At long last . . . Anchorage

After more than a handful of trips connecting in Anchorage, Marshall and I will finally leave the airport! I'm meeting him there for a few days so we can sightsee and shop for winter coats. It looks like a beautiful city from the airport; I'm eager to finally see it from a different perspective. :) We'll post pictures when we return.

Ice on the Kuskokwim

Temperatures have been dropping so we stopped by the river to see if any ice had formed. It hasn't frozen completely, but it will very soon. It's gorgeous right now. 

We also saw a bald eagle riding on one of the ice flows! Unfortunately we only had the phone so our picture isn't very clear. Even though we live only minutes from the river, by the time we returned with a camera, the eagle was gone. Word got around though; we saw quite a few people pull up to the river bank looking for it.

We've had to scrape ice from the car windows for the past week and had snow on the ground this morning. It warmed up a bit so the snow melted and we have major fog right now.

Marshall and I getting our first taste of travel being affected by the weather; he was supposed to fly out a few hours ago and has been delayed multiples times. The morning flight was canceled and we aren't sure about his flight yet. At least he had a long layover in Anchorage; his flight out of Anchorage isn't scheduled until almost midnight, so he might still make it. Apparently this is par for the course on flying in and out of Bethel.

I love my cat

I love my cat. I love my cat. I love my cat.

But I will never, ever, ever, fly him across the country again!

Some of you have heard the saga of bringing Thibodeaux to Bethel, but I will regale the rest of you now. I have recovered nicely and Tibby and I are no longer traumatized. ;) Keep in mind, I had researched all possible scenarios and decided (with the vet's advice) to carry him on the plane. Cargo was a bit too iffy. No offense to people to have no choice in that, but I didn't want to put Tibby below the plane in a place with little temperature control. Particularly since we were flying from 90 degree Orlando to 30 degree Bethel. Our vet prescribed some sedatives and we were all set.

A big shout out and thank you to my friend Jason for taking care of Tibby for the last few months. Most of you heard us refer to Tibby being at camp; he was staying with our friend and well taken care of. Even had his pet door for the screened in patio. Spoiled, I tell you.

The big day arrived, and I picked Tibby up from Jason's at 5 am for a 7:30 flight. Flying in and out of Bethel is a major challenge. The only major connection is Anchorage and there are only 2-3 flights per day. Due to the schedule and time zone, leaving Bethel typically means flying overnight. However, coming from the east coast, I was able to fly during the day and arrive that evening. With layovers, I think it came out to about 19 hours total.

Gave Tibby the first dose of sedative and he was supposed to be drowsy by the time we got on the plane. Not so much. The sedative had virtually no effect. I'd heard that might happen, and of course it did. So he meows his way through the airport. I have to carry him through the metal detector while his carrier went on the scanner. He is a little freaked out, but ok at that point. I had decided to use points to upgrade to first class on the Orlando-Seattle and Seattle-Anchorage legs so we'd have more room and be comfy. So keep in mind through all of this, I'm surrounded by people who are expecting a very nice flight.

Enter the flight. Tibby yowls as soon as we got on the plane and is placed under the seat in front of me. I would soon wish for loud meowing as my biggest problem. About an hour into the 6 hour flight, he poops and pees in his carrier. I didn't realize this until later. Breakfast is served. I of course have the window seat and am stuck in said seat with my tray down, precariously set with food and coffee. Tibby proceeds to scratch at his carrier and thump on the seat in front of me. It's a racket that I can only pretend to ignore.

Then the woman in front me turns to tell me that my cat scared her. I apologize, thinking his thumping was just a major annoyance. She then mutters, "He's out, by the way." WHAT? Yes, Tibby has clawed a hole in his carrier, the creme de la creme of carriers, darted under this poor woman's legs, and is now nosing around at the cockpit door. I may have responded with an expletive. The flight attendants are not amused as they they to make breakfast with a renegade cat running around. One of them yells at me to get my cat put away. I am stuck in my window seat with no access out so I beg her to just grab him, promising he won't bite. She yells that she is allergic. Even better.

As Tibby makes his way up the aisle to explore, the man beside me grabbs him; thankfully he was really nice and not skittish around cats. I hold a squirming cat as the flight attendant proceeds to yell at me more to get him back in his carrier. I mention the gigantic hole. I stuff him back in, holding the hole shut, not a long-term solution by any means. She returns with some duct tape from the pilot. Good idea, but this does nothing beyond appearance. I end up holding the carrier on my lap for the remainder of the flight, another 4.5 hours at this point.

