Fairbanks back to Anchorage on the Richardson Highway

We head to a bar that doesn’t seem as crowded as most, have pub food where Oscar is able to get chicken nuggets shaped like dinosaurs and

is happy as a clam. He says that it reminds him of Tot’s Place where he went to preschool, but won’t eat chicken nuggets that I make at home the little butt. We continue on to Anchorage and are now passing things that we passed on our way up to Denali, but in pouring rain. The good thing is the rain is cleaning the car for us at least. We get to our place right by the train station because we have an early morning train to Seward and empty the car. We

spread out more in a car than we do in a hotel room if that’s possible. I leave the boys there to get ready for bed because it’s 8pm already and I get gas in the car, drop it off at it’s designated spot and get an Uber back to the place. Oscar won’t go to bed without us, but John has done a load of laundry and we’re trying to get things repacked for one night in Seward before getting on the boat. I get frustrated because

I want him to get some sleep before the morning, John is frustrated because he doesn’t want to get in bed before he’s ready just because some kid wants him in there. We are in a lovely condo in downtown that we don’t have to share with anyone, but I think John and I both forget what it’s like to try to go to bed in a strange place. We find when we get in bed that our bed doesn’t really want our combined weight in it and I slide toward John throughout the night, but it’s a short one anyway. Up at

5am to get ready to get to the train station that it literally one block away as the crow flies. But, we aren’t lugging all this stuff down a steep hill and over 3 blocks on roads that don’t really have sidewalks, so Uber it is again. The Arctic Fox was nice enough to pack us breakfast to go and we take those with us and check in the luggage, get boarding passes and get on the train. I had a moment of panic the night before when I looked at the confirmation and saw that it said that it was

    “preliminary” until the account was paid in full. Jesus, did I pay it in full? Are we not going to be able to get on this train and have to find alternate ways to Seward to board our cruise ship? Thankfully, I’m not that stupid and we have no problems getting on the train. Oscar is grouchy and unable to be pleased by anything because he didn’t get much sleep and John has a migraine, so the train ride is fine, but not something we ever have to duplicate. And so far, that’s how I feel about the whole of Alaska. It’s nice, but I don’t ever have to come back as far as I’m concerned. Maybe a cruise will change my mind, but right now we’re getting memories of our trip to Iceland on facebook and I would much rather be there again….and that was driving with a stick shift and in a foreign country!