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

Walter is sick!

On Saturday Walter started feeling crappy, and by Sunday evening he was running a 102+ fever, so we went to urgent care and he’s got strep throat!  Can you believe this, so soon to us leaving!  So he’s on penicillin, started it on Sunday night, and should hopefully feel back to normal by Wed. morning when we start the real traveling.  I have not slept with him since he started feeling crappy so hopefully I won’t get it.

Unexpected kindness

As I wrote before, I found my witnesses on Craigs List Alaska. The people that I have been talking to are another couple and have been very helpful with telling me what is located where, what kind of place such and such is, etc. My original ad looking for witnesses offered compensation plus a meal. I asked C today about the different places that have those coupons from the previous post, she told me about them, then said that they weren’t “fancy” enough for our wedding and offered to treat us to dinner at Orso’s in Anchorage!

I am pregnant and hormonal and I admit I cried a little because it was so sweet and generous! They have never met us and are taking time out to be our witnesses, and instead of getting paid for their time, she said, “We’d love to treat. Seriously, it’s not very Alaskan to let you come into town and also buy dinner. Bad ju ju. Also, just remembered that Costco has $100 gift certificates for $80. We’ll pick up a couple of those and be ready to rock and roll. Consider it a wedding present!”

So, thank you C for you kindness, and thank you God for putting me in contact with C. 

More bargains – this on dining

I belong to Upromise.com, which is a college savings program. They sent me an email a while ago about a new partner, Restaurant.com, which sells gift certificates for restaurants at a discount. I looked at it, joined their mailing list, and forgot about it… until today, when I got the following email:

			Offer ends on Friday, August 31, 2007! Important Stuff: East, West, North or South, we’ve got you covered with great savings! This offer cannot be combined with any other discount, rebate or promotion. When redeeming a Restaurant.com Gift Certificate from the Gift Center, these savings cannot be applied. Offer ends on Friday, August 31, 2007 at 11:59PM CDT.

Eh, the email doesn’t come up right. Oh well. It’s 40% of their prices – which is usually $10 for a $25 certificate – which means it’s only $4 – which means $21 in free food! Yum! If you go to Restaurant.com, do it before 8/31, and the coupon code is “coast.”

So needless to say Walter and I will be getting some of these to eat while we’re in Alaska!

Change of plans already! LOL

We had originally booked a rail trip from Anchorage to Talkeetna, but I discovered that in order to get from the lodge we’re staying in to the Talkeetna airport for the flightseeing tour, it’s going to be $75 each way in taxi! Ouch! So for not much more than that, we’re renting a car for the entire trip, which gives us more flexibility anyway.

We found that the Jeep thing we wanted to do has been discontinued, so now on the 31st we’ve got reservations for: “The ultimate back country exploration tour awaits! Join your guide as you drive your own 4-wheel All Terrain Vehicle (ATV) on a truly exciting and scenic journey! Your trek takes you high up on Black Diamond Peak where you can view the entire Healy Valley and you can see the Dry Creek River Bed where Athabascan Indian artifacts have been found in archaeological digs! You will be fitted with all the proper gear. We provide a helmet, safety goggles, gloves, and rain gear.” http://www.blackdiamondgolf.com/ATV.html

And of course, that’s a buy one get one free coupon too.  he he

The Ceremony

We found Rev. Anne Marie online, www.castleministries.com. She and Rev. Dorothy have been doing this for quite some time, and they actually gave us the ideas for where to get married. They sent us a bunch of different sample ceremonies and vows to choose from also.

I posted an ad on Craigs List for the witnesses! How else would I find people in Alaska? Can you imagine this – the ceremony is scheduled for noon and half an hour prior I’m running around the location in my dress begging people, “I’m getting married in half an hour, will you sign as a witness and take pictures with my camera for me?” LOL No way am I doing that, so I found people through Craigs List – Alaska.

If the weather permits we’re going to do it on Matanuska Glacier. You drive up to this park, and take a fifteen minute walk and you’re actually ON a glacier!

If it is scheduled to rain, we’ll go to Bird Point, which has a boarded walkway that leads out toward the inlet. It is surrounded by mountains and has a great view of the inlet and a covered pavilion. There are pictures here: http://www.castleministries.com/birdpoint.htm

Everything’s booked!

On Tuesday Aug. 28 we have an ultrasound appointment for the baby (see www.pregnancyjournies.wordpress.com) at 7:45 am, and later that day we’re on the plane to Alaska!!! Our flight itinerary:

Tuesday, August 28, 2007 (Arrives Tuesday, August 28, 2007)

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Northwest Airlines Flight 2818 1h 45m , 448mi	From Lambert St Louis Intl (STL) St Louis, MO Departs: 1:50 P.M.	To Minneapolis St Paul Intl (MSP) Minneapolis, MN Arrives: 3:35 P.M.	Aircraft Canadair Regional Jet (Jet) Economy/Coach Class
Northwest Airlines Flight 845 5h 54m , 2510mi	From Minneapolis St Paul Intl (MSP) Minneapolis, MN Departs: 5:15 P.M.	To Anchorage Intl (ANC) Anchorage, AK Arrives: 8:09 P.M.	Aircraft Boeing 757-300 (Jet) Economy/Coach Class

Tuesday, September 4, 2007 (Arrives Wednesday, September 5, 2007)

Northwest Airlines Flight 844 5h 14m , 2510mi	From Anchorage Intl (ANC) Anchorage, AK Departs: 9:42 P.M.	To Minneapolis St Paul Intl (MSP) Minneapolis, MN Arrives: 5:56 A.M.	Aircraft Boeing 757 all models (Jet) Economy/Coach Class
Northwest Airlines Flight 3649 1h 38m , 448mi	From Minneapolis St Paul Intl (MSP) Minneapolis, MN Departs: 7:25 A.M.	To Lambert St Louis Intl (STL) St Louis, MO Arrives: 9:03 A.M.	Aircraft Canadair Regional Jet 900 (Jet) Economy/Coach Class

This was without question the highest fee – it was nearly $1200! But we discovered an awesome coupon book at www.TourSaver.com which gives us Buy One Get One Free on a LOT of cool things! We got it on ebay for $30 because some of the coupons expire on Aug 31 – but we made sure to take full advantage of certain ones before that happens, lol.

