SCHOLARSHIP DAY 14: In the air again...Hello Fairbanks!

My early start (6:30am) this morning was not helped by an unusual late night last night. But I took full advantage of the television in my Homer hotel room, and I'm very ashamed to say I got caught onto this american soap drama: 'General Hospital.' Up to then, I had managed to survive without the TV! Hopping from channel to channel, here in Alaska it seems that there is no 'main channel' like BBC1- in fact, channel 1 took me to a shopping channel. Having said that, there's hundreds of them- the TV guides must get rather thick! 'General Hospital' concluded at midnight, and that was enough for me.

I woke up to another cloudy day, not that I cared much though, as most of today would be dedicated to flying to Fairbanks, and as ever, it's never direct. Although the total flying time would amount to about an hour, I had a total of about 5 hours of waiting at airports. My plan was to get a taxi to Homer airport at 7:45am, and although I made this clear on the phone, it still arrived a little after 7:00am. Quickly picking up all my bags, I made a speedy exit out the hotel, and into the taxi.

The journey to Homer Airport was a depressing one, as nimbus clouds were once again hovering over the town making the streets seem very bleak, but the young male taxi driver tried to lighten the spirits:

Taxi Driver: "Where are you from?"... Me: "I'm from the UK"... Taxi Driver: "Yeah, I'm OK too!"

I was slow getting it, but the lack of sleep made it understandably slow. The journey rounded up to $8 (maybe the joke was included) and I was left MEGA early at Homer Airport. For a 11:10am local flight, arriving 4 hours early wasn't such a good idea. The airport was about as big as a primary school, and therefore without amenities like cafe's, so I was left sitting there with the 'Homer Times' newspaper. Eventually, 9:10am came around- my checking in time- and this was done without a problem, so I was very quickly back to my seat. The situation only worsened when my flight was delayed, but it's all part of the experience isn't it?!

The actual aeroplane taking me to Anchorage sustained the 'small' theme, and probably took it to the limits. I have never seen such a small aircraft and I was very capable of reaching the opposite window from my seat. Getting down the aisle meant ducking, and unfortunately I chose the 'Exit Door' seat, which meant I had to learn the protocol for removing it in case of emergency. When I said that I "hopefully won't have to do it," the air hostess (too large for the aisle by far) said "probably not." It wasn't as reassuring as I had hoped. Luckily the flight wasn't too long, as the engine noise got a bit much for me by the end.

There I was, at Anchorage Airport again; this time to catch a connecting flight to Fairbanks. I was anxious as to whether my large bag would reach Fairbanks, but I was assured by Customer Services that it would be! The process of getting to the gate through more security went very quickly again; it seems that the British make too much of a hype over it, and feeling peckish, I bought a 'Bear's Claw'. It's a hazelnut based pastry; crumby is an understatement, but very nice, all the same. I sat, waiting once again, at Gate C9 for a couple of hours, watching unavoidably I must say, the CNN News Channel. Yes, more television! The main news stories were the Obama/Romney row over Libya protests, Chicago Teachers Protests, and Britney Spears' new role on the X Factor: a slow news day it seems.

Eventually, and I'm aware I'm using that word a lot, but eventually I was on the second flight to Fairbanks; fortunately, a much larger plane. The flight was once again short, but I got some great views of Alaska, thanks to a rather clear day further north. From the mountainous snow-capped terrain, we made a slow descent over a vegetated floodplain, covered mostly by alpine trees like Spruce; some turning to a golden colour. The highlight, I thought, was the very sinuous river, meandering it's way through the foliage, and from the aeroplane, I saw very clear evidence of oxbow lakes and meander scars, highlighted mostly by the lighter coloured silt, that meander scars commonly have. Further on, it seemed like these meander scars were becoming the areas for new alpine tree growth, and so I could see a long sinuous line of green, meandering its way -just like the river- over the floodplain.

 

 

I arrived at Fairbanks airport, and my worries were relieved when my larger bag was making its way on the Baggage Collection conveyor belt. After sorting myself out, I went to fetch a taxi, although it seemed it fetched me, calling me over. She very confidently knew where Billies Hostel was, so I was on the road, in a flash. The taxi driver-whose name I never got- loves Fairbanks and was keen to point out where things were, but was also quick to let me know how cold it gets!

Billie's Hostel is set just outside downtown with good access to the CBD. It was Billie's daughter who showed me to my room, although it wasn't long before Billie herself greeted me and asked me to move to another room. It seems that my bed is only temporary, and that she will show me to a more permanent position tomorrow!