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Introduction
Seattle to Anchorage
Anchorage
Anchorage to Seattle
Conclusion

                                                                                                                                                                      

Friday 30th May 2014

I left work on time, but thanks to traffic it was slow going on the 405 (nothing new there really) but it wasn’t to bad getting to the airport. I parked the truck at Wallypark, my usual spot, and instead of going straight to the Terminal, I met up with Heidi for dinner. We stuck close by and went to the new L&L Hawaiian BBQ for dinner and although it is not at all that classy, it sure was tasty. Just as Heidi arrived I got the first bit of bad news for the evening.

An email and a Tripit push notification, both saying that unwanted note…… Delayed. That wouldn’t have been too bad had I dropped my bag off first then gone to meet up with Heidi. Sadly it still meant I had to be there before the usual cut off time, just in case. After a quick trip to the local Safeway to pick up some protein bars for the upcoming weekend (I had planned to stash a couple in my camera bag so that I didn’t have to leave the spotting areas when it came time for food), Heidi dropped me off on the Departures deck and after a kiss goodbye (definitely a new thing for me) I was on my way to check in.

From Anchorage
From Anchorage

Check in for United was deserted, to be honest the entire South End of the terminal felt like a ghost town. However the few people who were checking in, just had to be in the queue that I was going to be using. So rather than wait in line for the Premier Access counters, I just used a normal counter. I tried to get a free Econ Plus row, but no deal. The boarding pass didn’t even show the delay so that was really disappointing. I got a printed boarding pass purely for the collection and after my bag was sent on its way (I didn’t notice if a priority tag was added to my bag or not) I snapped a few pictures and headed towards the security check point as instructed. Thankfully I had been told that the South Checkpoint was closed and that everyone had to pass through the Central point.

The good news was that the checkpoint was empty and I breezed through the ID check, then I was 2nd in line for the scanner and I was through within minutes. I seem to get pulled up as though there is something on my body (same spot, each and every time, I swear that there is a metal implement or something inside my stomach?) and I got a light pat down in the usual spot. Nothing too huge, and I had contemplated opting out for shits and giggles but decided against it. Once through to the other side I collected my gear and stopped by the Food Court windows for a squiz at the ramp. Nothing but normal out there today so to the United Club we go! A long long walk down to the High A gates (the club is opposite A9) and with my gate at A8 it meant for convenience later on.

From Anchorage
From Anchorage
From Anchorage

Checking into the club was painless and I even managed to snag that Exit Row, thanks to a smile and asking nicely. Originally the “dragon” (not that she was one, since she was nicer than nice) thought I meant a First Upgrade, but I just wanted a bit of extra space, no First Class seat and meal required. It was sure going to be tough to leave the club without inhaling what goodies were there. But I got handed my Exit Row Window (is there a better seat than that in Economy?) Boarding pass and I did a lap of the lounge to find the best spot to sit. Plonking my butt in an empty area, I grabbed some snacks (hello Yogurt Raisins, I see you have returned to provide me with a challenge of can I stop myself from eating all of you) and by snacks i mean cookies (small ones though) and some coffee and got settled.

From Anchorage
From Anchorage
From Anchorage
From Anchorage

I caught up on my emails, charged my phone a little and generally goofed off for like the next hour and even managed to get myself sorted. The flight was due to touch down around 915pm and we were meant to depart at 10pm. Though I doubted this from the moment I received the first delay notification. Still you expect to do the right thing and headed out of the lounge at my usual early time to find a spot by the windows for when the plane arrives. I wanted that nice empty clean plane shot either just as it pulls up or a few moments after. Makes getting the registration all that easier.

From Anchorage
From Anchorage

20 minutes later (by that time 5 minutes after the plane was scheduled to arrive) it still hadn’t shown up but low and behold, people are moving about on the ramp and that meant an incoming aircraft. As the flight rolled into the gate, I got my shots and then checked the registration against the lists and turns out it was a barely year old 737-900ER! So not only was I getting a new BSI fitted aircraft, but being an ER, it meant a first on type! So had this been a new airline I could have snagged a trifecta. Guess the fact I was flying to a new Airport on a new type would have to suffice.

