Last Two days

Train from Seward to Anchorage

mount marathon

This is a very gray day --- in Seward it is only sprinkling but in Anchorage it's pouring. We spend the early part of the day in Sealife Center, and the rest in train to Anchorage.

tomi

The voyage is pretty eventless, but peaceful, which is nice. We can just sit back and relax, and enjoy the scenery. The railroad travels through some of the most pristine and beautiful landscapes of Kenai peninsula --- something we could not really appreciate when on the road.

glacier

We have dinner --- Chowder and salad for $9, and Pot Roast for $15, and a couple of beers thereafter. The conductor knew the roast to be excellent, and Tomi cannot agree more. The train courteously stops so that the tourists can admire a black bear mom with two cups foraging by the rail-side.

tei

As said, it is pouring in Anchorage. We spend no time loading the bikes, rolling up the legs, and pedaling to Budget Inn. Tomi's front gear cable snaps in an uphill. The motel neighborhood is kind of gloomy, but we have no plans to go out tonight anyway --- so the shower and bed it is.

fog

sun over cook inlet

Anchorage I

Our project of planning and packing back to Indiana is colored by a bunch of bad decisions. After having breakfast at the Downtown Deli & Cafe --- granola with fruit, and oatmeal with baked apples, summing up to $20.05 --- we take a long detour to the Bicycle Shop. It is a scenic ride, but quite frustrating for Tomi without the front shift. We leave the bikes behind to have them boxed, and, not exactly knowing where we are, take a cab back to our motel, 26th Street Hostel. It is a very funny one-block taxi ride.

moose's tooth

What we should have done, is to take the bikes to the bikeshop tomorrow on our way to the airport. That way we could still use them today. Now, we ended up doing a lot of walking around Anchorage, and have to take taxi to the bike shop to get the boxes and take them to FedEx.

reindeer

We visit some Anchorage breweries: Moose's Tooth, Snow Goose Restaurant and Sleeping Lady Brewing Company, and the Glacier Brewhouse.

flowers

Anchorage II

tomi

This is our last day in Alaska. The flight back to Chicago is scheduled at 9pm. The first thing in the morning we pack the panniers and sleeping bags in boxes, call a cab, and get to the airport via the bike shop and FedEx. And what an outstanding --- helpful and patient --- cab driver we have to get us through all that!

At the airport we are told that we cannot check in luggage until four hours before the flight. The same person tells us that there is no baggage storage in the airport. It's something like 10am., so what a fun day awaits us in the airport ... We try to change the flight time, but with no avail. Then we are told that they do have a storage. It costs us $24, but at least we have a whole day ahead of us in the town --- without the boxes, I mean.

We make a decent effort of finding reindeer meat, but have no significant luck. There is only one place that sells it canned. We visit Darwin's Theory. This local joint defies all definitions. An old-timer from Michigan attempts to practice his once-mastered Finnish skills learned while traveling in Finland with his Laestadian Church.

tei

We pay one more visit to Sleeping Lady, and have Epluche-culotte trippel. The label has a naked lady riding a reindeer, so the beer cannot be bad.

anchorage, ak airport

At the airport we enjoy the last round of beers in Alaska, not Alaskan though, and a burger that upsets our stomach even if it cannot be cooked but well. Alaskan Airline's service is as good as in many places in Alaska in general. For instance, none of the crew members greets us when we exit (they are not even there), and one of them is quite upset when I stare bug-eyed at a cup of orange juice handed to me when I requested an ice water --- "do you want me to top it off?"

It is hot and humid in Chicago. We pick up a rental card at Hertz and then drive to Orange, a trendy place that serves scrumptious breakfasts. We have their flagship juices, made to order, grit cakes and the pancake flight. It is not inexpensive but tasty and funny.

A month of pedaling takes its toll. As soon as we start driving to Indy both the driver and the passenger start snoozing. We take a 2.5-hour nap at the first rest area on I-65. Meanwhile a front of thunderstorms rolls over. We are in Indy airport at 4:15pm., the shuttle to Bloomington leaves at 4:40pm. Tomi drops off the car, and Tei drags the boxes to the shuttle to the driver's astonishment and horror --- the bus is already full. Everything works out fine, though. The driver even takes us and the boxes to our doorstep. Happy ending!