We’re famous. LOL

Not really. But our marriage license application is listed for all the world to see online and in an Anchorage paper for 8/28/07.  http://www.adn.com/life/hometown/story/9283288p-9197799c.html

9/1 – THE WEDDING!!

We woke up and had breakfast in the lobby of the Dimond Center, which was pretty good.  Belgian waffles you make right there (though you have to wait forever for your turn), fresh fruit, boiled eggs, assorted breads, muffins, cereal, etc.  When we went downstairs for breakfast we realized it looked really crappy and cloudy out.  We ultimately decided not to go to the glacier because there was a chance of rain, and went to Bird Point instead, which turned out FABULOUS.  It was beautiful and sunny there.  We were out on a boardwalk which went into an inlet in the middle of the mountains.  There was a mist over the mountains, clouds… it was just gorgeous.  But I get ahead of myself!

Walter went to get his hair cut and came back with a LOT less hair than he’d planned on - he told the woman a trim, but it is REALLY short in the back and on the bottom.  I was kind of shocked for a bit, but now I really like it.  I put my hair in rollers, then set about the horrific task of trying to iron my gown.  Keep in mind we to pack it in a suitcase from Missouri to Alaska, so there was a LOT of work to be done.  I did my best, it wasn’t perfect, but oh well.  Only one person noticed this, or at least, only one person mentioned it (thanks, Mom - ha!) 

We called our witnesses and arranged to meet them in the lobby of the hotel.  Poor C had strep throat and was feeling crappy but she and her sister came anyway – thank you sooo much!  C took some pictures of us in the lobby, then we headed out.  Before we left we were like, “We’ve got this, that, the wedding license…” and of course two minutes after we left we realized we had forgotten the rings!!!  So we turned around and got them, then continued on our way.

As I said, we went to Bird Point, which is part of a state park, and is perfectly gorgeous.  We were all ready to start then I realized that I had forgotten my flowers in the car, so Walter went to get them, then we were ready to start.  Everything was great until it was time for the rings.  Silly Walter – he had put the rings in his pocket and hadn’t thought to take the price tags or anything off them!  LOL  So we had to pause a moment to get that taken care of. 

The ceremony was as I posted earlier.  When it was done I thought I was going to cry and got embarrassed and said “Turn the video off!” and we hugged and hugged and did more pictures.  Here’s a few of my favorites, and the link to all of them is at http://flickr.com/photos/48311514@N00/sets/72157601812537697/ 

 

8/31 – Talkeetna, Wal-Mike’s, and BirchTree Dining in Anchorage

We got up and checked out of the Princess and went back to Talkeetna to explore some.  There really isn’t much to see.  We went to a place that bills itself as a chocolate store, but all it appeared to us is a place that orders chocolate from other places and marks it up.  We ate at a place called the Dancing Bear, which was essentially a little building for someone to cook in, then a dining area that was really not much more than an outdoor tent.  They had a VERY limited menu.  Walter got an elk burger and I got a buffalo bratwurst, both of which were good but didn’t taste different than beef versions to me.  The brat was $4.75 and the burger was $8, but the cans of soda were crazy – $1.25.  I can get those for $0.50 from vending machines at home!!!

 

We left Talkeetna, then headed to go get our marriage license in Anchorage.  We BARELY made it before they closed – I am talking like two minutes.  I was panicking.  We just underestimated how long it would take to get there.  On the way we stopped at this insane place called Wal Mike’s.  From the outside it looks like this huge garage sale and the inside is all junk too, although arguably some of it was antiques.  They also have a reindeer outside (which I found out is really a domesticated caribou) that we could pet.

The full set of Wal-Mike’s pictures is at http://flickr.com/photos/48311514@N00/sets/72157601865719959/  

After we got our wedding license we checked into the Dimond Center Hotel.  It is situated in a parking lot between a mall and Walmart.  The rooms would have been $249 a night, but we had a free night (up to $199) from the Tour Saver Coupon.  It was decorated nicely – the furniture all matched (bed, dresser/bureau, and armoire), there was a decent-sized desk with internet, and it had a king-sized bed they bill as the dream bed which was comfortable but nothing particularly noteworthy, and a 72” bathtub.  There was also a refrigerator and microwave.  Nice, but not worth the full price!!