From Anchorage

The plane disgorged all the people and that was a good thing as the sooner they got off, the sooner we could get on. But we were not getting out on time. I got a further delay announcement, just 10 more minutes. I can deal with that, but at this rate we are approaching a 1am touch down and that would mean a painful morning, especially if I want to be up at Sparrows Fart for plane spotting. Since I had the rego and photos, I headed over towards the gate area, where sadly no seats were vacant but I could wait standing up. Wait is something I did, we waited quite some time. About 15 minutes into my wait (about 5 minutes after the crew headed on) I was playing around in the United App when it just stopped working….o dear! United’s computers had crashed and this was confirmed moments later when it was announced we would have to manually board.

From Anchorage
From Anchorage

United Airlines – UA1603
Seattle Tacoma to Anchorage
2110-2347
Boeing 737-900ER (N38473)
Economy Plus – Seat 21A (Exit Row)

Boarding: 2155 (Gate A8)
Push Back: 2303
Take off Roll: 2311 (Runway 34R)
Top of Descent: 0052
Touch Down: 0115 (Runway 15)
Shut Down: 0121 (Gate B6)

When boarding was called we were fast approaching an hours delay, just as I was boarding I got another flight delay notice from Tripit and I just knew that was begging for hope that it would be accurate, but it wasn’t to be. I boarded at the appropriate time with the appropriate zone (Zone 2) and I walked onboard, happy to see the “United WiFi” sticker at the door. I was going to give the WiFi a good test and really see how it went. I got my stuff sorted and had a chuckle at the Fact the rows went 13,14,15,20,21. That confused the hell out of me but according to the FA working my area, it has to be that way so that all Exit Rows have a common number. Why I have no idea, it makes NO sense, but hey…. This is America.

From Anchorage
From Anchorage

As everyone boarded, time stretched longer and longer. The boarding process was done and then we were told we were waiting… A LONG time. We had to wait for a Houston flight to land that was late Being that we were already late, hey why not delay us further. The groans onboard were lengthy and loud, it was obvious that people were not happy about the situation. I just sucked it up and sat back, reading my book and waiting. Wait we did!

From Anchorage
From Anchorage
From Anchorage

Almost 2 hours late by this stage we finally had doors shut and a push back (albeit slow) from the terminal. It was a quick taxi from the A gates out to the Runway and we had no one in front of us, so with a short wait (seconds) we were heading into the skies. Climb out was quick and it was surprisingly comfortable even after being stuck in the seat for an hour. I wanted to get up to height as soon as possible so that I could get connected to the WiFi. I had been sent an email the day prior to let me know that I would have WiFi on this flight. Great!! As soon as I heard the dings to signify we had past 10,000ft I pulled the laptop out and got started.

From Anchorage

I started off by connecting to the WiFi with my phone to see how easily it connected and it was a breeze. Then I switched over to the laptop, took out my wallet and paid for it. I was hoping to get some travel booked while on the flight, but first things first, speed test. I ran a few speed tests, did some screen captures for a review I was going to have to write and then once that was done “Out of Coverage” ummmmmm say what Now? I just spent $4 on WiFi ($2 per hour is pretty good compared to GoGo for a short flight) and it said I had “3 hours of United WiFi” when really I had 15 minutes? I also didn’t have a working power plug at the seat so couldn’t charge my phone (and it was fairly low on power).

By this time I had been given my drink (full can!) on the service and so with that done and not possible to do work (I had been looking through the FAQs and stuff while doing my prep for the review to find that you can request a refund and I had screen captured that stuff before I lost coverage), guess it was time to relax. So I read for a while, and when I couldn’t read any longer, I shut my eyes and tried to relax.

