A Million Little Pieces Of My Mind

United States of America

Alaska

By: Paul S Cilwa Page Views: 1,373
All about the trip I made to the 49th State!
Alaska state flag

When Alaska became our 49th State, I was 8 years old and it was a big, big deal in our Vermont classroom. Alaska seemed almost impossibly far away; it certainly was as far (then) from Vermont as it was possible to be and still be "in" the United States. I started dreaming, then, of the day that I would be able to visit Alaska in person.

2009: Rafting

By: Paul S Cilwa Page Views: 746
Hashtags: #Rafting #WhitewaterRafting #Alaska #Travel
All about my first trip to Alaska and the whitewater rafting and flightseeing trip.
Estimated reading time: 1 minute(s) (148 words)

It wasn't that complicated an idea: Travel to Alaska on an (almost) free ticket, stay at the lodge of a friend of a friend's, go whitewater rafting. My friend, Frank, had been urging me to join him in visiting his friend Brad's lodge for over a year; and we had been whitewater rafting together twice so it made sense to do an Alaskan raft trip while there. Michael was adamant about going with us…he was not going to miss out on a trip to Alaska! I made detailed plans, made reservations and pre-bought various tickets. Frank, a flight attendant, used frequent flier miles to obtain his transportation and arrange our first night's stay in Anchorage and car rental. Michael bought his own ticket through Priceline for some 30% off (by bidding on it). It was my own ticket that nearly turned the trip into a disaster.