We ate dinner at one of the places we had gotten those www.Restaurant.com gift certificates from, Birchtree Dining. http://restaurant.com/microsite.asp?rid=316448&mcn=00012052  It was good for $25 and we’d paid like $4 for it.  We got an appetizer sampler (HUGE plate of onion rings, wings, mozzarella sticks, chicken fingers) and dinner, which included either soup/salad and garlic bread.  The menu was HUGE and we had trouble deciding, but Walter got chicken parmesan and I got shrimp alfredo.  That was SO GOOD.  It was obvious it was not from-a-jar alfredo sauce – I could taste the butter.  Walter said his was really good too.  The portions were rather generous and we took home essentially an entire meal for each of us (which sadly did not get eaten).  I think mine was $11.95 and Walter’s was $9.95.  Walter got cheesecake and ice cream for dessert, also very good.  The menu choices are abundant, the portions are large, and the price is good – I wish this place was near home!

 

After dinner we went back to the Dimond and I promptly crashed out.  See the pattern here? LOL  Pregnancy does that to you!

Thursday August 30 – Scenic flight around Mt. McKinley and dinner in Talkeetna

Except for actually getting married, the flightseeing trip around Mt. McKinley has been the highlight for me as I write this on September 2. We got another van from Denali back to the airstrip in Healy, then back on the plane with Erica and Trent as pilots again. We flew back to Talkeetna but took a totally different route. This time we went near Mt. McKinley and through the Ruth Glacier. This is a map from Talkeetna Aero Services’ website with some of what we did, plus we did Mt. McKinley.

I told Erica and Trent I was going to write about them and they seemed delighted, so here’s a picture of them in front of the plane (complete with my shadow taking the pic, lol):

I really cannot even accurately portray how amazing this second flightseeing tour was.  Erica and Trent told us all kinds of nifty information, such as how the glaciers were made; why the water pools on the glacier look blue; and much more. They identified different mountains and glaciers and such. I really can’t even describe what we saw, so here are some pictures. The full set of pics from this tour are at http://www.flickr.com/photos/48311514@N00/sets/72157601780942362/

When the flight was over we went into “downtown” Talkeetna and ate at the Wildflower Cafe.

We were shocked at the prices – but then again, we are cheap Walmart rednecks, lol. I got a FABULOUS halibut dinner with bread, a great salad with a mixture of greens (not just iceberg from a bag like at Princess’ Twenty Three Twenty), rice, fresh steamed veggies, and garlicky red mashed potatoes. All was incredibly good – but the $28 price seemed outrageous to me. However, that was the same price range for dinner of everyplace in town to the best of our knowledge. A can of Sprite was $2!!! Walter got a Philly steak sandwich (which I didn’t even want to taste; I hate what other regions label as Philly when I had the real deal at home up until the year 2000!) and fries. He said it was good, but he’s had better.

I would have expected some fancy décor for those prices, but it was a couple of dining tables that looked straight from Walmart along with some cheap cafeteria-style tables and chairs. The bathroom, on the other hand, is neat. It was painted with all sorts of wildflowers. It’s a shame they didn’t exert that energy out in front. They had neat centerpieces on the tables – what appeared to be real rocks with the bottom sanded flat and a hole drilled in the center, with water and flowers in it.

When we were done eating we went back to the Princess and I promptly crashed!