Next thing I know we are about an hour away from Anchorage, shut my eyes again and I am looking out the window on the other side of the plane and I can see sunlight. I check my watch and its after 130am Seattle time… WTF! I fixed up my watch and knew that we would be descending fairly soon so Just sat back and enjoyed the ride with my eyes shut as much as possible. I was tired, I wanted a drink, I just wanted sleep. I sucked up the crappiness of it all and just switched my brain off.

We hit descent and I packed up my stuff, I was hoping to escape the plane quickly and get to the bag claim as quickly as possible. We circled over and around Anchorage through some clouds and lots of lumps. To be honest I had no idea where I was but the lights down below were on and I could see stuff so I can’t complain really. As we approached the airport I was trying hard to see what was on the ramp and I was not disappointed as we came into land. It was all freight, everywhere. Fed Ex, UPS, Cathay, Korean, China Airlines. All the stuff I came here to see.

It was a slow roll out to the end of Runway 15 and then we circled around to the pier that was not used by Alaska Airlines. We pulled in next to a US Airways flight and Frontier was in there somewhere as well. I was off the flight fairly quickly and without to much stress either. The walk from the gate to the baggage claim was fairly long but easy and then I had to wait. Wait a lot. That priority tag for my bag that I wasn’t sure if it got on my bag. Well it did, but it didn’t do anything at all. My bag was one of the last ones off the plane and by the time I had my bag I was just cranky. By then it was almost 2am Alaska time and I was just tired.

From Anchorage

Bag in hand I headed out to the shuttle stand to get the already ordered shuttle to my hotel, The Holiday Inn Express Anchorage. Barely a mile and a half away from the hotel. But it was close enough that at 2am.. I was head down on a pillow.

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It’s currently the end of May. So far this year my mileage balanace for total travelled miles is 0. That’s right, a big giant Donut. I need to fly! I must get up in the air, now, anywhere.. please just let me fly. When I saw a fare sale on a weekend telling me that fares to Alaska were $100 each way… well.. guess where I am going!! Since I had considered going to Alaska at the end of last year during my “$100 Challenge” and instead went to Kansas, might as well tick another state off my list right?

So after finding a decent weekend that would work with the fares (sadly on United so that is going to be interesting, since I have’t flown them intentionally in a while) and work as well, I locked it in. The hotel actually cost more than the flights in this situation. Hotel prices in Anchorage just are not cheap (well it is cruise ship season I guess) but I managed to find a decent rate at the Holiday Inn Express near the airport. Considering I intend on spending most of my time taking photos around the airport I might as well stay close by right? Saves having to go that far after getting off a flight at like 1am in the morning.

The hardest part of the trip planning was arranging a car. Normally I would just book the usual National car rental in a mid size, pick up off the Executive line and all would be good. But a few friends had suggested previously that a Truck is needed for spotting. Since I wouldn’t have access to a step ladder and with fairly large fence lines in some area, I needed to get an MFAP. What’s an MFAP? A Mobile Fence Avoidance Platform… aka a Truck. Normally I would avoid driving a truck when renting. I drive one at home, why do I need another one? Well since I need it, I might as well get it. But for some reason the only company that had availability for one was Enterprise. I even had the National Car Rental Social Media team check for me. Nada. O well 🙁

So I booked the truck rental, the hotel and the flights and with everything fast approaching (tonight) I can finally get back up in the Air!! A Map right about now would look fairly boring and since it is just up and back on United, that is fairly boring. But the plane spotting will be good (if I am lucky I will get a lot of freighter traffic and HOPEFULLY a Everts Commando), the weather might hold out, but no matter what. I am up for whatever it brings.

Bring on the Travel!!!!!

