Alaska: Have you ever seen the sun rise at midnight?

So, my friend and roommate Anne very generously gave up her lunch hour to take me to Reagan for my big, exciting trip to Alaska! We left for the airport around 1:30 pm Eastern Standard Time. US Airways checked my bags through to Seattle and after going through security, I chatted with my friend Georgina until it was time to leave. I admit, I was feeling a little homesick for Virginia before I had even left. Anyway, we boarded the plane - and then sat there for forty-five minutes because the weather wasn't right for us to take off. This wasn't a problem for me because I had almost two hours in Charlotte, NC. When we landed in Charlotte, the timing was perfect. I found my gate, grabbed a Snickers Marathon bar and didn't have to wait too long to board. We boarded ... and waited. So, this was a little bit more of a problem because I only had about 55 minutes in Seattle. Not only was my layover short, but I had to change airlines and so I had to get my luggage, recheck it, and go back through security. My flight was scheduled to leave at 9:20. We arrived at 9:05. But Alaska Airlines being the fabulous airline that they are managed to rebook me on the 10:52 flight. I was only praying that Adam (my friend and the division manager), who's phone number I managed to track down with mere seconds to spare, had gotten my voicemail letting him know about the flight change. We took off from Seattle in the dark and as we flew, I watched the sky get lighter and lighter and lighter.

Have you ever watched the sun rise at midnight? It's amazing. If you come to Alaska, book a late night flight so that you can watch the sun rise over the mountains. I wish I'd had a window seat so I could have gotten a picture.

Anyway, at 1:25 we landed in Fairbanks! It was light outside. A lot of people asked me before I left what it's like when it's light all night. It's AWESOME!!!! Even though I had just left Seattle where it was dark, it seemed strange to me that it should be anything but light at 2:00 in the morning.

To bring this long story to a close, Adam was there to meet me, he took me to a beautiful but very empty apartment and offered to rent it to me for a mere $400 a month. I tried not to choke. (We usually pay around $150 because we get a lot of people in one apartment.) I'm still considering the apartment. At about 3:30 am Alaska time, I finally got to bed.

Yay! Look at me! I'm going to Alaska! I can't wait!

What did I do with my picture from the Charlotte airport? Well, picture me looking puzzled because I think I moved further south than I did west!

Look! I found my picture! I WAS looking puzzled! :)