Chasing the Sun

or Feet Wet Again

As we gather ourselves on this final day of the trip it seems most everyone in our group has awaken early for the last quick shopping across the street picking up the Cancun Harley t-shirt, Hooter’s wings, or that last piece of jewelry. The rest of us enjoyed breakfast or that last time on the beach or in dip in the pool.

My schedule found me having an enjoyable breakfast with our hosts John & Jan one last time with a dip in the pool for that last bit of sun. I wandered around the property and found several people I had met this week and said my goodbyes. A few to mention of note were Ryan & Danielle from Ireland, Kathryn, Blake, Sherri, & Harris (my new found friends from Toronto, Canada), Susan and her son Lance who my roommate Wayne had befriended and joined us for dinner.

Everyone gathered in the lobby at noon for checkout and the arrival of our bus to take everyone back to the airport. The mood seemed a mixture of gladness to return to Alaska and that small lingering feeling of great times had with everyone coming to a close. Everyone was upbeat and discussing the activities between the different groups, those solo excursions, or just that down time by the pool or beach.

We boarded the bus with this time a better mixture among the group as those who were first timers to this party now understanding a little better the friendships made before the departure of this trip and now enjoying that same comfortable camaraderie several of us had on the flight down.

Our ride to the airport had the added stop for cerveza’s to set the mood for the long flights home. We will not arrive until tomorrow morning around two thirty am. It will be another long travel day with the first leg just over 6 hour’s flight time from Cancun to Seattle. Our Seattle to Anchorage is just over 5 hours making for a long day. I will grab a couple of hours sleep and be at work around 8 am.

The time spent in the Cancun airport was almost a blur as we made our way to check in and clear Customs. Wayne and I made our way to Bubba Gump’s for one more round of delicious shrimp, third time this trip. We sat down and shortly were joined by Tom & Marlene. As we ordered other groups started showing up and sitting all around us. Mike, Mary and his two girls sat down as well as Keith & Susan followed by Colin & Stephanie. We had taken over part of the place and as my Corona was delivered the waiter put this three foot tall bottle of beer on the table in front of me. He told me I had ordered the “Grande”. We all laughed and then as Wayne’s Margarita showed up it came with a floor show to shake it up before pouring. We were surrounded by the other waiters and waitresses one who seductively shook Wayne’s drink before pouring it into his glass. After Tom & Marlene ordered they both received the same show. We had the place hopping for about 30 minutes as everyone in our group ordered and received their food. It was another great meal from Bubba Gump. We finished eating and immediately boarded the aircraft as there were several boarding calls made before we left our food.

We taxi out to the runway with several Iguanas’ lying on the rocks bidding us farewell and that “Come Back to See Us Again Soon” look about them. They are probably put there by the Bureau of Tourism like we do the Moose in Alaska for our tourists. We really do not do that as there are over 1500 resident moose that wander the city in the summertime so the chances of seeing them are quite good.

We departed runway 4 immediately going ‘feet wet’ (an old military aviation term) climbing out over the water with the Moon Palace Resort out my right window. Remembrances of our stay there last year danced within my brain as the plane banked left turning back towards the north and back over the “Hotel Row” of resorts. The turquoise water was beautiful from the air and you could see the many colorful Parasails’s carrying people aloft just off the beach resorts. Several in our group did this activity during our stay. My last trip to Cancun my daughter and I enjoyed a forty five minute flight our last day making it a highlight of the trip.

I can see familiar places below where we have spent time, the colorful beaches, the shopping areas we walked to, as well as Bubba Gump’s Shrimp Company on the wharf were Wayne & I stopped in several times this trip. We made our way over the brightest green water and I watched it slowly turn darker until it had that normal bluish color as the water depth increased as we climbed higher on our way across the Gulf of Mexico toward Galveston Texas.

We were airborne for about 30 minutes before I started seeing the first of several hundred oil rigs dotting the Gulf. There were many tankers idling close by waiting to take on their load while others full were underway heading to Galveston or places to the east of us. I could also see fishing boats in the area with nets in the water. There is a common bond between Alaska and the Gulf coast as fishermen everywhere live for the sea and a full creel or hold for the bigger ships.

We made ‘feet dry’ just over two hours later as we came ashore over Galveston as one of my favorite James Taylor songs “Copperline” played on my iPod. It was a great feeling knowing I was back over American soil. It is a hard thing to explain but in my worldly travels visiting many countries and the subcultures within it always leaves me feeling good to know I’m back. Sometimes we lose sight of just what a great country we live in or the people found here which one of my reasons for living in Alaska is. I want to wake up reminded everyday what a blessing it is to be here and experience life with family and friends.

Shortly after our takeoff I noticed almost everyone in our group fell fast asleep for several hours and now after being in the air for three hours are now starting to stir and move around having that little extra power nap to get them back into things.

(I want to make note that while I have been writing this post I have been switching between two other ones I am working on. I know multitasking even when blogging and not at work but I cannot help it) I may have to stop soon as my battery on my laptop is showing an almost empty battery so I figure I will save often before it just quits.

The flight attendant just handed out our Customs form and all of them are in Spanish so this is going to be fun. The twenty five words I know will hopefully come up somewhere on the form. This is going to be fun, hope we make it back into the U.S. as we are just a bunch of plumbers and paperwork is not everyone’s strong point.

We make our way now over Arizona and the mountains to my north as we chase the sun this afternoon. We will continue our chase all the way to Alaska as we will fall into nighttime probably upon our arrival in Seattle. We are flying over the southern edge of the Rockies now so we see snow covered mountains below with the shadows growing longer on the eastern side. After a while I can see the changes from the snowy white normally seen to the pinkest hues as the sun lowers in the sky. As we continue northwest the colors change to an orange/red shade as we leave the mountains and back to the high plains.

Looking below I see a range of wind generators slowly spinning producing electricity for the area below. I am not exactly sure where we are now but almost every mountain ridge is filled with wind mills. I lose count just over 180 and estimate there are over 300 hundred below me stretching both sides of a large river. Many are larger size with the majority somewhat smaller but all turning in the wind below us. It is a good indication that some areas are trying to provide alternative energy sources.

Our last hour before making our decent into Seattle was uneventful as the sun slowly inched its way towards the western horizon. We made the turn bringing Mt. Rainier off the left side of the aircraft giving everyone with window seats a spectacular view of this magnificent active stratovolcano covered in snow looming over the Seattle landscape.

We touched down and as we taxied to our gate the view of Rainier was impressive in its golden glow from the setting sun. Our chase was over for now with one last leg to bring everyone home. We had a couple of hours to layover before boarding. I listened to my music all the way as my laptop battery was drained and needed to charge.

Anchorage arrival time: 2:30 am Job arrival time: 7:00 am

Long day . . . Need I say more.

Ice