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Normally if I have a post about packing, it would generally be about an upcoming trip (And there is one of those at the end of this week) but this time, the packing refers more to the household kind. My lease is up at my current apartment on the 22nd of June. That weekend would mean that it is time for me to either stay in the current apartment or move somewhere else. Considering at the moment I enjoy my location due to it’s closeness to Paine Field. On a good day I am maybe 10-12 minutes drive away from the field so I can catch those good Boeing departures. But lately, weekend test flights have been less and less prevalent and with all the good stuff mainly flying over the week when I am at work, well, there isn’t much of a point of being so close to the field. Sadly my current location though convenient for weekends, is not at all great for commuting to work. I need to use 2 buses to get to and from work and since I moved in, the times have just become shockingly bad. I am now constantly getting into work way to early and due to bus times, I can’t stay all that late as my buses end late and require either a 2.5km walk or a solid 25 minute wait to connect to another bus. The other thing is that the apartment complex is undergoing refurbishments, however my apartment has not yet had that done, with a rent increase again (this time almost $200!) and no date as to when the apartment would be refurbished (which probably wouldn’t happen knowing them), that is not a good thing.

So I looked about for somewhere else to live. I wanted to also bring myself closer to Heidi as well, to avoid the 45 minute drives in each direction. That would mean that I can put a bit of that extra $$ that I am spending in fuel each week (the truck isn’t exactly frugal with the fuel I put into it) towards somewhere nicer, somewhere that may cost a bit extra. Well, after looking around, it is time for everyone to know that I am moving… the date is set, the location found.

Two years ago when I moved over here to the USA I checked out some new apartments in the Renton Highlands at a complex called “Harrington Square”. Funny thing is two years later, I went back to check it out. The place had gotten better and in the end I signed a lease for a 1 Bedroom. What sealed the deal? Well there is a Bus stop at the door that goes directly to work (and actually stops just across the street), it is in a fairly decent location (surrounds wise) and it has an amazing Gym. I couldn’t turn it down.. I went for it straight away!

So on the 14th of this month (yep there is a 1 week overlap) I pack up the truck and head south to Renton to a new apartment, a new location and another step in this journey over here. I will be much closer to Heidi (timed it last night to around 10-12 minutes) and the trip to work should be easier as well (though about the same time frame as the bus goes all over the shop, but still 1 bus is better than two). The packing has begun as I started taking stuff down off the walls today. I don’t have all that much stuff, but still the packing will be a new experience. At least I have a whole heap of favors to call in for moving day. Since the truck has been utilised many times to help others, it is time to call in those favors. Should be an interesting couple of weeks.

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Well I have been slacking off as of late but in reality there isn’t that much exciting news that I want to release just yet (there will be in the next week or so once stuff get’s worked out). At the moment life just ticks on forward and I figured I should at least update something so that you know I am alive, safe & well.

Paine Field Aviation Day was last weekend and I got myself roasted (though I was kind of sad that they did not have a run this year). I have about 2000 photos to work through and I need to get them out of the way as soon as possible as well, with my impending trip to Alaska (trip report coming, since I haven’t done one all year!) that is only going to add more to the queue.

Life moves on day by day, but at the moment, nothing to see here…

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It’s all over!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! As I type this on my laptop, sitting in the passenger seat of Heidi’s car, I feel a certain sense of accomplishment. I also feel every single piece of muscle in my body screaming at me saying “You’re fucking stupid, if you ever do this again I am going to smack you in the head”. If there was ever going to be a time that Murrphy’s Law was going to make its presence known, this has been it. Ever since that fateful time after my 13km training run, it was all down hill from there.

Friday night was a good night, however the trip north had a false start as we had to go back to my place to pick up some candy that had to go north to Canada (I sure hope those pineapple lumps are tasty Roy!). That should of been the first sign that things were not going to go “as planned”. The weather was fairly rotten up north, the border crossing was as usual, horrible. The border agent just had a bug up his ass and wanted me to say the words “Work Visa” and kept being a douche about it. But the arrival at the hotel and check in was fantastic and by the time we headed out towards the city for dinner we were happy!

Saturday started off fairly ok, I managed to take some photos of a Air Canada Rouge A319 which is what I was searching for (still didnt get my Westjet Q400 but theres still time) but when we were heading down towards breakfast on Broadway, I realised I had forgotten the pineapple lumps…. again. Back to the airport, back to the car, then back to broadway. I am stupid, I know But we had a good lunch with Roy and explored Granville Island and then headed over to the Expo to score some free stuff and pick up my race kit (I now have more power bars than I know what to do with).