Thursday August 30 – Flight to Healy and Denali National Park

We stayed at the Princess McKinley last night and woke up mega early to be at the Talkeetna airport by 6:30 am for the package deal we had reserved through Talkeetna Aero Services – $375 per person (but we had a buy one get one free from the Tour Saver) which included the flight up to Healy from Talkeetna, flight back to Talkeetna from Healy, bus tour 60 miles into Denali National Park, van transportation to and from the Healy airstrip to the park, and lunch and snacks.  Here’s the map from Talkeetna Aero Services’ website of this trip:

The plane was what Walter calls a puddle jumper.  Including the pilot it holds 10 people. It was a Piper Navajo Chieftain. The pilot was a lady named Erica and her co-pilot was Trent. Here are Walter and I with them outside the plane, and Walter and I in the plane:

Walter and I sat in the next two front seats, and the six people behind us were a family – a mom and dad; their three boys; and the dad’s mother, Doris, who was visiting from Bogota, Colombia. They were so nice – they gave us a bag full of souvenirs as a wedding present! Here they are:

The flight up to Healy was neat, but didn’t compare to the flight back to Talkeetna.  We flew over mountains and rivers and Erica and Trent pointed everything out to us.  When we got to Healy there were some state workers mowing the airstrip so we had to circle around.  Then we got on a van to go to the park.Talkeetna Aero Services packed a huge lunch/snack for us:a big turkey and cheese sandwich, a bottle of grape juice, a bottle of water, a pack of chocolate chip cookies, a granola bar, peanut butter crackers, Fritos, and fruit.

The bus tour driver was Mark Anderson.  For some reason I couldn’t get the Neo character from the Matrix movies out of my head, not because he looked like him, but because of the agent saying, “Mr. Anderson…”  Mark was great.  He had a great sense of humor and was really nice.

The first fifteen miles of the road into the park are paved and accessible to private vehicles.   After that it is by special permit only, or on these tour buses.  The vast majority of the park is open access, except for some spots that are known to be areas where the animals frequently hang out.  They told us that if you make noise bears will likely stay away, and they were selling these jingle bell type things to wear.  They also said that if a bear sees you not to run, because it will take that as a challenge/prey type of thing and chase you.  On the other hand, moose are very aggressive, especially the cows with calves, and will stomp you to death, but it’s OK to run from them.  Walter is quite aggravated by the fact that people are allowed to go anywhere in the wilderness, but you’re not allowed to carry firearms to defend yourself.

On the bus trip we saw a moose, some bears, and some caribou.  The scenery is breathtaking – you are driving in a mountain range.  The driver stopped when we saw the animals so we could take pictures and such.  My cheapie 5 mp digicam has no zoom, so we didn’t get many good photos, but the camcorder has a great zoom and we got some good video.  At some point I’ll edit that into small enough blocks to post. We also saw from a distance some Dall sheep up on the mountain, and a wolf walking up the road before going off into the brush.  Here are Walter and I in front of the mountains:

We stopped every hour and a half or so for port a potties, and at one place they had antlers that they’d found laying around from when they shed.   Here’s Walter with moose antlers:

 

And with caribou antlers:

 

When we got to the point where we’d reached the end of the tour but had to turn around and go back Walter and I were both tired and napped some. The bus was bumpy of course so I wasn’t able to sleep.  Somehow Walter did though!

Next post: scenic flight around Mt McKinley back to Talkeetna

Wedding pictures

I will write more later, but here is a link to the wedding pictures:  http://flickr.com/photos/48311514@N00/sets/72157601812537697/

8/29 – Princess McKinley Lodge and Jetboat tour

We stayed at the Artic Adventure Hostel last night, which was cheap and did the job.    Our bedroom was tiny but was equipped with a refrigerator and linens.  We had to make the bed up – big deal – it was literally half the price of other motels.  There was a kitchen with microwave, fridge, stove, dishes, etc. for us to use. 

By the time we rented the car (2007 Grand Prix) and got there, it was 10 pm.  I was feeling quite icky and the only thing I could even fathom eating was soup, so we went to Walmart and got soup for me and a frozen pizza for Walter, then heated it up at the hostel.  We went upstairs and I promptly crashed!  When we got up we went to McDonald’s for breakfast, then headed up to the Princess McKinley Lodge.  The motif of the room is cute – moose everywhere! 