Remember how Tibby messed himself in his carrier? I soon realize this and figure that was his whole reason for escape. He's a fastidious cat, so that completely stressed him out. Without going into too many details, I clean it up as best I could without making it really obvious (using a leftover Starbucks cup I had on hand). Unfortunately, the stench of cat pee is something that will wake the gods, so we suffer the whole flight. Particularly since it leaks on my pants the entire trip. The flight attendants make faces and comment on the smell the whole flight. I am mortified and miserable, Tibby yowls in misery, and there is just nothing that can be done; we're in the air with no way to improve the situation. So I hold onto the carrier and pretend to sleep; at least I donn't have to see the flight attendants' sneers for the rest of the flight.

Seattle. Thank goodness I had a 4 hour layover. I bring Tibby into the nearest bathroom and basically take over the baby changing area to clean us both up. I chase him around the sink area a bit during this process. I figure we can just make it rest of the way if he calms down and I get a better handle on the duct tape situation. I pick a quiet corner, work on the makeshift hole repair a bit more and try to relax. Next thing I know, Tibby is out again and running around the terminal. I finally grab him from under the nearby row of seats, filled with people of course.

OK, so Plan B. I head out of the airport and to the taxi stand. I just need to find a pet store. The cab driver refuses to take me anywhere without an address, and the guys running the taxi stand can't seem to work their smart phones to find me an address. I point out to the cab driver that he has GPS and won't that direct him to a pet store? Apparently not. We're at a standstill. A cat pee scented standstill. I run over to ground transportation and see a young employee working on an iPad. Hallelujah! I am so happy I could cry at this point. I am given the address to the nearest PetSmart and convince a cab driver to take me there and wait while I buy a new carrier. Tibby is still meowing loudly.

I burst into the PetSmart and basically demand their strongest strong carrier. Of course, they tell me that the lovely destroyed Sherpa I have in my hand is the best one out there. Well, it sucks! So I just buy the cheapest one there is, transfer Tibby over, and head back to the airport. I of course left the stinky awful carrier behind. It wasn't even worth trying to get a refund; I would have rather burned it.

So the new dry, sweet-smelling carrier saved the day. The angry, pitiful, yowling kitty was now quiet and relaxed. We hung out in the airport and he didn't make a peep after that. He just looked around, napped a bit, and just chilled. The next two flights were heaven. Not a sound from him. He only freaked out again when we arrived in Bethel, but I don't blame him one bit. We arrived to cold rain and wind, exiting the plane via stairs onto the tarmac, and had to wait for bags in a tiny, loud airport. Any Florida cat would have freaked out a bit. But he did great, even after being soaked in cold rain and riding in a cab home.

He was thrilled to see Marshall and his cat tower, and has been a snuggly, happy cat every since. He spent a few days following us around, but is back to his usual antics now. We're are so happy he's home!

And yes, that is a homemade cat-sized and -themed quilt below, courtesy of his Grandma. :)

Winter Is Coming

No, this isn't a Games of Thrones reference; winter is quickly approaching in Bethel. Marshall and I are certainly weenies because we already think that it's cold and the river isn't even frozen yet! Remember when I told you that the days are getting shorter at a pretty rapid rate? Well, the temperature is dropping quickly as well. Unlike other places I've lived, when the seasons change here, it happens almost overnight. I noticed it when winter ended last year (we checked Weather Underground obsessively). All of a sudden in the last week, the wet rainy days have turned to clear, cold ones. For the past few days, temps at night have been below freezing and today it didn't get above 33. The lakes around here have some ice and we expect the river freeze up to occur within the next week or so. I think it will shock us how quickly it happens.

We moved last week from the temp housing into an apartment (one half of a duplex). Yay! The person here who moves furniture is a rock star and had all of our stuff in the house and put together in a day. By himself. And on top of that, he's super nice! 

It is such a relief to be sitting in my favorite armchair and snuggling with Tibby. Yes, Tibby made it to Alaska. It was a horrid flight, but we made it in one piece and have both recovered. More on that in the next post. Marshall and I have been unpacking, organizing and winterizing the apartment at a breakneck pace. We're a bit sore and tired. I'll have pictures of the apartment and more stories as soon as we're done settling in. For now, here's a picture of Marshall grilling at the temp house in the snow. Yup, we've had some flurries already. Actually, this picture is from September; everyone says winter is coming a little earlier than normal this year. Awesome.

A very brief hiatus

I am in Orlando right now to retrieve Tibby and bring him to his new home. Flights are pretty rough; I left Bethel at 8:45 pm Tuesday and arrive in Orlando at 5:45 pm Wednesday (including connections in Anchorage and Seattle). Thankfully I slept most of the way. I'll be back in Bethel and blogging next week. Expect posts on snow, our new apartment, and probably a bunch of cute Tibby pictures. Thanks again for reading!