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The Cruise--Details

I didn't include more details in the prior "The Cruise" post for two reasons. 1)  I didn't think anyone would be interested; and 2)  This trip didn't include much of the normal topics:  good beer, good coffee or John-style travel. But there are details, which may be useful to some people contemplating how such a trip is put together. On the first day of the trip, we drove three hours to pick up my mother in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.  At 85, she isn't comfortable driving for long distances and hadn't flown for many years. We then drove 3 1/2 more hours to Chicago, where we checked into the Wyndham, where you can get a room that includes the cost of parking for up to 12 days.   We were up early on the hotel shuttle to O'Hare, where we then boarded the a non-stop American Airlines flight to New Orleans. Here, we checked into a Hampton Inn near the port.  My mother was pretty tired, so Julia and I went out for a Cajun dinner and live music.   Rememberi...
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Girdwood, Alaska



After our train returned to Anchorage, we rented a car and drove to Girdwood. We rented a room called the Treehouse for two nights. Our first stop was Girdwood Brewing Company. I had a Northeastern style cloudy IPA, while Julia took the West Coast version. In the third photo below, I discuss with staff the pros and cons of high alcohol percentages in beers that taste really good.





After a light breakfast on the next morning, we drove to the trailhead to hike to the Byron Glacier. Although this is a popular easy hike, we arrived early enough that we pretty much had the area to ourselves for exploration and picture-taking.




I wasn’t sure that I even wanted to hike to a glacier, but I am so glad that we did.
After a short nap at the Treehouse, we ventured out mid-afternoon to hike the North Face trail at Mt. Alyeska. Many people pay to take the tram up and then hike down, but frugal John wanted to hike up and take the tram down for free.  With a vertical rise of over 2000 feet in 2.2 miles, we earned outstanding views, a beer at the top, and the free ride down.





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