Back in Town

  Last Thursday I traveled into town for part of the summer.  It was a long nasty trip.  Since I deal with a very local airline, their schedule is a suggestion.

I was scheduled on the evening flight but they sent an extra flight in the afternoon but I didn't find out about it until it was taking off.

When it came time for the flight, they announced it was delayed by about half an hour.  So I headed up in time for it but they forgot to make an update so I was at the airport but no plane.  It finally showed around 6:45 for a 5:30 scheduled time.

My connection was due to leave at 9:00 and I had to check in by 8:15 or 8:30.  The flight was about an hour so when we took off at 7, I was a bit nervous but the pilot used the tail wind to move us a bit faster.  He even radioed ahead to make sure the shuttle to take us to the other airline was ready to go as soon as we landed and got our luggage.

I got there just as the plane landed so I was able to check on, go through security before boarding the plane.  This is not your normal plane, it was a combi as we affectionately call it. A combi is a combination cargo and passenger plane. The front from the first class to the first exit row is where they put all the cargo that is being carried out to the local hub while rows 17 on are for passengers.  I love row 17 because it has even more leg room than a normal exit row. From then on it was a great trip the rest of the way. 

 I'm going to take a minute to explain the pictures from the weekend.  The few willow trees out where I normally am, never ever get taller than about 3 feet.  They are short and quite spindly but they are willows.  Fairbanks have real trees which grow up to 15 feet or so unless they are in a permafrost area.  If the black spruce is short (no more than 6 feet) it means there is an excellent chance there is permafrost underneath.

As for ice cream, the only ice cream out in the village usually arrives slightly thawed and is refrozen so it has a grainy texture.  In addition the cost ends up double what it is in the city.  I am not going to pay $10.00 per half gallon.  They do not serve it by the scoop out there so I have to wait till I get back here to get it in a cone.

When I'm due to fly back in, I dream of getting ice cream and pizza for my first real meal.  So now you know the story behind the pictures.  Let me know what you think.