The alarm went off at 3:15 am.
Bleary-eyed, but ready, I immediately donned the outfit I set out the night before including a pair of fun-colored compression socks.
Compression socks for a trip to Alaska? It’s not like I was heading to Orlando, land of the muggy. But, yes, compression socks. I had a long day of travel from Boston to Seattle and then on to Fairbanks ahead of me. After hearing how my best friend and her sister felt better and had more energy than their travel companions on a recent trip to Italy, I knew I had to do it.
She was right. She might even be reading this and nodding.
It didn’t take long for us to dress and slip carefully into the ride we splurged on to the airport. The Airport is an hour away and feels even longer when you’ve not had a full night’s sleep.
I don’t remember the first flight. I remember being in Seattle and thinking how close I was to a friend I’d love to meet in person someday.
That, unfortunately, was not the day.
Where was I? Ah yes, flight two. It was fairly uneventful except for my husband getting bopped in the head by a pair of sneakers tethered to the backpack of a young hiker.
Landing in Fairbanks was a breeze. The airport is fairly small and easily navigated. We found our cruise line connections, picked up our welcome packet and prepped for the next leg of the trip. Our bags were tagged and traveled separately while we hopped on a bus for our first hotel.
Fairbanks was so green, with bright blue skies, that I forgot how far north it is until I noticed the lilacs.
It was June 26th and the lilacs were not quite in full bloom.
It was beautiful. I was at once thankful for a second lilac season in one year and grateful that I packed my allergy meds!
We were tired from our journey and opted not to explore the grounds. We had about an hour before we could check in, so we settled into the comfy chairs under the watchful eye of a huge stuffed bear in the lobby.
I don’t mean teddy bear.
It’s a sign of how tired we were that I was completely non-plussed by the size of the once-live bear. Nor did it dawn on me that I was about to add a second round of allergy season to this adventure. In fact, it wasn’t until I saw this on our pillows that I started to wonder what I’d gotten myself into:
Lliving La Vida Llama (Still adjusting to a 4-hour time difference)
One Crafty Llama 
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