Saturday night was meant to be quiet, it was meant to be relaxed. After some carbo loading we were meant to relax in the spa and just have a nice quiet night in…. yeah didnt happen. We waited almost an hour for our take out order to appear *sigh* and by that stage I was tired, hungry, cranky and ready for sleep. I was not a happy chappy. But dinner was pretty good (not really worth the wait though) and I got to have a wagon wheel (or at least the Canadian equivalnet).

Sunday morning was full on pouring down rain. Several times I contemplated sleeping in….. Several times!!! But the ever convincing girlfriend kept me on track and dropped me off to make sure that I got to the race start on time. The race went pretty well and although I didn’t run the whole thing it went better than expected. The rain came down about 90% of the time and it was hard trying to dodge people and giant puddles full of water. When my shoes got full of water, I stopped caring, I just took it as it came. Although I didn’t see Heidi till the final stretch (our timings were off) there was plenty of other people to support me while I was out running. I did like the Tinder support team (around the halfway mark). A few very pretty ladies, some really good pumping music and best of all, a little bit of a a boost to my energy.

I was one of those people that had to make a potty break during the run, which I didn’t want to do at all but it just ended up that way and although it slowed me down, it wasn’t by all that much. The last half of the race was my hardest. My calves were burning, my knees were shot but my injury wasn’t a hassle at all. However the rest of me just didn’t want to give up. I walked a little, ran for a bit, walked some more. I was trying to run for a bit when we hit the hill in Stanley Park near the Rose Garden… yep.. I walked… so kill me 😛 I did walk about a good kilometer and a half at the end of the race, but I was determined to run the last full kilometer (ended up running about the last 1.25km). I saw Heidi on the final turn, ran off the course to kiss her and kept goinng. Best inspiration ever!

I crossed the line in 2h 35m and I am thoroughly happy with that time. When I had set my goals originally I was expecting to run the full half marathon, start to finish. I was aiming for 2.5 hours for that. When I injured myself I decided to revise that to 3 hours. Even then I figured it would be closer to 3 than anything else. Although I was pacing with the 2.5 hour group for part of the way, I kept up to them but they overtook me after the potty break and I never saw them again after that.

I am proud of myself for not giving up and pushing through the injury to get this done. But I know that Heidi will probably kick me in the head if I say I want to do it again. This race has been the hardest thing I have done since I moved to the USA. It could possibly be the hardest thing I have done ever. The weight loss felt a lot easier than this, Kokoda felt considerably easier, This morning I could have given up so many times and just stopped & walked to the nearest Tim Hortons for a coffee (tempted to as well considering they are on almost ever corner in Downtown Vancouver) but I didn’t, I stuck with it. I know a few people are proud of me for keeping at it, but I know I could have done better.

I wont say I will ever run a Half Marathon again, no matter what others think, it just isn’t me. I will stick to my 5ks and 10ks for a good race event push. Till I have to stop running outright the least I can do is just keep on pushing.. right?

PS if you have some good pain killers, I could do with some right now 😉

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2 years ago, at around this time in the morning, I stepped foot off a flight in Los Angeles, struggling with 3 suitcases, an extremely heavy camera bag (if someone had of tried to weigh that thing, It would of been as much as a checked bag i swear) and a backpack, I navigated my way through US Immigration & Customs. “Why are you coming to the USA” is a standard question at immigration, my words that morning were… “I am here to work”. That I have done!

It has been 2 years since I left Australia and moved over here to the USA and it sure has been a life experience. My life then compared to now is totally different. I have done so much, accomplished so much that my previous life back in Australia feels like a distant memory. I can’t even count the exact ways my life is different, but to be honest things are different now.

Since I moved here, I have traveled quite a bit, visited a new continent, returned to two countries that I love, taken road trips across country borders, even flew across the country just to fly back the very next day. I have met new people, made new friends both in Seattle and around the country. Visited old friends and new, and even managed to have what feels like a family here now in the USA. I set a goal to get out in the dating world this year and that has gone way further than I thought, and now I have a reason to want to stay in the USA. With a girlfriend (yeah I finally said it) that I love and cherish with every day, why would I want to leave?

