pilots the pooping moose she bought for her nephew. They couldn’t contain their laughter over it either. Heck. It’s a pooping moose! Pooping moose bring out the inner kid in all of us. Of course, we took our crew pictures with the moose in the airport before we headed to our gate. This time, though, we took a picture standing next to the moose’s bum. What can I say? Pooping moose and moose butts brought out the inner kid in all of us.
I’m so grateful everyone on my crew heard Alaska calling them. I definitely have a another suitcase full of new Anchorage memories. More importantly, Skytress Lucy, Skytress Kenisha and honorary Skyter Ron have become amazing new friends to Skyter Wayne and me. Alaska may be called the last frontier. But, I choose to think of Alaska as the place where lasting friendships are created. I looked to see if we had any Anchorage trips for November. Sadly, we do not. I’ll keep looking each month though. I know Alaska will be calling sooner than later. I definitely can’t wait to answer the call and head back to Anchorage. I have more adventures to experience and more forever friendships to discover. So, until then, I’ll keep my phone on.