Here’s what we’ve got going on the rest of the time:

8/28 – Our flight arrives around 8 pm. We are scheduled to be on a train the next morning at 8 am, so we essentially just need a place to sleep. Turns out that there are these things called hostels that are cheaper than motels because it’s bare bones. They provide the linen, but you have to make your bed when you get there and strip it when you leave, and there is a shared bathroom. There is the option of being in a dorm room, but we opted for the private room which is only $40 – compared to the cheapest motel we could find at $85+ – we decided to go for it. We are staying at http://www.arcticadventurehostel.com/. More info on hostels at http://www.hostelhandbook.com/whatare.htm.

8/29 - This morning at 8 am we leave for a rail tour to Talkeetna to stay 2 overnights. We are staying at the Mt. McKinley Princess Wilderness Lodge. Here is the tour we are taking: http://www.princesslodges.com/itinerary_7a.htm. This is one of the B1G1 coupons -$359!!  (We changed this – see post “Changes already”).

We are scheduled to arrive in Talkeetna around 11:30 am. We’ve got a 3 hour jetboat tour scheduled from 3:15 – 7:45 (see http://www.princesslodges.com/mckinley-three-rivers.htm and http://www.mahaysriverboat.com/denalialaska-mahay.com/dws.htm) – another coupon – $95!.

8/30 – This is a full day! We’re going on a flightseeing tour from Talkeetna to Denali near Mt. McKinley, plus a 6-8 hour bus trip inside Denali National Park. See http://www.talkeetnaaero.com/denali-day-trips.htm. Another B1G1 coupon – $375! There is a 40-minute flights from Talkeetna to Denali, one back, and a 6-8 hour bus trip into Denali National Park.

8/31 – We are planning a Jeep driving tour in the wild – see http://www.princesslodges.com/mckinley-jeep-safari.htm. No coupon for that one, dang it. LOL Our train back to Anchorage leaves at 4 pm or so and gets back at 8 pm or so. (Note: this is canceled – new stuff in works)

When we get back to Anchorage we are getting a shuttle from the railroad station to the hotel we are staying at for the next two nights – the Dimond Center Hotel. Another coupon for that one, $199! We’d have NEVER stayed in something so expensive except we got one night free, and we’re getting married the following day. Check this out: 72-inch soaking tub with view of 36-inch color TV with Pay-Per-View movies, AVEDA® aromatherapy bath products, and the ‘Ultimate Dream Bed’ which is ‘four fluffy pillows rest atop a handsome 100% Egyptian cotton duvet stuffed with extra fine European goose down. Luxury linens lay atop the exceptional mattress and spring unit…’ Also includes complimentary breakfast including traditional cold fare, boiled eggs, and hot Belgian waffles with strawberries & whipped cream.

9/1 - We rent a car this morning, which we will keep until we leave. And… today is our wedding! Will be a separate post. Stay at the Dimond again (the free night, of course!)

9/2 - We check out of the Dimond and into something less expensive. We leave Anchorage at 8 am to go to Whittier to go on a six hour glacier cruise. “Explore the untamed wilderness and calm waters of magnificent Prince William Sound. Visit a working salmon hatchery. Cruise spectacular Esther Passage before exploring the numerous glaciers in Harriman Fjord and Barry Arm. Stop at majestic Surprise Glacier. Marine animals and birds flourish in these waters. Lunch includes Alaska King Crab cakes, pasta salad with vegetables, dinner roll, cookie and a beverage.” Another coupon – $99 this time. After that we go to the Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center on the way back. Another coupon – but admission is only $7.50 anyway, ha ha. They have bears, elk, moose, bison, other stuff.

9/3 - Possibly doing the zoo, the botanical garden… we have time to figure this out.

9/4 – Not sure what we’re doing during the day yet. Our flight to come home leaves at 9pm or so.

Intro

My name is Carolyn. I’m 33, never married, have one gorgeous 12-year-old daughter, and am 6 weeks pregnant with another. It’s a high-risk pregnancy – see www.pregnancyjournies.wordpress.com.

I’m engaged to Walter, who I affectionately refer to as my “young’n farmer boy.” He’s 26, divorced, no kids. We’ve been together for nearly two years. I’m originally from South Jersey, just outside of Philly, and he’s from the farm we live on in mid Missouri. I’ve got a blog about our farm – www.farmerswife.wordpress.com.

It would be hugely difficult for my mom and younger sister, as well as my best friend for over 20 years, to come out here for a wedding, and I don’t want to get married without them present. So we’re eloping so to speak; it’s just not a surprise. We’re going to Alaska and getting married on a glacier!!!

This is the blog about our plans, and when the trip is underway, our wedding/honeymoon.