 

When we got there, it wasn’t time to check in yet, so we killed an hour, then boarded a shuttle to Talkeetna to go on Mahay’s Three Rivers Jetboat Tour.  That jetboat was neat!  The whole thing is covered and made of glass, so you don’t get wet or too cold from the wind, and  you can see everything.  The boat can go up to 30 mph.

 

The captain of our ship was Steve Mahay, the owner of the company, and he was a neat guy!  We went up and down two rivers but couldn’t navigate the third because the water was too low.  That was disappointing, but we got a refund for a portion of it.  That was pretty nifty though because we had a TourSaver buy one get one free coupon to begin with, so it only ended up costing $55 for both of us! 

Along the way we saw a bald eagle and an eaglet.  The pictures of the eagle and eaglet didn’t come out too good, but we did get video, and when I am done playing with the video I will upload those in a different post.  We stopped and saw a huge beaver hotel which had been deserted when water levels went too low.  Walter held a beaver skull – icky!

          

We also went to one of Steve Mahay’s old trapping lodges. He used to trap animals to sell the pelts and showed us all sorts of stuff about that.  The entire tour was VERY informative and fun and I strongly suggest you check it out if you’re going to be in Talkeetna!
    

The full set of pictures from the Jetboat tour is at http://www.flickr.com/photos/48311514@N00/sets/72157601786878395/

When the Jetboat tour was done, we boarded the shuttle back to the Princess, checked in, then went to eat in their Twenty Three Twenty (named for the height of Mt McKinley, 20,320 feet) restaurant.  The girl at the front desk had described this as “like Applebees” but it wasn’t!  It was higher than Applebees for certain.  Walter got a bacon cheeseburgerand fries ($9) which he said was no better than Hardee’s Six Dollar Burger, and I got a chicken parmegan sandwich ($10) and some fruit instead of fries.  The sandwich was good, but it was not worth $10!!!  As soon as we got done eating, I crashed again. LOL

We’re in Alaska!!!

It is 6 AM Alaska time on Wed  8/29 as I begin to write.  I can scarcely believe we are actually here in Alaska!!! 

Yesterday morning we left the house early for the baby’s ultrasound (see www.ourpregnancyjournies.com) which went fabulously, then we ate at Denny’s with Walter’s brother Bill who drove us, then we got to the airport in St. Louis.  We had several hours to kill to begin with, but then that big storm in Minnesota yesterday made all the planes delayed.  Our connecting flight was in Minneapolis and THANK GOD that one was delayed too or we would have missed it!! 

And of course we had to get clear from the A concourse to the C concourse, but the Minneapolis airport has those moving sidewalk things – but I was still huffing and puffing by the time we got to our gate, and the plane took off maybe 15 minutes later.

The flight from St. Louis to Minneapolis was CRAMPED.  The plane held maybe 50 people, two per side, and it was pretty uncomfortable.  We were supposed to be on a Boeing 747 for the flight to Anchorage, but it was a 757 instead. That was better.  They no longer give snacks out I guess, because on the Anchorage flight we had to buy a turkey sandwich and some munchies.  At least the soda was free! LOL

The longest flights I’ve ever been on before were from Philly to St Louis or Philly to Florida, no more than two hours.  Can I just tell you how much a 6 hour flight bites???  I am a reader, but when I read I like to be curled up in my bed, or stretched out on the couch.  No can do on a plane of course!  I did manage to read one book in its entirety (a murder mystery I wouldn’t reccomend) but partway through the flight I started to feel like crap, courtesy of being first trimester pregnant.  I had heartburn, felt nauseaus, and just felt nasty.  And of course you can’t exactly lay down on an airplane!  The closest I got was to have Walter let me lay on him, and I was able to take a nap.  When I woke up we were over mountains!  I’ve driven from St. Louis to Philly and back and you go through some mountains on the PA Turnpike, but they are NOTHING compared to the view from an airplane in Alaska.  Here’s a sample, but I’ve got all my pics from the flight at http://www.flickr.com/photos/48311514@N00/sets/72157601749540241/

