SCHOLARSHIP DAY 82: Leaving Alaska- West US Tour begins in Seattle

After I arrived at the Anchorage Train Station last night, I had a short walk to make to the Bent Prop Inn; my place of stay for a night. Whether I was expecting the Bent Prop Inn to show the same degree of friendliness as Billie's Hostel, or whether this was just one of the places to avoid in Anchorage and nobody alerted me, I don't know. All I can say is that I'm thankful it was just one night. It felt a little like Girdwood. My dorm guests included a mature gentleman who had a problem managing his expletives, a native 20 year old who dates a woman that has just come out of jail, and perhaps the worst of all; the mid-aged man who was in and out of bed more times than words in this sentence! Oh, and he screams in his sleep. So all in all, a slightly unheimlich night but I managed to get some sleep ready for my 6:00am wake up this morning.

I had my last wildlife sighting this morning, as I waited for my bus to Anchorage Airport. It was a mouse in the bus station, (and no, I haven't spelt moose incorrectly.) As insignificant as it may be, in a state home to the bear and the caribou, but it was there. It scurried it's way across the floor of the bus station and out through a hole in the wall, beside a coffee establishment. So I wasn't going there for my morning refreshment. In fact, I never had my hot chocolate; within minutes, the bus arrived and I was being driven to the Anchorage Airport.

Walking through it, you wouldn't have thought it was an 'International' airport. It was slightly after 7am, and the whole complex seemed dead, bar the odd traveller. No queueing at least in the baggage claim department. I paid a $20 bill to the lady behind the 'Alaskan Airlines' desk, so my bag would go to Seattle with me, and made my way to security. No-one was behind me, and still security wanted me to hurry through the proceedings! Needless to say, I passed all the checks and was out and free amongst the delights of the departure lounge for the next few hours.

Time elapsed, three hours in fact, until I boarded Flight 88 to Seattle. My window seat gave me a lovely view of the wing, and some of Alaska as we made our slow and steady departure out of Fairbanks. I did get some decent photos of the scenery we were blessed with on this fine day.

It was a full plane and so the typical flight activites of passengers getting up and down from their seats only to find themselves trapped by two duty freeze trolleys were more frantic. Rhonda and Robin were the two air hostesses that stuck in my memory. Robin was possibly the boss hostess (if there is such a position); she directed the trolley's speed and direction, and was the less friendly out of the two. Rhonda- ah! A Glenn Close look-a-like, Rhonda had teeth as white as snow, and lips as read as strawberry jam. (She could have quite easily became a model for toothpaste commercials in a previous life!) Apart from this, the thing that makes Rhonda stick in my mind was her over-exaggerated pleasantries to passengers. She had this unexhausted volume of merriment and expression in her voice, with a strong American twang! No bad thing; it made me laugh, and although for the wrong reasons, it did cheer me up after feeling slightly sad to leave Alaska. A passenger walking down the aisle accidentally hit a seated passenger with her bag. Rhonda smiled and said "Nothing wrong with that" to which the slightly embarrased lady passenger replied "Yeah, I think so. I've just hit him!" You get my drift!

We slowly exited the clear skies of Alaska's air space, and entered the state of Washington, finally reaching Seattle engulfed by thundery clouds and a gloomy atmosphere you would expect of a damp wintery afternoon just before sunset. Directing myself out of Seattle's airport was no problem as soon as I got my bearings; I picked up my bag and headed for the metro.

I would be taking the train to downtown, a 37 minute ride by all accounts. Thankfully, to the world of Seattle, I am still a child at 18, so paid for a child's ticket! Why you have to purchase a ticket though; no-one came to check it, stamp it, or scan it. The train suitably called 'Link' links te airport with several points of Seattle. It's a bit like a London tube train in many ways. The lady announcing the stops sounds the same as the one in London, but just with an American accent. The seats are positioned in the same layout roughly. There's a stop called Sodo (like Soho) and there's even a stop called China Town! I got off at Westlake, the final destination of the train, and had to walk North about 10 minutes to reach City Hostel.

I departed the train station having lost all bearings; which way was North? At long last, my camera compass came to the rescue and I'm pleased to say it was right. I eventually found the City Hostel, and on my twilight walk (if slightly wet) towards it, spotted the Space Needle! I will certainly be making a trip up there during my week's stay!

The hostel is impressive, I have got to admit. A library, theatre and a hot tub are all included in the price so I may take advantage of these amenities if I get a spare minute. I will do more of a walk round it tomorrow. I must just report a tragedy that I faced earlier tonight. I have left my Laptop charger at Billie's Hostel. You won't believe the frustration this silly mistake has caused me this evening. Thankfully, the hostel has a computer room so I'm typing this out on an Acer, which has a webcam so Skype can continue. My charger after four phonecalls to Billie is being sent to my next hostel in Portland, which I will be heading to at the end of the week. But what a palava! It's been a valuable learning experience though, and shows that on solitary travel, you often have to face challenges that you have to keep calm about and resolve. Tomorrow is set to be a busy day.