I have my dream car (well Truck) and have a second “job” on the side doing something that to me is a challenge and provides with the most fun times some days. Getting to travel and write about some of the things that I deal with on a daily basis or just want to write about, either way it is a fulfilling experience.

What will my future hold here in the US? I don’t know. I know for certain that I don’t want to go home, I don’t want to leave my new life here in the USA. As much as that pains me to say it, it is true. My parents are totally ok with this and they know that they may not get to see me as much as they had hoped, but it is my friends and family back home in Australia that I worry about at times. I wonder how they are going, what they are doing, do they miss me, do they even remember me at all?

But no matter what happens, I have a life here now in the US, I love my life here, I have family here, I have friends here and no matter what… This is my future.

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Well, this morning was my final training run, and even though my legs, knees, joints and body hates me right now, It was worth it. The last few training runs have been pretty good. I started off with a big full run last saturday. It was my first 10k since the injury and that was going to be a hard task. I hit the trail early for the run so that if things went ok I could go to bootcamp after. I was determined to do at least 10K and try to run as much as I possibly could. I managed to do 7K’s straight non stop and then spent the rest doing 10/1 intervals.

The 10/1’s are working out pretty well for me and the run went off pretty well. Yes it was slow compared to my PB for a 10K but that is to be expected. It has been just two months since my injury and it has been a slow recovery and training process. So that is not all that horrible and my body felt good (especially after a whole other hour of bootcamp straight after the run).

Since that run I have run Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday mornings, all 5k’s each and all not to bad. Monday & Tuesday was 5k’s straight each, non stop. Yesterday was the roughest as I have not been running back to back like that and it has been an effort. But then this morning I did 10/1’s and although my legs hated me immensley, I still did it, I still pushed myself.

From here the full taper program starts. I am going to hit the gym tonight (something I didn’t do all that much of Monday night due to wanting to rest my legs a little, or last night as I had dinner with Heidi) and then the same tomorrow morning. Thursday night begins the full rest period with no gym (might walk home though, still undecided) and then Friday and Saturday are full stops, no gym, no running at all.

Sunday is the big day and I am mighty nervous. I don’t know the outcome yet or how things are going to go, but sure as hell I am going to give it my best and try my hardest. Bring on Sunday morning in Vancouver!

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It is Anzac Day (well yesterday was technically but it just turned the 25th here in the USA) and it is a day of remembrance for Australian’s & New Zealender’s. For my American friends, Anzac Day commemorates the day that the Australian & New Zealand Army Corp (hence ANZAC) landed on a beach in Turkey. When they hit the shores at Galipoli it was the start of an attrocious battle, one that saw many men loose their life. That battle was 99 years ago in 1915 during World War 1. We take the day to look back on those that have served and fallen and remember them, pay tribute to them and also thank those who currently serve. I guess you could say it is our version of Memorial Day (public holiday and all).

For me personally it holds a little bit more. My Grandfather (Charles Stewart, on my mother’s side) went to fight in World War 2. He was part of the 2/2nd Machine Gun Battalion and along with his 2 other brothers (Jim & Gordon) all three of them went off to war. They fought in Africa at the 2nd battle of Alamein and also spent time in Gaza, Palestine & Egypt. After returning from Africa they moved up to Borneo and Papua New Guinea (sadly for a time we had thought they had been on the Kokoda Track, but when I got a copy of his pay book we found that he landed in Lae instead). As part of the Australian 9th Division they fought well and did what they had to do to protect our countries interests.

So at a time when I would prefer to be back in Australia, spending time with my family and remembering those who have sacrificed so much for us, I want to say a deep and heartfelt thank you to all those who still currently serve. Because without you, our countries would not be the way they are now. So no matter where you are, take a few moments to think about those who sacrificed their lives for us.

Lest We Forget