    

My gown part II

So to make a long story short, the gown could not be altered.  All of the beads and lace would have had to come up, then go back down, and there just wasn’t time.  So we safety-pinned it in the back!  It’s barely noticeable, and I will still have a gown that appears to fit, and my pictures won’t show it. LOL

Our ceremony

This is what is planned to be said:

Introduction

We have come together today to unite Walter and Carolyn in marriage. A wedding is the celebration of the miracle of love, and that’s what we’re here to do: to celebrate that miracles do occur all of the time, that at any moment, the unexpected can happen and often does

Reading

Happiness in marriage is not something that just happens. A good marriage must be created. In the art of marriage, the little things are the big things.

It is never being too old to hold hands. It is remembering to say, “I love you”. It is at no time taking the other for granted. It is having a mutual sense of values and common objectives; it is standing together facing the world. It is doing things for each other, not in the attitude of duty or sacrifice, but in the spirit of joy. It is not expecting perfection in each other. It is cultivating flexibility, patience, understanding, and a sense of humor. It is having a capacity to forgive and forget. It is establishing a relationship in which the independence is equal, the dependence is mutual, and the obligation is reciprocal. It is a common search for the good and the beautiful. It is not marrying the right partner; it is being the right partner. It is discovering that your love for one another at its best will never lose sight of or be blotted out by the common place experiences of life.

And it is remembering that remaining devoted, confident and hopeful in one another are the secret ingredients, which will help you to remain two very happy people, richer for your oneness.

Vows

Minister says to the Groom: Will you have Carolyn to be your wedded wife, to live together in holy matrimony? Will you love her, comfort her, honor, and keep her, in sickness and in health, forsaking all others, so long as you both shall live? Will you stand together during rough seas, mountain storms, torrential downpours, and desert winds? Will you also stand together during the sunrises, sunsets, and the many blessings and beauty that the world may bring to you?

The Groom shall answer: I will.

Minister say to the Bride: Will you have Walter to be your wedded husband, to live together in holy matrimony? Will you obey him, and serve him, love, honor, and keep him in sickness and in health; and, forsaking all others, so long as you both shall live? Will you stand together during rough seas, mountain storms, torrential downpours, and desert winds? Will you also stand together during the sunrises, sunsets, and the many blessings and beauty that the world may bring to you?

The Bride shall answer: I will.

Rings Introduction

Minister: The wedding ring is a symbolic icon. Alone the ring is just a piece of metal heated and formed with out love. But today, we will transform these cold pieces of metal into beautiful symbols of everlasting love. They will be placed on your fingers and shine forth like a beacon in the storm shouting out that you are not alone in this world, that you have someone to share your life with. When you are apart from each other let this symbol shine in your heart as well as on your hand. This symbol that says you have chosen each other above all others.

Blessing of the Rings

Bless these Rings, and those who wear them, that they may be ever faithful to one another, and live and grow old together in love.

Ring Vows

(Bride repeats after minister): Walter, I give you this ring as a symbol of our vows, and with all that I am, and all that I have, I honor you. Please accept this ring as a symbol of my love and as a constant reminder that I have chosen you above all others to be the one to share my life.

(Groom repeats after minister): Carolyn, I give you this ring as a symbol of our vows, and with all that I am and all that I have, I honor you. Please accept this ring as a symbol of my love and as a constant reminder that I have chosen you above all others to be the one to share my life.

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Declaration of Marriage

You all have been given the pleasure of witnessing this very special occasion that formally announces the marriage of Walter and Carolyn. Now they have spoken their vows to each other and given their promises. They have declared before all of us that they are in love and they will live together in holy matrimony. They both now wear the rings of love on their hands and in their hearts. So, by the authority vested in me, I now pronounce them to be Husband and Wife.

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You may now kiss the bride.

Presentation

Minister: Ladies and Gentlemen, it gives me great pleasure to present Carolyn & Walter Gerding.